Jonathan Jacobs offers an interesting take on the recently announced changes to the Delta Sky Miles program, focusing not so much on the changes themselves as on the way in which Delta communicated them. The idea that Delta showed...
How United Airlines Can Poach Discontent Delta Elites
The grass is not always greener on the other side and the changes at Delta Air Lines announced this week will not necessarily move people to abandon Delta. But the rather punitive changes Delta announced for its SkyMiles program...
I Explain Loyalty To Hyatt CEO, Plus A Warning
Hyatt says it is adjusting to the new reality of reduced business travel but more leisure travel, though it seems to me Hyatt is just preparing us for a major devaluation next year. That would be a disastrous move...
Delta Air Lines Makes It Easier To Embrace Being A Free Agent
Part of me masochistically hopes that United Airlines will follow Delta Air Lines and make obtaining top-tier status so prohibitively hard that I will finally be liberated from the status hamster wheel. Delta SkyMiles Changes Make It Easier Than...
A Pilot Analyzes Ural Airlines A320 Crash Landing In Siberian Field
A very rare event has occurred in Russia with the successful off-field crash landing of a Ural Airlines Airbus A320. Ironically It was the same airline that became somewhat famous in 2019 when one of their other A320s suffered...
How Much Will Fares Rise In A JetBlue – Spirit Airlines Merger?
A previously reported story that JetBlue mistakenly failed to redact key information suggesting post-merger Spirit Airlines fares would rise 40% was inaccurate. It was the plaintiffs who are suing to block the merger who made such a claim. JetBlue:...
Israeli Journalist Insists Jewish Seatmate Harassed Her On United Airlines, But Witnesses Say Otherwise
Yesterday I wrote about a female Israeli journalist who claimed that her observant seatmate on a United Airlines flight from Tel Aviv asked her to move due to his religious conviction that men and women could not be seated...
In Defense Of United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby: Those Calling On Him To Resign Are Crazy
There is no question that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby erred in taking a private jet to his home in Colorado while his airline melted down and thousands of passengers and crew members were stranded. But calls for his...
Brittney Griner Heckled At DFW Airport
WNBA star and freed Russian prisoner Brittney Griner was heckled while catching a flight at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). While it is fair to question the terms of her release, heckling someone with gratuitous insults is not okay. Brittney Griner...
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby Says Russian Airspace Should Be Off-Limits To All Carriers Serving USA
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has asserted that Russian airspace should be off-limits to any carrier that wishes to serve the United States. United Airlines CEO Kirby: Foreign Carriers Flying To USA Via Russian Airspace Is a “Crisis In...
Massive United Airlines Devaluation: What To Do Now
United Airlines rolled out a massive devaluation of economy class awards last week and now has devalued premium cabin awards as well on both United metal and on partner carriers. This represents a gut punch to MileagePlus members and...
United Airlines Denounces Delta Air Lines’ Haneda Slot Proposal As A “Self-Serving Scheme”
United Airlines is mounting an aggressive challenge to Delta Air Lines’ efforts to obtain more flexibility in the use of Tokyo Haneda slots assigned in 2019. Delta Air Lines Wants More Flexibility To Use Tokyo Haneda Slots – American...
Exciting: How United Airlines Is Genuinely Improving Onboard Service
Imagine a flight where flight attendants impeccably describe the wine list onboard, knowing how to pronounce each choice, the origin, ingredients, and what to pair it with. Gulf carrier, right? Or maybe an East Asian carrier? How about United...
United Airlines Feels The Regional Jet Pinch
The ability of United Airlines to set up profitable flight banks and offer connectivity from smaller cities remains compromised due to a regional jet pilot shortage. However, United sees this problem stabilizing and has also indicated that it will,...
Biden Considers Banning Airlines Who Use Russian Airspace
US carriers want the Biden Administration to restrict foreign carriers from using Russian airspace, arguing it places them at a competitive disadvantage. The Biden administration is considering the request. Yes, the demand is self-serving. But is the right move,...
Is United’s Quarterly Loss A Negotiating Strategy To Temper Pilots’ Contract?
At the outset, I want to make clear that I am making no declarative statements, but rather am simply thinking out loud. Could it be that the unexpected quarterly loss United Airlines now forecasts for Q1 is primarily aimed...
Singapore Airlines’ Defiant New Ad Campaign
I think the new Singapore Airlines “world class” ad campaign is a masterpiece, but also adds a subtle touch of defiance that pushes back against not only Gulf carriers, but carriers that have gone woke. Singapore Airlines World Class...
A Veteran Commercial Airline Pilot Analyzes American – Delta Runway Incident At JFK
121pilot, our resident pilot on Live And Let’s Fly and captain for a major US airline, has graciously offered his thoughts on the near collision between an American Airlines 777 and a Delta Air Lines 737 at New York...
New United Airlines Flight Attendant Training Facility In Houston Represents Perfect Opportunity To Transform Service Culture
United Airlines has opened a new 56,000-square-foot flight attendant training facility at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston that it says will accommodate training up to 600 flight attendants per month. This marks the perfect opportunity for “United Next” to...
Airmanship: What Pilots Need Most
Editor’s Note: In light of the recent American – Delta ATC incident at New York JFK, we are featuring this story again by 121pilot. It is chillingly prescient. In part two of this series, we looked at some of...
