Category Archives for Airlines.
Six months ago United Airlines was forced to ground its fleet of Airbus A321neo aircraft and cancel flights for the stupidest reason possible: 14 CFR § 25.791(a).
Everything is securities fraud? If DOJ sues to block the deal prior to close there will almost certainly be a shareholder lawsuit. Nonetheless, Hawaiian shares haven’t fallen in after-hours trading and remain well north of $17 per share, suggesting an expectation that the deal will still close despite this change in language.
Southwest Airlines is beginning redeye flights. They’re working on premium seating and assigned seats. They’ve been slow in most of their new efforts, and are being dragged into change faster by an activist investor. But some of what’s under consideration could do real damage to the Southwest brand and the multiples that their stock has been able to achieve – and alienate customers who are fanatically loyal.
Virgin Australia flight attendant, Dylan Macnish, has to be reinstated after an Australian employment tribunal ruled that his dismissal in February 2024 was unfair. Among other things, he admits to drinking alcohol within 8 hours of working a flight.
Airlines also need to explain how to close these bins, too – because when properly turned sideways and all these bags are inside, the bins get quite heavy! Pull the bin down and you get a bit of an assist in closing them. They’re designed for ease, but nobody knows it!
JetBlue is struggling and trying to execute a turnaround. They earned just $25 million in the second quarter. It should be their strongest quarter. They have underperformed for 15 years. Their CEO is gone, and they’ve been bringing back some veteran talent. Right now JetBlue is offering to match status of competitor airline customers and you can even keep the status by spending on their credit card.
Spirit Airlines isn’t going to be more successful by offering a less desirable product than American Airlines at a higher price.
The Spirit Airlines Big Front Seat used to be the best deal in travel at a modest upcharge. The idea that it’s worth more than double or even five times the base price is insane.
Alaska Airlines’ acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines has quietly received Department of Justice approval. After two extensions of the deadline for DOJ to file an anti-trust suit, that looked as though there were ongoing negotiations that would have led to a possible settlement – and DOJ filing an appearance in court in Honolulu in case there wasn’t – the government allowed the time to file to lapse.
The woman said to the crewmember that she “went to college with” Delta CEO Ed Bastian. The Delta flight attendant snapped back, “you should have kept in touch” then! I guess they weren’t that close. Attempted ‘don’t you know who I am’ failed.
Unless there’s another extension, we’ll learn today whether the Department of Justice signs off on an Alaska Airlines – Hawaiian Airlines merger, or files suit against it. The parties have been negotiating feverishly over conditions that Alaska would agree to in order to avoid government opposition. And there’s some suggestion now about what concessions may be demanded.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
