Category Archives for Airlines.
After Delta Air Lines announced it was going all Keyser Söze on its elite frequent flyers, and acting like the master manipulator who leaves no loose ends, even if it means betraying those who trust him, there’s a clear opening for competing airlines.
American Airlines launched service between New York JFK and Delhi in November 2021. They ran into diplomatic roadblocks getting permission to fly over Russia, leading to more circuitous routings which meant that the flight would occasionally have to divert and crew would time out.
Then, once Russia invaded Ukraine, U.S. airlines weren’t permitted to overfly Russia at all. That’s made service to India tougher for United, too.
Delta Air Lines paid 13 passengers on an overbooked Boston to Rome flight up to $4,000 each – plus covered their hotel rooms for the night – to get them to give up their seats.
The flight had already boarded when an agent came on board still looking for volunteers, and she ran an auction. You can hear her raising the price to $3,500 begging someone to “take one for the team” and “go shopping.”
Don’t talk during the safety demonstration, expect flight attendants to help with your bags, or poke flight attendants.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom was named the world’s best airline CEO. That may be debatable, but the airline’s board has awarded him a rich compensation package potentially worth over $26 million.
It’s not April Fool’s or Backwards Day, yet reportedly ultra low cost carrier Frontier Airlines is considering adding first class to its planes – and Sun Country is considering an airport lounge in Minneapolis, at a time when Delta with its Minneapolis hub is kicking passengers out of lounges.
There’s a shot across the bow of aviation – an intellectual case is being made for airlines to revert to the status of public utilities. Sitaraman’s upcoming book can be seen as a starting gun for arguments over regulating the airline industry. The arguments for this used to be unserious, by folks like Robert Kuttner. That’s changing, and with a direct line to people in power.
People who care about not making air travel worse need to wake up to the threat, though there is also much we should be doing that would make air travel better.
Should the first class overhead bins be for first class passengers only? And if so, should a passenger get kicked off of the flight when they disagree – even if they move their bag back to coach?
American and United are in many ways rising. Delta isn’t as good as it once was, though that could change. Ultimately brand follows the underlying reality, even if imperfectly and with a lag.
Delta is not a good enough airline to keep doubling down on the path of low value miles, expecting more from the consumer, and seeing the consumer continue to respond.
The Emirates Airbus A380 is special. First class features suites with doors, though there are better first class suites. Emirates has an amazing food and beverage program, often including $500 wines and even more expensive cognacs. And it has two on board showers. There’s also the business class bar.
But it’s an expensive product, both spending cash and spending miles. You’ll have to spend a lot more miles than most programs require for comparable travel. Except there’s a route where they give the seats away for less than the wine you can drink on board.
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 »
