Boeing announced the sale today of two 737 MAX aircraft. That’s a big deal because the MAX, in service only since fall 2018, has been grounded since March 2019 – and because airlines generally are conserving cash rather than spending money to buy planes.
The announcement, though, is most notable for the verbal jujitsu Boeing uses as they give the plane a new name: 737-8, which is either not meant to be confused – or meant to be confused – with the older 737-800.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
The plane, with registration N908JE, is owned by JEGE, Inc. It flew to Georgia in July 11, 2017 from West Palm Beach and has sat there ever since. It’s got Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines and is an ex-TWA bird originally delivered July 7, 1969.
According to an aviation consultant who toured the plane in March on behalf of a potential buyer, here’s what the interior is like.
A 24 year old man crashed his car through a perimeter gate at the Portland airport on Sunday. His wife and two children were in the vehicle with him. He told police they were being chased by trucks, and wound up on the airport grounds as an evasive maneuver.
Then the man took off, with one of his kids in tow, and drove underneath the wing of a taxiing commercial flight. There’s video of the arrest.
Amazon Air says there “is no threat to our associates and Amazon Air operations have not been disrupted” by the live missile.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
LifeMiles is selling miles in their Star Alliance program for about 1.2 cents apiece. That’s a great deal, but associated airline Avianca is in bankruptcy. Is it safe to take advantage of the offer?
Former Spirit Airlines CEO is a JetBlue board member and naturally thinks more of that sweet, sweet taxpayer cash ought to flow to airlines. He lays out what he calls misconceptions about government aid to airlines as he makes the case for the second government bailout of the industry this year.
Baldanza’s piece is a breath of fresh air though because it honestly talks about government subsidies as more than just an unemployment program. He takes seriously government support as an airline bailout, ensuring airlines are providing capacity to the economy, and doesn’t offer the fiction that it’s only about supporting the workers.
Now we have serious arguments worth answering.
Ethiopian Airlines ran a repatriation flight this weekend from Houston to Lagos, Nigeria. There were more people who showed up at the airport than seats. The $1500 one-way flight had a waiting list, and numerous people were looking to get on.
After boarding local Nigerian officials identified no shows and empty seats and started to auction those off, reportedly pocketing an extra $250 apiece for themselves. But it took six hours to get the seats sold at the higher price, especially since the delay meant some of the passengers started getting off the plane – more seats for the officials to sell at a markup.
A brawl broke out at the Embassy Suites Atlanta Galleria after a dispute between a guest and a front desk associate. Other guests in the lobby naturally caught it on video… rather than helping to restrain the combatants.
While the argument that precipitated the fight wasn’t recorded, we can see that the hotel front desk agent is wearing a mask at the end– and the guest is not.
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 »
