• 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
• Trip Reports

DLD 511: Gobbledy good times

• November 28, 2024
• Tagged as: Allegient Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Department of Transportation, dining, DOT, Federal Aviation Administration, Finnair, Frontier, Karachi, LCC, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers, routes, Russia, S7, Southwest Airlines, Trip Report, ULCC, United Airlines, WestJet

Sure, the U/LCCs are struggling right now, but they’re still planning for growth in 2025.

• Podcast

DLD 508: Worth a switch

• November 7, 2024
• Tagged as: Alaska Airlines, elite status, special guest, United Airlines

As Elite Status rules continue to shift, is there really any greener grass out there? With United’s latest changes announced we brought in Ed to get a fresh take.

• Podcast

DLD 505: Cream of the Crap or Cream of the Crop?

• October 17, 2024
• Tagged as: AI, Airbus, Alaska Airlines, artificial intelligence, Boeing, Brazil, Breeze Airways, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, Houston, IAH, routes, SAFs, United Airlines, WAF24, World Aviation Festival, ZipAir

An interesting CEO panel discussion at a trade show?!? It finally happened last week. Plus new routes and lots more.

• 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
• Trip Reports

DLD 503: Where’s the Widget?

• October 3, 2024
• Tagged as: Air France, American Airlines, AUS, Austin, Canada, Capital One, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, DFW, Frontier, lounges, Oneworld, Southwest Airlines, Starlink, Trip Report, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines

Dartboard or strategic planning? Either way, lots of new routes to discuss in this week’s news.

• Podcast

DLD 501: Star signs and labor challenges

• September 19, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX 10, 737 MAX 8, 737 MAX 8200, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Allegient Air, American Airlines, Boeing, IFC, IFEC, in-flight connectivity, in-flight internet, inflight connectivity, inflight wifi, Real ID, Rex, Riyadh Air, San Antonio, SAT, Southwest Airlines, SpaceX, Spirit Airlines, Starlink, strike, Sun Country, TSA, union, United Airlines, Virgin Australia, Volotea

One strike averted, another underway. And plenty of challenges remain for the aviation industry overall.

• 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 498: You’re Grounded!

• August 29, 2024
• Tagged as: 777X, A330neo, Abu Dhabi, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, Azul, Boeing, codeshare, Department of Justice, DOJ, Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, hotels, Malaysia Airlines, merger, MileagePlan, Mokulele Airlines, regulators, Russia, SmartSky, SpaceX, Starlink, United Airlines, Viasat, Vietnam, Virgin Australia

The 777X is back on the ground, while an IFC vendor goes under and a couple airlines have operational issued. But it isn’t all bad news…

• Podcast

DLD 490: The search for more fees

• July 4, 2024
• Tagged as: American Airlines, ancillary, ancillary fees, Breeze Airways, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, fees, Islip, ISP, JFK, JFK Airport, lounges, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Group, moving map, New York City, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines

Airlines love ancillary fees. But is there a point at which shifting charges out of the base fare will finally be too much?