Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

Good Award Space On American Airlines Premium Cross Country And Hawaii Flights

by Gary Leff

Jan 09 2023

American Airlines miles are great for redeeming on partner airlines at great value, such as Japan Airlines to Asia and Iberia to Europe. However it can be tough to use AAdvantage miles to actually fly American, without paying a big premium in miles, especially if you want to fly up front. And most people want to use American’s miles to fly domestically.

Fortunately right now there’s surprisingly good award space in premium cabins between the West Coast and Hawaii, and on American’s premium flights between New York JFK and Los Angeles. It’s a great time to jump on these redemptions, even if you only think they might be useful, because American no longer charges a fee to cancel your award and redeposit the miles.

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Mexico Has Purchased An Airline, Will Turn It Over To The Military To Run

by Gary Leff

Jan 08 2023

Mexicana was one of the oldest airlines in the world when it went out of business in August 2010. The carrier had been flying to the U.S. since 1920, when it began operating Mexico City to Tuxpan to Tampico to Brownsville, Texas with a Ford Trimotor.

The carrier, partially-owned by the Mexican government, went into bankruptcy, and a great deal was revealed about how key executives used the business for tax fraud and money laundering.

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How Much Does It Cost An Airline To Produce A Frequent Flyer Mile?

by Gary Leff

Jan 07 2023

When laying out the reasons why American Airlines devaluing AAdvantage program could be bad for its business I noted financial disclosures they made to investors when raising debt backed by their loyalty program.

Taking their self-reported 52% operating margin for the program, I backed into what it cost for American Airlines to ‘produce’ a frequent flyer mile.

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The First Emirates A380 With Refreshed Seats Has Entered Service

by Gary Leff

Jan 06 2023

Emirates has completed the refresh of the first one of its Airbus A380s and is placing it into service today, January 6, as flight EK3 from Dubai to London Heathrow. The airline has a fleet of 120 A380s, though slightly more than half will receive the interior retrofit.

These planes are receiving 56 premium economy seats, as well a new color palette in business and first class.

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How Much Money Did Southwest Airlines Lose From Its Operational Meltdown

by Gary Leff

Jan 06 2023

The airline has described ‘millions’ of passengers effected, though the number is over a million and likely around two million. The costs to the airline are staggering, and they are now expecting to lose money for the fourth quarter of 2022 as a result of lost revenue (they didn’t earn ticket revenue for the flights they cancelled) and higher expenses (reimbursing and compensating passengers).

Just how big of a deal was this?

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Mexican Drug Cartel Shoots At Aeromexico Flight As Government Arrests Son Of El Chapo

by Gary Leff

Jan 05 2023

Aeromexico flight AM165 from Culiacán to Mexico City was cancelled after being shot at while taxiing out for departure. The Embraer E-190 (registration XA-ALW) had bullets penetrating the cabin, as passengers ducked.

El Chapo, leader of the Sinaloa cartel, has been imprisoned in the United States since 2019. His son, Ovidio Guzmán, was arrested in Culiacán, Sinaloa, early on Thursday. The cartel sought to break him out of custody before he could be removed from the province.

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