Category Archives for Airlines.
American Airlines presented its contract proposal to flight attendants and the terms basically match watch Delta gets, according to the union. But they aren’t happy.
United Airlines CEO claims the entire U.S. airline industry is overstaffed by 10%. But airlines haven’t been getting more efficient, and they’ve lacked the staff to manage their operations, especially as air traffic control melts down, bad weather rolls in, and carriers like United lose control of their schedule.
Is this a clue about the direction it’s changing? I’m told that the effort is internally called Project Orion, that nondisclosure agreements were signed (and so we’re hearing fewer leaks than normal), and that the way status is earned will be changing – but details are not yet fully clear.
Gate agents are asked to do more with less than ever before. During the pandemic, American moved to single agent boarding where narrowbody aircraft that are less than 80% full get just one gate agent rather than two. They have to make all of the announcements, deal with standbys and upgrades, check boarding passes at the gate, and also deal with gate checking bags. They’re supposed to do passenger breath checks, too?
And they’re going to get called in if the flight pushes back even one minute late. No time to notice if a passenger is high on meth!
Generally speaking involuntary denied boarding rules apply not just to when an airline cannot accommodate you on board, but also to when they cannot accommodate you in your ticketed class of service. You may wish to take a different flight rather than travel coach (even if it isn’t right away) or you might prefer to take your original flight and reach your destination faster. Either way, compensation is due.
The federal government argued that JetBlue is an important competitor to keep independent, in part for its low prices and for the passenger demand that it stimulates, when they wanted to break up the carrier’s partnership with American Airlines. JetBlue was the antidote to major airlines, and wanted to keep them from being co-opted.
Now, JetBlue says in court, the government shouldn’t be allowed to switch positions as it seeks to prevent them from acquiring Spirit Airlines.
Vietnam Airlines is near a deal to purchase 50 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. This is reported to be ‘worth’ $10 billion, but that’s a game we play. Airlines do not pay list prices. The journalists reporting on the sale know this. Particulars aside, a good rule of thumb is to assume the real price is half of what’s reported.
The three year old airline with a hub at Enugu operates four Embraer ERJ-145, albeit the long range variant of these 50 seat regional jets. The aircraft has a published range of 1,550 nautical miles.
Miss Universe Canada 2023 Madison Kvaltin was hired by Emirates as a flight attendant. As part of her onboarding she was asked to complete a health history, and it included the question ‘have you ever struggled with an eating disorder?’
Details of the new United Airlines lie flat business class seat for narrowbody Airbus A321XLR and a subset of the airline’s new Boeing 737-10 aircraft have been revealed.
Here, there’s a herringbone arrangement with passengers seated at a 49 degree angle, away from the window. And to pack in as many seats as possible, the patented seat creates an area that is shared between passengers – one passenger gets shoulder space, while the passenger beside them gets lower arm space – all in the name of cabin density.
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 »
