News and notes from around the interweb:
- The Department of Transportation has been taken over by Delta and to a lesser extent the other major airlines. So much for “the President’s initiative to use all of government to” promote competition. And this doesn’t even factor the new rulemaking to ban JSX and SkyWest Charter which introduce competition (and fly to underserved markets).
DOT and DOJ only seem to do what is in the interest of Delta.
- Take down the JetBlue and American North East Alliance giving Delta dominance of New York’s two main airports
- Potentially allow the merger of Spirit and JetBlue according to Wall Street in return for not fighting the NEA judgment, which would raise fares 40% and be a huge boon to Delta’s Florida-focused Atlanta mega-hub
- And blocking Mexican carriers (which would be low cost airlines) from expanding trans-border routes while protecting the only U.S.-Mexico alliance between Delta and Mexico’s high fare airline, AeroMexico.
- Take down the JetBlue and American North East Alliance giving Delta dominance of New York’s two main airports
- Erstwhile presidential candidate Miami mayor Francis Suarez has been side hustling for Bilt Rewards (HT: R.G.)
In 2021, Suarez promoted Bilt Rewards — a New York-based company that allows customers to earn points by renting properties within the company’s network — on X, the platform then-known as Twitter, saying the firm was one he hoped to attract to Miami. Although it’s unclear when Bilt started paying the mayor, his federal financial disclosure shows Suarez received between $50,000 and $100,000 from the company since 2022.
- How to throw away your trash when cabin crew comes by? I’d argue that the airsickness bag isn’t actually a trash bag, though, and it probably won’t get replaced for awhile.
@msbuglady Because why are yall like this😂!? Lol say it with me ladies and gents! 🗣️CONSOLIDATE😩 #travel #houston #🐞 #single #howtobeaflightattendant #flightattendant #ladybug #blackflightattendant #blackflightattendants #blackflightattendantsusa #blackpilots #aviationlife #prettyblackflightattendants #dayinthelifeofaflightattendant ♬ original sound – Ashley Robinson - Visa and Mastercard planning to raise merchant fees which maybe doesn’t create the best optics when retailers are lobbying heavily for legislation to regulate those fees down.
- Passenger Meltdown AFTER Arrival Due To Ground Delay In Off-Boarding Aircraft
- Choice Privileges refer a friend, you both earn 500 points with their first stay
- APFA ‘self help’.
@AmericanAir video from my MIA-SFO flight last night (AA2280). My call light on for at least 20 min with the attendants (especially Sydney) watching, and not even acknowledging it. Not on video is them just walking past and laughing. Disgusting pic.twitter.com/c1FFvxtZZ9
— vasliner (@vasliner1) August 30, 2023
Everyone knows the FAs are here primarily f̶o̶r̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶s̶a̶f̶e̶t̶y̶ to sell credit cards.
Keep pushing it.
On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off.
“What are you doing?!?”
“Oh… I thought it was broken”
Miami mayor promotes Bilt Rewards,
cough, cough, Pot.Kettle.Black
Anyone who doesn’t understand that the airlines rule their regulators hasn’t been paying attention.
Everybody is standing up so the airplane is at the gate and the luggage can be offloaded and put on the carousels so that anyone around can pilfer or steal. I understand her being upset.
What a truly impressively stupid time to raise credit card fees at this time. Cue the SNL Bad Idea Jeans commercial.
Sadly, we have lost our way all due to the unnecessary extension of Covid shut down.
@patrick
Think I’m going to brush upon my morse code and try that.
The ground delay thing reminds me of the two different occasions I got the Backstage Tour of Heathrow Airport…
Y’all complaining about the one announcement about the airline CC offer spiel that the FA are required to make, but leave you IFE screen on the entire flight with ads playing over and over – get some noise cancelling ear buds!
Regulators captured by the regulated. An immutable law of nature.
it is not a surprise that the people that charge that Delta has bought off regulators are the same ones that can’t admit that Delta has executed its NYC strategies flawlessly while AA, B6, and UA have all made major strategic mistakes.
AA asked the FAA to eliminate slots at LGA and JFK while DL added flights; UA walked away from JFK, underused its EWR slots leading to the end of slot controls, and has now overscheduled EWR to the point they have to cut flights; B6 and AA engaged in the NEA that they knew wasn’t legal.
It is only a matter of time before DL adds JFK to East and South Asia to completely displace UA in NYC.
Given that AA and UA are both larger than DL in Mexico and AM cannot add flights, it makes no sense to argue that DL is buying off regulators to protect AM.
The B6/NK merger will live or did on its own merits. Period.