American Airlines Bringing Back Snacks To 2.5 Hour Domestic First Class Flights

by Gary Leff

Jul 02 2020

When people (1) fly because they have to, and (2) don’t have many competitive options because of reduced schedules, inflight product doesn’t drive business. And airlines are looking to conserve cash. Even when business turns around, it’ll take time for product to recover as carriers try to manage their debt burdens.

In the near-term, airlines are restoring their schedules (somewhat) on domestic routes and there are (some) more passengers willing to travel. That means competition starts to matter.

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Aeroflot Flying Passengers To U.S. And Europe Despite Russia’s COVID Travel Ban

by Gary Leff

flight attendants in red
Jul 02 2020

Aeroflot has been circumventing the Russian government’s ban on international passenger flights, according to media reports, by selling tickets to passengers on flights officially labeled as cargo-only.

This has included “flights to New York, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Seoul and Tel Aviv since at least early June” according to airline sources.

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Report: American Airlines Considers Restoring Seat Back Video Screens

by Gary Leff

airline cabin
Jul 01 2020

Just before the pandemic grew out of control, American Airlines data revealed that frequent customers represented a declining share of airline revenue.

It seemed that a combination of award chart devaluation (higher prices for the best awards), product devaluations (less space per passenger on domestic narrowbody aircraft) and making status harder to earn (minimum spend requirement and taking away the ability to earn as much towards that via credit card) had in fact pushed frequent customer share of wallet towards competitors.

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American Airlines Lays Out Brand New International Flight Strategy

by Gary Leff

Jul 01 2020

On Saturday I told you that a big international route announcement was coming from Americanincluding, quoting internal comments by CEO Doug Parker, “what we plan to fly next summer and what we don’t plan to fly.” That announcement is now out.

They’re revamping their international strategic focus, and bringing back many routes for summer while break-even load factors are so low thanks to the CARES Act. LAX is no longer their Pacific hub. They’re doubling down on close partnerships. And that means a lot of flight changes.

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