Category Archives for Airlines.
Is it wrong to hope that the airline’s rehabilitation plan includes retrofitting existing long haul aircraft with a first class cabin? That’s probably more of a political move (to appease minor royal relatives and generals) than a business one, but I’ve genuinely valued access to their excess inventory through miles and points over the last two decades.
United Airlines flight UA328 from Denver to Honolulu had just taken off when the Boeing 777’s right hand engine inlet separated.
Parts from the engine fell down in a neighborhood around 17 miles west of Denver around Broomfield, Colorado. There were reports of a bang and smoke.
American and JetBlue announced new flights and are now codesharing out of New York and Boston. But there’s more to the story than has been reported, based on internal documents reviewed by View From The Wing.
Here are details on which routes are open for codesharing, some restrictions involved, and what mileage-earning is possible so far – as well as customer service plans for itineraries involving flights on both airlines.
This announcement is incomplete from the perspective of the customer and should be viewed as capturing some momentum rather than risking a setback after JetBlue’s pilots pushed back on the deal.
Ultimately though this deal should make American Airlines more relevant in New York, which is good for competition – creating a more formidable opponent of Delta (JFK and LaGuardia) and United (Newark).
American Airlines is once again the biggest airline in the world by seats flown, retaking the title from Delta. The four largest airlines in the world by seats being flown right now are all U.S. carriers. The Chinese entrants though have all grown substantially week-over-week.
Twenty six employees of Thai Airways are accused of faking their own deaths to collect a death benefit, but still going to work and continuing to collect a paycheck.
In an update from the head of the American Airlines flight attendants union, crewmembers were briefed on the union’s priorities, reflected in their discussions with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
This includes a third airline bailout, vaccine priority, and a “a comprehensive ‘No-Fly List’ to further address threatening and abusive behavior on the airplane”
JetBlue flight attendant Kalina Collier reported on social media that she was being held hostage inside of Jamaica hotel. She had arrived on the island on January 28, and was supposed to be on a flight back February 1. First she had to take a Covid-19 test, which came back positive.
Collier took a second test, which came back negative, but a PCR test sent her to quarantine where she took to social media claiming she was kidnapped and held hostage. She’s been fired – and JetBlue’s CEO has even had to apologize to the government of Jamaica.
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.
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.
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 »
