• Podcast

DLD 454: Is there such a thing as real loyalty program enhancements?!?

• October 18, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, American Airlines, AMS, Amsterdam, ancillary fees, Beond, Bermudair, carbon offsets, Delta Air Lines, economy class, elite status, Emirates, engines, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Haneda, HND, ITA Airlines, Italia Trasporto Aereo, Japan, jetblue, JFK Airport, KLM, loyalty, Mosaic, points, Portsmouth, premium cabin, promotions, PSM, Rapid Rewards, Rolls Royce, routes, slots, Southwest Airlines, Tokyo, TrueBlue, United Airlines

Can loyalty programs actually make changes that seem to make things better for customers, without taking benefits away elsewhere? Tune in to find out.

• Podcast

DLD 453: Shuffling the deck

• October 12, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 MAX 7, 737 MAX 8200, 787, A321neo, Air Canada, Air France, Air Malta, Airbus, Allegiant, awards, Boeing, business class, Delta Air Lines, Dreamliner, EAS, economy class, Essential Air Service, ExpertFlyer, Global Airlines, Hi Fly, Ireland, KLM, LOT, MEX, Mexico, Mexico City, NLU, premium cabin, Premium Economy, Recaro, rewards, routes, SAS, seating, seats, SkyTeam, Southern Airways, Star Alliance, Sun Country, United Airlines, VivaAerobus

Thank goodness change is such a constant in this industry. Otherwise what would we have to talk about every week?

• Podcast

DLD 451: Hotter than fire

• September 28, 2023
• Tagged as: A350 XWB, Air Belgium, Air Peace, Akasa, Brightline, British Airways, CBP, China, Condor, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Airlines, economy class, Edelweiss, Haneda, Heathrow, HND, iAero, India, LHR, London, PDX, pilot shortage, podcast, Portland, Premium Economy, routes, slots, Tokyo, train, Trip Report

But at least there was no meltdown this week…

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 450: Wait, there’s now lounge elite status??

• September 21, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 MAX 8, 757-200, A350, Allegiant, American Express, Boeing, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, elite status, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, lounge, lounges, medallion, merger, Mexico, Mexico City, New York City, podcast, premium cabin, Premium Economy, seating, seats, Sky Club, SkyMiles, slots, Spirit Airlines, Swiss, Trip Report, United Airlines, Upgrade, Vietnam Airlines

Delta made waves with its SkyMiles/SkyClub rules changes last week. Plus, new seats, new routes, and an end to revenge.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 449: Trademarks and diversions

• September 14, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Biman Bangladesh, business class, catering, CFM, China, Condor, Delta Air Lines, diversion, engines, JAL, jetblue, New Pacific Airways, New York City, Northern Pacific Airways, Pratt & Whitney, premium cabin, routes, singapore airlines, Thai Airways, Trip Report, United Airlines

Intellectual property is a very real thing. So are weather-induced diversions these days.

• Podcast

DLD 448: ¿Cual Aeropuerto?

• September 7, 2023
• Tagged as: A380, ancillary fees, bankruptcy, China Southern, Corendon, Cuba, Delta Air Lines, El Al, elite status, Ethiopian Airlines, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Haneda, HND, jetblue, Lufthansa, Mexicana, Mexico, Mexico City, Monarch, Oneworld, PDX, Portland, Qantas, Qatar Airways, routes, Tokyo, Virgin Australia

Picking an airport in Mexico might be a bit more challenging later this year. Plus flying whales and more Tokyo.

• Podcast

DLD 442: Things, and the world, have moved on

• July 27, 2023
• Tagged as: A321XLR, A380, Airbus, Avios, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Global Airlines, Jordan, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers, Manila, MNL, points, Ryanair, ukraine, United Airlines

Dismissing idiocy of the past rather than owning up to mistakes is an interesting choice for an airline startup trying to avoid being seen as a scam. Think it’ll work?

• Podcast

DLD 439: But was it really a melt down??

• July 6, 2023
• Tagged as: 777 Partners, A380, Billy Bishop, Delta Air Lines, Flair, Global Airlines, Haneda, LaGuardia, LGA, preclearance, routes, slots, Toronto, transcon, TSA, United Airlines, YTZ

United’s operations are mostly back to normal at this point, but it took a while to get there. Fortunately, there were plenty of other things to keep us entertained while watching that mess unfold.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 432: You want fries with that

• May 11, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, Air Canada, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, awards, Bermuda, Bermudair, Breeze Airways, business class, Delta Air Lines, dining, Etihad, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, flyDubai, Frontier, Haneda, HND, JFK, LaGuardia, Mexico, New York City, Norse Atlantic, premium cabin, rewards, routes, Saudia, seating, seats, SLC, slots, Tahiti, Trip Report, United Airlines

Can fries be reasonably served as a side on board? And, quite frankly, why not tater tots instead??

• Podcast

DLD 423: Are you aware??

• March 9, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX 8, 787-9, A350, A350 XWB, A350-1000, A350-900, Air India, Allegris, Asiana, business class, China, Delta Air Lines, emissions, first class, Greater Bay Airlines, Hong Kong, hydrogen, Korean Airlines, lawsuit, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Group, Luxair, merger, Norse Atlantic, premium cabin, routes, union, Universal Hydrogen, Vistara

Hydrogen is flying, at least on one engine. And that’s way better for awareness than some of the other stuff we’ve seen lately.