Airlines and Airports tips

After a spate of high-profile airline industry incidents, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has issued a memo addressing safety concerns.In the memo Kirby said safety is the airline’s top priority, according to a report from The Points Guy.The airline CEO also discussed United’s own safety incidents, including acknowledging the airline has had “a number” of such incidents."While they are all unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus," Kirby wrote, per The Points Guy. "Our team is reviewing the details of each case to understand what happened and using those insights to inform our safety training and procedures across all employee groups.”The memo from the CEO also indicates that United is working on rolling out a variety of new safety measures. Though Kirby also explained that the new safety upgrades were in the works before United’s recent spate of safety episodes. Some of the new measures the airline will be implementing include an extra day of training for pilots and new curriculum for maintenance technicians."I'm confident that we'll learn the right lessons from these recent incidents and continue to run an operation that puts safety first and makes our employees and customers proud," Kirby added.Kirby’s memo comes on the heels of a rocky few months for the airline industry as a whole. The most significant of which was the January 5 incident involving a Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max flight during which a door plug blew off after take-off and the plane was required to make an emergency landing.A handful of passengers who were on that Alaska Airlines flight have since filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Boeing, alleging negligence on the part of the plane manufacturer.As for United Airlines, one of its flights involving a 737 Max rolled off the runway at George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston recently. Part of the plane’s landing gear collapsed as a result. That United incident followed a tire falling from a Boeing 777-200 plane (also flown by United) one day earlier.

Boeing has been under increased scrutiny ever since a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane in mid-flight.

Flying cars are getting closer to reality every day.

Is Spirit Airlines on the brink of insolvency?

Alaska Air Group announced its quarterly financial results would not be as bad as initially expected following a January incident that saw one of its planes lose a door midflight and the subsequent grounding of several aircraft in the carrier’s fleet.

Next month’s total solar eclipse, which will pass directly over a wide swath of North America, is drawing an awful lot of interest from folks who are willing to travel to see it in all its glory. In order to do so, they need to place themselves somewhere along its path of totality—geographic locations from which the sun will appear to be entirely obstructed by the moon’s shadow passing between the Earth and its nearest star.

American Airlines is introducing a new fleet of planes at its New York hub.The carrier will add the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to a report from The Points Guy. The publication identified the airline’s plans through Cirium schedules, and subsequently confirmed the news with an airline spokespersonThe new 285-seat plans will be serving American’s New York to New Delhi route beginning October 27. The new plan will replace Boeing 777-300ER aircraft currently flying between New York and New Delhi.American Airlines plans to add several Dreamliners to its New York-based fleet in conjunction with expanding the number of pilots it has operating from New York.“This weekend, American Airlines adjusted the aircraft type operating between New York (JFK) and New Delhi (DEL) starting in October. We will continue to offer daily nonstop service on this route as we optimize our network and fleet,” an airline spokesperson told The Points Guy in a statement.About 30 Dreamliners will be added to American Airline’s stable of planes over the coming years, according to The Points Guy. The first Dreamliner anticipated to come online later this year. The planes contain 51 Flagship Business suites, 32 premium economy seats, 18 Main Cabin Extra economy seats and 143 standard economy seats.

JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines announced the companies have agreed to terminate their July 2022 merger agreement.

Southwest Airlines is picking up where it left off earlier this month by launching another sale on spring flights.

JetBlue has launched its limited-time Big Spring Sale featuring $25 off one-way flights of at least $50 and $50 off roundtrip flights of at least $100.The two-day sale runs through midnight Wednesday, March 6 and is good for travel between Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, June 12, 2024.Travelers can use promo code SPRINGTRAVEL at checkout to take advantage of the discounted seats.Terms and conditions apply, however. The sale does not include Friday or Sunday travel, minimum spend does not include taxes and fees and the discounts are valid on nonstop flights only.You can contact your travel advisor or visit JetBlue's Best Fare Finder Tool to browse the latest offers.

A trio of passengers who were onboard the Alaska Airlines flight that lost a door plug after take-off are suing plane manufacturer Boeing for negligence.The $1 billion lawsuit was filed on February 20 in Multnomah County, Oregon, according to a press release issued by the passenger’s lawyers. The plaintiffs are Kyle Rinker, Amanda Strickland, and Kevin Kwok.Rinker, Strickland, and Kwok are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages from Boeing, which manufactures the 737 MAX 9 jet that was involved in the incident."As a direct result of the frightful, death-threatening failure of the Boeing aircraft, Mr. Kwok, Mr.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it has halted production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX following a six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems.According to the FAA, it "found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements" in the wake of a January 5 incident in which a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines flight in mid-air."The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing's manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control. The FAA is providing these details to the public as an update to the agency’s ongoing investigation," the agency said Monday."To hold Boeing accountable for its production quality issues, the FAA has halted production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX, is exploring the use of a third party to conduct independent reviews of quality systems, and will continue its increased onsite presence at Boeing’s facility in Renton, Washington, and Spirit AeroSystems’ facility in Wichita, Kansas."

American Airlines has just disclosed that it has submitted orders for 260 new aircraft; namely, 85 Airbus A321neo, 85 Boeing 737 MAX 10 and 90 Embraer E175 model airplanes. As part of its order with major aircraft manufacturer Boeing, American is upgauging 30 existing 737 MAX 8 orders to 737 MAX 10 aircraft, bypassing the embattled 737 MAX 9 entirely. 

Delta Air Lines is offering a second special path of totality flight ensuring travelers will be able to view the 2024 solar eclipse from the sky after the first flight, DL1218, sold out in under 24 hours. 

Southwest Airlines and Omni Hotels & Resorts are teaming up to offer a special "Solarbration" sweepstakes ahead of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.The sweepstakes—which can be entered now through March 11—will reward two lucky winners with a prize package that includes air travel on a flight predicted to be in the direct path of the eclipse.The flight options include Southwest Flight 1252, which departs Dallas (Love Field) at 12:40 p.m. CT for Pittsburgh, and Southwest Flight 1721, which departs Austin at 12:55 p.m. CT for Indianapolis.Omni will do its part by putting the winners up in custom-designed guest rooms inspired by the celestial event. The special accommodations will be located at Omni Hotels in the departure cities of Dallas and Austin and the arrival cities of Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.In addition to roundtrip flights and accommodations for two nights, winners will receive exclusive solar eclipse viewing glasses and fun inflight experiences aboard their eclipse flights.

Spirit Airlines has announced plans to suspend operations at New Hampshire's Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) on May 8, according to Boston.com.The budget carrier said the decision is due to "ongoing operational constraints related to Pratt & Whitney GTF engine availability and seasonal demand for our MHT flights.""This decision reflects our continuing efforts to make necessary strategic shifts to enable Spirit to compete effectively in the current environment," Spirit added. "We apologize to our guests for any inconvenience, and those with reservations for May 8 or later will be offered a refund. Manchester-Boston Regional Airport is a great partner, and we look forward to returning with seasonal service next winter."Spirit operates nonstop flights to Orlando and seasonal service to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from MHT. According to Reuters, the airline is the largest domestic operator of GTF-powered (geared turbofan) NEO aircraft and has been battling engine issues since last summer."MHT is grateful to Spirit Airlines for their service to the Manchester community for the last few years," the airport said in a statement. "We understand that difficult decisions have to be made in light of the Pratt and Whitney engine issue. It is important to note that this is a pause in service, not a withdrawal in service. MHT stands ready to warmly welcome Spirit back to the Manchester market when the time is right for them."

Australia’s flag carrier, Qantas, was forced to replace three separate flights from Melbourne to Sydney with an Airbus A380 superjumbo jet on Friday—a plane which is typically reserved for long-haul international flights. 

In what may be a last ditch effort, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines have filed an appeals court brief asking that the merger between the two airlines be allowed to proceed.The brief, filed today with the Boston 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, asks that the court overturn a recent judge’s ruling that stopped the proposed $3.8 billion, according to Reuters. In the brief, the airlines argued that the merger was improperly blocked and pointed out that the same judge who ruled against the airlines joining forces also recognized that such a merger would: ”improve competition, and thus reduce prices, for the vast majority of consumers."

New data showed that travel agencies in the United States set a new record in January for air ticket sales.

Carl Icahn is already making his presence felt at JetBlue Airways.

Willie Walsh, the Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has given his support to the leadership of the Boeing Co.