Airlines Confidential Podcast

This week: Major service disruption at Southwest; Spotlight on Air India, The Tata Group, & Air travel competition in India; British Airways low cost spin-off back in the news; Listener Q: Is it time for public education to reduce the number of rude passengers? First Class passenger behaving badly-Fine or Whine? Plus the week's shout-outs.

This week: Linda Rutherford, EVP for People & Communications, Southwest Airlines; More employee vaccination mandates; The JetBlue/AA alliance spurs competition? Delta beefs up Boston; Can Aha Airlines (ExpressJet) succeed? An Avianca & Sky Airlines merger? AAdvantage's disadvantage to Europe; How do you play the "Hub Draft" game?

This week: Vasu Raja, Chief Revenue Officer at AA; British Airways scraps low cost startup idea and blames pilots; Should an airline's "no fly list" be shared among the industry and made public? Listener Q's plus a complaint about Frontier- Fine or Whine? A shout-out to Bamboo Air in Vietnam

This week: Andrew Levy, Founder, Chairman & CEO Avelo Airlines; British Airways, alternative fuel, & questions needing answers; Can American replace the LATAM alliance loss with GOL? Who will get the open slots at Newark? A listener challenges the argument for PFCs, & from Australia: Potential for a Spirit/Frontier merger? An upset Delta Elite-Fine or Whine?

This week: Dave Dickson, Fmr Airline Audit Chair at Ernst & Young; 9-11 recollections; Stepped up employee Covid requirements; Navigating airline labor concerns and shortages; Alternate fuel use by 2030; Listener Q's; Why did I get a meal in economy? Stuck on the tarmac for 6 hours - Fine or Whine?

THANK YOU for landing us in the top 1% of all podcasts! This week: Guest: Christina Cassotis CEO Allegheny County Airport Authority (Pittsburgh); Business travel's slower return; Q3 reports/projections; Southwest Pilots sue; Boeing 787 delivery delays; Listener questions, Fine or Whine? & Shoutouts.

This week: Our correspondent Chris Sloan on JetBlue's inaugural London flight; Delta's insurance surcharge for unvaccinated employees; Arrivederci to Alitalia; Southwest cuts 27 flights; British Air launching a low cost carrier. Next week: We celebrate episode #100!

This week: Guest: Felix Antelo, President/CEO, Viva Air Colombia; The mask mandate extension; A look at new data on service and customer satisfaction; Listener question: "My wife didn't board the plane, why did her bag still fly?"; An Alaska Airlines passenger complaint-Fine or Whine?

This week: A wide-ranging labor discussion with Jerry Glass of F&H Solutions Group; Covid variant alters recovery outlook; JetBlue's inaugural flight to London; Spirit's meltdown recovery process; Listener Q's: from Italy regarding Wizz Air; Should Delta re-brand? Southwest pricing complaint-Fine or Whine? Shout-outs.

This week: Chris Sloan talks Ghost Airports (Boo!); The Spirit operational meltdown; Copa Airlines Q2 results & competitive advantages; United's Scott Kirby announces 100% employee vaccine requirement; The Frontier duct tape passenger take-down. Plus listener questions and shout-outs.

This week, Guest: John Heimlich, VP/Chief Economist, Airlines for America; New Covid guidelines; Delta extends elite benefits to 2023; What Southwest's new deal with Sabre means; United's buying spree continues; Plus Fine? or Whine?

This week: How do engine purchases really work? Encouraging earnings reports? Is the outlook for business travel bullish...or bull****? Breeze pulls back; Congress getting into delays/cancellations; Listener Q: Why no Delta Lounge access with my first class ticket?

This week: Interview with Barry Eccleston, former CEO Airbus America; Delta turns a profit in Q2; Listener question: Was Southwest caught with their pants down? Plus shout-outs.

This week: New regulations on fee transparency & refunds? More United flights on the way; Startup Avelo quickly drops 3 cities; New entrant Play debuts; Listener question: Why are airfare prices higher now? and a shoutout to Brad Paisley!

This week: Interview with Greg Webb, CEO Travelport - plus holiday weekend travel observations; Examining the United new aircraft order; American sues Sabre Corporation; Is Southwest Airlines being mean to Skiplagged? Support service staffing shortages; Fine or Whine & shoutouts.

This week: New Southwest CEO-Changes? British Airways puts some employees back on furlough; Aircraft orders by United & Delta; Flight cuts at American due to "an employee shortage"; Listener question: Why no ASM level reports? Wide-body and pilot pay potential.

This Week: Interview - David Short, Fmr. Acting Under Secretary for Policy @DOT; Multiple airlines experience tech system issues; Single pilot long haul flights by 2025? Can airlines confiscate your miles for bad behavior?

This week: Spirit dives into Miami-why now? How will American react? 737 MAX is back; Virgin Atlantic & American invest in vertical aerospace; How are FAA passenger fines handled? Stay tuned in for BONUS interview Ken Witcher, Dean Embry-Riddle;

This week: Mike Cox from Seabury Capital on current airline realities, demand for single vs twin aisle aircraft and more; United goes supersonic; The report on UFO sightings; Listener Question: How vulnerable are aircraft to cyber hackers? Complaint: Accused of vaping in the bathroom & kicked off the plane-Fine? or Whine?

This week: General Counsel & Secretary of the Flight Safety Foundation & top ranked aviation lawyer Ken Quinn; The Belarus hijacking of a Ryan Air flight;Our roving reporter Chris Sloan reviews the inaugural flight of Breeze. A Southwest complaint-Fine? or Whine? Listener questions & shout-outs.

This week: An interview with Brian Kough, Aviation Week's Senior Director of Forecast & Aerospace Insights; Ryan Air's subsidy case; How Americans getting fatter affects operating envelope rulings; Can Delta legally require new employees to be vaccinated?

This week: An interview with Paul Kinstedt COO, Republic Airways; The 737-Max update; Frontier tries to cramp Avelo Airlines in Burbank, A listener question on the return of change/cancelation fees; A bag fee hassle-Fine? or Whine? The week's Shout-outs.

This week: From MRO Americas: Colby Harvey CEO of Rizse; Air France & KLM raising more capital; Are airlines being both bullish and pessimistic? Breeze changes course on structuring Flight Attendant position; A question about aircraft maintenance; This week's shout outs.

This week: From MRO Americas an interview w/ Lydia Janow, Managing Dir. Events/Tradeshows @‎Aviation Week; Our Roving Correspondent Chris Sloan reviews the 1st JetBlue A220 flight & The 1st Flight of new airline Avelo; Summer capacity projections, listener questions, shoutouts.

This week: Southwest reports a profit due to government funding; Avelo Airlines debuts; Atlanta gets replaced as world's busiest airport; Should the mask mandate be extended?; Listener comments, Fine or Whine? and shout-outs.

This week: David Grizzle former FAA COO talks public vs private, technology implementation, his tour of duty in Afghanistan & much more; Another issue with the 737-Max; Canada's approach to supporting it's airlines; Listener questions/corrections; This week's shout outs.

This week: A look at how summer capacity is shaping up; Impact on the US cruise industry; Will vaccination cards become mandatory for travel? Say goodbye to the hellish experience of Gate 35X at DCA; A listener asks if his "nice guy" gesture cost Delta $800; Shout-outs of the week.

This week: Special Guest Declan Ryan Chairman/President Viva Air on low cost carriers as an investment & much more; Also, what to keep an eye on in the proposed 2 Trillion dollar infrastructure bill; New guidance from the CDC; A pilot listener comment on Scope negotiations; Passenger complaint: My vouchers are expiring-they won't extend them, Fine? or Whine?

This week: The scope of pilot union contracts; Frontier introduces a new type of lighter weight seat; A look at Frontier and Sun Country IPOs; Listener question about low-cost transatlantic service; and shout-outs of the week.

This week: Special Guest Helane Becker, Airline Analyst-how she builds her financial models and much more; Plus a listener question on Allegiant's earnings call; We hear from a female pilot about federal funding, seniority list placement; A complaint about Lufthansa on a minor being split from travel companion-Fine? or Whine? A shoutout to Alaska Airlines.

This week: Covid Funding bill passes & 27,000 furloughs recalled; Restrictions with the money? CDC with a confusing travel alert; A good time to start an airline? Which one would Ben bet on? Listener question on Allegiant's disruption capability; shout-outs of the week.

This week: Airline icon Bob Crandall. Topics include deregulation, stock buy-backs, government bailouts, and how the industry is handling the Covid crisis; A listener question on how airlines design & research their routes; What is refrigerator scheduling? Complaint: The air nozzles didn't work-Fine or Whine?; plus our shout-outs of the week.

This Week: The IAG acquisition of Air Europa - will it create a mega-hub in Madrid? Can the Frenchbee A350 with 488 seats be profitable? What % of people would give up sex for a year to be able to travel again? Listener question: Why was Qatar flying from LAX to Mexico City? Plus this week's shoutouts...including the TSA?

This week: Weather & damage; $14 billion stimulus to airlines?; Are single pilot planes coming soon?; Amy has a question about "QC" airplanes; Kyle asks: Is there a "list price" for a commercial jetliner? Fatima has a complaint about Qatar Airways - Fine? or Whine?

This week: A trial balloon that didn't fly; New routes announced; A look OAG data indicates who's actually travelling; Listener complaint: Hawaiian Airlines charged $300 in change fees - Fine or Whine? and this week's shout-outs.

This Week: Special Guest WSJ Travel Editor Scott McCartney with the Best & Worst US Airlines of 2020; Airline staffing and who's asking for more government funding; A listener upset with United ticketing "schemes"- Fine? or Whine?

This week: The staggering amount US Airlines lost this past year; What were Southwest and American really saying in their earnings calls? Will pre-flight Covid testing for all domestic passengers be a requirement soon? New slot rules...now? A pilot/listener follows up on pilots breaks during flight; Shout-outs to Peter Ingram and Gary Kelly.

This week: United shows leadership; A look into the new Washington DC leadership change; What qualifies someone to be Secretary of Transportation? Special guest Richard Mintz; and a Spirit complaint-Fine? or Whine? *Note: We apologize for some audio technical difficulties this week.

Delta says they can hit cash break even by summer. Can they? Norwegian ceases transatlantic flights.How long is OK for a pilot to be out of the cockpit during a flight? and Dan gets the Geek of the Week Award for his question of Yield vs PRASM

Welcome Ben's new Co-Host Chris Chiames; Can Chinese state-owned Comac succeed in the USA? Ryan Air's covid ad campaign; Listener question on SkyWest's; Should the people who stormed Capitol Hill be banned from flying? and is Alexandra's complaint about Alaska rebooking her and not letting her take her cats onboard - "Fine or Whine?"

Seth with a big announcement; We welcome Chris Chiames to the podcast; A look at how holiday travel went; Listener questions: Is a 717 or 757-Max in our future? Did Boeing actually benefit from corner cutting? and Richard in Houston has a complaint about Delta Comfort-Fine? or Whine?

Wishing you a Happy New Year! A listener question: Is the Saint Louis airport going away? What is United currently flying from St Louis and what makes hubs succeed or fail? Another listener asks: Is the FAA too cozy with Boeing regarding the 737 Max? and a "Fine or Whine" complaint that's a very clear Fine!

This Week: Jet Blue new flight destinations including Miami? Did one airline accidentally match another airline's business class pricing mistake? Insider trivia: What is the "through flight assignment model"?and a baggage compensation complaint in India - Fine? or Whine?

This week: 2020 Holiday travel; Aircraft financing; The logic of flight numbers; A complaint about Aeromexico - Fine? or Whine? and is Covid isolation good for redheads?

This week: Special guest Chris Sloan from The Airchive; The 737-Max takes flight again. How will people feel about flying on it? Why does Delta have multiple Midwest hubs? What's the business structure of airline alliances? and Seth has a complaint about Spirit...is it Fine? or a Whine?

This week: Airlines & the distribution of the covid vaccine; Does one airline actually taxi faster than other airlines? A passenger gets arrested while behaving badly; and a complaint about KLM ticket change charge - Fine? or Whine?

This week: An Asiana - Korean Air merger? An update of the AA rules around heavy wheelchairs; Letter grades on how individual airlines are handling the covid situation from a business & customer perspective; and Charlene says her United plane was dirty and she felt unsafe...Fine? or Whine?

This week: Southwest adds to their 737 Max fleet; A flight attendant behaves badly; A weight limit for wheelchairs? and a complaint about United asking for proof of death.

This week: Saluting all Veterans; Current opportunities in the airline industry; Do exclusive gate deal for airlines still exist? Anthony with a complaint about a paid boarding upgrade on Southwest - Fine? or Whine?

This week: Will holiday travel demand return? First-ever Southwest layoffs? How long will passengers who refuse to wear a mask be banned from flying? Passengers Behaving Badly...on Spirit; and is a Frontier pricing complaint Fine? or a Whine?