American loaded its most recent short-term coronavirus-related April schedule cuts over the weekend, and the airline cut deep in some geographies. It promised a 60 to 70 percent domestic cut in Apr… | Continue reading
This week’s featured link The Case for Shutting Down U.S. Airlines Now – SkiftIt should be shut down, but it’s not just the threat of spreading the disease. It’s also the ec… | Continue reading
This week’s featured link The Case for Shutting Down U.S. Airlines Now – SkiftIt should be shut down, but it’s not just the threat of spreading the disease. It’s also the ec… | Continue reading
I was going to write today about the details of United’s big schedule change, but I’m pushing that off. Instead, I’ve decided that there’s more to write around United’… | Continue reading
American continues to makes it way around the globe looking for ways to fill its geographical needs. After Gol helped fill in some blank spots in Brazil, the improved Alaska partnership shored up t… | Continue reading
Fluffy, American-style buttermilk pancakes. So easy to make and perfect for Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday or even weekend brunch. You can make these with yoghurt (useful for those in the UK) as a substitute for the buttermilk. | Continue reading
Inflight Movies: Does Anyone Really Want to Watch Them on a Phone? – The Wall Street Journal ($Subscription Required$)It’s the age-old question about inflight entertainment. Does a seat… | Continue reading
Remember that whole thing about American stagnating? The message reached a deafening road when Delta took LATAM away. It looks like someone over there got the message. This morning, American is ann… | Continue reading
It has been six years since American and US Airways merged, and there is now finally a joint contract on the table for the new American’s mechanics and fleet service agents. Those are the gro… | Continue reading
This new remodel of Thunderbird Heights Residence eventually encompassed 90% of the existing house, including reconfiguring the entire ... | Continue reading
Drawings, found in the hundreds, every page hand-bound, every artwork a labour of love. Why was it found in a dumpster in Springfield, Missouri, by a teenager who pulled it out in 1970? For decades, the only clue to its origins was a water mark: "Missouri State 'Lunatic Asylum' N … | Continue reading
Ever since the US Airways days, the current American management team has been completely and totally focused on building service in hubs and only in hubs. That has frustrated many, especially those… | Continue reading
Ah, October. Fall has arrived, thunderstorms have diminished, and the weather is about as good as it usually can be. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect — it never is — but Octob… | Continue reading
United had its first global media day (at least, first that I can remember) on Friday, and it was an event well done. That being said, I didn’t expect there would be homework…. Chief Co… | Continue reading
As LATAM prepares to consciously uncouple from American, the discussion has centered around what American can do to shore up its already-solid Latin American network. In the vision I laid out recen… | Continue reading
Sorry for the delayed post, but this news was under embargo until now, and I thought it worth waiting instead of posting next week. Rumors about changes in American’s management have reached … | Continue reading
Last week I wrote about how American’s loss of LATAM as a partner wasn’t necessarily a problem from a commercial point-of-view but rather from a strategic and management point-of-view. … | Continue reading
It’s time for a rare Wednesday post. After already cutting their partnership back after Alaska and Virgin America merged, American and Alaska will be nearly severing their ties starting in Ma… | Continue reading
Much has been written about Delta’s surprise deal to buy 20 percent of LATAM, inject money into the company, and take 14 excess A350s off the airline’s hands. It’s a big win for D… | Continue reading
American Airlines and its mechanics have been locked in prolonged negotiations for years. Things escalated recently when the unions were slapped by a judge for engaging in an illegal job action, bu… | Continue reading
American may not have had a 747 to retire like Delta and United, but the airline put together one heck of a tribute to its MD-80s on their last day in revenue service. Though I was invited, I wasn&… | Continue reading
This week’s featured link: Canceled flights, wrecked vacations and leaky planes: Passenger frustrations rise as American Airlines struggles – Dallas Morning NewsThe media coverage conti… | Continue reading
American Airlines Will Make First Class Classier on Some Jets – SkiftBrian Sumers was the first to get official confirmation that American will be fixing First Class on its newly-configured &… | Continue reading
American has gotten into a new routine of lumping summer schedule changes into one big release to try to garner buzz. This year, it tried to add mystery to the process with this… interesting&… | Continue reading
This summer, my family decided to try a very different kind of vacation. We opted for a month-long adventure somewhere in the world. The problem is, I couldn’t take an entire month off work, … | Continue reading
I’ve been getting deep into the weeds looking at American’s fight with its mechanics and fleet service workers recently. Many years after the merger, there is still no joint contract, a… | Continue reading
The fight between American and the TWU/IAM unions representing mechanics and fleet service workers continues to get worse. Though American was able to obtain a temporary restraining order (TRO) pre… | Continue reading
Once June ended, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on full month performance data to see just how bad the month was for American. It would have been bad enough if American simply had to contend… | Continue reading
American Airlines says mechanics are causing delays. Now, a judge could force the union to pay for it – Dallas Morning News This article came out before the trial began, but it’s going … | Continue reading
I went through the short but tortured history of American’s negotiations with its mechanics and rampers yesterday, so today let’s get into exactly what is holding things back. In short&… | Continue reading
The rhetoric has ramped up dramatically, and the lengthy contract negotiation between American and both its mechanics and fleet service workers (aka rampers) has now spilled over into the public ey… | Continue reading
American finally received some good news this week. After getting rejected once, the airline received tentative approval from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to put together its joint ven… | Continue reading
Why American Airlines is adding nonstop flights from DFW to these cities in Europe – Fort Worth Star-TelegramWhy? Well, because American is growing DFW to be a massive hub. And the more feed … | Continue reading
There has been discussion about expanding Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport probably since the day it opened. The airport has expanded since that time, but now, a commitment has been made by… | Continue reading
The big three US airlines (American, Delta, and United) have been hammering on the big three Middle East carriers (Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar) for illegal subsidies for many years now. I’ve … | Continue reading
This week’s featured link: American Airlines jet “nearly crashed” during takeoff at JFK last week – CBS NewsIn case you missed this, just… wow. That was quite the clos… | Continue reading
On March 13, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) relented and made the decision to ground all 737 MAX aircraft flying in the US. As the last country to do so, this effectively meant the MAX w… | Continue reading
It’s been a long, cold, rainy winter (by Southern California standards), so I was thrilled at the prospect of joining some of my old America West friends at our annual spring training game in… | Continue reading
As you know, last month was the annual American Leadership Conference, and once again I was invited as a member of the media. This would be my first flights since being gifted entry-level Gold elit… | Continue reading
Welcome to the second half of my long night with American. In my post about the first half of the night, I wrote about our time in the Integrated Operations Center (IOC). Today, I’ll pick up … | Continue reading
Next year, another round of slots at Tokyo’s close-in Haneda airport opens up, and the battle to procure them has begun. American, Delta, Hawaiian, and United have all staked their claims wit… | Continue reading
Often when an airline rolls out a new aircraft type, it’s done with great fanfare. It’s not every day that a new airplane gets inducted into the fleet, after all. Delta put its A220 (TA… | Continue reading
Free for a dinner date tonight? We'll cosy up under the palm trees, beneath the eyes of Grecian statues and the bubbling of waterfalls; we'll stroll amongst Medici-inspired gardens and socialise with 200-and-something other guests who've ordered a Delmonico steak, or triple-decke … | Continue reading
As the Midwest continues to be crushed by the polar vortex, I found myself wondering just how operations have run this year. There have been several bad weather events that have snarled operations,… | Continue reading
The news came as a surprise to me. After many years of saying that it just didn't have enough premium-configured A321T aircraft to fly beyond the traditional transcon routes of New York/JFK to both LA | Continue reading
I recently wrote about American CEO Doug Parker's view on why things are on the right track at American, but that's certainly not a view shared by many these days. There seems to be something | Continue reading
The 411 on Preferred Seating Fees & Basic Economy Fares - Miles to Go podcastI sat down for a long chat with Ed, and we discussed everything from preferred seating fees (and how I hate | Continue reading