AirAsia CEO Chooses To Fly Rival Singapore Airlines Instead Of His Own Carrier

by Gary Leff

Dec 08 2023

The experience on low cost carrier AirAsia is so bad their CEO flies Singapore Airlines? Tony Fernandes says the reason is because his flights were full, three in a row, and he couldn’t get a seat – and didn’t want to bump paying passengers. So he was humble bragging. Fernandes, who recently got a shirtless massage at a management meeting, was humble bragging about his airline’s load factors. No seat on @flyairasia for three flights so had to take @singaporeair. Hehehe View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) Airline executives flying competitors is common, and should be more common to understand their product. Then-American Airlines Executive Vice President Elise Eberwein flew United and filed a trip report discovering that seat back entertainment (which American was moving away from) really matters…

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Merger Mania: Will Alaska-Hawaiian Deal Skyrocket Fares?

by Gary Leff

car pulled over on side of road with dinosaur
Dec 07 2023

Now that Alaska Airlines has announced plans to acquire Hawaiian Airlines, there is significant speculation about what it will mean for airfares, with one study claiming a 38% increase for Hawaiian Airlines fares. That’s important to anti-trust discussions over whether the deal will be approved, but it’s not how airfares work. And traditional anti-trust analysis is probably the wrong way to think about what will happen to this merger.

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Overhead Bin Wars: Are You Guilty Of Carry-On Crimes?

by Gary Leff

Dec 07 2023

When you’re flying in the ‘back of the bus’ you don’t get a lot of person space. Airline coach seats are small. You get the space underneath the seat in front of you for your feet. And there are overhead bins.

Traditionally, you can bring a carry on bag on board and a personal item. That carry on goes in the overhead bin, and the personal item like purse or laptop bag goes by your feet. But these are social norms, not rules. Some passengers are going to put their personal item up in the bin, too. What do you think about that?

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Rush to Exit: Man In Middle Seat Climbs Over Aisle Passenger in Spirit Airlines Debacle

by Gary Leff

Dec 07 2023

Footage captured a Spirit Airlines passenger climbing over the man in the aisle after the plane landed and taxied to the gate. He didn’t want to wait to get off the plane, and the man between him and standing and waiting to deplane wasn’t moving fast enough for his taste. Matters escalated quickly.

The middle seat man, in black hoodie and mask, was visibly agitated and in a rush to exit the aircraft. Most passengers were still seated, but some had already gotten into line to stand in the aisle. He climbed over the orange shirt passenger in the aisle that wasn’t moving yet.

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