As governors around the country flirt with the idea of luring Delta’s headquarters out of Georgia now that lawmakers there are refusing to give them fuel tax subsidies they’ve lobbied for — and some are even offering to back the truck up as it were (Connecticut’s governor says they “are committed to doing whatever necessary to help make this relocation a reality.”) — consider that Delta doesn’t just devalue SkyMiles they renege on deals with governors, too.
United Airlines has 14 more gates than American at Chicago O’Hare. American is opening 5 new gates that they paid for, reducing the gap to 9. But the new O’Hare expansion plan re-opens the gap and returns United to a 14 gate advantage.
American isn’t losing gates. They are complaining that United is gaining gates. But American is refusing to sign a new lease under these terms.
The aviation world was apoplectic this week at the suggestion that President Trump’s personal pilot John Dunkin could be named to head the FAA. It may have just been payback for the FAA eliminating navigation waypoints named for Trump in 2015. However Trump has been on record for awhile saying the agency should be headed by a pilot.
In this week’s “Tell Me Why” podcast for American Airlines employees, airline CFO Derek Kerr explains why they do not hedge fuel.
I offer a slightly different formulation of Kerr’s answer and it evinces surprising humility and self awareness.
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.
There are high wind warnings in the DC area. Gusts at National airport have been as high as 60 miles per hour.
Passengers are throwing up.
The flight attendant who runs the ‘Flight Service Official’ Facebook page made up of American Airlines employees says the group’s number one question is whether they’ll “ever see profit sharing numbers competitive with other airlines like Delta and Southwest.”
American should offer to match Delta on pay and profit sharing on equal terms with Delta. American’s unions will never agree to this of course. They want a less efficient work force that makes more.
Delta and United rescinded their group discount offer for NRA members over the weekend. United is based in Chicago and we expect gun violence there I guess. But Delta has taken a lot of heat for their position and tried to walk it back claiming they weren’t really taking a position.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there in the ongoing story of Georgia politicians blasting Delta for their move.
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.
At an American Airlines Crew News Q&A session between employees and management one flight attendant raised the problem that customers don’t know how to access the inflight video American is providing, “Our customers are having a problem finding the landing page for our inflight internet… they’re having a hard time finding the videos. I probably get 5, 6 people asking on a flight.”
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 »
