Norwegian 787s Are Returning With Low Cost Transatlantic Fares – Under A New Name

by Gary Leff

plane on runway
Mar 15 2021

Norwegian ceased its transatlantic business and is trying to stay afloat as an intra-European carrier. But the founder of Norwegian thinks his ultra low cost long haul business model – that has never worked before – is suddenly ripe for success. And he’s trying again with Norse Atlantic Airways.

OSM Aviation, which provided staff outsourcing to Norwegian, is 53% owner of the new venture. Expect low cost labor flying 9 to 12 ex-Norwegian Boeing 787s and even planning to offer connections with Norwegian.

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American’s New Domestic Interior Was Such A Disaster They Now Build Cabin Mockups For Testing

by Gary Leff

Mar 15 2021

American Airlines failed to build a mockup of its new domestic interior, and that’s how obvious mistakes were made. In CEO Doug Parker’s telling, they cared about squeezing seats onto the plane not what it was like to sit in those seats or for employees to work the new configuration.

That’s changing for upcoming retrofits and new products like the Airbus A321XLR and Boeing 787-9 new interior.

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Anti-Mask Activist Banned By American Airlines, But Not For The Reason You’d Expect

by Gary Leff

Mar 15 2021

A mask resister live-blogged his experience flying American Airlines to Philadelphia and home to Manchester, New Hampshire. He drank at the airport and mocked other passengers along the way. And while he reports being successful walking through the airport and flying to Philly without a properly-worn mask, he was eventually kicked off his last flight by American for something entirely unrelated to masks – taking a seat in an empty row to promote social distancing.

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6 Insights Into The American Airlines Strategy For Recovery, As Told To Airline Employees

by Gary Leff

american airlines planes
Mar 14 2021

American Airlines shared its plans for integrating with JetBlue, building back its Philadelphia hub, and whether or not their new flight to India will actually take off at a meeting with employees last week, a recording of which was reviewed by View From The Wing.

Here are 6 insights into the American Airlines strategy for recovery that came out of this session.

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Rapper Who Videoed Passenger Being Kicked Off United Gets Kicked Off Too

by Gary Leff

Mar 14 2021

On a United Airlines flight to Houston on Saturday, rapper DJ Drama filmed a passenger being removed from the aircraft – and was then removed himself.

The aptly-named Drama, née Tyree Simmons, posted video of the removal to Instagram – and also video of the aftermath, where he’s being ejected from first class. The ostensible reason is a mask violation but he appeared to have been asked to wear a mask once, complied, and remained respectful throughout. So the real reason for his ejection is .. subject to speculation.

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Doug Parker: Republicans Promised To Break Ranks, Support Airline Subsidies In Biden’s Stimulus

by Gary Leff

man speaking on microphone
Mar 14 2021

Americans may be on the verge of receiving $1400 in Biden Bucks, but U.S. commercial airlines are getting $14 billion – including $3 billion for American Airlines. And according to the CEO of American, who has spent much of the last year working Capitol Hill, Republicans were ready to break ranks with their party to ensure that subsidies would flow to the airline industry.

In fact, from Parker’s telling at an internal meeting with employees, the Republican Party may not have tried to remove these subsidies because it would have caused some of their members to defect and create bipartisan support for part of the legislation.

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