Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

JetBlue Doesn’t Know When To Quit, Raises Offer To Buy Spirit Airlines

by Gary Leff

jetblue
Jun 27 2022

When Frontier Airlines raised its offer to buy Spirit Airlines and gave the Spirit Airlines board cover to again endorse a merger between the two airlines (walking away from a much bigger offer from JetBlue that faces greater anti-trust scrutiny) it seemed like game over. The new offer even got the endorsement from two independent proxy advisory firms.

JetBlue isn’t done though. They’ve come out with a new, increased offer in advance of Thursday’s Spirit Airlines shareholders meeting, a last ditch effort.

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Airline Travel Is Brutal Now. Here’s How Much Airline CEOs Make Bringing It To You

by Gary Leff

Jun 26 2022

Airlines lost billions of dollars during the pandemic. But their leaders shed costs, in many cases by downsizing staff and brought in government subsidies (designed to keep them from shedding staff). It was a test of leadership, and CEOs were rewarded handsomely for the task.

It’s a wet hot American summer of flying through delays, cancellations, and long lines at airports. It may be a comfort to know that airline CEOs were well paid bringing it to us.

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First Airline Makes A Statement After Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

by Gary Leff

Jun 24 2022

Airlines scrupulously avoided speaking out on abortion after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked – despite taking positions on issues like voting reform, affirmative action, and gun control.

However now that the Court’s decision has been published, Alaska Airlines has become the first U.S. carrier to put out a statement.

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Did The APA Pilots Union Slander American Airlines On National TV?

by Gary Leff

young female pilot ready for takeoff
Jun 22 2022

American Airlines pilots union spokesman Dennjs Tajer went on CNBC Squawk Box and made a number of claims against the airline. Some of them are true – like American not keeping pilots current during the pandemic despite receiving government subsidies in order to do so – and then there’s this claim: that the federal government is advising employees not to book travel on American.

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The Safety Lesson From Viral Videos Of Yesterday’s Dramatic Landing Gear Collapse In Miami

by Gary Leff

Jun 22 2022

On Tuesday Dominican low cost carrier Red Air had a landing gear collapse on arrival in Miami. The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 operating flight L5-203 from Santo Domingo with 126 people on board “came to a stand still off the runway with a fire developing at the right hand wing, where a fuel spill occurred.” Three people were hospitalized from minor injuries during the evacuation.

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American To Flight Attendants: Let’s Test Not Taking Headphones From Passengers Before Landing

by Gary Leff

Jun 22 2022

One of the more common pet peeves among American Airlines business class passengers is the tendency for flight attendants to collect headphones an hour or more prior to arrival.

On an overnight flight this means that announcements about headphones are disturbing passengers who may still be trying to sleep. And it means that passengers can’t continue to use the headphones for the remainder of their flight.

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The Game Theory Behind Whether JetBlue Drops Its American Airlines Partnership

by Gary Leff

Jun 21 2022

Spirit’s board almost has to take JetBlue’s offer now unless Frontier comes up with more cash. The federal government then has to make a choice whether to sign off on it in order to kill the JetBlue-American Airlines Northeast Alliance. If they make that offer, JetBlue almost has to take it.

Frontier winds up with divested slots and gates in the Northeast anyway. JetBlue massively overpays. American loses its New York strategy. And the big winners wind up Delta and United, who face less competition for New York (and Boston).

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