Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

This Strange American Airlines Route is Just 69 Miles and Doesn’t Go Near a Hub

flight map
Oct 28 2018

One American Airlines route stands out to be as an aberration: Meridian, Mississippi to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. That’s a flight of just 69 miles, and it’s operated once daily in both directions with a Bombardier CRJ-200 50 seat regional jet.

To get a quick understanding for why this route exists — and persists under current management — Glazer’s law helps do some of the lifting.

Continue Reading »

What Routes is American Airlines Considering?

british airways plane
Oct 28 2018

After American’s third quarter earnings call late in the week, executives gathered for their internal ‘State of the Airline’ comments to employees along with question and answer session. Vice President – Planning Vasu Raja answered questions about the airline’s route plans in a “network speed round.”

Here are key takeaways:

Continue Reading »

Why Airlines Charge Big Change Fees (It’s Why Airline Tickets Are Different From Sports Tickets)

gary leff selfie
Oct 28 2018

In August United Airlines President Scott Kirby explains all of their fees and charges as being what you’d expect from a concert, implying it’s not reasonable for people to be frustrated with how airlines charge for things like seats.

In March American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said his airline’s tickets are flexible compared to buying a seat at a sporting event.

Continue Reading »

American Is Losing Money Flying Passengers. Without One Accounting Rule Things Would Look Even Worse

american plane docked
Oct 28 2018

American Airlines is losing money on the part of their business which involves flying people. It turns out that American’s passenger operation would look even worse if it hadn’t been for an accounting rules change (ASC 606) that the airline had to adopt effective January 1, 2018.

The accounting rules change of course may be the best possible way to reflect the costs associated with issuing miles. It also has the effect of moving a quarter billion dollars of passenger revenue out of past years and into the present, making the present look better than it otherwise would have as a result.

Continue Reading »

JetBlue Founder’s New Airline Launches in 2020 and Won’t Have a Phone Number

jetblue plane
Oct 27 2018

Back in June word leaked that JetBlue founder Dave Neeleman is launching a new airline in the U.S. He has an order for 60 Airbus A220s with options for 60 more.

He says there will no be option to call customer service and no way to check in with an agent at the airport. It’s app-only, but contends the name won’t matter, he “could call this airline crap and people will love it.”

Continue Reading »

6 Things I Learned From American Airlines Today

airline cabin
Oct 25 2018

American’s stock hit new lows yesterday in advance of today’s earnings call. That left the airline in a tough position, needing to explain how they’d cut costs which are rising at a faster rate than revenues.

I listen to the earnings call with a different perspective than most people covering them. I’m interested in news about the loyalty program, about the product, and about how changes to the business are likely to impact the way customers interact with the airline — as well as what we can expect from the overall direction in the industry.

As a result some of the six things that stuck out for me are likely to be different than key takeaways elsewhere, and are things you may otherwise miss.

Continue Reading »