Category Archives for Airlines.
For several years American Airlines has said that if they could get their operation running well, everything else would fall into place. But they’ve been running well in 2023 and they aren’t making money. There’s something wrong with the American Airlines business plan.
Europe’s parliament wants to ban airlines from charging for carry on bags. This would benefit large national airlines at the expense of discounters and drive up price, just like the push in France to outright ban the low prices that carriers like Ryanair and easyJet charge.
Aer Lingus is an oddball airline. Geographically Ireland is well-placed for connections between the U.S. and Europe, in addition to serving a major tourist destination. They’re owned by the same company as British Airways and Iberia. Yet they partner with United Airlines. And that partnership creates arbitrage opportunities, for as long as it lasts.
Southwest Airlines lets passengers pick their own seats once they’re on board the aircraft. The earlier you board, the better choice of seats you have.
And Southwest allows passengers with disabilities to preboard. This is largely on the honor system, and as we know most people lack honor.
Cirium’s Diio Mi shows both scheduled flights and actual performance. Their data between October 7 and October 19 is interesting for Tel Aviv flying, with most airlines suspending operations.
El Al, which normally operates 22% of flights in and out of Tel Aviv, has completed 97% of its schedule since terrorist attacks began.
The government’s oil company won’t provide fuel to the government’s airline unless they pay up front and they have limited funds to pay with.
Air Canada has sued award search website Seats.Aero in Delaware court for pulling award availability from its website. They claim (1) trademark infringement for use of its marks, and (2) violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for accessing its systems without authorization.
There may be a real problem for Air Canada here, but their legal claims appear weak – and certainly bad from a public policy standpoint. They have deeper pockets, though, and sometimes that’s enough to prevail.
We’ve seen belligerent or drunk passengers try to open the door of a commercial aircraft while inflight. And unless the plane is at sufficiently low altitude, or a door’s seal fails, it will almost always be pressurized such that this is impossible.
What I don’t think I’ve seen before is an flight that takes off with a door that’s still open!
They’re in a bit of a pickle because they don’t have the financial strength and performance to absorb higher labor costs, and may be tempted to squeeze elsewhere. But this constrains revenue growth potential, and makes for an even bigger problem. As a high cost airline they also need to be a high revenue airline, which means offering a better product not just a reliable domestic schedule.
Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, shared a photo of himself chairing a management meeting. Shirtless. While getting a massage.
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 »
