• Podcast

DLD 555: The Earl of Global Services

• October 9, 2025
• Tagged as: 777X, American Airlines, Antitrust Immunity, bankruptcy, British Airways, codeshare, Delta Air Lines, elite status, Global Services, ITA Airlines, joint venture, Lufthansa, Play, Porter Air, regional jets, routes, special guest, Spirit Airlines, TATL, Transatlantic, United Airlines

A major milestone crossed, so what’s next? Plus one airline calls it quits and another is making major moves in that direction, while others are expanding and refreshing.

• 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
• Trip Reports

DLD 518: Barra or Bust!

• January 23, 2025
• Tagged as: Barra, BlueOrigin, Condor, Frontier, Glasgow, ITA Airlines, Italia Trasporto Aereo, JejuAir, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Group, Scotland, SpaceX, Trip Report

A quick hop to the beach runway at Barra was part of this week’s adventure, plus Frontier, rockets, and more.

• 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 483: Change is coming

• May 16, 2024
• Tagged as: Alaska Airlines, artificial intelligence, Avelo, CRJ550, Delta Air Lines, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, DOT, ITA Airlines, jetblue, LaGuardia, LGA, Lufthansa Group, Phoenix, regulators, routes, San Juan, SJU, slots, Trip Report, United Airlines, Zoom Airlines

Is change good? Is it bad? Should you get a refund? Or fly the new routes? Come join us for these conversations and more…

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 477: Playing the fool

• April 4, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, Air Malta, Basic Economy, Boeing, Breeze Airways, Brexit, British Airways, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, E175, Embraer, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Gatwick, hydrogen, Ireland, ITA Airlines, Japan, Knock, LAS, Las Vegas, LGW, London, Lufthansa Group, NDC, Norse Atlantic, overhead bins, routes, Scranton, Southwind, United Airlines, United Kingdom, Washington DC

We’re skipping April Fool’s Day in favor of some real news, including at least one story we were convinced should’ve been a joke.

• Podcast

DLD 468: More MAX than you can shake a stick at

• February 1, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 MAX 10, 737 MAX 7, 737 MAX 8, 737 MAX 9, A321neo, Air Europa, American Airlines, Breeze Airways, Dulles, Haneda, Hawaiian Airlines, IAD, IAG, ITA Airlines, lawsuit, Lufthansa Group, merger, Ryanair, slots, Tulsa, United Airlines

The MAX continues to dominate news cycles, but there’s lots more out there also worth talking about.

• Podcast

DLD 458: Dubai on our mind

• November 16, 2023
• Tagged as: 777-8, 777-9, 777X, 787, 787-10, 787-8, 787-9, A321neo, A350, AirBaltic, Airbus, Boeing, DAS23, Dreamliner, Dubai Air Show, E195-E2, Embraer, Emirates, flyDubai, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Haneda, HND, ITA Airlines, Janet, jetblue, LCY, London City, loyalty, Mexicana, podcast, Qatar Airways, rewards, United Airlines

With the 2023 Dubai Air Show underway there are plenty of new orders to talk about. And lots of other news, too.

• 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 427: Scrounging around

• April 6, 2023
• Tagged as: ancillary, ancillary fees, Breeze Airways, business class, buy-on-board, China, China Eastern, China Southern, Colombia, dining, EasyJet, economy class, Eva, Finnair, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Hello Kitty, hotels, ITA Airlines, Lufthansa, Mexico, Paris, Really Cool Airlines, Red Way

Fares are up, and revenues are strong in many markets. But that doesn’t mean everyone is doing great, financially or otherwise.