Qantas CEO Alan Joyce announced that an undisclosed aircraft has “met the challenge” and Qantas will be prepared to fly nonstop between Sydney and London and other ultra-longhaul destinations by the end of the year. Joyce’s prediction came at the...
American Airlines Sees $1 Billion Impact From 737 MAX + Rising Fuel Prices
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...
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...
Thai Airways A380 Clipped In Paris
A catering vehicle clipped the wing of a Thai Airways A380-800 in Paris, forcing an expensive flight cancellation. Perhaps the catering truck that rolled up to the Thai Airways superjumbo jet on Wednesday at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) was...
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...
Loss, But Optimism For Philippine Airlines
While it still lost money in 2018, Philippine Airlines (PAL) is optimistic that it has turned the corner of profitability. I’m not so sure. Citing higher fuel and aircraft leases costs, PAL reported a loss of P4.33 billion ($101...
Why Are Garuda And Singapore Airlines Deepening Relationship?
Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines are deepening their relationship. My question is, why? It’s an unlikely relationship to begin with. Two different alliances. Overlapping routes. Competition for the same connecting passengers. So why? In 2010, Singapore and Garuda began...
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...
Virgin Atlantic Will Retire Boeing 747s In 2021
Out with the old, in with the new… As Virgin Atlantic unveiled its beautiful new A350-1000s earlier this week, it also announced retirement plans for its 747-400 fleet. Speaking to reporters outside a glistening new A350, Virgin Atlantic CEO...
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...
