Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

New All Business Class Airline BeOnd Plans To Serve 60-80 Destinations From A Hub… In The Maldives?

by Gary Leff on February 25, 2023

Feb 25 2023

New all business class airline BeOnd plans to launch with a hub in Male, capital of the Maldives. If there’s a luxury resort destination attracting a clientele that might spring for such a service, the Maldives is on the short list. But the business model of flying 68 premium seats on board A321neos to 60 – 80 destinations seems.. insane?

They plan to launch with the neo but ultimately fly A321XLRs to reach Europe and Australia. And they claim they’re going to be subsidized by the government of the Maldives, to which I have to wonder.. why?

After My First-Ever Upgrade On United Airlines, I Was Hooked – And Did Crazy Things To Stay Up Front

by Gary Leff on February 23, 2023

Feb 23 2023

I flew what seemed to me like a lot growing up. My parents were divorced and lived on different coasts, and I went back-and-forth. And living in New York I naturally found myself in Florida over winters as well. (My very first flight memory is a drive to the airport for a flight to Florida, probably when I was three.)

But I always flew coach, and I remember thinking to myself as boarded a widebody flight once that I would always travel in back. I’d never be wealthy enough to sit up front, and even if I was why would I waste my money that way? I had no idea what it cost, but it just seemed so… extravagant to be more comfortable for a few hours.

Southwest Airlines Pilots Walk Out On Company Rally – Again

by Gary Leff on February 22, 2023

Feb 22 2023

There’s no question that Southwest’s once-vaunted labor relations are frayed with their pilots at present. The airline didn’t furlough anyone during the pandemic, while American furloughed nearly 20,000 including pilots. But memories are short. It seems pilots will be walking out at every rally until there’s a new contract.

Flight Attendant Demands To Know Why Passenger Needs The Bathroom, Says Her Answer Is Harassment

by Gary Leff on February 22, 2023

Feb 22 2023

Right on the heels of that spicy flight attendant telling people they shouldn’t use the lavatory when they first board a plane, a JetBlue flight attendant confronts a passenger demanding to know why they could possibly need to use the lavatory since they’d spent a three hour delay in the terminal. And the crewmember even went so far as to claim airplane toilets don’t flush while the plane is on the ground.

United Airlines Change Means They Can Ban Customers Who Complain Too Much About Delays

by Gary Leff on February 21, 2023

Feb 21 2023

United Airlines has added language to its Contract of Carriage to say that they will not honor mistake fares, but that if you book one and incur non-refundable costs as a result they will reimburse those costs.

The airline also now says that booking flights likely to be delayed, and then complaining about the delays for compensation, is grounds to be banned from the MileagePlus frequent flyer program.

How American Airlines Decides Which Flights To Delay And Cancel During Bad Weather

by Gary Leff on February 21, 2023

Feb 21 2023

During a meeting with pilots last week, American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour reviewed the carrier’s recent performance from the holidays and February storms, noting that “[Dallas – Forth Worth airport] does not deal with ice that well.” DFW is known colloquially as ‘Doesn’t Function Wet.’

Kendall Lock, American’s Vice President for Airline Operations Technology, reviewed how the new HEAT system works to choose which flights to delay in order to end up cancelling fewer trips.

Air Travel Is Roaring Back Everywhere – So Why Not Between The U.S. And China?

by Gary Leff on February 21, 2023

Feb 21 2023

This month the number of non-stop commercial flights between the U.S. and China totals 48. That’s not per day, across all airlines. That’s for the entire month, according to schedule data from Cirium Diio Mi.

USELESS: Delta Now Charges Over 500,000 SkyMiles One Way For Some Economy Travel

by Gary Leff on February 20, 2023

Feb 20 2023

If you’ve wanted to get value out of SkyMiles you’ve needed to (1) usually fly coach, and (2) luck out with one of their ‘flash sales’ on domestic routes and travel to the Caribbean.

Even coach travel, though, is no longer reasonable even when it’s seats that are likely to go unsold in coach. They’ve started charging over 500,000 miles one way for some economy partner awards to Asia.

United’s New Family Seating Policy Helps Customers, Hurts Competitors, And Curries Political Favor

by Gary Leff on February 20, 2023

Feb 20 2023

United’s seat map tool seeks out available adjacent seats during the booking process. They’ll use this to make more adjacent seats available, even in more costly coach seats, when children under 12 are part of a booking. A full rollout of the capability will happen by next month.

The airline will also allow free flight change without fare difference when adjacent seats aren’t available prior to travel. Their new policy applies even on basic economy fares.

Spicy Flight Attendant Shares Why Not To Use The Lavatory When You First Board A Plane

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2023

Feb 19 2023

‘Spicy’ flight attendant Cierra Mistt is back, offer more dubious tips. This time it’s about using the bathroom on the plane when you first get onto the aircraft. She thinks it’s a bad idea for two reasons. You’re getting in the way of flight attendants preparing for departure, and because if you’re in the lavatory you’ll mess up the passenger count.

Airlines

New All Business Class Airline BeOnd Plans To Serve 60-80 Destinations From A Hub… In The Maldives?

After My First-Ever Upgrade On United Airlines, I Was Hooked – And Did Crazy Things To Stay Up Front

Southwest Airlines Pilots Walk Out On Company Rally – Again

Flight Attendant Demands To Know Why Passenger Needs The Bathroom, Says Her Answer Is Harassment

United Airlines Change Means They Can Ban Customers Who Complain Too Much About Delays

How American Airlines Decides Which Flights To Delay And Cancel During Bad Weather

Air Travel Is Roaring Back Everywhere – So Why Not Between The U.S. And China?

USELESS: Delta Now Charges Over 500,000 SkyMiles One Way For Some Economy Travel

United’s New Family Seating Policy Helps Customers, Hurts Competitors, And Curries Political Favor

Spicy Flight Attendant Shares Why Not To Use The Lavatory When You First Board A Plane

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About Gary Leff

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