When American Airlines’ CEO Doug Parker [in]famously boasted that AA would never lose money again, he likely never imagined that an entire aircraft type would be grounded for months as oil prices rose. But welcome to 2019… Put together,...
United Airlines Faces New Racism Controversy
A passenger has accused a United employee of calling her a monkey. There were witnesses. Now the passenger is suing, creating a monumental headache for United. There are certain code words that are so deeply linked to race that...
Woman Kicked Off Frontier Flight After Complaining About Vomit On Seat
A woman was forcibly removed from a Frontier Airlines flight after voicing her disgust over vomit found on her daughter’s seat. Imagine you step onto your flight, sit down, and find your daughter’s seat is wet. You hold your...
Air Italy Suspends Three Transatlantic Routes, Adds Four Fun New Routes
U.S. legacy carriers should be very afraid of Air Italy. The Italian airline is doing so well it has announced it will halt service to two U.S. cities and one Canadian city this winter. Were you saying something about...
United Officially Unveils New Plane Design
After a leaked image of United’s new paint job made headlines yesterday, United officially unveiled its new livery today in Chicago. Since the images (and later video from United) circulated yesterday, today’s ceremony had no surprises. Nevertheless, I was...
Crime And Intrigue Surrounding Hong Kong Airlines
Two factions are fighting for control of the airline and one side has made an explosive claim of break-in and theft. Now a court has ordered the airline to publicly choose a leader. Welcome to the drama of Hong...
Hot Deal: Business Class From Europe To USA From €1200 R/T
Thinking about a trip to the United States this summer? Why not splurge on business class? If you act now, you will not even pay much more than for an economy class ticket. Via God Save the Points, Star...
Why Is Lufthansa Losing Money?
Why has Lufthansa already lost over 300 million euros this year? For the first three months of 2019, Lufthansa lost 336MN EUR (~ $380MN USD). Blaming rising fuel costs and overcapacity in Europe, the German airline swung to loss after reporting a...
Warning: French Pilots Threaten Another Strike
A warning to those of you scheduled for travel in France in early May: pilots from all airlines are threatening a unified strike. That could spell disaster for air travelers in France and flying French carriers around the world. The...
Passengers Flee Onto Wing As 737 Catches Fire
In an odd story out Russia, a Boeing 737 engine that caught fire prompted passengers to evacuate onto the wing of the aircraft. An Utair 737 flight planned for Moscow (VKO) to Makhachkala (MCX) was taxiing at Moscow Vnukovo...
United Airlines Extends New Delhi Service Cancellation
United is extending the suspension of service to New Delhi until July. A flight attendant just forwarded me the following update: As we previously reported, seasonal winds and the continued closure of Pakistani airspace have caused us to suspend...
SAS Worried As “Flying Shame” Grips Sweden
In Sweden, flying has become a social faux pas. That’s causing great concern for Swedish Airports and Scandinavian Airlines. Swedavia AB, which operates 10 airports in Sweden, noted two startling stats: In 2018, Sweden had its weakest overall growth...
U.S. Secretary Of State Looking “Very Closely” At Qatar-Air Italy Deal
Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, was grilled by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. Many topics were raised, but the one that raised my eyebrows was Air Italy. A group of U.S. Senators—a motley bipartisan crew—are...
Meanwhile, One Airport Seeks To Punish JetBlue
With all the excitement surrounding JetBlue’s London announcement yesterday, news of a crackdown at an airport on the other coast slipped off the radar. JetBlue has big expansion plans to Europe. Service will start with London in 2021 from...
United May Replace 757s With A321XLR
In the coming years, United plans to replace its aging fleet of Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft. Now United is floating the Airbus A321XLR as a potential replacement. Speaking to employees in a video that was seen by Flight...
An Explosive New Theory On The Ethiopian 737 MAX Crash
A new and detailed theory suggests that a potential bird strike plus pilot error, coupled with faulty sensors, resulted in the ET302 crash. I’ve been following the ET302 crash closely as we all try to better understand what happened...
I Like The New Virgin Atlantic Seats, But…
Virgin Atlantic unveiled new a new business class product for its A350-1000 aircraft yesterday and there’s a lot to like about it. But talk about an anticlimactic moment… Let’s start with the positive. The new business class seat appears...
Is Delta Messing With JetBlue?
Delta, in partnership with Virgin Atlantic, announced plans to serve London Gatwick from New York and Boston. Is this really about pursuing two lucrative new routes or is it about discouraging JetBlue from the same routes? Like One Mile at a...
United, Delta Dynamic Awards Hurt Loyal But Infrequent Flyers Most
This week, United joined the ranks of Delta in removing their award chart and switching to dynamically (variably) priced award redemptions. While in some cases consumers may benefit from the change, infrequent but loyal flyers are hurt the most....
Boeing CEO Accepts Blame For 737 MAX Crashes
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg issued an extensive statement concerning the preliminary report on flight 302 by Ethiopian Airlines. In it, he seems to apologize and accept blame for both the Lion Air and Ethiopian 737 MAX crashes. He also promises...