We learned about cuts at Lufthansa earlier this week to the onboard product. Today, Lufthansa announced it would make cuts, including staff cuts, at its troubled Austrian Airlines subsidiary. Austrian followed with further clarification. Trouble At Austrian Airlines After...
Scary: American Eagle Embraer E175 Diverts After Pilots Lose Control
An American Eagle Embraer 175 safely returned to Atlanta after encountering severe flight control issues during takeoff. The situation is eerily similar to an Air Astana Embraer 190 incident that occurred just under a year ago. On November 6,...
Swede Busted In Australian Airport With Lethal Drugs In Lining Of Suitcase…
A Swedish man was caught trying to smuggle over $8 million worth of drugs into Australia using the lining of his suitcases. The man had originated in Turkey and was traveling with two suitcases. Officials pulled him aside for...
How A Cockpit Photo Outraged China
A pilot lets his girlfriend sit in the cockpit. She posts it on social media. A blogger notices and complains on Weibo. Outrage grows. Many are punished. The pilot is banned for life. But was the reaction a bit...
“LAXit” Will Expand After Rough First Week
Los Angeles International Airport will significantly expand its new “LAXit” pick-up lot for rideshare vehicles and taxi after a chaotic rollout last week. One week ago, LAX banned taxi, Uber, and Lyft from picking up passengers curbside at LAX....
ANA Struggling To Fill Business Class As Profit Slumps
Even with a beautiful new business and first class product, ANA is struggling to sell premium cabin seats and facing an unexpected dip in profit. Blaming tightened corporate travel budgets, ANA is expected to report a decline in profit...
United’s New 3D Seat Maps Take Mystery Out Of Seat Selection
United Airlines will soon let you see your plane before you step on it, with 3D, high-definition virtual cabin images that allow you to see the plane that you will soon step on. Unveiled by Linda Jojo, United’s Chief Digital...
It’s Official: Thai Airways In Crisis Mode
For Thai Airways, the path is clear: reform or die. That’s at least the warning from senior leadership to employees. And while recent actions suggest this is not merely a bluff, Thai still lacks a vision for moving forward....
U.S. Tightens The Screws On Cuban Tourism
The United States is targeting tourism in Cuba with new sanctions on leased aircraft from the USA. Citing its repression of its own people and support for the “illegitimate” Maduro regime in Venezuela, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and...
JetBlue’s Win-Win Marriage Of Convenience With Norwegian
I’m not saying that JetBlue wants Norwegian to collapse…but let’s just say that the new marriage of convenience raises some questions. A friend of mine, around 30 at the time, once was asked who he was looking for in...
Mysterious Eastern Airlines Announces New Flight From New York…Again
Eastern Airlines announced new service from New York to Guayaquil, Ecuador set to begin this December. But a number of questions still surround this mysterious airline. The new service, subject to government approval, will start on December 05, 2019...
Walmart Boss Is New CEO Of Air New Zealand
What’s the difference between a discount retail chain and Air New Zealand? Not much, apparently, if Air New Zealand’s CEO is any indication. I say that jokingly, but only half-jokingly, for reasons I will explain below. But indeed, Air...
Protest Targets Turkish Airlines At SFO
As Turkish tanks rolls deeper into northern Syrian, some Bay Area residents have used Turkish Airlines as a proxy for the Turkish government. Nearly 100 people showed up to the Turkish Airlines ticket counter at San Francisco International Airport...
SWISS Expands “Flugzug” Service
With the demise of Adria leaving a gap in its domestic network, SWISS is expanding it Flugzug rail service to Lugano. In German, Flugzug is literally flight train, though SWISS translates it as Airtrain. When SWISS abandoned Basel (BSL), it...
Why Does Ethiopian Airlines Want To Invest In South African Airways?
Ethiopian Airlines is open to the idea of investing in South African Airways. In fact, it sees it as part of a broader strategy to save aviation in Africa. Not only has South African Airways (SAA) not reported profit...
Norwegian Hands Iberia An Unsolicited Gift
Norwegian just gave Iberia the best gift it could have asked for: it is abandoning the majority of its routes from Madrid. Profit has been elusive for Norwegian, which is seeking to shed unprofitable routes and navigate an aircraft...
Lufthansa Group Beefs Up Service To Ljubljana
In the wake of Adria Airways’ collapse, the Lufthansa Group is stepping in to fill the void. Starting this month, we will see new service from three members of the Lufthansa Group to four former Adria destinations. These include:...
Adria Airways Is Dead, Long Live Adria Airways 2.0?
Adria Airways filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations yesterday. Slovenia, which refused to give Adria a lifeline, is now floating the idea of a new national airline to take its place. The trouble really began three years ago when...
Condor Survives After Bailout From German Government
Condor will survive the winter after the German federal government and the State of Hessen announced a so-called bridging loan to keep the carrier afloat. Condor is a profitable airline and forecasts stability and growth in 2020. But parent...
21-Year-Old College Student Runs Texas Hotel Alone…For 32 Hours…During A Tropical Storm
Satchel Smith’s eight hour shift turned in a marathon 32-hour effort at a Homewood Suites in Beaumont, Texas. By the time his shift had ended, he was hailed a hero for single-handedly caring for so many hotel guests. Tropical...