Season 17 American Idol contestant Dimitrius Graham sang “You’ll Be In My Heart” by Phil Collins when he was eliminated in that show’s Top 10. American Airlines is now in Graham’s heart, after CPR was performed on his mother and the plane’s captain wound up diverting the flight – saving her life.
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.
I’m going to make some readers mad talking about flight attendant pay for a moment. Flight attendant unions love to highlight the struggles of their newest members, but rarely represent those members well.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor has introduced a fresh twist to Boeing’s high-stakes plea deal with the Department of Justice, a resolution set to address the company’s role in two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Central to the judge’s focus is a brief reference to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the DOJ’s plan to appoint an independent compliance monitor.
A JetBlue passenger is suing the airline, claiming she suffered severe injuries from a “dangerously cold” ice cream sandwich served during an August 20 flight from New York JFK to Paris. Karla Quinonez of New Jersey alleges in a lawsuit filed on October 22 that the frozen treat was so hard that it fractured one of her teeth..
The U.S. Departments of Justice and Transportation have launched a wide-ranging probe of consolidation and anti-competitive conduct in air travel. What they will come to learn is that the federal government has fostered consolidation, and has made it nearly impossible to have competition in aviation as a matter of policy for decades.
Southwest Airlines didn’t exactly surrender to Elliot Management, but they agreed to put 5 Elliot nominees on a 13-member board of directors in exchange for their dropping the petition for a special meeting of the board.
Already, the airline has given Elliot much of what they were asking for. The activist investor spurred movement on assigned seating, premium seating, partnerships, and redeye flying which are things Southwest had moved very slowly on.
Probably the most misunderstood thing in all of aviation is speed tape. Passengers see what looks like ‘duct tape’ on their plane, and they worry whether it will hold together. The plane doesn’t look safe and first impressions over safety matter right now with aviation safety top of mind given the issues we’ve seen with the Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug, air traffic control mishaps, and pilot error over the past couple of years.
Ultimately they should see some mean reversion in corporate bookings, but they’re unlikely to become a leader. They don’t have a strategy to better than today in key markets like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They don’t have a strategy to get customers to pay more to fly American than competitors – which will become even more crucial with their higher costs, and as the supply of premium seats grows. AI and cost-cutting alone is not a vision.
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.
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 »
