Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

Qantas Reveals New First Class Suites With Separate Seat And Bed, Individual Temperature Controls

by Gary Leff

May 02 2022

With just six seats, first class will be arranged in two rows of 3 seats (1-1-1). The suite will feature a separate seat and bed (as we’ve seen from Etihad and Singapore on the Airbus A380, and Lufthansa had at one point on its Boeing 747s). With an aisle between seats there’s no divider to bring down to share space with a traveling partner, however.

The new Qantas first class seat will feature a 32 inch HD screen, a wardrobe to store clothes after you’ve changed into pajamas and a mirror on the door. The seat will be controlled via iPad, and most innovative will be individual temperature and humidity controls.

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Spirit Airlines Rejects JetBlue Offer, Proceeds With Sale To Frontier

by Gary Leff

A small number of free miles in your choice of programs
May 02 2022

Spirit Airlines announced that their board has unanimously rejected JetBlue’s offer to pay more for the airline than Frontier, with whom the ultra low cost carrier had entered into a sale agreement.

JetBlue’s offer involved paying more but undermining Spirit’s low cost advantage and walking away from their more profitable business model. Instead JetBlue wanted Spirit for its planes, pilots, gates and slots.

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Why Flight Attendants Haven’t Gotten Paid For Boarding. Most Crew Should Hate Their Union For It.

by Gary Leff

The truth is that other flight attendants are compensated based on flight length, and that’s meant to cover work done during boarding. And this how how union contracts have been designed – it’s what flight attendant representatives wanted. But there’s another element that most flight attendants don’t realize, and it’s how their own union is sticking it to them.

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Qantas Will Announce Non-Stop New York And London Flights, New First Class And Other Cabins

by Gary Leff

sydney opera house
May 01 2022

Qantas is poised to announce its largest aircraft order ever, including the ultra long range Airbus A350-1000 which will fly non-stop to both London and New York. The planes will be outfit with four classes of service, including new seats. That means first class will survive. And Qantas will have one of the most generous economy products in the world.

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United Flight Attendants Union Gaslights Delta’s Cabin Crew Pay Increase

by Gary Leff

Apr 30 2022

Delta’s decision to pay flight attendants for the time boarding aircraft sent shockwaves through the industry. Traditionally flight attendant union-bargained contracts pay flight attendants a higher wage for the flight itself, and don’t calculate time spent boarding. Thus, many flight attendants feel they ‘don’t get paid’ for that time.

I’ve heard from cabin crew at several airlines envious of their counterparts at Delta, who are seeing this new pay on top of raises that started right before the pandemic, on top of special profit sharing bonuses announced earlier this year, and on top of raises that go into effect May 1.

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Spirit, Possibly Being Acquired By JetBlue, Showcases New Lie Flat Seat

by Gary Leff

Apr 29 2022

With JetBlue looking to acquire Spirit Airlines, trumping Frontier’s offer, many observers have pointed out how different their business model, product, and cultures are – wondering if his acquisition could make any sense. Others disagree, suggesting that JetBlue buying Spirit ‘for parts’ – planes, gates, pilots, – will allow for more rapid expansion.

But are the products really that different? JetBlue has Mint business class, but in the premium category Spirit has more than just the Big Front Seat.

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With A Shortage Of Pilots, Should We Revisit The 1500 Hour Rule That’s Choking Off Supply?

by Gary Leff

Apr 29 2022

We want pilots who know what they’re doing, but the 1500 hour rule itself doesn’t weed out those who don’t. European regulators and Canadian regulators don’t see a need for 1500 flight hours on top of licensing and type-rating. We want to focus on measures that actually improve safety, and so pilot flight hour requirements can probably be greatly improved. Instead we’ve got rules that primarily make it tough to become a pilot, increasing the bargaining strength of those already in the profession.

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