United Airlines May Delay a Flight for You the Next Time You’re Running Late

by Gary Leff

united-plane
Mar 05 2019

United Airlines President Scott Kirby spoke this morning at the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation, & Industrials Conference and what’s notable is that instead of just talking about the airline’s route network — talking about earning their ‘natural share’ of revenue just by flying — he talked about earning customers’ business by delivering better service.

Kirby laid out several initiatives, entirely apart from investments in premium physical product like lounges and the addition of premium seats.

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One Airline Has Two Status Levels — But Benefits are Exactly the Same

by Gary Leff

spirit plane
Mar 04 2019

Spirit Airlines offers one of the best deals in travel, their ‘Big Front Seat’ which is often very modestly priced above the regular seat. It can be less than $40 more for a recliner style seat similar to what larger airlines offer in first class. They call it ‘Big Front Seat’ for a reason though since all you’re getting is the bigger seat up front, not other services like checked bags bundled in.

The carrier has done as much or more than anyone else to drive down the price of airfare across much of the U.S. and in the last year especially they’ve improved their operation – completing flights and performing on-time. They even joined PreCheck.

However they have one of the worst frequent flyer programs on the planet.

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Airline Pilot Used Fake License for 25 Years, Exposed After Taking ‘Strange Turns’ Over Swiss Alps

by Gary Leff

south african airways
Mar 03 2019

Star Alliance member and United Airlines partner South African Airways is promising to check the licenses of all of its pilots — and obtain copies from a government regulator instead of pilots just bringing in copies themselves — after discovering that one of their veteran long haul pilots had been using a forged license for 25 years.

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Passenger Charges Obese Seatmate $150 for Taking Up Too Much Space

by Gary Leff

Mar 03 2019

The passenger sharing the experience asked a flight attendant for help, but there were no empty seats on the flight. At this point the larger passenger is embarrassed, apologizing that he can’t just take a later flight. And the flight attendant “tells him that unless someone on the flight agrees to let him take up part of their seat, he’ll need to book another flight.”

That’s when our anti-hero proposes a Coasian bargain.

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