Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

American Airlines Is Nearly Done Updating Its Boeing 737s Into ‘Torquemada Configuration’

by Gary Leff

Dec 27 2020

While other airlines minimize their spending to conserve cash during the pandemic, American has been accelerating their capital spending to convert planes more quickly to this new standard. This is the wrong product at the wrong time: exactly the moment where there are fewer customers (so planes with more seats are less needed) and customers value space between them most (so reducing space between customers makes no sense).

American is nearly done. They have now sent 200 Boeing 737-800s in for densification. That’s two-thirds of the 737-800 fleet. But it’s far more of the active fleet.

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Here’s What Happened To The Class Action Refund Lawsuit Against American Airlines

by Gary Leff

Dec 25 2020

Several lawsuits were filed over airlines’ resistance to providing customers with refunds when either cancelling or substantially changing itineraries early in the Covid-19 pandemic, as required by U.S. law. A class action lawsuit against American Airlines has been resolved in a draw.

In my experience American Airlines was one of the few ‘good guys’ with refunds. The places to focus on are the airlines and online travel agencies which really did act badly against their customers – like United, JetBlue, Air Canada, and online travel agency sites.

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Revealed: American Airlines Plans To Take Gov’t Money, Won’t Bring Cabin Crew Back To Work

by Gary Leff

Dec 24 2020

Government payroll support (subsidies) require airlines to pay their furloughed workers, and not to furlough any more, through March 31. Internal American Airlines documents show that most workers won’t be back to work before that meaning most will never be back to work.

The airline does not even plan for two thirds of flight attendants to work during the Payroll Support Program period, and internal documents show how they may reduce the amount of government money that have to pay out to employees – keeping more for themselves.

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This Conservative Activist Is About To Be Banned By United Airlines (He’s Already Banned By American)

by Gary Leff

Dec 23 2020

After refusing to wear a mask on board and streaming advice online that others follow suit, self-styled black conservative activist David Harris, Jr. showed up at the airport for his return flight to find he was banned from American Airlines.

Now he’s back, flying United Airlines and again refusing to wear a mask. He was traveling with Fox News and The Bachelor alum Jillian Anderson, and together they took to the sky on United to promote President Trump and mask refuseniks.

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Qatar Airways Planning New First Class For Boeing 777-9

by Gary Leff

first class airline seats
Dec 23 2020

Anything that’s projected out to 2028 isn’t just far from certain, but more in the realm of entirely speculative, at this point. However any first class that does materialize will have to be better than QSuites, and indeed better than whatever QSuites are 8 years in the future. Combine that with Qatar’s outstanding service and catering it has the potential to be a fantastic product.

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Oops: Trump Now Opposes The Covid Relief Bill, But Airlines Have Already Recalled Workers

by Gary Leff

Dec 23 2020

U.S. airlines recalled furloughed workers based on the passage of Covid relief legislation which sends them $15 billion. But the President hasn’t signed the bill yet and posted to twitter that he now opposes it. He may not actually veto, but what happens if he does – could airlines be on the hook to pay employees, even without the government subsidies that led them to promise to do so?

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