Aviation tips

Budget airlines are upending many their original business plans as increased costs wreak havoc on their bottom lines.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Molina Singh, a 22-year-old from Delhi who was on board Akasa Air Flight 1719 on June 3. It has been edited for length and clarity.

The Indian aviation industry has recorded its highest-ever half yearly domestic passenger traffic. Between January and June 2024, Indian airlines carried 79.35 million passengers. This was an increase of over 4% from the previous year, as per data from Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation. 

I was doom-scrolling TikTok a few months ago when a video of someone walking around empty terminals at Denver International Airport popped up. The video, posted at the end of May, had about 25 million views and 3.7 million likes as of this month.

Delta Air Lines has issued a public apology for a perceived anti-Palestinian social media post.

United Airlines introduced a "basic economy" ticket in 2017 to compete with budget carriers like Frontier and Spirit Airlines.

24 Delta Air Lines passengers received medical attention after eating "spoiled" food on their flight, The Associated Press reported.

A passenger opened an emergency exit after mistaking it for the bathroom door, according to Chinese media reports, which cited local officials.

A Ryanair flight had to turn around after an argument broke out soon after takeoff.

A second airline has changed its cabin service due to increased concerns about turbulence.

An Air Europa passenger appeared to get stuck in an overhead bin when their flight experienced severe turbulence.

A JetBlue passenger who says she was scalded by hot tea is suing the airline for $1.5 million, according to court documents filed last Friday.

Boeing's 777X is the world's largest passenger plane in production, complete with revolutionary folding wingtips and 10% better fuel efficiency than competitors.

Two people in wheelchairs were left on the airport tarmac as their flight took off without them, The Washington Post reported.

Making money in the airline industry has never been easy.

Every year, the aviation ranking website Skytrax compiles and analyzes thousands of customer satisfaction surveys to determine the best of the best among some 350 airlines.

Singapore Airlines is heralded as one of the most luxurious carriers in the world, earning loyalty for its nice cabins, attentive flight attendants, and reliable operation.

India is now the third-largest domestic aviation market, after the U.S. and China, according to data by aviation analytics firm OAG. In April 2024, India’s domestic airline capacity was about 15.6 million, up from 8 million in April 2014. 

I've spent years traversing the world trying out different airline economy cabins, from premium carriers like Delta Air Lines and All Nippon Airways to budget ones like Norse Atlantic Airways and Spirit Airlines.

Ultra-low-cost carriers, or ULCCs, were a saving grace in college when I had limited fun money. I didn't care about the barebones planes or stuffing everything into a personal item so long as I could travel cheaply.

UK-based startup Global Airlines, which planned to begin flying Airbus A380s between New York and London as early as summer 2024, is already delaying its launch to 2025.