• Podcast

DLD 514: Hub Plays: Alaska’s Long, Southwest’s Short

• December 19, 2024
• Tagged as: AAdvantage, Air Canada, AirTags, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, credit card, credit cards, drones, elite status, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, first class, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, hubs, IFC, IFEC, in-flight connectivity, in-flight internet, inflight connectivity, inflight wifi, jetblue, PDX, premium cabin, Premium Economy, Qatar Airways, routes, SEA, Seattle, Southwest Airlines, Spain, United Airlines

Two very interesting and very different sets of route announcements caught our attention this week. Plus premium seats and lots more.

• Podcast

DLD 512: Branching out

• December 5, 2024
• Tagged as: A350, A350 XWB, A350-900, A380, Aer Lingus, Alaska Airlines, Asiana, Atlanta, British Airways, Bus, charter, Delta Air Lines, DFA, Eastern Airlines, EasyJet, elite status, Emirates, Etihad, ETOPS, Europe, Eva, first class, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Frontier, Heathrow, Korea, Korean Air, LHR, merger, Norse Atlantic, Orly, Paris, premium cabin, regulators, slots, Spirit Airlines, T'way, United Kingdom, Virgin Atlantic, visas

It was Thanksgiving week in the US, so we shifted our gaze to Europe and the Middle East, with plenty of news being made.

• Podcast

DLD 508: Worth a switch

• November 7, 2024
• Tagged as: Alaska Airlines, elite status, special guest, United Airlines

As Elite Status rules continue to shift, is there really any greener grass out there? With United’s latest changes announced we brought in Ed to get a fresh take.

• Podcast

DLD 499: Ramble on

• September 5, 2024
• Tagged as: A321neo, A321XLR, A350, Air China, Air India, Alaska Airlines, Bilt Rewards, Boom Supersonic, C919, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta Air Lines, Department of Transportation, DOT, elite status, Frontier, Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, Ireland, ITA Airlines, Japan, jetblue, JFK Airport, KLM, Lufthansa Group, Malaysia Airlines, merger, Mint, New York City, Norse Atlantic, pilot shortage, Rapid Rewards, regulators, Russia, SAS, SkyTeam, Southwest Airlines, Star Alliance, TAP Air Portugal, TATL, Transatlantic, United Airlines, Vistara, XB-1

Another week, with plenty of random thoughts from the guys…

• Podcast

DLD 478: Deep fried and delicious

• April 11, 2024
• Tagged as: A330neo, A380, Air India, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, DEN, Denver, elite status, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Hainan Airlines, jetblue, lawsuit, loyalty, Mexicana, New York City, OAK, Oakland, points, San Francisco, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines

Join us on another jaunt through the juicy world of aviation gossip, airline route news, and loyalty relaunches.

• Podcast

DLD 472: Bags and buses and out of business

• February 29, 2024
• Tagged as: Aeromexico, Air Canada, American Airlines, Avelo, Breeze Airways, Bus, Delta Air Lines, elite status, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Guam, GUM, Haneda, HND, IFC, IFEC, in-flight connectivity, in-flight internet, inflight connectivity, inflight wifi, JFK, JFK Airport, joint venture, Landline, Lynx, payments, points, Qantas, routes, Spirit Airlines, Tel Aviv, TLV, Tokyo, Toronto, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, Viasat, wifi, YYZ

More baggage talk, plus buses, and an airline is out of business.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 464: Got Status?

• January 4, 2024
• Tagged as: AirBaltic, Australia, Boeing, China, credit cards, elite status, Flying Blue, FlyingBlue, HiSky, India, Japan, livery, Norse Atlantic, Norwegian, routes, SAS, slots, South African Airways, Southwest Airlines, train, Trip Report, Turkish Airlines, UAE, Wideroe

As 2023 comes to a close we’re talking about status earned, how we value it, and what the year ahead holds.

• Podcast

DLD 462: Cool connections and an unlikely airspace plan

• December 14, 2023
• Tagged as: A330, Airbus, airports, American Airlines, Barcelona, Beluga, Cancun, cargo, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, elite status, engines, Goose Bay, Greenland, hyatt, Japan, Las Vegas, NATS, Nuuk, San Francisco, SEA, Seattle, South Africa, Taipei, TPE, Trip Report, United Airlines, United Kingdom

Maybe it’ll work, but there are some half-baked plans being bandied about. And we’re not a fan of that unless they’re our half-baked plans.

• 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
• 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.