‘Tis the season for all sorts of things, including some interesting operational messes.
DLD 558: Diversions and Distractions
- October 30, 2025
- Tagged as: A321XLR, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, ARJ21, Billy Bishop, C909, co-brand, cobrand, COMAC, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, diversion, jetblue, Korean Airlines, O'Hare, ORD, PDX, Portland, Riyadh, Riyadh Air, routes, SEA, Seattle, Toronto, Transborder, Trip Report, United Airlines
The adventure of getting there is part of the fun, right? Plus lots of new routes and a new terminal on the horizon.
DLD 554: Hearing the Blues
- October 2, 2025
- Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 MAX 8, 787, 787-10, 787-9, American Airlines, Azul, Bluetooth, Boeing, Brazil, Breeze Airways, Canada, Cathay Pacific, E195-E2, Embraer, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Guam, GUM, LATAM, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Group, Norwegian, O'Hare, ORD, SEA, Seattle, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines
Big orders, big plans, and potentially big troubles across the industry, depending on who you are and how your fleet is structured.
DLD 485: Getting there eventually
- May 30, 2024
- Tagged as: A321neo, A380, Airbus, American Airlines, ancillary, ancillary fees, Breeze Airways, British Airways, codeshare, CRJ550, DCA, Delta Air Lines, EWR, flyadeal, jetblue, lounges, Lufthansa, Newark, O'Hare, ORD, Providence, PVD, Saudia, singapore airlines, slots, Spirit Airlines, TATL, Transatlantic, Trip Report, Washington DC
Maybe taking five flights rather than just two, and adding an extra overnight en route, was a mistake.
Why do executives have so much trouble making tough decisions? Or are they just blind to the challenges?
DLD 420: Widget watch, with Ed
- February 16, 2023
- Tagged as: AI, American Airlines, artificial intelligence, Capital One, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, Department of Justice, DOJ, elite status, Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, jetblue, medallion, merger, O'Hare, ORD, planespotting, podcast, routes, special guest, Spirit Airlines, Trip Report, union, Venture X
We’re joined this week by special guest Ed Pizza of Miles to Go and Pizza In Motion to talk about changing allegiances and the rest of the latest news.
DLD 349: It’s a conspiracy!
- September 2, 2021
- Tagged as: 787, 787-10, 787-9, A321neo, A380, Air New Zealand, alitalia, awards, cash & points, Chicago, cruise, Delta Air Lines, frequent flier, frequent flyer, ITA Airlines, O'Hare, ORD, podcast, points, Qantas, rewards, singapore, Singapore Air, singapore airlines, South African Airways, United Airlines
Kicking off the show with a bad conspiracy theory about hurricanes probably isn’t our strongest play, but here we are. It gets better pretty quickly.
DLD 325: Flip-flopping along
- January 28, 2021
- Tagged as: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant, Angola, British Airways, Canada, Chengdu, China, COVID-19, elite status, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Ghana, KLM, LCC, LCCs, Norwegian, O'Hare, ORD, podcast, Porter Air, routes, TAAG, TATL, Transatlantic, transcon, United Airlines, WestJet
The air travel industry is seeing policy changes at an incredible pace, often flipflopping between opposing positions with minimal warning. We’re just trying to keep up…
DLD 225: Drones! Aliens?! Or nothing at all???
- December 27, 2018
- Tagged as: Air Italy, Alaska, ANA, biometrics, CBP, Chicago, Delta Air Lines, DHS, diversion, ExpressJet, LAX, Los Angeles, Milan, MXP, ORD, San Francisco, SFO, TSA, union, United Airlines
Gatwick drones attacked, and we never really learned their demands. An airline sale, a diversion and more better awards, too!
Will O’Hare shift its role for American Airlines, losing its global gateway status? Also, dedicated crew for airline executives and lots of news about Alitalia, which is still alive for some reason. Oh, and vomit fraud. C’mon in for another great show!








