• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 526: Not so express

• March 20, 2025
• Tagged as: 787, Allegient Air, American Airlines, ancillary, ancillary fees, DCA, earnings, elite status, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Frontier, IndiGo, Korean Airlines, lifetime, livery, Los Angeles, Marrakech, NTSB, PAE, Paine Field, routes, Seattle, Southwest Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Transatlantic, United Airlines

Marrakech remains a mess for connections. And there are plenty of other messes around the world. But we find some good news, too.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 522: Helo Hold

• February 20, 2025
• Tagged as: 777X, Airbus, Alaska Airlines, Avis, Contour Air, crash, DCA, Delta Air Lines, EAS, elite status, Emirates, Essential Air Service, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Hawaiian Airlines, hydrogen, Iberia, Qatar Airways, regulators, Riyadh Air, Southwest Airlines, Toronto, Trip Report, United Airlines, Washington DC, YYZ

Another rough week for aviation in many ways. And plenty of concerns about what lays ahead.

• Podcast

DLD 521: Far-flung Frontiers

• February 13, 2025
• Tagged as: Alaska, alitalia, Allegient Air, British Airways, CAI, Cairo, cobrand, crash, credit card, credit cards, DCA, elite status, Executive Club, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, fees, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Frontier, IndiGo, ITA Airlines, Italia Trasporto Aereo, jetblue, JSX, LIM, Lima, loyalty, Lufthansa Group, Norse Atlantic, routes, San Juan, SJU, Starlux, United Airlines, Washington DC

Which new markets make sense? Both long-haul and short-haul are seeing some interesting changes.

• Podcast

DLD 520: It just sucks

• February 6, 2025
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, A320neo, AirBaltic, American Airlines, Boeing, Boom Supersonic, cobrand, crash, credit card, credit cards, DCA, Eurowings, France, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Icelandair, jetblue, LCY, London City, lounge, lounges, Lufthansa Group, Qantas, Washington DC

Last week was decidedly bad for aviation in many ways. Ugh.

• Podcast

DLD 516: Back at it

• January 9, 2025
• Tagged as: A350, Alaska Airlines, awards, Azerbaijan Air, British Airways, crash, DCA, elite status, Emirates, Executive Club, frequent flier, frequent flyer, JejuAir, jetblue, loyalty, revenue-based, rewards, slots, United Airlines

A new year brings new topics to the fore, including new routes, new IFE, new status rules, and more.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 506: P(l)aying premium

• October 24, 2024
• Tagged as: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Avianca, bankruptcy, Boston, business class, Cathay Pacific, China, DCA, first class, Hainan Airlines, hyatt, Korean Airlines, MileagePlan, Norse Atlantic, Play, premium cabin, routes, Russia, SkyTeam, slots, Spirit Airlines, train

Lots of chatter this week about premium products, and which airlines are having success with them or not.

• Podcast

DLD 500: Or something like that

• September 12, 2024
• Tagged as: 787, 787-8, 787-9, A350, A350 XWB, A350-1000, A350-900, Boeing, business class, Cathay Pacific, DCA, Department of Transportation, DOT, engines, frequent flier, frequent flyer, LATAM, Malaysia Airlines, Paris, premium cabin, R7, Recaro, Rolls Royce, routes, SCASDP, strike, Virgin Atlantic

A strike avoided, an engine fire, and new routes as we hit another arbitrary milestone.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 493: Is your crowd on strike?

• July 25, 2024
• Tagged as: A321XLR, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, certification, China, CRJ550, Dallas, DCA, Delta Air Lines, Department of Transportation, DFW, DOT, EU261, Farnborough, FIA2024, Fiji Airlines, Greenland, London, regulators, SkyWest, Southwest Airlines, union, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia

What a mess for airlines and more as millions of Windows-based computers were knocked offline last Thursday night.

• Podcast

DLD 492: Whoopsie!

• July 18, 2024
• Tagged as: 777X, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Archer, Breeze Airways, certification, DCA, Delta Air Lines, Department of Transportation, DOT, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Portland, Portsmouth, PSM, PWM, Riyadh Air, slots, Southwest Airlines, SSJ100, Washington DC, ZeroAvia

It could’ve been a lot worse, for sure. But now we have some initial details about the Southwest flight that took off from a closed runway two weeks ago.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 491: More bad news for Boeing, but maybe it is good?

• July 11, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 NG, Air Greenland, Atlantic Airways, Boeing, business class, Canada, Canadian North, DCA, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Greenland, inaugural, jetblue, KLM, lie-flat beds, Mint, Norse Atlantic, PDX, Portland, regulators, routes, slots, suite, TATL, Transatlantic, Washington DC, ZipAir

A trio of Boeing stories top the show this week. And somehow pleading guilty to a crime might end up being good for the company?