Category Archives for Airlines.
US F-15 fighter jets intercepted a Mahan Air Airbus A310 carrying passengers from Tehran to Beirut while the aircraft was in Syrian airspace. Iran’s state news agency says that one of the jets came close enough to Mahan’s flight 1152 that it had to take evasive action, changing altitude abruptly and injuring passengers.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker opened the call by thanking “the entire America West Airlines team.” Oops. The airline is often criticized for being America West operating under the American Airlines brand, and that doesn’t help. Parker took over America West days before 9/11, got a government bailout, went on to acquire US Airways and then merge it into the larger American with legacy US Airways executives at the helm.
Following that miscue, which he later said CIO Maya Leibman pointed out to him, he offered that “Black Lives Matter” before getting into quarter’s results and the airline’s plans for dealing with and emerging from the pandemic. 13 things – aside from the actual financial results – stood out to me that help to understand where the airline is going.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian has taken Covid-19 tests several times. The airline is offering testing for all of their employees and everyone is expected to do it. They’re even offering at-home test kits for employees in Texas and Florida. The airline is now up to 120 passengers they’ve banned for refusing to wear face masks on board.
They’re actively promoting police reform and celebrate passage of legislation in Minnesota, and they’re committed to racial equality and justice – though notably unlike American Airlines CEO leading off their earnings call declaring “black lives matter” that’s not part of Bastian’s memo.
When the travel recovery comes, CEO Scott Kirby says “the recovery is going to be quick.”
American Airlines has suspended curbside check-in at all of its airports worldwide, except for two: Maui and Miami. This change went into effect on Tuesday.
The airline acknowledges it as a cost-saving measure.
The American Airlines General Manager for Cleveland airport has been fired and video shows why. He was caught on tape using his access credentials to bypass security and board a flight. He’s “also accused of having someone bypass security to bring him a charger for a laptop.”
Alaska Airlines has formally signed its agreement to join oneworld, and expects to become an alliance member by end of year. While they’ve been talking about joining for two years the plan to do so was only announced in February meaning they’ll be delivering on the promise in under a year rather than the standard expection of 18 months.
Net net joining oneworld should be good for Alaska, it remains to be seen whether it’ll be good for Mileage Plan members.
According to an internal memo the airline is onto the tricks customers are using to pretend to comply with the mask requirement and they’ve got procedures for that. Two year olds will now have to wear masks. And perhaps most significantly, there’s no longer a medical or disability exception to the mask requirement – anyone who cannot wear a mask (or remove their mask themselves) is simply not permitted to fly.
This morning United Airlines announced two new ways they’re upping the ante on masks.
So surprising absolutely no one, American Airlines after close of business announced two new ways they’re upping the ante on masks.
Qatar has the best business class product in the world in its ‘QSuites’ — revolutionary suites with doors and movable partitions that allow two and even four passengers to travel together in their own space. Right now there’s strong availability on routes with QSuites especially as we look out to the end of the schedule – March through June 2021 – for four passengers from most of the U.S. cities they serve.
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 »
