Category Archives for Airlines.
Spirit Airlines has landed back in bankruptcy and is now facing securities fraud claims from investors who say the carrier overstated its turnaround prospects after emerging from its first restructuring. As usual in these cases, the only clear winners appear to be the lawyers gearing up to litigate the airline’s latest collapse.
Ryanair is killing its new $91-a-year “Prime” loyalty program after just eight months, blaming the shutdown on being “too generous” to 55,000 subscribers. The numbers tell a different story: weak demand, bad unit economics, and a bundle that undercut the ancillaries Ryanair depends on for profit.
A JetBlue flight attendant turned the Thanksgiving bathroom line into something unexpected: a flying gratitude wall made of passenger napkins. Travelers wrote what they were thankful for – family, survival, second chances – and the galley filled up with handwritten notes, echoing earlier “Words From A Window Seat”-style acts of in-flight kindness.
Aviation insiders say an airworthiness directive may soon require software updates across the Airbus A320 fleet after investigators linked a JetBlue incident—where the aircraft entered a sudden uncommanded descent—to a faulty ELAC computer. Any grounding is expected to be short and staggered, with airlines updating the systems plane-by-plane to avoid major disruption.
The head of the largest flight attendants union, Sara Nelson, says you should never press the flight attendant call button for a drink, and even tried to get the government to ban alcohol on planes which would reduce the amount of service her members would have to provide.
This is 100% wrong.
Delta has removed the second barcode from its printed boarding passes, a change agents often describe as ‘ink-saving’ but which Delta says also improves compatibility with airport scanners. Both explanations are true — the legacy 1-D code caused read errors, and dropping it also cuts print costs at scale.
An internal email shared with employees indicates that New Pacific Airlines—formerly Northern Pacific—has now shut down for good. After failed Anchorage–Asia ambitions, multiple rebrands, short-lived domestic service, and the collapse of affiliated Ravn Alaska, the long-struggling startup appears to have reached the end of the line.
Delta’s returning Los Angeles–Hong Kong route is showing unusually generous award space, with more than nine Delta One seats available on nearly every flight this summer from just 93,500 miles for Amex cardholders. It’s one of the best opportunities in years to redeem SkyMiles for long-haul business class to Asia.
JSX has secured approval to begin commercial service from Santa Monica Municipal Airport, a field the city has spent decades trying to restrict and is set to close entirely in 2028. The carrier will launch daily Las Vegas flights on December 19, operating under a newly issued city permit despite long-standing local opposition to scheduled air service.
A new Royal Air Maroc status-match offer lets travelers effectively buy into Oneworld status, unlocking business and even first class lounge access when flying airlines like American and Alaska. With matches available up to Emerald and valid through 2026, it’s one of the rare opportunities for those with status in another program to purchase alliance-wide lounge benefits outright with oneworld airlines.
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 »
