Dec
16
2020
Would you like to sit in the Covid or non-Covid section, sir?
Airlines
Category Archives for Airlines.
Southwest Airlines Adds Two New Cities, Including (A Return To) Fresno
Dec
16
2020
Southwest has aggressively added destinations during the pandemic. Some, like Chicago O’Hare, because of a unique opportunity to gain access to an airport that was full prior to 2020. Others are leisure destinations where they’re seeking new revenue opportunities for planes that have nowhere to go.
Over the past couple of years Southwest growth has been constrained with the grounding of the MAX. They haven’t had the planes to add new destinations. Now they have a surplus of planes because they haven’t needed the frequencies they used to offer, especially on business routes between major cities. And with the end of ‘middle seat blocking’ on Southwest they have even less need to add incremental flights in those markets.
Just Joining American AAdvantage Now Gets Better Boarding Privileges
Dec
15
2020
American Airlines is making the AAdvantage program friendlier for new members, who are the people that are flying today. They’re introducing better boarding just for joining the program, after eliminating telephone booking fees for award redemptions for all members and eliminating mileage redeposit fees, too.
Frontier Airlines Promises New, Uncomfortable Seat Will Be Good For The Environment
Dec
15
2020
Frontier Airlines announced today that their 156 Airbus planes on order, which begin delivering in March, will receive Recaro’s slimline SL3710 seats. Slimline seats are known for passenger discomfort. They have less padding, and therefore take up less space. That lets airlines squeeze more passengers into the same amount of space. Frontier claims the sufferiing, though, is good for you because it’s good for the planet. Is that true?
Passenger Reportledy Died Of Covid-19 On A Flight Yesterday
Dec
15
2020
A passenger with Covid-19 died yesterday on a domestic flight, as reported by a fellow passenger on twitter. The passenger is LAX-based, and the other flight I’ve found to or from LAX which diverted yesterday was UA591 from Orlando. United confirms it diverted for medical reasons.
Last Day To Convert Southwest Airlines Travel Credits To Points
Dec
15
2020
When Southwest Airlines extended elite status back in April, and made it easier this year to earn both status and a Companion Pass, they extended the validity of travel vouchers.
There’s been discussion for months about being able to convert travel funds into Rapid Rewards points and that functionality is finally available. The rate is reasonable but I won’t be taking them up on the offer. Here’s why.
Six Men Charged In Federal Court With Stealing Millions Of American AAdvantage Miles
Dec
14
2020
Six men were charged with “stealing millions of airline frequent flier miles” in the Northern District of Texas. While the Department of Justice doesn’t say this, the court in which charges are being brought includes Dallas and almost certainly means they’re prosecuting a theft of American AAdvantage miles.
The lead defendant was arrested in Poland in May and extradited, arriving in FBI custody on Friday after weekend travel from Warsaw to Dallas. I’ve been involved in several criminal trials involving miles and points as an expert witness. This is the first one I’m aware of that involved an international arrest and extradition.
10 Reasons Airlines Are Lying About The Need For Subsidies In Order To Distribute Vaccines
Dec
14
2020
Right now there’s a stronger likelihood of a second round of airline subsidies from the federal government than at any time in the past several months. It appears that $17 billion more for airlines is included in the next scaled-down federal stimulus bill, and legislative leaders in the House and Senate plan to bundle it with must-pass funding measures to keep the government running and avoid a shut down. Now legislators have a Friday deadline.
Airlines have deployed the argument that the vaccine means they need subsidies because they’ll have to scale up operations to be prepared for cargo shipments, and even though they’d be paid to ship cargo somehow they are unable to prepare for that on their own. This is, to put it bluntly, a lie. Here are 10 reasons why.
American Airlines Will Take Delivery Of 21 New Planes In 10 Weeks, Add Seats To Planes In 2021
Dec
14
2020
At the end of last week American Airlines President Robert Isom held a town hall meeting with pilots, a recording of which has been reviewed by View From The Wing. Isom outlined the airline’s aircraft fleet plans for 2021.
OMG Why Did No Airline Think Of This Before? “The Safety Dance”
Dec
13
2020
Airlines have gone to some real lengths in recent years to make their safety videos memorable and sometimes funny. Often they’re just trying too hard. Some carriers like American Airlines have stayed away from this entirely with their new safety video, released by mistake.
Despite all of the effort and money that’s gone into safety videos, it’s apparently never occurred to anyone with enough influence to use Men Without Hats The Safety Dance – until now. How is this possible?
