• Podcast

DLD 551: Shaking things up

• September 11, 2025
• Tagged as: 737 MAX 10, 787-9, AENA, Air France, Alaska Airlines, Austrian Airlines, awards, bankruptcy, Boeing, British Airways, Capital One, credit cards, Department of Transportation, DOT, Dreamliner, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Frontier, GoWild, HOP!, Horizon Air, Iceland, Icelandair, IFC, IFEC, in-flight connectivity, in-flight internet, inflight connectivity, inflight wifi, jetblue, KEF, Kuiper, LATAM, podcast, Qatar Airways, rewards, Ryanair, Singapore Air, Southwest Airlines, Spain, Spirit Airlines, Starlink, Tel Aviv, TLV, United Airlines, WestJet

Routes and partnerships slashed in some areas, while others focus on innovation. Plus Spanish airports fight back against Ryanair and lots more.

• Podcast

DLD 524: TO/GA

• March 6, 2025
• Tagged as: ACC, Accra, Africa, Air France, Airbus, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, ANA, Boeing, British Airways, Chicago, Delta Air Lines, dining, E175-E2, E195-E2, EasyJet, elite status, Embraer, Expedia, FedEx, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Frontier, jetblue, loyalty, Lufthansa, Manchester, Marrakech, MDW, MHT, MIdway, OTAs, Peach Airlines, Qatar Airways, RAK, regional jets, routes, Southwest Airlines

Another close call, and a lot to consider as new orders and new routes come online.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 522: Helo Hold

• February 20, 2025
• Tagged as: 777X, Airbus, Alaska Airlines, Avis, Contour Air, crash, DCA, Delta Air Lines, EAS, elite status, Emirates, Essential Air Service, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Hawaiian Airlines, hydrogen, Iberia, Qatar Airways, regulators, Riyadh Air, Southwest Airlines, Toronto, Trip Report, United Airlines, Washington DC, YYZ

Another rough week for aviation in many ways. And plenty of concerns about what lays ahead.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 519: Rankings and Rantings

• January 30, 2025
• Tagged as: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, earnings call, Qatar Airways, routes, Saudia, Trip Report, TSA, United Airlines

We’re back in the USA and ready for some news and rants this week. Some of them are even reasonable.

• 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 507: Lounge Life

• October 31, 2024
• Tagged as: Air Canada, AirBaltic, American Airlines, Boeing, business class, Dulles, first class, flyDubai, Greenland, IAD, Nepal, premium cabin, Premium Economy, Qatar Airways, SAS, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, strike, union

Doing our best to prove that there’s no such thing as a quiet airport lounge anymore, and part of the problem, too.

• Podcast

DLD 504: Reading the fine print

• October 10, 2024
• Tagged as: A321XLR, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air China, Australia, bankruptcy, Boeing, Cathay Pacific, Chase, China, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, FAA, Japan, Lebanon, lounge, lounges, Qatar Airways, regulators, Spirit Airlines, strike, United Airlines

Details matter, and a few of this week’s topics dig in to that fine print.

• Podcast

DLD 496: In search of cool carpet

• August 15, 2024
• Tagged as: A321XLR, A330-900, A330neo, Airbus, Australia, Avelo, bankruptcy, Breeze Airways, British Airways, business class, Canada, Canada Jetlines, Cathay Pacific, China, Frontier, Global Entry, Greenland, HVN, New Haven, PDX, Portland, premium cabin, Qatar Airways, QSuite

Gotta love that new terminal smell, right? PDX finally opened its new space, and we’ve got Ned Russell on to talk about it.

• Podcast

DLD 494: The Farnborough files

• August 1, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, A320neo, A330-900, A330neo, Airbus, American Airlines, ANA, Avelo, awards, Bilt Rewards, Boeing, Boom Supersonic, British Airways, credit cards, crystal suite, earnings call, engines, Farnborough, FIA2024, flyDubai, flying boat, Flynas, General Electric, GEnx, hydrogen, jetblue, KLM, Qatar Airways, QSuite, rewards, Southwest Airlines, Turkish Airlines, ZeroAvia

Perhaps major airshows are losing their impact on the industry a bit. But Farnborough still brought plenty of key news to the fore.

• Podcast

DLD 470: Out of service

• February 15, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, A321neo, American Airlines, Chicago, China, Copa Airlines, Cuba, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Frontier, Heathrow, Houston, IAH, India, IndiGo, Korean Airlines, LCCs, lounges, Lufthansa, MCO, Orlando, Philadelphia, PHL, points, Qatar Airways, Raleigh-Durham, RDU, regulators, SAS, slots, ULCC, United Airlines, wetlease

What’s the silliest reason you’ve ever heard of for planes to be removed from service? We might have a new top contender for that title.