Category Archives for Airlines.
Last week I wrote that airline rules don’t seem to apply to the rich and powerful after Mike McCaul, the fifth wealthiest member of Congress who is in a tight reelection race, flew Washington Dulles to Austin without a mask over his face.
He said it fell off when he was asleep. But new video has surfaced that calls that into question, and suggests the Congressman likely should be banned by United Airlines.
It seemed notable that American Airlines brought former Northwest Airlines CEO Doug Steenland onto its board. He led Northwest through bankruptcy and into a merger with Delta. American itself is the most vulnerable of the major U.S. airlines.
I had forgotten just what Steenland’s tenure at Northwest was really like though.
It’s a complicated question whether travel restrictions are good policy in a pandemic. The World Health Organization was strongly against them. Many countries adopted them. They seem to have helped in some places and not others.
I’m going to express an unpopular view, and perhaps draw significant hate in the comments. But I don’t think a nationwide transportation mandate imposed by the CDC is the best way to approach mask compliance. And I’m an advocate of masks and have been since long before the CDC found religion on this issue. Here’s why.
Norwegian Air, the low cost carrier, was struggling before the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s already been bailed out by the government, but that’s not enough. Now they’re in talks with the government over nationalization.
So now, with global travel depressed, seems like the perfect time to start another Norwegian airline, of course!
Yesterday American Airlines added former Northwest Airlines CEO Doug Steenland to its board. Steenland led Northwest through its bankrutpcy and merger with Delta.
This seems significant.
A couple of weeks ago China threatened to shoot down civilian aircraft. They claimed US spy planes were disguising themselves as commercial flights, and that put all commercial flights in jeopardy.
The Philippines reports that the U.S. continues to spy on China disguising its aircraft as civilian.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker pressed the case for another bailout today, saying without more government aid they’ll eliminate service to some small cities. And that’s true, but misleading.
Avatar Airlines is the gift that keeps on giving. Barry Michaels has been trying to start an airline for about 30 years. Now he’s floating the idea that 22% of a business plan nobody wants (and that’s even garnered prison time) will interest British Airways to gift him 26 Boeing 747s.
How is it that spending on airlines, supported by both Republicans and Democrats, is what’s under consideration and nothing else. How did we get here?
Another airline bailout isn’t just something being snuck into a $2.2 trillion piece of legislation, but is the only standalone action Congress might take at this point. That may be shocking, but it also makes a lot of sense.
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 »
