Category Archives for Airlines.
I hear all the time that food on an airplane doesn’t matter. You’re not up in the air long enough. You won’t get a great meal like you can on the ground anyway, and “nobody decides who to fly because of the food.” That isn’t true – differentiated products win.
I wouldn’t order a coffee on my next flight if I were this pilot – or ask for a flight attendant’s help blocking off the lavatory.
Following Thursday’s American Airlines second quarter earnings call, corporate officers gathered employees for a ‘State of the Airline’ presentation. This was recorded and shared through the company’s internal network, and a copy was reviewed by View From The Wing.
I wrote that a revolt against the contract was brewing for both legitimate gripes and misunderstandings.
Ultimately 71% of voting flight attendants rejected the contract, with 92 of those eligible casting ballots.
Now we see how paid seat assignments are working out for the airline, which they’re selling now for flights starting January 27, 2026. They don’t seem to have figured out the revenue-maximizing formula yet, or they don’t have the technology fine-tuned yet to adapt seat fees by market easily.
When she called American to book the infant fare (“INF”) she was quoted $386. She expected that, so she paid up. However she was also charged $3,674 for an additional paid ticket for herself at the same time. Oops!
Delta Air Lines flight 2809 from Minneapolis to San Francisco had to go around and attempt to land a second time due to low visibility in fog, and was delayed about 9 minutes, but was otherwise like any other flight – until it reached the gate.
American Airlines flight 3023 from Denver to Miami was evacuated after aborting takeoff when a landing gear looked to have collapsed and caught fire as it accelerated down the runway around 2:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Flight attendants have grueling multi-day trips, and they can’t wait for their bags at baggage claim between flights or they’d risk delaying other flights (and passengers!). On the other hand, if nothing happens to change their trip sequence they could check their bag to that night’s destination! The airline might lose their bags… just like with a passenger.
American has been spending a lot of money wooing managed business travel and agencies. They’ve rebuilt a sales team and customer service and they’re paying out much bigger commissions and incentives. Sales expenses are up about $80 million for the quarter (commissions and GDS fees). But they aren’t bringing in more revenue.
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 »
