From overhead bin space to toilet paper consumption, Airbus is watching you. Very closely. Airbus has equipped one of its A350-900 aircraft with sensors throughout the cabin. These sensors track the onboard habits of passengers, collecting and analyzing data....
Cockpit Coffee Spill Prompts Transatlantic Flight Diversion
Drinking hot coffee in the cockpit can be a very dangerous thing…and costly too. Just ask one Condor pilot. On February 06, a Condor flight traveling from Frankfurt to Cancun and operated by an Airbus A330-300 diverted to Shannon...
Airline Pilot Fails Sobriety Test Then Sues Police For Detaining Him
A SkyWest pilot is suing two police officers in Rapid City, South Dakota for false arrest, alleging defamation and slander. Police say they detained him on a tip that he reeked of alcohol and that he failed a sobriety...
United’s Flawed Analogy But Proper Answer On Self-Upgrades
United Airlines was right and is always right to deny those who want to take open EconomyPlus seats without paying for them. But yes, the car analogy was deeply flawed. A passenger noticed the seven rows in the front...
In Search Of A New Garment Bag
My tried and tested garment bag is rapidly falling apart. I need a new one, but cannot find one I like. I almost always travel with a garment bag. It’s actually rare these days that I wear a suit...
Rumor: Qatar Airways Will Invest In TAAG Angola Airlines
Angolan media is reporting that Qatar Airways is exploring a sizable investment in troubled TAAG Angola Airlines. In a move aimed at turning TAAG from a steady loss-leader into a profitable airline, state-owned TAAG is selling a 39% stake...
Cathay Pacific Cuts Capacity, Axes Longhaul Routes
Cathay Pacific is responding to depressed demand by cutting or reducing a number of longhaul routes. August was a horrible month for Cathay Pacific, its worst since the 2003 SARS outbreak. Overall passenger traffic declined 11.3% versus the previous...
Review: Austrian Airlines A320 Economy Class Vienna To Yerevan
What is Austrian Airlines like on a mid-haul flight in economy class? My business partner, John, and I spent a weekend in Yerevan, Armenia last month. We were in Vienna earlier in the week, so the nonstop Austrian flight...
Airlines Are Praying For Regime Change In Venezuela
Airlines are hoping for regime change in Venezuela. They see it as the only way of collecting all the money trapped in the Bolivarian Republic and the only path to restore air service. Thanks to strict hard currency export...
9/11 Reflections From United Airlines CEO (And From Me)
Today marks a solemn anniversary in American history, a day of tragedy made more tragic by the fear-based response that followed…and continues 18 years later. Nearly two decades later, each trip to the airport remains a reminder of how...
Two Democratic Presidential Candidates. One United Airlines Flight.
In what will be a nasty Democratic primary battle which will foreshadow an even nastier Presidential election year, it was nice to see a moment of levity onboard a United Airlines flight. The best way to catch a politician...
True Love? Man Spends Six-Hour Flight Standing So Wife Can Sleep
One little tweet has sent the internet into a tizzy. Was a man’s decision to spend the flight standing in the aisle so his wife could sleep a noble and valiant act of love or crass and selfish move?...
Review: United Airlines 767-400ER Business Class
My recent flight from Barcelona to Washington Dulles onboard a 767-400 was business as usual on United Airlines. I write about United Airlines often, but I’ve never flown the 767-400ER in the forward cabin before, so figured I’d offer...
Amtrak Hints At Long-Haul Route Cuts
Amtrak is hinting that long-haul train service will remain, but will be scaled back from current levels. I’d call that wildly optimistic thinking. Speaking to Skift’s Brian Sumers, Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson explained: There will always be a place...
British Airways Pilot (Poorly) Explains Why He Is Striking
An anonymous op-ed in The Guardian by a British Airways pilot explains why pilots are striking. Personally, I don’t think the pilot advances his cause. In short, the unidentified British Airways pilots says it is an issue of respect and...
In Search Of Great Coffee In Small Town America
I made my annual pilgrimage to Green Lake, Wisconsin over the weekend and had a remarkable time. This time, I even found great coffee. For seven consecutive years I have flown into Chicago every September to spend a weekend...
Review: British Airways A350-1000 Business Class
Even on a short route like London to Madrid, I quickly recognized what a game-changer the A350-1000 is. British Airways’ latest aircraft offers a stunning new business class that can compete with leading business class products of the world. ...
Amtrak Wants To Turn European
Amtrak wants to turn European, which is probably good news for taxpayers and bad news for customers. The stereotype of the western European rail network is efficient, punctual, cheap, and fast. I’ll certainly agree to the efficient and fast...
Busted AA Mechanic Was Fired From Alaska Airlines For Fraud And Incompetence
The American Airlines’ mechanic who admitted to sabotaging a plane in Miami was previously fired from Alaska Airlines. Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani was arrested by the FBI last Thursday and purportedly confessed to tampering with the Air Data system...
Unpopular: Variably-Priced Awards Are Better For Most
By November of 2019, the three largest airlines in the world (American, Delta and United) will all have variably-priced award flights in one form or another. Frequent flyers lament them, but for most travellers, it’s good news. If you...
