Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for July 2018.

Delta Names Raleigh-Durham Their Next Focus City (Mini-Hub)

by Gary Leff

to all gates sign
Jul 28 2018

Austin’s airport is adding 37% more gates next year, and Delta is preparing to make it a focus city complete with SkyClub with outdoor deck.

Focus city status isn’t official for Austin yet, but as of Friday it is for Raleigh-Durham which serves the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, where Delta is already the largest airline (carrying one-third of passengers, with 10% connecting connecting traffic). Delta’s other focus cities are Cincinnati and Boston (of course Cincinnati used to be a hub).

Continue Reading »

Robert Mueller and Donald Trump, Jr Spotted Together – at Washington National Gate 35X

by Gary Leff

airport escalators going down
Jul 27 2018

They were both on American Airlines regional flights. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the son of the President, or if you have an unlimited scope and the full resources of the federal government at your disposal to investigate that President. Everyone is brought down to size at Gate 35X. Truly, it is the most humbling aviation experience in the country.

I’ve written before that the previous administration could have closed the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and just moved terrorism suspects to this gate.

Continue Reading »

Using Delta Miles for Family of Four Saver Business Class Availability to Asia

by Gary Leff

flight chart
Jul 27 2018

Delta sometimes makes decent business class award space available to Europe, generally when prices are at their lowest for paid tickets. Getting to Asia on Delta can be much harder without paying exorbitant mileage costs (e.g. 200,000-plus miles per person in each direction).

However Delta’s partners, especially their Chinese partners China Southern and China Eastern, offer good availability from West Coast gateways.

Continue Reading »

5 Things American Airlines Told Their Employees After Yesterday’s Earnings Call

by Gary Leff

delta and american plane tails
Jul 27 2018

After each quarterly earnings call American Airlines senior management holds a ‘State of the Airline’ town hall with employees, where employees can ask questions and get answers.

Some of those questions were about American’s decision to become less restrictive (allow full-sized carry on bags) with their basic economy fares, and the mechanics contract (an issue that never seems to get resolved). However there were several items of broader interest to customers or that offered new insights as well,

Continue Reading »

Delta Vassal Aeromexico Makes a Cheeky Ploy to Buy Back Its Loyalty Program

by Gary Leff

aeromexico plane
Jul 27 2018

Aeromexico which is in some sense a vassal of Delta these days doesn’t own their own frequent flyer program in its entirety. Aimia owns nearly 49%.

And following on Air Canada’s public offer to buy Aeroplan, Aeromexico came in with a lowball offer to buy back their stake in the Club Premier program. It was an offer that was already rejected, but included a kicker straight from the Air Canada playbook.

Continue Reading »