We Now Know How – And When – Delta Will Start Offering Free Inflight Wifi

delta coach
Sep 28 2022

In March 2019 Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the airline would offer free wifi within “a year or two.” They needed to ensure they had enough bandwidth for everyone to use it, since not charging would mean far greater usage.

Delta’s plan has taken further shape. Domestic ViaSat-equipped aircraft (the ones that have enough bandwidth to support this) will get free internet early next year.

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Federal Aviation Intelligence Agency Makes UFOs A National Priority

Sep 27 2022

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence National Intelligence Manager for Aviation has introduced a new logo and it includes a UFO.

American Airlines confirmed UFO contact over New Mexico last year. Last summer the DNI Office submitted a report to Congress on what the federal government knows about unidentified aerial phenomenon. And it seems like we don’t know much. Something is out there, and we cannot explain ‘it’.

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Anti-Trust Trial To Break Up American Airlines-JetBlue Partnership Starts Today

Sep 27 2022

American Airlines and JetBlue entered into a partnership they refer to as the ‘Northeast Alliance.’ They have a frequent flyer partnership and they codeshare in and out of New York and Boston. American has moved some of its domestic flying to JetBlue, and JetBlue’s customers have made it possible for American to grow internationally out of New York. Now the government lawsuit to stop it starts today, even though the federal government had previously approved it.

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The Government Plans To Impose New Fee Disclosure Rules On Airlines: I Read The Full Rulemaking So You Don’t Have To

Sep 26 2022

Airlines and travel agencies (including online travel agencies) will be required to display passenger- and itinerary-specific fees. Airlines will have to provide those fees in a format usable by agencies.

I read through the entire underlying document, to find out what’s actually in it that the press summaries might not offer. It’s always the details that determine whether a proposed rule will benefit consumers or inhibit innovation that might make them better off. Here it looks like something of a mixed bag.

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Award Space To Europe Is Back With A Vengeance!

Sep 26 2022

Just a few weeks ago the prospect of trying to coordinate changes to Europe awards would have given me heartburn. There was simply very little award space, save for a handful of airline and routes that I used as ‘worst-case scenarios’ when helping people to redeem their miles. And I didn’t want worst-case scenarios traveling with my wife and daughter.

Fortunately things are really looking up for those of us looking to use points for travel abroad, especially to Europe.

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