Patrick Quayle, United Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances, made an interesting comment in Newark yesterday while discussing the carrier’s latest international expansion: United, he said, is now “more of a lifestyle brand than we...
United Airlines Passed On Scandinavia Again, And Patrick Quayle Explains Why
Last week, I told United CEO Scott Kirby that I thought the airline would announce new service to Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo. He broke into a big smile and walked away without answering me. Well, now we know: United...
Delta Deepens Austin Push With New Paris Route As It Tries To Succeed Where American Failed
Delta Air Lines has officially announced nonstop service from Austin to Paris next spring, confirming a route first revealed weeks ago by aviation insider JonNYC. The new transatlantic route is notable on its own, but it also raises a...
Blackstone Buys 25% Of Aeroplan For $2 Billion. Should Members Be Worried?
Air Canada is selling a 25% stake in Aeroplan to a consortium led by private equity giant Blackstone and Canadian pension fund La Caisse, valuing its loyalty program at a staggering C$10 billion. While I don’t expect Aeroplan to...
Delta Air Lines Is Returning To Tokyo Narita, But Its Seattle Strategy Raises Questions
Delta Air Lines is returning to Tokyo Narita Airport after a seven-year absence, launching daily nonstop service from Seattle in March 2027. I welcome the added capacity, particularly on a market where competition should help consumers. But the route...
American Airlines Made Basic Economy Worse, And Customers Are Paying More To Escape It
American Airlines says recent changes to Basic Economy produced a five-point increase in customers paying to move up to Main Cabin. That is good news for American’s revenue strategy, but it also confirms what I’ve been saying for years:...
American Airlines Posts Record Revenue. So Why Did It Earn Just $71 Million?
American Airlines produced record revenue in the second quarter and showed genuine progress in premium, corporate, and international demand. But after generating nearly $17 billion in revenue, it kept only $71 million. Fuel explains much of that collapse, but...
Inside The Secret Market Where United Flight Attendants Sell Coveted Trips
Jen is a junior flight attendant at LAX. She flies reserve and has little say over her schedule, awaiting a phone call on duty days to find out where she is flying. But when she noticed her colleague Mona...
United Airlines Employee Tells Mexican American Passenger “Maybe We Should Call ICE On You”
A United Airlines employee at San Francisco International Airport was caught on video threatening to call ICE on a Mexican American passenger during a heated ticketing dispute. The passenger was not blameless in the escalation, but as the dust...
American Airlines’ Chicago-Tokyo Return Has A Big Catch, Highlighting Its Strategic Dilemma
American Airlines is returning to Chicago-Tokyo flying, but there is a catch: it is not really adding service so much as replacing Japan Airlines on the route. That may help AAdvantage members looking to use systemwide upgrades, but for...
Fuel Prices May Drop After U.S.–Iran Deal, But Your Airfare Probably Won’t
A preliminary U.S.–Iran deal may eventually lower jet fuel prices, but travelers should not expect airlines to rush out and lower fares. Funny how that works… Airfares May Stay High Even If Jet Fuel Prices Fall After U.S.–Iran Deal...
Newark Airport Is Beating Rivals In On-Time Performance. Did The FAA Do United Airlines A Favor?
Newark Liberty International Airport has long been a difficult airport to love, which leads me to revisit a question I asked last year: was the federal government’s forced capacity discipline actually a blessing for United Airlines and its passengers?...
Air India’s Turnaround Dream Hits A $2.8 Billion Reality Check
Air India’s grand turnaround is running into a familiar airline reality: growth is easy to announce, but losses are harder to absorb. Air India Hits The Brakes As Tata Group Pushes Cost Cutting Amid Mounting Losses Air India is...
Scott Kirby Mocks An “Idiotic” United–JetBlue Merger, But The Math Could Change
An increasingly bold Scott Kirby says United Airlines has no interest in buying JetBlue, dismissing the idea as “idiotic.” I believe him…but only if we are talking about JetBlue as it exists today. Scott Kirby Says United Won’t Buy...
Delta Air Lines Is Still Winning, But Is It Getting Too Comfortable?
The New York Times profiles Delta Air Lines as a carrier content to keep gently refining a winning formula. That may be wise, but it also raises a fair question: will Delta eventually run into the same problem Southwest...
Final Call: Hyatt Just Blew Up The World Of Hyatt Award Chart
UPDATE: The new pricing has gone into effect. Stay tuned for analysis as we survey the pricing changes. My original story from February 25, 2026 is below. Today Hyatt announced a significant update to its World of Hyatt loyalty...
JetBlue Retreats From Newark, Making A United Merger Even More Likely
JetBlue is pulling down even more Newark flying, and the message is clear: Newark does not work for JetBlue any more than JFK worked for United. That has implications far beyond a few leisure routes that JetBlue is axing:...
Delta Air Lines Passed On Starlink For A Reason More Valuable Than Wi-Fi
Delta chose Amazon Leo over Starlink for its next-generation onboard Wi-Fi, and Elon Musk now claims the deal fell apart over something as mundane, and yet potentially very important, as the login portal. But there’s something more going on...
Budget Airlines Demand $2.5 Billion Bailout From Trump Administration
First it was Spirit Airlines. Now a wider group of budget carriers reportedly wants billions in federal relief. The White House and Congress should flatly reject this. Budget Airlines Want A $2.5 Billion Bailout According to The Wall Street...
Delta Says No To “Business Class Plus” And That’s A Smart Move
Airlines keep finding new ways to carve up premium cabins. Delta, at least for now, is not playing that game. I think that could give it a strong competitive advantage in the years ahead. Winning Strategy? Delta Says No...
