US Will Take UAE and Qatar to Task Over Subsidies

airplane docked
Dec 12 2017

The U.S. is going to enter talks with the UAE and Qatar about airline subsidies but it doesn’t sound like they’ll amount to much.

The irony of complaining that other airlines were too intertwined with governments always seemed lost on United, who lost a CEO over a scandal involving the airline bribing a government official. Or Delta’s CEO who started all of this going on to run heavily subsidized Amtrak.

Continue Reading »

Why the Era of Spinning Off Frequent Flyer Programs Should Be Over

united credit card
Dec 12 2017

To be sure there’s a case for spinoffs: if an airline needs to raise cash, selling assets is one way to do that. And frequent flyer programs are in many cases among the most valuable assets an airline has. It’s just not a free lunch, selling even a part of the program creates frictions that can reduce value. Sometimes an airline needs to do that, but financially healthy airlines should be extremely cautious before doing so.

Continue Reading »

American Diverts to Denver So Passengers Can Use Bathroom While Pit Crew Blasts Out Poop

ben's chili bowl
Dec 11 2017

This morning’s American Airlines flight AA662 from Charlotte to San Francisco had to divert to Denver so that passengers could use the bathroom. It’s not the first time a flight has had to do that this month.

The American flight makes for a crazy story, though. The pilot announced to passengers while over Kansas that they were going to divert because of a blockage in the lavatory system. The whole system was constipated.

Continue Reading »

Flight Attendant Videotaped Eating Passenger Meals

Dec 11 2017

A flight attendant is seen (and taped) eating leftover passenger meals.

The person posting this to Facebook analogizes to a restaurant where the chef tastes the food before serving it to the customer to ensure it’s properly seasoned. Plus of course you know if the flight attendant is your food taster, and doesn’t die, the food’s safe.

Continue Reading »