• Podcast

DLD 581: A Premium Pair

• April 9, 2026
• Tagged as: Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, Amazon Leo, ancillary fees, Basic Economy, business class, Delta Air Lines, IFC, IFEC, in-flight connectivity, in-flight internet, inflight connectivity, inflight wifi, Iran, Italy, jetblue, Korean Air, Kuiper, NOTAMs, podcast, premium cabin, Premium Economy, Premium Plus, Ryanair, San Francisco, SFO, SkyWest, Starlink, subscription, TrueBlue, United Airlines

Chatting up changes for a pair of premium cabins, plus points subscriptions, capacity shifts, and more fallout from the Iran war.

• Podcast

DLD 565: A Power Play

• December 18, 2025
• Tagged as: 747-8i, Aer Lingus, AUS, Austin, Beond, Boom Supersonic, CSA Czech Air, Hawaiian Airlines, ITA Airlines, Italy, jetblue, lawsuit, Lufthansa, merger, New Zealand, Oneworld, Pegasus, PIT, Pittsburgh, Qantas, routes, Ryanair, SmartWings, Southwest Airlines

There are lots of ways to flex power in this industry. Two moderately incoherent ones cropped up this week.

• 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 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 442: Things, and the world, have moved on

• July 27, 2023
• Tagged as: A321XLR, A380, Airbus, Avios, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Global Airlines, Jordan, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers, Manila, MNL, points, Ryanair, ukraine, United Airlines

Dismissing idiocy of the past rather than owning up to mistakes is an interesting choice for an airline startup trying to avoid being seen as a scam. Think it’ll work?

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 435: An eye on the future

• June 1, 2023
• Tagged as: A321, Asiana, British Airways, business class, dining, Dublin, elite status, Embraer, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Florence, FLR, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Frontier, immigration, ITA, Italia Trasporto Aereo, lie-flat beds, Lufthansa Group, Poznan, premium cabin, Premium Economy, routes, Ryanair, Scoot, Trip Report, United Airlines

New planes, new routes, and new seats all bode well for the future. And some lines being dropped might not be so bad, either.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 433: Going native

• May 18, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX 10, A350-1000, Alaska Airlines, awards, Boeing, DOT, Hawaiian Airlines, lawsuit, lie-flat beds, livery, Philippines Airlines, premium cabin, rewards, Ryanair, suite, United Airlines

Two nice implementations of indigenous themes and art from airlines announced this week, and the impact for passengers is pretty good, too.

• Podcast

DLD 403: White tails, new deals, and new lines

• September 22, 2022
• Tagged as: 737MAX, American Airlines, AMS, Boeing, Boom Supersonic, California, China, codeshare, Delta Air Lines, dining, Doha, electric aircraft, Emirates, France, Heart, Horizon Air, London, meals, podcast, Ryanair, San Francisco, Schiphol, SFO, strike, Tailwind, union, United Airlines, ZipAir

Catching up on some reader mail, and also on big changes coming in airports served, meals on board, and vaguely boring partnerships.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 387: Regal in Riga

• June 9, 2022
• Tagged as: A321LR, AirBaltic, American Airlines, AMS, Amsterdam, Austria, Brexit, codeshare, Iceland, KLM, Niceair, podcast, Qatar Airways, Ryanair, SAS, Schiphol, Trip Report

Day two of a trip to Europe always brings along some jet lag challenges. But we’re trying our best.

• Podcast

DLD 367: A Farewell to R32s

• January 13, 2022
• Tagged as: 5G, 737 MAX, 737 MAX 7, 737 MAX 8200, 737MAX, Air India, Allegiant, Boeing, FRA, frankfurt, ITA Airlines, lawsuit, Lufthansa Group, PEOPLExpress, podcast, Ryanair, special guest

Slightly bizarre to have the lead topic for an aviation podcast to be a subway story, but we’ve never really been a normal group. Plus, we’ve got Jason on to talk about that and many other airplane-related bits.