• Podcast

DLD 550: Chapter 22 – A New Hope

• September 4, 2025
• Tagged as: 737 MAX 10, 777-9, 777X, 787-10, A320neo, A321neo, A321XLR, A350, Airbus, Alaska Airlines, Allegris, bankruptcy, Boeing, Brussels Airlines, BUR, Burbank, business class, Condor, Edelweiss, Finnair, Florida, jetblue, Korean Air, Lufthansa, premium cabin, Qantas, Saint Martin, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, SXM

Spirit Airlines is back in bankruptcy court, once again planning a restructuring in hopes of finding profitability. Plus more orders, 787 progress, and some aviation idiocy in Florida.

• 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
• Trip Reports

DLD 497: A hail of a problem

• August 22, 2024
• Tagged as: ADD, Addis Ababa, Air Greenland, Alaska Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Czech AIrlines, Delta Air Lines, Edelweiss, Ethiopian Airlines, Greenland, Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, HNL, Honolulu, JFK Airport, Korean Air, lounges, merger, SEA, Seattle, Southwest Airlines, WestJet

Airplanes and hail don’t mix, and a storm rendering 10% of an airline’s fleet unflyable is all sorts of bad.

• Podcast

DLD 495: Shifting borders in air world

• August 8, 2024
• Tagged as: A321LR, A321XLR, Air Europa, Air New Zealand, Air Traffic Control, Airbus, Allegient Air, amtrak, ANR, Antwerp, ATC, Australia, Azul, British Airways, emissions, EWR, IAG, International Airline Group, jetblue, Korean Air, lawsuit, Newark, PDX, Porter Air, Portland, Rex, routes, security, Spirit Airlines, TATL, Transatlantic, TUI

Fiorello would be happy, perhaps, to see Newark no longer managed by New York ATC. But will it help?

• Podcast

DLD 283: Death by a a thousand cuts

• March 12, 2020
• Tagged as: A380, bankruptcy, Brexit, China, COVID-19, EASA, FlyBE, IATA, Korean Air, London, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Group, podcast, Qantas, routes, slots, train

We’re trying to not just talk about the novel coronavirus all day, every day. But lately the challenges it creates have dominated the aviation industry. So we’re talking about it again. But some other stuff, too.

• Podcast

DLD 277: To Asia or not to Asia

• January 30, 2020
• Tagged as: 777X, Airbus, American Airlines, Beijing, Boeing, China, Condor, Daxing, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Airlines, Emotional Support Animals, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Korean Air, LOT, loyalty, PKX, routes, Skytra, South African Airways, Swiss

Lots of news about Asia this week, mostly in China but also beyond. Plus, pets on planes, fare derivatives and more.

• Podcast

DLD 251: Widget Wishes

• July 18, 2019
• Tagged as: All Nippon Airways, ANA, ATC, business class, Delta Air Lines, first class, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Iceland, Jeju, JejuAir, JinAir, Korean Air, loyalty, Pakistan, podcast, points, Trip Report, Upgrade, upgrades, WAB Air, WOW Air

A new neo takes flight and old routes reopen. Plus a fancy first class cabin and WOW might make a comeback after all.

• Podcast

DLD 246: Some Good Jeju

• June 6, 2019
• Tagged as: baseball, IATAAGM, IATAAGM19, Jeju, JejuAir, JinAir, Korea, Korean Air, PaxEx, Seoul, sports, Trip Report

Because sometimes flying to a small island in the Pacific for dinner is a very good idea. Plus, baseball!

• Podcast

DLD 242: Cutting profits, cutting losses

• May 9, 2019
• Tagged as: Aer Lingus, Aeroflot, awards, bankruptcy, Bombardier, business class, crash, Delta Air Lines, Etihad, EuroBiz, first class, Heathrow, Jet Airways, Korean Air, LHR, Moscow, premium cabin, rewards, SkyMiles, SSJ100, sukhoi

Cutting money-losing programs makes sense in many cases. Selling off a profitable segment of the business is less normal. But here we are.

• Podcast

DLD 241: Quiet anger

• May 2, 2019
• Tagged as: Allegient Air, ARJ, ARJ21, ARJ21-700, Asiana, Cape Town, COMAC, CPT, Embraer, Hong Kong Airlines, Korean Air, livery, Mexico, MItsubishi, MRJ, podcast, routes, SAS, strike, United Airlines

Can we talk about that new livery? Plus, more Mexico, SAS’s strike and who really owns Hong Kong Airlines these days?