Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr announced his company will take over the majority of Air Berlin’s assets, including 81 aircraft. Speaking to reporters, Sphor said Lufthansa would invest at least €1.5BN and offers jobs to at least 3,000 (and possibly more...
Uh Oh: Hyatt Reveals Credit Card Breach
Chuck Floyd, Global President of Operations of Hyatt, just sent out an email to Hyatt guests noting a credit card breach that occurred earlier this year. Importantly: Breach took place between March 18, 2017 and July 02, 2017 11 countries...
A “Unique Experiential Trial” at United Clubs
United Airlines is experimenting with the food and drink offerings at four United Clubs in the USA. In what it calls a “unique experiential trial” and “quick win” initiative, the carrier launched changes on September 30th at United Clubs...
JetBlue Mint Service Coming to Palm Springs
JetBlue Mint Class sets the standard for domestic transcontinental service. Residents and visitors of Palm Springs will be able to fly Mint Class to/from New York for a brief period later this year. JetBlue serves Palm Springs seasonally and...
UPDATE: Turkish Airlines Offers Refunds, Assures Transit Passengers
Right in the middle of the diplomatic row between Turkey and the United States is Turkish Airlines. The carrier serves nine U.S. cities and is the clear loser in the mutual decision to suspend visa issuance, essentially halting tourism...
Retaliation: Turkey Eliminates U.S. Tourist Visas, Barring Entry for Most U.S. Citizens
Apparently the old adage, “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face” is not taught in Turkey. Today, Turkey suspended the issuance of visas to U.S. citizens, effectively killing all U.S. tourism. I love Turkey, but the nation...
Emirates CEO: We Need More A380s!
Emirates President Sir Tim Clark told a Dutch newspaper that his carrier needs more A380s, even in the face of fierce competition. “The potential market remains huge. We need even more A380s,” said Clark. But is that really viable, let...
United Airlines Cuts Flights from Guam Hub
United Airlines is slashing flights from Guam and in the Oceania regional demand weakens. While the “Island Hopper” will now operate four times weekly instead of three, several routes will be either suspended, reduced, or downguaged. Here are the...
China Airlines Adds New Service to Ontario, California
China Airlines will serve Ontario International Airport starting in Spring 2018, the first transpacific route from the small Southern California airport. I hate to be crass, but let me start off by correcting a common misconception. China Airlines =...
Boeing Wins, Consumers Lose
Last week I wrote about a trade spat between Boeing and Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier over alleged subsidies. The US Department of Commerce has sided with Boeing and plans to slap a whopping 220% tariff on each Bombardier C...
Lufthansa Adds Berlin to New York JFK Flight
With all Air Berlin longhaul operations cancelled out of Berlin, a big void has been left. Lufthansa is starting to fill it in with new service to New York (JFK) starting November 08, 2017. Per Svenblogt, the new service...
Berlin Voters: Keep Tegel Airport Open
We don’t know when Berlin Brandenburg Airport will finally open, but it’s now slated for 2019…only nine years late. Even when it finally does, Berlin voters have expressed a preference to keep Tegel Airport open. The original plan was...
Turkish Airlines Orders 40 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners
So much for the A380 or 747-8. Turkish Airlines will order 40 787-9s from Boeing, a deal valued at $11 billion on paper. Tourism in Turkey has been hit hard by terrorism in the last two years, but the country...
Prime Minister: Canada Will NOT Buy Boeing Jets
Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has declared that Canada will not do business with Boeing, threatening to look elsewhere to supply Canada’s next generation of fighter jets. Speaking at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May,...
Caution: You May Soon Need Your Passport for Domestic Travel
I’ve noticed the warnings when going through security, but never really paid close attention to them. But be aware: residents in a handful of states may need a U.S. passport to travel domestically starting next January. To put it...
How to Check In Hands-Free for Your Next United Airlines Flight
You can now check-in for your United Airlines domestic flights without even lifting a finger or tapping a key. Just ask Alexa… I bought an Amazon Echo when it first came out…and have never opened it. I liked it...
Breaking: Shooting at Miami International Airport
Miami-Dade Police shot a knife-wielding man who managed to breach a security checkpoint and make it all the way to the tarmac before being apprehended. Terminal J remains closed. I received an text from one of my employees a...
Unruly Passenger Fined $97,000 for Disrupting Flight
File this under: about time. So often we hear stories about drunken or otherwise disruptive passengers forcing a flight delay or diversion only never to hear about whether the passenger is held accountable for his actions. A federal judge...
Conservative U.S. State Wants to Create its Own Airline
The State of Wyoming, in the western USA, finds itself between a rock and hard place. Without perpetual generous subsidies, it cannot sustain commercial air service to smaller airports. But a lack of air access to international hubs hurts...
The Airport Lounge with a Swimming Pool
Airport lounges have become more innovate over the years in response to growing public concern over health. For example, the Finnair lounge in Helsinki has a sauna, the Thai lounge in Bangkok has a world-class spa, and Etihad’s first...
