Senate leaders and White House officials just emerged from a marathon closed-door negotiation session with smiles on their faces. Both sides now fundamentally agree on a $2 trillion stimulus package aimed at boosting the American economy. Among the largesse...
Even Emirates May Ground A380 Fleet
When it comes to Airbus A380 operators, there are many airlines. Then there is Emirates, the outlier with over 100 in its fleet. But even Emirates is mulling the grounding of its A380s. Already, we’ve seen Lufthansa, Air France,...
TSA Waives Liquid Ban…For Hand Sanitizers
You can now take bottles of hand sanitizer as large as 12 ounces when going through a U.S. airport security checkpoint. TSA loosened the rule in light of anxiousness over COVID-19. Here’s the full statement from the TSA: TSA...
United Airlines Projecting 20-30% Load Factors And Warning Unions Of Cutbacks
In a sobering letter to employees, United warned of plummeting demand, more flight reductions, and a need to reduce payroll expenses. The memo came from outgoing CEO Oscar Munoz and incoming CEO Scott Kirby and paints a bad and...
United Airlines Suspends 13 Routes
In April, United Airlines will suspend service on 13 routes and reduce service on 170 more as coronavirus fears continue to depress travel demand. Last week, I wrote that United planned to cut April international capacity by 20% and...
American and United Match Delta’s More Flexible Change Fee Waiver
American and United quickly matched Delta’s decision to further loosen its change fee waiver, a move that was long overdue, but nevertheless better late than never. Up until this point, the “Big 3” U.S. airlines have used change fee...
U.S. Advises Against Travel To Italy And South Korea
The U.S. State Department has advised Americans to avoid non-essential travel to Italy and South Korea, a move that will severely hurt tourism especially in Italy and likely lead to further reductions in airline service. Raising the travel advisories...
Boeing Finds Fuel Tank Debris In 70% Of Undelivered 737 MAX Jets
What Boeing hoped would be an isolated problem has turned into a widespread issue and another safety and credibility concern. Last week, I reported that Boeing discovered fuel debris during spot inspections of undelivered 737 MAXs. Even though the...
Korean Air Flight Attendant Tests Positive For Coronavirus
A Korean Air flight attendant has tested positive for coronavirus, prompting a scrambling to disinfect aircraft and trace back routes flown. First reported by Reuters, the unnamed flight attendant was diagnosed earlier this week. That prompted an immediate closure...
Alitalia Cuts Two Routes, Ditches 777-300ER And A330-200s
Beleaguered Italian carrier Alitalia may have outlasted Air Italy, but it continues to struggle. Now it will cut two longhaul routes and ditch three widebody aircraft. Alitalia has been operating in bankruptcy protection since 2017. Nearly three years later,...
China’s Aviation Market Is Now Smaller Than Portugal’s
Just over a month ago, China was the third largest international aviation market in the world behind the United States and United Kingdom. Now it ranks between Portugal and Vietnam. China was on an ascent, set to take over...
Shameful Thai Airways Fat Shames Passengers Out Of Business Class
This story just make me shake my head in disbelief. Thai Airways Denies Business Class Seats To Three Passengers After Humiliating Them Huhana Iripa travelled with her two daughters, Renell and Tere, from Auckland to Bangkok so that the...
Another European Airline Collapses, Maybe?
Turkish airline AtlasGlobal has weathered several storms over the preceding months. Once again, it appears the airline has ceased operations. Will it be for good this time? I say “maybe” and “appears” because there has been no formal announcement...
Former United CFO Plans A “Boring” New Airline
“The best way to compete in the airline industry is to not compete.” – Andrew Levy Former United CFO Plans New Airline Former United Chief Financial Officer Andrew Levy plans a new airline of his own, one that won’t...
My Beloved Air Italy Bites The Dust
In an unexpected move, Air Italy decided to cut its loses and shut down…effective immediately. This is a very sad day for a very special carrier. Investors accelerated an emergency meeting, originally scheduled for February 18th, to today. There,...
Pictures: Winter Storm Brings Chaos To Munich Airport
With Storm Sabine flooding streets and knocking down trees and power lines, all flights were suspended from Munich Airport. That created a de facto refugee camp in the terminal halls of Germany’s second largest airport. Storm Sabine (called Storm...
United Airlines Tries To Make Kosher Food Tasty
United Airlines is improving its kosher menus with new choices of food and drink on Tel Aviv flights. A Kosher Meal Problem I have many clients at Award Expert who keep Kosher, meaning I frequently order Kosher meals on...
Qatar Airways Accelerates Investment In Africa
Qatar Airways sees tremendous growth opportunity in Africa and has responded by picking a strategic hub: Kigali, Rwanda. Now Qatar Airways wants to invest in Rwanda’s national airline. Bugesera International Airport in Kigali is set to open in 2022,...
Update: American, Delta, United Suspend All China Flights
Within the last hour, United Airlines has suspended all flights to China. Now all three U.S. legacy carriers-American, Delta, and United–have suspended service to Mainland China. American Airlines Suspends Service To China American Airlines announced a suspension of all...
Man Busted For Using Rodents To Scam Free Hotel Rooms
A Utah man has been arrested for using mice and hamsters on multiple occasions to scam free hotel rooms. Police allege that Ryan Sentelle State, 37, had a go-to plan to secure free hotel rooms. He’d check in to...