Delta Air Lines Plane Struck By Lightning, Forced to Return to Boston

British Airways is spending $9 billion to lift its reputation after years of slumping popularity.

As earnings season draws to a close, we’re taking a closer look at the most lucrative arm of many major U.S. airlines: loyalty programs.

Delta Air Lines on Friday said that Mike Spanos, its chief operating officer, will depart the airline for a new job at the end of August.

Delta Air Lines became the official airline of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) on August 20, extending the two organizations’ partnership and the airline’s focus on supporting women’s athletics. 

Former NFL player Gosder Cherilus was arrested at Logan International Airport after allegedly urinating on an elderly passenger and hitting another on an overnight flight from Boston to Dublin over the weekend.

Alaska Airlines is about to use its luxury partner on a long-haul flight. The carrier will offer service from Seattle to Taipei on Starlux Airlines three times a week.

The Labor Day holiday travel period is approaching fast, and AAA booking data suggests cruising to Alaska and flying to Seattle are two of the most popular options for 2024.

Travelers may be flying in a new, futuristic looking aircraft within the next decade. Alaska Airlines recently announced a new investment in aircraft company JetZero, which is in the process of designing and manufacturing super-wide aircraft that utilize less fuel and look straight out of a science fiction novel. The design of the new plane is known as a «blended wing body» (BWB), which is wider than most aircraft and could create a brand new cabin experience for passengers to leisurely spread out.  “JetZero's BWB aircraft stands out with its innovative design that integrates the wings and fuselage into a single smooth shape, greatly reducing aerodynamic drag,” according to the release. The new aircraft design drops fuel consumption by 50%, and also significantly reduces operating costs.

The day is finally here.

A Delta Air Lines charter flight carrying players and staff members of the NFL's Carolina Panthers slid off of the runway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport early Friday morning.No one was injured when the plane skidded into the mud while taxiing to Wilson Air Center at around 2:35 a.m. local time Friday.Citing a source familiar with the situation, ESPN reported that it took roughly an hour for a bus to get the team back to the air center after deplaning. The aircraft was eventually towed out of the area and crews made repairs before the taxiway reopened around 6:30 a.m.

A plan to make airport security lines move a little quicker we’ll have to wait.

The accusations continue to fly in the wake of last month’s global IT outage that impacted scores of flights.On the heels of Delta Air Lines saying it has “no choice” but to pursue damages from Microsoft and CrowdStrike in relation to the tech meltdown, Microsoft is firing back.Today, the tech giant accused Delta of not modernizing its technology in the lead up to the IT outage. Mark Cheffo, a partner at Dechert, the law firm representing Microsoft, said in a letter to Delta’s attorney today that Microsoft is wondering why American Airlines, United Airlines and other carriers were able to bounce back from the global IT meltdown more quickly than Delta. “Our preliminary review suggests that Delta, unlike its competitors, apparently has not modernized its IT infrastructure, either for the benefit of its customers or for its pilots and flight attendants,” Cheffo said in the letter, per CNBC.Delta canceled some 5,000 flights as a result of the July 19 IT issue, which was triggered by a software update from CrowdStrike. Millions of computers that use Microsoft Windows were ultimately impacted worldwide — for both airlines and businesses alike.Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, said publicly last week that the airline is seeking about $500 million in damages for the massive disruption.The airline shot back in response to Microsoft’s new claims, pointing out that it has “a long track record of investing in safe, reliable and elevated service for our customers and employees."“Since 2016, Delta has invested billions of dollars in IT capital expenditures, in addition to the billions spent annually in IT operating costs,” Delta said in response to the Tuesday letter from Microsoft, according to a statement issued by the airline, per CNBC.Additionally, back in July, Delta lawyers told Microsoft: “We have reason to believe Microsoft has failed to comply with contractual requirements and otherwise acted in a grossly negligent, indeed willful, manner in connection with the Faulty Update” from CrowdStrike that triggered the IT issue.Cheffo rejected Delta's assertion, stating in his own letter that while Microsoft “empathizes with Delta and its customers..Delta’s public comments are incomplete, false, misleading, and damaging to Microsoft and its reputation.”Cheffo also said that Microsoft offered to provide Delta with free assistance in the wake of the July 19 tech incident. But according to Cheffo’s letter, the airline rejected the support.