Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

Delta’s “Basic Business Class” Is Coming In 2026 — A Worse Product, But Not A New Lower Fare

first class seats
Jan 24 2026

Delta says it is introducing a new “Basic Business” fare that strips out things that used to come standard in the premium cabin. What’s widely misunderstood is that this isn’t a new cheaper business class price point. It’s new restrictions on the lowest business fares so Delta can sell last minute seats to price-sensitive travelers without offering the same deal to customers who would have paid more money. Passengers buying the least expensive business class tickets will have an inferior experience compared to what they get today.

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Wheelchair Requests Are Becoming An Airport Hack — On Some Long-Haul Flights, 30% Of Passengers Use Them To Board First

Jan 23 2026

Wheelchair assistance is increasingly being used as an airport “hack”: it can mean skipping long walks, cutting security lines, and boarding early—often with an entire family in tow. On some long-haul flights, as many as 30% of passengers now request wheelchairs, and the result is predictable: real disabled travelers get crowded out while “Jetbridge Jesus” miracles happen the moment boarding starts.

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Must-Pass Shutdown Funding Bill Sneaks In Airline Policy Changes — “Two Pilots Forever” And A DOT Review To Chill Joint Ventures

Jan 23 2026

A must-pass funding package to avoid a January 30 government shutdown is carrying quiet airline policy moves that will matter far more than the headlines about FAA dollars.

The major pilot union is celebrating “two fully rested pilots at all times,” but the language is really a spending restriction that prevents the FAA from studying new technologies that might improve safety, and separate language orders the Department of Transportation to revisit decades-old international aviation policy that has worked to open market access and foster competition.

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United Announced A Chicago “Line In The Sand” Meant To Prevent New Flights — American Just Added Routes Anyway

Jan 22 2026

United’s CEO Scott Kirby went out of his way on the earnings call to “draw a line in the sand” in Chicago—promising United will add flights to match any American expansion at O’Hare. The point of saying it publicly wasn’t bravado. It was deterrence: to signal to American (and to analysts) that new Chicago capacity will be met in kind, making growth less attractive for both airlines.

American’s response came fast anyway, announcing new routes from O’Hare—turning Kirby’s game-theory warning into an immediate test of whether this becomes a real fare war or a negotiation by headline.

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United Adding More Widebody Planes Than Any US Airline Since 1988 — Here Is Who Did More

Jan 22 2026

United made a big claim in its latest earnings update: in 2026 it expects to take delivery of roughly 20 Boeing 787s—more widebody aircraft in a single year than any U.S. carrier has taken since 1988. The “since 1988” reference isn’t random; it points to one standout widebody delivery spree that still hasn’t been surpassed.

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Ex-Flight Attendant Posed As A Pilot For 4 Years — Scoring Hundreds Of Free Flights On American, United, Hawaiian

Jan 21 2026

A Canadian ex–Air Canada flight attendant allegedly spent four years posing as an airline pilot—using a forged employee ID to grab hundreds of free flights on American, United, and Hawaiian, and even asking for cockpit jumpseat access. Indicted in Hawaii after two 2024 Hawaiian flights, he was arrested in Panama, extradited to the U.S., and is now jailed in Honolulu awaiting trial on two wire-fraud counts.

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