Pilots at JetBlue rejected an agreement with the airline that would have allowed them to move forward with their new American Airllines partnership. Ironically it’s probably JetBlue pilots who benefit most from this deal.
Airlines
Category Archives for Airlines.
JetBlue Introduces Bag Ban For Basic Economy Passengers, Diminishes Value Of Elite Status
JetBlue will ban basic economy customers from bringing full-sized carry on bags on board, and will finally eliminate change fees on other ticket types, which their competitors did last summer.
Elites used to get waived change fees, but the airline says they aren’t contemplating any new elite benefits in exchange – what they do for members is already enough.
The New Way Alaska Airlines Is Making First Class Upgrades Available
Alaska is no longer blocking seats in first class, or in regular coach. And they’ve taken baby steps at re-opening first class confirmable upgrade (“U” bucket) inventory. Here’s the current upgrade philosophy at Alaska Airlines.
How Can We Prevent Future Government Bailouts Of The Airline Industry?
The federal government committed $65 billion in grants and subsidized loans to airlines in 2020, and is now considering a third bailout. While the funds were marketed as protecting jobs, only about one eighth of the second bailout actually went to pay workers who had been furloughed (and airlines that never furloughed anyone received billions).
After bailouts during the Great Recession there was a national conversation recognizing that bailed out companies weren’t really private enterprises and the need to make sure bailouts never had to happen again.
Airplanes Around Dallas Are Causing It To Snow
Lavatory ice (‘blue juice’) isn’t the only snow that planes cause to descend from the sky. When aircraft descend through below-freezing temperatures and high relative humidity (saturated air), they can create snow. Planes aren’t causing snowstorms – just a localized event – but under the right conditions they do cause snow to form and fall to the ground.
This requires water vapor that’s below freezing but that doesn’t form ice crystals because it lacks the particulates on which to freeze.
Why Travel May Not Recover At All This Year (And Tests And Masks Could Remain A Way Of Life)
Confirmed cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from Covid-19 are declining. Vaccine supplies in the U.S. are growing. Though more infectious strains of the virus are spreading, we may be entering a lull in the virus due to seasonality. Summer was a peak in the U.S., but in areas where it gets hot and people head indoors, and the U.S. population hadn’t been exposed to the virus before so there wasn’t much background immunity.
We should be on the cusp of beating the pandemic, with enough vaccines for everyone in the country (there should even be approved this fall for tweens and teens). It’s time to get excited about a return to normal life, right? Not so fast.
American’s Strategic Decision To Fly To Israel On The Sabbath
American Airlines is launching Miami – Tel Aviv in June. This is a route I’ve been expecting ever since they announced the end of their frequent flyer partnership with El Al in 2014.
The new service will operate three days a week with a Boeing 777-200. And they’ve chosen to fly to operate one of those flights on Shabat.
American Airlines Working To Sell Debt Backed By The AAdvantage Frequent Flyer Program
American Airlines is considering selling debt to the public backed by its frequent flyer program as soon as March. You’ll be able to own a piece of the income flow from AAdvantage. They’d do this in order to refinance their government CARES Act loan against which they’d pledged the loyalty program.
President’s Team Ditches Idea Of Covid-19 Testing For Domestic Flights
Two weeks ago the Centers for Disease Control started floating the idea of requiring a negative Covid-19 test to fly domestically. Since then the airline industry went into high gear in opposition.
It turns out to be a bad idea, but not for the reasons most people think. The President’s team now opposes it.
Does The End Of Middle Seat Blocking Mean Passengers Don’t Value Covid Safety?
Does airlines moving away from blocked middle seats mean people don’t really value Covid safety? If we did, it would be profitable for airlines to continue limiting capacity.
Different airlines take different approaches to seat blocking, and each seems rational from their own perspective. Delta may be benefiting now from it since they’re the only one left really doing it. However as air travel recovers the cost of maintaining blocked middle seats rises, so it won’t last, because customers don’t seem to value it enough to cover this cost.