Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

Why Flight Attendants Are Walking Away: 9 Hard Truths Behind The Glamor

by Gary Leff

Nov 08 2023

Virgin Australia flight attendant Ashlee Jane recorded a TikTok explaining why she quit her job. The flight attendant lifestyle seems rewarding at first, but is actually grueling.

You can’t really switch airlines, since you will start out at the bottom (seniority rules). But it’s easy to see why people stick with it once flexibility start to improve a little and pay goes up a bit with seniority – but also easy to see why the job drains you – and why so many flight attendants burn out on the job without leaving it like Ashlee Jane does.

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British Airways Has Started Restricting Partners From Booking Award Tickets

by Gary Leff

Nov 08 2023

Over the past couple of weeks British Airways has seemed to limit partner access to awards. The space available to its own Executive Club members is much greater than that which is offered to those in partner frequent flyer programs. And this has taken both loyalty program members and executives in partner programs by surprise. Discussions are ongoing.

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American Airlines Reminds Flight Attendants Not To Provide Better Service To Coach Passengers

by Gary Leff

airline cabin
Nov 07 2023

American Airlines has sent a reminder to flight attendants not to go above and beyond for passengers in economy. The airline told cabin crew that they shouldn’t give economy passengers blankets, pillows, or treats from business class. American framed this as consistency, which is to say making sure that there are no occasional surprise and delight moments in the coach cabin.

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Lawsuit: American Airlines ‘Misplaced’ Two Kids In A ‘Jail Cell’ Without Food Or Water

by Gary Leff

Nov 07 2023

A mother is suing American Airlines for negligence after her two children, flying as unaccompanied minors, were stranded overnight in Charlotte without proper care, being placed in a cold, bare room without food or water. The lawsuit claims the airline failed to provide the promised amenities for the children, and although the airline refunded the unaccompanied minor fees, she is seeking damages for their alleged recklessness and failure to adhere to their own procedures.

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JetBlue’s Surprising Merger Play: Why Alaska Airlines Was Once the Target

by Gary Leff

alaska airlines
Nov 06 2023

JetBlue’s consideration of a merger with Alaska Airlines before proceeding with Spirit Airlines, as revealed in an anti-trust trial, raises questions about strategic fits and anti-trust issues, given their respective strongholds on the East and West coasts. The complexities of airline mergers, such as fleet commonality and culture integration, along with the current administration’s stance against mergers, make the JetBlue-Spirit deal contentious, despite potential benefits to competition and market growth.

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Wide Open JetBlue Business Class Award Space To Europe, Book With Credit Card Points (7+ Seats!)

by Gary Leff

Nov 06 2023

JetBlue’s award travel has been restricted, offering low value for their points and making transfers from credit card programs unattractive. However, the partnership with Qatar Airways now allows for point redemption for JetBlue flights, with a distance-based award chart and wide availability for transatlantic business class bookings.

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How American Airlines Pilots Took Down The Austin Focus City

by Gary Leff

Nov 05 2023

The airline is required under its pilot deal to have 85% of its regional flying in and out of hubs (defined as the legacy American Airlines hubs, plus airports where they operate 100 or more flights). Austin isn’t a 100-plus flight city. American runs a peak of 78 flights (low 50s on Saturdays, 60s on Tuesday and Wednesday). They don’t have the gate space for more than that, and even if they did that would likely mean more losses. So Austin regional flying to non-hub cities falls under the pilot contract 15% of total regional flying cap.

American isn’t allowed to build an operation which doesn’t support mainline pilot union jobs, and given passenger demand and gate limitations in Austin that means they aren’t allowed to build an Austin focus city as they’ve been doing.

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Why Airlines Make You Gate Check Bags When There’s Still Overhead Bin Space Free

by Gary Leff

overhead bin
Nov 04 2023

One of the most common complaints I see about airlines in social media, paired with photos, is overhead bins with plenty of space after a passenger is forced to check their carry-on bag because, the gate agent had said, ‘the bins were full’.

This is frustrating for customers, who aren’t just inconvenienced (separated from their belongings, they have to wait at baggage claim – and risk getting lost). It’s also perplexing. Why was the gate agent lying to us? The reason is actually simple.

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