Two teenage boys were thrown off a Korean Air flight after mentioning their peanut allergy. The story again raises the question of how should these situations should be handled. The Patel brothers were traveling from Atlanta to Manila via Seoul...
Fascinating New York Times Interview With Delta CEO Ed Bastian
David Gelles of the New York Times recently sat down Delta CEO Ed Bastian. The Q&A offers a fascinating look into Bastian’s history from childhood to present. We learn about Bastian’s childhood, his first summer jobs, his time as...
U.S. Carriers Fight For Coveted Tokyo Haneda Slots
Four U.S. carriers are fighting for 19 slots at Tokyo Haneda Airport. Who will be left without a seat when the music stops? A new bilateral aviation agreement with Japan gives U.S. carriers access to 12 new daytime slots...
Delta Employees Laugh While American And United Employees Cry
Delta employees have reason to smile this week. $1.3BN in 2018 profit was distributed across the company’s 86,000 employees. For the average employee, that represented a $16,000 bounty! Delta’s profit sharing program has returned profits to employees for five...
Was The Delta Inflight Napkin Really That Creepy?
Delta and Coca-Cola have apologized for a “creepy” napkin that sparked passenger complaints. I’m failing to see the controversy… The napkin, pictured below, gave passengers the chance to record their name and phone number and encouraged them to share...
Spirit Pulls Ahead Of American And United, But Delta Still On Top
It appears Spirit Airlines is heading in an EasyJet rather than Ryanair direction. The ultra-low-cost carrier has much to boast about on many metrics, including operational performance. But Delta remains at the top. Each year Scott McCartney, an airline...
Passenger Carries Firearm Through TSA Checkpoint And Onto Delta Flight to Japan…
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents in Atlanta totally a missed a firearm in the carry-on bag of a Delta passenger, who ended up transporting the weapon to Japan. The unidentified passenger did not deliberately sneak the firearm onboard. He...
Delta Passengers Trapped On Remote Island In Alaska!
194 Delta passengers found themselves on a remote Alaskan island for more than 12 hours on Christmas Day. Delta Flight 128, a Boeing 767-300 traveling from Beijing to Seattle, encountered “potential engine trouble” ennroute to Seattle. The flight diverted...
Dense, Dimwitted Logic From A Deliberately Deceptive Delta CEO
Air Italy’s USA expansion has caused a stir amongst U.S. legacy carriers. But Delta CEO Ed Bastian’s op-ed response is riddled with deception and outright mistruth. Feel free to start by reading Ed Bastian’s op-ed without my commentary. I’m...
Delta Seriously Restricts Emotional Support Animals
Delta will impose a strict new ban on emotional support animals on longer flights, effective next week. The carrier will also tighten restrictions on service animals next year. While the carrier already tightened its emotional support animal policy earlier this year,...
Delta Will Resume Atlanta Flights Next Year From Burbank
After a multi-year hiatus, Delta will resume flights between Atlanta and Burbank, California next July. Delta is billing its new route as “media and entertainment” route. Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s Vice President of Los Angeles and West Coast Sales said, “And if...
Man Sits In Dog Poop On Delta Flight, Flight Attendants Shrug, Gate Agent Threatens Him
Imagine you step onboard a Delta flight and smell something horrible. Really horrible. You assume it is coming from the lavatory or perhaps elsewhere on the plane. You’re seated in first class and find your seat. As you settle...
Elite Status Is About More Than Upgrades
As the year closes, some elite travelers book unnecessary trips or hotel nights to maintain or “level up” their status. Some argue that status is just priority boarding and upgrades that don’t clear, causing irrational expenditure. But elite status...
Delta Flight Attendants Dismiss Credentials Of Black Female Doctor
A black female doctor who teaches at Harvard was dismissed by two Delta flight attendants, who insinuated that her license was fake. While tending to an ill passenger onboard a Delta Connection flight from New York LaGuardia to Charlotte,...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: August 26, 2018
It was an unseasonably cool week in LA and we are expecting more of the same in the week ahead. That has made being home all the more sweeter. I plan to be home again this week, but my...
How Delta SkyMiles Could Instantly Become A Leading Loyalty Program
Two words: first class. You can now book China Eastern First Class awards using your Delta miles. The value is not great, but it is fair…especially compared to how much Delta asks for some of its own flights. This...
Introduction: A SkyTeam Adventure in the Middle East
I’m closing in on my goal to try every member airline of the three of major alliances. My last trip focused on SkyTeam, with an opportunity to fly three new carriers: Aeromexico, Air France, and Middle East Airlines. Both...
Delta Compensates Me For Lounge Denial
Delta has compensated me for the embarrassing lounge access snafu at LAX earlier this month. In case you missed it, Delta denied me entrance to the Terminal 2 Sky Club at LAX even though I was traveling on a...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: August 19, 2018
Greetings from LA. After a busy weak of travel last week, it was nice to be home this week. I’m not planning on going anywhere in the coming week either. Here’s a review of the week’s top stories plus...
SkyTeam Sends Me A Note On Delta Lounge Incident
Yesterday I wrote about Delta’s response to my lounge denial incident at LAX. Now SkyTeam has weighed in. I received an email from Michael Schutzbank, Director of Customer Loyalty at SkyTeam. His email stated: Matthew, On behalf of SkyTeam...
