So, when the news broke last week that executives at Air France-KLM were considering a new name for their company, we were instantly reminded of those sessions (and the inherent tension therein).2 Air France and KLM already made for strange bedfellows, and now leadership is looking to bring SAS and potentially TAP into the fold. We get that “Air France KLM SAS TAP Group” or something in that vein doesn’t roll off the tongue, but neither does the working name of “Blue Group.”

Now, wait a second, Al, aren’t they just changing the name of the parent company? Didn’t leadership say that a name change was “perfectly logical?” Who cares what some anonymous corporate entity above the flag carriers is called?

Well, you may not, but trust us, the people who work at these airlines do!

Why is that, you say? Well, flag carriers have the added weight of representing their country, and that comes with a lot of pride amongst the employee group.3 And, even during times of economic uncertainty and struggling performance, no one wants to see their name taken away.

Now Air France-KLM has a couple of nearby examples in Europe. The first is the Lufthansa Group, which includes its namesake along with Austrian, SWISS, Brussels, ITA and several leisure carriers. In this case, Lufthansa went ahead and said, “We are the biggest entity, and our parent name will reflect that.”4 While each flag carrier still has its name and identity, it’s pretty clear who is in charge.

The other example is the International Airlines Group (IAG), which includes British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL. Now, this is clearly the model that the AF/KLM folks are looking at. IAG is probably the most generic name you could come up with short of something like Airline Company, Inc. While the intentions were undoubtedly to create a “neutral” company that could encompass multiple flag carriers, the IAG name would definitely scare me more if I was a proud Aer Lingus or Iberia employee. At some point, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see that name take over the individual carriers as well in an attempt at “synergy” — they’ve already done it in cargo.

So what to do for AF/KLM? We’d put all our money on a name that isn’t too far off from (or exactly like) the aforementioned “Blue Group.”5 There is too much corporate logic to fight against it. Decks6 will be circulated about how the holding company needs to be a “neutral arbiter” and represent everyone. But the truth of holding companies is usually a bit more blunt. “Neutral arbiter” can often transform into distant leadership making entirely spreadsheet-driven decisions that are then foisted upon frontline management with little to no buy-in.7 And eventually, a new deck might be generated saying how synergy should now be extended to the side of the plane — and the whole airline should be called Blue Group. (Don’t worry, operating carrier, we’ll put your original logo by the door or something.)

Whatever happens, we can promise you that the employees will always view themselves as Air France flight attendants or KLM pilots or SAS gate agents. We know plenty of people in the US that still view themselves as Northwest, Continental or even TWA(!) crew members.8 No amount of corporate restructuring or branding can change that.

Notes

First off, RIP Spirit. When we wrapped up our last post, we knew that the end was probably near, but it still stinks when an airline shuts down, most notably for the people who (used to) work there. We’ll leave the post-mortems to others. One thing that stuck out to us was Spirit being the first airline we saw collapse in the real-time social media age, which made the whole event that much more painful for those involved as the news kept coming at all hours from all angles.1

A few days later, Delta quietly announced that it would be ending its “Express” snack and drink service on flights under 350 miles. On the heels of Spirit’s demise and with fares rising due to increased fuel prices, both trade and mainstream press were all over this news. DL also announced that it would be adding full service to flights between 350 and 500 miles, but unsurprisingly, that story didn’t get quite the same pick-up.

Whenever an airline makes a change like this, we always try to look at it through three lenses: airline, supplier, and customer.

The Airline Angle

Like any decision in this vein, we’re certain the math has been done for a while. In fact, we’re sure that junior analysts ran 8,000 different permutations of this change and its effect on costs, service and customer satisfaction.2 If DL needs to make another change, the cost and data analysis won’t be the issue. The math has also already been done on checked bag fees, seat fees, thermaprint boarding pass paper, and cheese cubes in the SkyClub. It’s no different in competitor offices in Chicago or Dallas.

In our opinion, the issue here was the timing. Perhaps DL CorpComm thought releasing this news now would get lost in the Spirit noise. Instead, writers tied it to the Spirit news as a sign of airlines giving less to passengers in a world where fares are going up. Couldn’t they have waited a couple weeks? DL also just debuted their new transcon A321 NEO with 44(!) first class seats. But, the majority of stories still seem to be about taking away the Biscoffs on the Atlanta-Jacksonville flight.

The Supplier Angle

Speaking of Biscoffs, while the fine people at Lotus Bakeries will be OK, changes like this can have a major effect on airline suppliers. According to DL, this will only affect 9% of total flights, but that’s still almost 500 flights. That’s a lot of drinks and snacks going away in an already low-margin business for the people who provide them. Not every shop can absorb this kind of loss like a 4-billion-dollar public company.3

Now, hopefully the addition of full service on flights in the 350 to 500 mile category will make up some of the difference. Still, if we had a snack or beverage business, maybe we’d be thinking of a way that we could motivate DL to distribute snacks for these flights in the jetway a la the long-lost SkyDeli, which may not have been the most gourmet option, but was remarkably efficient.4

Regardless, this is yet another reminder that, as a supplier, you are always one airline decision away from a very different world than the one you had planned. And even worse, one airline’s decision tends to lead to another airline’s decision and all of a sudden, instead of one reduced contract you have three (or more).5

The Customer Angle

This was amusing to us. There was the predictable backlash: “We can’t even get a drink on this flight?” There was the less predictable backlash to the backlash: “Why do you need something on such a short flight?” Then there was the somewhat baffling backlash to the backlash to the backlash: “Why are you defending this decision?”

Gotta love modern online discourse.6

Online opinions aside, the truth is that customers (and people in general) never like it when you take something away from them. And, the juxtaposition of this announcement against a shiny new plane with 44 first class seats cannot be ignored. It’s not just DL, either. Across the board, we are seeing press release after press release featuring lie-flat suites, new lounges, and gourmet premium class meals while we are also seeing diluted frequent flyer benefits, increased bag fees and a willingness to charge for nearly everything except a middle seat.

Airlines have always been two (or three or four) class environments, but we can’t remember a time when the difference was so stark and so visible. We’re not ones for pitchforks and torches, but we can also understand why you would get upset when that Biscoff is taken from you back in 37E.

Notes

Chore #1: Organize the UA Shelf

We took our longtime flying partner United Airlines to task for failing to recognize our Million Miler Achievement as we crossed that threshold on a flight last year. Well, lo and behold, a package arrived not long after that flight with a personalized acrylic desk award.

It’s nice, and it’s great that this achievement was recognized in 1990’s corporate-office style, but we still think onboard recognition is a must-do. It doesn’t have to be the full George Clooney treatment.

Chore #2: Put Southwest Stuff in the Storage Bins

We were hot and heavy on the Southwest assigned seating saga as they launched their biggest ever change to their customer experience back in January. There was a ton of news fervor.

And now, as we also predicted, it’s gone away. That’s not because passengers and crew suddenly decided to like it. Nope, because as we said, Southwest was never going to stop doing it. Once airlines get the taste of ancillary fees, they never stop eating, errrr, making accruals for them.1

Chore #3: Scrub the Allegiant Tickets

We reluctantly re-booked tickets on Allegiant for our upcoming cruise next month, despite the less-than-ideal experience we had in FLL last year.2

At the very least we expected to see our flight times changed, or even worse, the dates. However, we are holding steady with the ideal nonstop itinerary that made us go back to G4 in the first place. We’ll put the tickets back in the cynicism drawer for now.

Chore #4: Organize the Earnings Cabinets

We’d like to say that we’re the Substack “that listens to earnings calls so you don’t have to.” But, come on, we don’t either. Besides, Q1 was all about fuel. You don’t need a JP Morgan Analyst or a Citibank MD or a moderately popular airline Substack author to tell you that.

Airlines will ALWAYS be a business brutally buffeted by outside forces. That’s a totally obvious observation and not an original one and a fact that’s frequently noted elsewhere all the time. But it’s inescapable and it makes working at/for/with airlines super hard and that’s why we wrote about it in Week 1.

And it’s why we’ll write about it again.

Chore #5: Dust Off the Instagram Account

Despite having an Instagram account for some time, our general aversion to social media means we haven’t actually posted anything. While we could post an embarrassing picture from our airline past every day and not run out for several years, we just made our first post the picture of Greenland at dusk that so many of you said you liked.

We still hate LinkedIn, though.

Chore #6: Restart Our Flight Evaluation Exercise Routine

One of our pet peeves is the number of flight reviews that came out based on the inaugural flight of a new seat/route/aircraft, etc. Just this past week Alaska flew to Europe (Rome, to be specific) for the first time. The flight was filled with influencers, frequent flyer bloggers and other assorted media types.3 And good for them!

However, reviewing an inaugural flight is like reviewing a restaurant on opening night. Everyone is on their best behavior, the head chef is actually in the kitchen and the maitre d’ has hand-picked the night’s waitstaff. You really need to check in a couple months later when things have settled in and the chef is on vacation and the maitre d’ is sick and the best server’s car broke down.4

Stay tuned later this quarter for some REAL flight reviews.

Bonus Chore #7: Al on the Derby

One of our other most popular pieces was our paean to the Louisville Airport. Well, if there’s one weekend to AVOID this otherwise excellent aerodrome, it’s this weekend as thousands descend upon the ‘Ville for the Kentucky Derby.

We love the ponies here at AOTA, but don’t expect any tips. That’s because any real handicapper will tell you the Derby is an almost impossible race to predict. A 20-horse field is sort of like having four teams in the Super Bowl all playing each other at the same time. Our usual advice is to pick the horse you think looks pretty, has a cool name, or whose owner’s pre-race profile story on NBC is the most sob-inducing.

Finally, a quick note. You folks actually read this thing. Our open rate is nearly 48% — almost half of you open every issue, which is nearly double the industry average. If you know someone who'd appreciate being in that group, please send them our way!

Notes

1. We are Spirit(s) in the Creditor World

   
   Some recent travels saw us drive right by Spirit’s (very nice) HQ building in Dania Beach, Florida last week.1 Having spent time at two carriers in bankruptcy protection, we had a lot of empathy for the people inside. It’s never fun to be learning more about your company on CNBC than in your actual workplace, but that’s kind of how things go in these situations. It’s not a great scene right now for NK, and the 5 or 6 parked planes we saw at nearby FLL didn’t inspire much confidence.

   

   However, there is now talk of a government bailout(!?) headed to that beautiful new building in Dania. While the airline industry is no stranger to government assistance, this sort of bailout would set a new precedent that we’re sure every airline executive team is watching very closely.

   Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

2. Springtime HAM

   The biggest show for all things airline onboard experience is the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), held each year at the Hamburg Messe. We haven’t been for a few years, but trust us, we’ve paid our dues.2
   
   It seemed like every show news release (unsurprisingly) talked about connectivity in one way or another. One thing that did stick out was the new open-platform IFE concept developed by RAVE and Reaktor — while customers might not see the big deal, industry insiders know that breaking down the OEM walls between the airline and the passenger is a big deal. But, if you really want the full scoop in terms of news from the show, we always recommend our friend Seth Miller’s news recaps at his site: paxex.aero.

   

   Besides, we always view this week much more through the eyes of our airline supplier brethren out there. If you make aircraft seats, galleys, or entertainment systems, this is the biggest week of the year. Your sales VP/account director/PR coordinator at the show will have sore feet, be working on little sleep, and may be hungover — may be. If you’re an airline representative, it’s kind of like being the most popular kid at school, as everyone wants to invite you to dinner or to their party.34 However, you will also have sore feet, will be working on little sleep, and may be hungover. But again, who can say?
   

3. Mating Season
   It’s pretty simple: the more volatile things get in the industry, the more promiscuous airlines get. Against a landscape of global conflict, crazy-high jet fuel prices and (potential) government interventions, it’s basically the month before prom out there. That’s why it was not surprising to hear that American and Alaska decided to pursue a revenue sharing agreement, albeit after merger talks apparently didn’t work out — a conscious “sort-of” coupling if you will.

   

   
   This definitely won't be the last development on this front. We’re just curious to see what other dance partners emerge in the coming year. Sometimes it’s the ones you least expect.

Notes

We know because we were there. Well, we flew through there a lot.

The peak of the Delta Air Lines hub in Cincinnati happened to coincide with the start of our business travel career. For us, all (or most) roads led through CVG, sometimes whether we wanted them to or not.1

There have been many stories written about what happened to the former Delta Hub, starting with the challenges the airline was facing post 9-11 and then the inevitable reductions that came with the Northwest merger in 2008. There’s no need for us to rehash all that. We’ll just say RIP, Simplifares.2

We hadn’t seen much of CVG since those heady days, but our new home base requires us to fly out of CVG on occasion, and that means we have to confront the physical changes at the airport, and as a result, our own passage through time. Ugh.

At its peak in 2005, approximately 60,000 passengers flew through CVG every day. That number is now down to just under 25,000. So, the first thing we always notice is the lack of peeps! In particular, the central Atrium in the B Concourse used to be a buzzing hive of activity with a well-frequented Outback Steakhouse that we may or may not have frequented.3 Enter that same area today, and it’s home to the only Chick-Fil-A in the world without a line. Formerly packed gate areas in Concourse B now sit empty, flanked by the early 2000s-style counters we helped design. Those counters are heavy, expensive, and no longer suitable for today’s customer service technology, but they still stand sentry as a symbol of the former fourth-biggest hub in the world.4

Looking out to the west from Concourse B, there sits a giant empty concrete pad where the Old Concourse C used to sit. Or, as we used to call it, the Comair Bus Terminal. When the Canadair regional jet burst on the scene in the early 2000s, you could connect through Terminal C from one third-tier city to another.5 All the flights were up on a central board, and when your door was announced, you’d go walk to your noble 50-seat chariot on your way to Greenville, Akron/Canton, Madison, or some other exciting destination. Now Comair is gone entirely, 50-seat regional jets are almost gone, and all we have are DHL planes taxiing over the grave.

Some signs of former glory still remain, like the People Mover with a copycat of the OG Delta livery and one of the country’s most labyrinthine parking garages. And, in a nod to today’s tastes, you can buy bourbon EVERYWHERE at CVG, which, again, is in Kentucky.

Unfortunately, all these physical transformations inevitably affect the people who work at the airport. We had countless wonderful interactions with the team at CVG both as a passenger and a fellow employee — sadly, most of those jobs no longer exist.

To their credit, the leadership at CVG made a successful transition from passenger hub to cargo hub and the airport now sits as the sixth-busiest cargo hub in North America. There’s also the irony that more people fly to and from CVG than ever before; you just no longer have the masses of people flying through.

Still, you literally cannot escape the symbolism of the massive Amazon hub on the other side of the field while the passenger side is a fraction of its former self. In 2004, Amazon was a website you still used to buy books … occasionally … if the Borders was closed.6 Amazon can do a lot, but they can’t connect you to Greenville.

Notes

The response has been lukewarm at best, and other commentators have already made their feelings known. The short version is this: United is selling this as a way to make business class more affordable for customers who don’t want all the other “extra perks” with their tickets. But, we all know that the “basic” fare will soon be what today’s regular fare costs, and United will use this as a way to move prices up for everyone. We already saw this movie before with the introduction of “basic economy” across the industry.

This is United’s (and surely soon Delta’s and American’s) prerogative.2 We just wish they would come out and say it!

Instead, we get a news release that says this new tiered fare structure will make it “easier for customers to find the flight experience that best matches their preferences.”

Please find me the one business class customer at Newark today that says they didn’t really want access to the Polaris Lounge before their flight. Or, better yet, find me the hardcore overseas road warrior who never needs to change their ticket, something you cannot do with the new basic business fare. These are non-starters for the overwhelming majority of international business class travelers — trust us, we know.

The rest of the UA statement is littered with the usual descriptors like “more choice,” along with lots of glossy language about how the new tiered fare structure will appear on united.com.3 Unfortunately, it’s the same kind of messaging that frequent flyers have gotten used to come January when airlines announce their latest “enhancements” to their loyalty programs.4

We know it’s the job of the corporate communications department to put the best possible spin on things, but we’d love a little more candor and a little less ex-post-facto rationalization. One can only stomach so many “changes you will like.”

The other less-discussed angle to watch out for in this brave new world of tiered perks is the operational component. Neither the pricing nor the PR folks at UA HQ in Chicago will be the ones at O’Hare who have to tell a basic business class passenger that they can't come into the Polaris Lounge.5 They also won't be the ones to tell the corporate travelers who accidentally got booked into basic that they can’t change their ticket. As usual, those fun assignments fall on the frontline staff. While the revenue modeling for these unbundled offers looks great on paper, the day-to-day reality is always something a little different. And, the more complicated things get, the harder they are to deliver.

At least everyone up front still gets a meal . . . for now.

Notes

Then, you hear from some friends that they didn’t have any wait at all! In fact, they can’t remember getting through security that fast ever! They don’t understand what the fuss is about.

And that’s part of the problem with this latest curveball thrown at the airline industry — you never know what you’re going to get. And, if there’s one thing that drives airlines, travelers, airport administrators, Uber drivers, airport food delivery trucks, and Hudson news managers nuts, it’s inconsistency.

But why the differences? How come the line is two hours long in Atlanta and zero minutes long in Fort Lauderdale? Well, there are a lot of reasons, but here are three that come to mind.

1. Some Airports Have Always Stunk

Some people see lines in Atlanta and can’t believe it. Some of us ask, “What else is new?” We can remember lines stretching down the check-in lobby back in 2004.1

A big reason for this is structural. The overwhelming majority of local ATL passengers access their gates via the main terminal building. While there are many different lines, it’s essentially one very big security checkpoint that everyone must funnel through. Most airports in other large cities have multiple terminals that spread passengers out across different checkpoints. While ATL has made improvements over the years, it can’t overcome physics.2 There’s also no relief airport in Atlanta like there are in other big cities, so all roads lead to Hapeville.3

Even when it’s a “normal” time, we never expect to get through ATL security quickly, and we have all the Pre-Check/Touchless ID/Clear/Clear Plus memberships you can name. Under these circumstances, we might just drive to Birmingham.

2. Size Matters

Speaking of Birmingham, you’ve rarely seen small airports in the news on this. We’ve waxed poetic about small to mid-sized airports before, and once again, this is a time when they shine. Smaller airports naturally need less staff to operate security, and the staff in these airports is generally more consistent and tenured, as who wouldn’t rather screen bags at Norfolk instead of Dulles?

It would not be out of the question for a concerned traveler in Cincinnati to drive to Dayton versus flying out of CVG. Ultimately, the time saved could be worth the trip up I-75.

3. People Like Getting Paid for their Jobs

We’ll avoid a screed on the effectiveness of governmental organizations when it comes to efficiency and logistics. But, we wouldn’t be honest with our readers if we didn’t say that a lot of this comes down to congressional failures, poor planning, and a lack of coordination between airports, the TSA, and airlines. But, more than any of those things, it’s hard to expect people to come to work when they don’t get paid for it, no matter what the job.

That seems to be the reason why we’re seeing such major issues at Houston Intercontinental.4 IAH has multiple terminals to spread out screening. The city has Hobby Airport downtown that takes on a big share of local passengers. Nevertheless, when your sick call rates are near 35%, there’s just no way to manage that volume of traffic without significant issues. Also, not getting paid in a big city like Houston is probably a little bit tougher than not getting paid elsewhere.5

So what can the industry do about all this? Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see Delta CEO Ed Bastian say, “Enough!” and suspend the special services that DL provides to Congress. While that was satisfying news to a lot of the flying public, it couldn’t have been an easy decision given how much say the federal bureaucracy has over the “deregulated” airline industry. Still, Congress loves to (rightfully) call the airline CEOs in for a grilling when they mess up — this might be the closest thing the airlines can do in return.

Now, let’s get back to worrying about jet fuel prices.

Notes

Here’s a five-pack of things that caught our eye both in the news and out on the road (again) this past week.

Once Again the Airline Business is Not for the Faint of Heart

As we pointed out in one of our very first posts, airlines are subject to external forces as much as any business. Right now, the industry is getting it from two different angles: the US attack of Iran which has severely hampered operations at significant international hubs while driving oil prices to nearly $100 a barrel and another government shutdown which is causing increasingly significant chaos at airport security checkpoints around the country.1

Anything else anyone wants to throw in the mix while we’re at it?

I guarantee that airline finance and scheduling teams around the world are running all sorts of models on how to deal with the oil price issues, but as our friend Brett Snyder pointed out, there’s only so much they can do. Meanwhile, their colleagues in airport operations and PR are dealing with nonstop news clips of ridiculously long security lines. And we know those reports will only get worse because passenger misery is every local news broadcasters favorite topic.2

This is why I sigh whenever an airline executive starts getting all geeked up about how great things are looking. Bite your tongue, boss.3

How Am I Going to Play Candy Crush Without the Sound On?

There was a lot of pick-up about United’s new policy to potentially ban passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content.4

Finally, an airline regulation we can truly get behind. People playing stuff on their phone with the volume turned up is a scourge on our society.

However, this really needs to be extended to the lounge environment. (We’d also love to say the gate area, but all is pretty much lost out there in the wilds of the main concourse.) We will never understand the mentality that thinks it’s OK to have a FaceTime call on full blast around multiple strangers. Go get some more cheese cubes and put in the earbuds, dude.

Highly Refined Southwest

We got an email from our friends at Love Field about how they are “refining” their much criticized new assigned seating policy. Also on the bingo card were terms like “feedback,” “enhancements,” and “loyalty.” Southwest is also planning to add larger/dedicated overhead bins for Extra Legroom passengers — something that probably should have been part of this process to begin with.

Now, we love to pick on corporate-speak, but kudos to Southwest for at least (kind of) acknowledging that there have been issue with this new policy. That being said, we would have loved a much more honest note. Something akin to, “Tough. This is how it is now, and we’re never giving back that sweet, sweet assigned seating upcharge cash.”

Nerd Alert 1: LAX Eastbound Operations

We’ve already written about our propensity to hop on Flightradar24 during interesting weather or other events at airports. What’s even better is when you had a view from the top of a nearby hotel as LAX made a very rare switch to taking off to the east due to some very strong Santa Ana winds. Multiple planes had to go-around and make a big u-turn out by Catalina to come back in and land over the ocean. It was an aerial version of a packed LA freeway interchange.

We also got to experience an eastbound takeoff a day later for only the third or fourth time in our LAX flying history. We are also fully aware that all of this is of limited or nonexistent interest to most people.

Nerd Alert 2: Wow, Greenland

We’ve flown over Greenland many, many times. When it’s not covered by clouds, the scenery is absolutely spectacular. Still, we’ve never seen it look the way it did last week as we made a rare dusk flyover.5 It’s hard to believe it’s a real place.

It’s so easy to take everything below you for granted when you’re watching old 30 Rock episodes and eating another bag of chips. Every once in a while you may want to look out the window.

Notes

Occasionally, though, we get a long connection. Usually the temptation during this time is to head to the lounge for complimentary well drinks, but earlier this week we decided to walk around O’Hare (ORD) to see what’s up.

And what’s up, you ask? Well, like everything in this world, the robots are taking over.1

1. Vending Machines are out of Control

Airports have long had vending machines. Like all airport retail, it’s kind of a racket, both for the vending machine operator and the consumer. And, despite the one-sidedness of their transactions, they have long served a noble purpose, particularly after hours when you’re still waiting for a crew for your flight, and the nearby Auntie Anne’s shuttered a while ago.

However, my stroll revealed that Cheez-Its and Diet Coke have been usurped by Kylie Jenner cosmetics, LEGO sets and your favorite podcaster’s favorite supplement, AG1.2 Yes, a $100 per month wellness supplement now has multiple vending locations at O’Hare.

Unless AG1 has some incredible data on the proclivity of connecting passengers to purchase nutrients and gut health support on the go, we have to think this is mostly marketing. (We never actually saw anyone using the machine.) Maybe they’re trying to get some halo effect from Farmer’s Fridge, which seemingly has a machine at every gate. There were plenty of people using those, and perhaps some of them will go eat their Cobb Salad in the privacy of a Regus hourly rental work pod.

2. “Regular” Retail is Just as Soulless

Let’s say you want to peruse the (few remaining) magazines and candy options at Hudson News or CIBO Express. Well, at this point, you might as well be using a vending machine. Nearly every retail location has multiple self-service terminals, or in the case of the Amazon-powered locations, none at all.3 Sure, there is usually an employee or two in the store, but they’re usually standing with their hands behind their back, bemused or bored or both. You’re never sure whether they would rather you use the self-checkout or actually engage them in an actual transaction.

We are not anti-progress at Al on the Airlines, but we’re also not not anti-progress. Walking into Hudson News is a reminder that every piece of the travel sector will look to eliminate “people costs” wherever they can. The margins are too tight, and the pressure is too strong. About the only redeeming factor is not having to look someone in the eye when you’re buying a $9 bag of Sour Patch kids — hypothetically, of course.

3. A Last Gasp for Zombie Brands

We thought we were hallucinating as we passed an OG Brooks Brothers location in Terminal 3. We were immediately taken back to an earlier era of paper boarding passes, Nokia phones, and IBM Thinkpads. It made us want to fire up Lotus Notes and load a PowerPoint presentation on a Zip drive.4

Brooks Brothers’ time as a shopping mall juggernaut has come and (mostly) gone, but perhaps here at ORD people still do wear business casual and don’t wear joggers. In fact, we were tempted to pop in and buy some dress shirts or get in on a 3 for 2 polo shirt deal.5 Then we realized we would have to engage with an actual salesperson and that it’s 2026 and that we were out of AG1.

There are so many entrenched interests and impediments that make any changes to airport retail difficult and contribute to this unfortunate trajectory of experience. To be fair, a few airports have done better than others to create a more engaging and local-feeling environment. Still, the major airport retail management companies will continue to sell these changes with press releases that use terms like “reshaping the airport experience” and “journey is as exciting as the destination.”

If we really want to make the journey as exciting as the destination, then I can think of one travel retailer where that phrase rings true — a place where people actually want to stop, where the retail experience is part of the trip, and where they have brisket.

Maybe one of these airports (especially in the South) will get wise and put in a Buc-ee’s.

Notes

Nostra-dAL-mus?

We’re going to go ahead and declare vindication on our earlier prediction that Southwest’s move to assigned seating last month would cause “chaos.” What we did not expect is that the strongest backlash would come from the airline’s best customers. As we mentioned in another prior post, A-List customers who used to always board first and comfortably scatter throughout the plane now have to do the same overheard bin jockeying that other big US carrier customers have been doing for years. Do you really think all those people on the Monday 8 a.m. flight from DFW to LAX or from ORD to SFO want to be standing at the gate (and staring down at their phones) a whopping 45 minutes before departure?1 Of course not! But they’d all rather do that than wait at baggage claim. Once they land, they’ve got to get to that very important meeting about the meeting next week.2

Now there are some news pieces and desperate social media threads speculating about Southwest returning to open seating.

That’s not going to happen.

Southwest says they had research indicating customers preferred assigned seats. And that may be true. But anyone with more than a hot minute in the airline biz knows that this change was really made to start generating additional revenue from paid seat selection. And, since Southwest’s stock price is up 79% in the last year, perhaps it was the right call. The investors at Elliott who drove these changes are certainly happy.3

When it comes to this business, sometimes what’s good for the airline isn’t great for the customer. This will probably never change.

Another Milestone Falls in the Forest

In one of our first posts, we noted how Delta celebrated another passenger on our flight getting to one million miles. There was an announcement and a little bit of fanfare onboard before we left.

Well, someone very close to this blog may have crossed one million miles on United last week. And that person may have been excited about some sort of acknowledgment onboard. And perhaps that person may have been disappointed when nothing was done, but it was a mess in Denver last week and that person understood that things sometimes get lost in the shuffle. So maybe that person figured that he would at least receive a celebratory email the next day because you really just need to program robots to do that. And perhaps that email never came and that person only got a generic splash page message when he happened to log into his account a couple days later.

But who can say for sure?

Snowstorm Nerdfest 2026

We try to keep the #avgeek tendencies in check, despite the certified bona fides. (Yes, we’ve been to Maho beach.4)

However, sometimes tendencies get the better of us, and that was certainly the case on Sunday night as the latest crippling winter storm made its way into NYC. While arrivals were virtually shut down, a few international flights were trying to make their way out of Newark before things came to a halt. Operationally, airlines put special emphasis on these flights because if they don’t get out, there is no plane waiting on the other side of the ocean to bring passengers and crew back.5

By using a combination of Flightradar24.com and LiveATC.net, we were able to enjoy a thrilling, tense and occasionally exasperating symphony of dispatchers, controllers, de-icing truck operators, snow plow drivers, pilots, and co-pilots as they navigated snow-covered taxiways, maintenance issues, and the tick-tick-tick of the clock. Congrats to the folks who got out to Edinburgh, Frankfurt, and Sao Paulo. Better luck next time those of you who were headed to Barcelona, Berlin, and Dubai.

As an airline-loving child, I could only imagine having that kind of real-time information at my disposal. We’ve come a long way from looking at airport terminal maps in the phone book.

Notes

I've been fortunate enough to do my fair share of transatlantic and intra-European travel over the years, including my latest trip this past week.1 While there are some definite improvements over what we experience in the US, there's also moments that leave something to be desired. Now that we’re back on American soil from our most recent trip, let's do one of our favorite things: tearing down AND reinforcing stereotypes.

European Airlines are Just Better than US Carriers: False

If US airline staff are inconsistent at best and disinterested at worst, then European airline crews must be buttoned-up and the epitome of service, right? Well, I’ll give you the buttoned-up thing, but I’ve seen European airline crews disappear in a galley just as easily as a flight attendant on an American or Delta flight.2 A lot of regular travelers conflate “International” and European and assume their KLM crew will be as engaged and attentive as their Asiana crew. However, European work rules, years of labor strife, and competitive challenges mean that your top-tier flag carriers don’t have the mojo they used to. Let’s also not forget the fairly regular labor stoppages, including a fun one just this past week!3

In addition, the relentless pressure from Low-Cost Carriers across the Continent means that your typical Intra-European flight is a pretty bare-bones experience, especially in economy. Most folks expect to pay for everything onboard when they fly Easyjet or Ryanair, but you’re not getting much for free on BA or Air France in the back. Hope you grabbed something at Pret when you were in the airport.

European Airports are Better: True AND False

It’s often very easy to take a train straight to the airport from most major European cities. That fact alone is a major plus. However, as transit airports, some of my worst nightmares have happened in places like Frankfurt, de Gaulle, and Amsterdam. To be fair, some of the logistical challenges are due to the flights coming and going from many different countries, all with their different travel zones. However, I also believe that some European airport design engineers have never actually changed planes in their lives. It may be close to a mile from A4 to D32 in Atlanta, but you’re much less likely to make a wrong turn and suddenly end up outside at the taxi stand.4

The other place it’s easy to get lost is the duty-free zone that one must navigate immediately post-security at almost every European airport. Once you’ve finally re-gathered your belongings, it’s time to meander through the alcohol and the cosmetics and the watches and the candy as you better believe there’s no way they’re going to let you go straight to the gate or lounge. You gotta respect the intensity of it all.

Finally, speaking of lounges, the Europeans do love them. There’s usually a regular airline lounge, an elite lounge, and three or four other independent lounges in every terminal. They can be as crowded as anything stateside, but they almost always feature a self-service bar.5 Point, Europe.

European Travelers Dress Better: True

More suits. Less sweatpants. No further comment necessary.


European Premium Travel is Better: Sometimes

I love that on intra-European flights in business class, I always have an empty seat next to me. I hate that my knees are usually somewhere in the mid-section of the person in front. It really is just economy with no one next to you and a free meal. But, you’re in the air for a couple of hours on most intra-European flights, so I get it.

When it comes to longhaul premium, it’s more of a mixed bag. That experience is greatly driven by the seat and “hard-product” on board. I’d rather be on a brand-new United 787 with an all-aisle access business cabin instead of a Lufthansa A330 with its old 2x2x2 business class and infamous “let’s-play-footsie” seat configuration. As a general rule, I do think that European carriers put more emphasis on food in business class, but that’s not the given it used to be a couple decades ago.

The one thing mainline European carriers haven’t given up the ghost on is first class cabins for long-haul. Some Old World habits remain, and if you can somehow find your way up to the “front” front, then sit back and enjoy.

European Pilots Have a Better Relationship with the Seatbelt Sign: True

Wait a second? Aren’t you going to talk about the important stuff? Well, as we’ve said before, the little things are important. I’ve always appreciated that European (and other international) airline cockpit crews turn off the seatbelt sign much more quickly after takeoff than a typical US carrier. They also turn it back on much later, which can be a godsend when your flight’s holding in the “stack” before landing at Heathrow and you need to use the facilities.6

So, I know we have a lot of readers over in Europe who will agree with me on some of these and disagree on others. And, that’s basically my point. There are so many similar structural issues facing both North American and European carriers. While the cultural differences may be stark, the actual travel experiences often aren’t.

Notes

That sad fact aside, let’s talk about some industry news that caught my eye.

A Good Old-Fashioned Billboard War1

O’Hare Airport (ORD) has been the site of a decades-long battle for supremacy between American and United. While United is technically Chicago’s hometown airline due to its headquarters in The Loop (for now), American’s presence in Chicago has long been a force to be reckoned with, not to mention its prominent product placement in Home Alone and Home Alone 2.2

While one could argue that AA had the upper hand over the years due to some infamous UA missteps, it’s now UA that has the advantage.3

And they’re not holding back.

Now it’s one thing to have 750 departures from ORD this summer to try to own the market. It’s another to start taking copywriting shots on prominently placed billboards in the aforementioned Loop.

While I’m firmly of the belief that karma is very real in the airline biz, the former marketer in me loves that the team at UA has gotten to do this. Most people in airline advertising spend their days wondering how to create inspiring messages for an often uninspiring product. That’s way less fun than writing mean-spirited puns.

Game on.

Assigned Seating Overhead Bin Armageddon

Speaking of the Super Bowl, Southwest spent big bucks on an ad showcasing their recently launched assigned seating. Reviews were mixed.

What’s not mixed is the feedback I’ve gotten from very loyal WN top-tier flyers. It’s clear that the new assigned seating process has created the infamous “early boarding overhead bin scramble” that is a feature on the other big US carriers.4 Southwest A-list members never used to have the fear that other carrier elites did — the crippling panic that if you missed your early boarding group/zone/area, you may have to put your bag several rows behind you or, even worse, check it.

On top of the overhead bags issue, there is the chance that a late flight change may result in the dreaded 33E seat assignment.5 Good thing business travelers don’t make last-minute changes — oh wait.

The final piece to all this is that Southwest is not the default cheapest option wherever they fly. In fact, my very unofficial research for Spring Break flights shows them to be the most expensive option on many routes. A lot of WN flyers simply go straight to them (and no one else) based on that assumption. Now that other charges are in the mix, we’ll see if that changes.

There will be some case histories written about these changes — it’ll be interesting to see where they net out.

Quick Top 3 ORD Restaurants, Go!

Since Al on the Airlines is back on the road this week, time for a quick airport restaurant ranking using our proprietary methodology.6

1. The Billy Goat
Some might feel guilt and shame enjoying a Billy Goat bacon, egg and cheese or double cheeseburger in the Jazz Food Court. I am not one of those people.

2. Wicker Park Sushi
Used to be number one, but post-COVID they got way more expensive and even worse, they changed the recipe of the Hot Night Roll. Still good and fast (especially with a corporate card).

3. Any of the hot dog/pizza stands on the concourse
Chances are you won’t have time to sit down anywhere because you’re running to make your connection, so make use of the multiple quick locations.

Honorable Mention
Cubs and/or Blackhawks Bar for authentic Midwestern early morning drinking before a.m. Caribbean/Florida departures

Please
Tortas Frontera — yeah, it’s great, but unless you have a four-hour layover, good luck

Notes

That being said, airlines are businesses. As businesses, they need to make money. As publicly traded businesses, they need to be accountable and transparent with shareholders. That’s how this whole deal works, man!

Still, is there anything greater than the gap between what gets discussed on an airline’s quarterly earnings call and what actually happens every day out there in airports and airplanes around the country?2

Yes, I know—these calls are for the benefit of big institutional investors with very specific questions about financial performance. But this side of the airline biz gets right to what I like to call “the math problem mindset.” Plenty of people in important positions at airlines (and the investment banks) view the whole operation as one big exercise in assets, routes, average fares, yield, revenue, and (sometimes) profit—a purely transactional lens.3 It’s very easy to drift away from the nuts-and-bolts business of actually flying people when everything is viewed through a spreadsheet.

For example, let’s take the very first question for the Delta leadership team on their call last month:

“…but, you know, if we can assume that your prior commentary around mid-single-digit revenue growth for the full year stands and you’re starting off with high single-digit growth, would it be fair to assume that the 7.35 has a pretty conservative back-half revenue outlook baked in there? And then outside of potential revenue upside, what else drives that upside from 7.35?”

Ok, then.

Here was a question for my friends at JetBlue:

“Second question here just ties to leisure revenue and the, you know, recovery glide path that the current guide embeds. And, I’m thinking leisure fares so far this month are, you know, largely flat year over year, and I’m just wondering if that full-year guide embeds sort of the flattish revenue, you know, leisure component or what that recovery, the shape of that recovery could look like.”

I’m not sure what “flattish” means, but I will use that word from now on.

When the few questions did come about the actual experience of customers and flying, they were almost invariably about premium cabins, lounges, and other elite experiences. I’m guessing these lead analysts don’t fly in the back very often.4

Now, I’ll give some credit to the airline leaders on these calls. When things are going well (as they are for most US carriers right now), it’s very easy to get deeper and deeper into the “math mindset” and the excitement about future forecasts—and further away from talking about the “operation.” However, most of the execs I heard mixed in (at least) a little bit about running on time, the people in the field, and the challenges they face. As a whole, the industry is much better about this than it used to be.5

I’m also pleased that some of these leaders made clear they’re always ready for reality to hit them in the face. (Or, in the case of American, for reality to be hitting them right now.) Reality doesn’t care about EBITDA or CASM. It wants to strand your customers, disrupt your schedules, and generate bad press. And of course, the same analysts asking about your current premium revenue mix will be the first ones to ask how much in one-time charges you’re going to take thanks to Winter Storm Fern, CrowdStrike, or the latest crew scheduling meltdown.

Again, these calls aren’t built for me—or for most customers. But if I were ever in charge of an earnings call, I’d love to get some actual regular flyers in the mix.

It’s not always about the math.

Notes

You also may remember that I said no one ever calls people out on predictions.

Well, here at Al on the Airlines, we are nothing if not accountable. So, in anticipation of a very important change for Southwest, I booked a flight for yesterday so I could see things for myself.

Then my driveway froze over.

And so did the roads in town.

And so did the interstate.1

So, instead of a first-hand account of the new era of assigned seating for Southwest, this blog will have to commentate from afar… but we’re good at that.

So, let’s start with the booking process (which was not impacted by snow).

Southwest was known for decades for its overall simplicity, and this included fares. They featured far fewer fare buckets than other airlines, and their rules were easy to understand.

This is the chart I was confronted with when booking my flight. Wow.

Now, it’s one thing to have different fare levels and varying service bundles associated with those fares. But now, we have to mix in assigned seats. From a revenue management standpoint, this is great, because now Southwest can extract extra dollars from Basic Fare customers who don’t want to risk getting stuck in a middle seat.2 From a customer standpoint, now I have to do even more math.

“Do I go Choice and buy up to a better seat, or do I go Choice Plus where the better seat is included? Is this fare level refundable now? Do I get a free Wild Turkey with this fare or not?”

And now, on to the thing I never thought I’d see on southwest.com — a seating chart.3 Once again, like every other airline, there’s a chance to buy your way to a better seat. We’ve gone from a cattle call to a margin call.

One other pre-flight note: given the magnitude of the change, I assumed I would get multiple communications about assigned seating prior to my flight. That was not the case. I even got an email the day prior to departure reminding me to buy up to A1-A15 boarding. This was surprising.

But what about yesterday itself? Well, there were very few reports of “chaos,” so we can say that Al on the Airlines is 0-for-1 on predictions.4 That’s not to say everything went perfectly, but there weren’t any spicy videos of confrontations in the cabin or the like. The new process did apparently cause some issues with overhead bin space, as early-zone customers who once spread throughout the plane are now bunched among the premium seats. Additionally, if you have to change your flight at the last minute or you misconnect, you’re probably going to be stuck in a middle seat, now.

There was also more than one post on the interwebs about the removal of the infamous Southwest boarding number stanchions the night before and their replacement signage. Find someone who loves you as much as the airline industry loves stanchions and signage.

I know that Southwest leadership was forced—errrr, strongly encouraged—into some of these recent changes.5 I’d wager a hefty amount that the majority of frontline employees are not thrilled with them. My hope was that Southwest’s leadership would have found some way to imbue these changes with a bit more of their unique personality.6 I’ve already said it in this piece, I’ve heard it in the press, and I’ve heard it from more than one frequent Southwest flyer: what makes Southwest different from anyone else now?

Southwest will undoubtedly say its people. And they might be right — Southwest’s people are among the best. But it’s putting a lot of pressure on those people when they no longer work in the simple, easy-to-understand brand environment Southwest nurtured for decades.

I hope they keep showing the LUV.

Still, all of that preceded the actual storm which hammered almost two-thirds of the U.S., forced thousands of flight cancellations, and left many of us staring out the window wondering why we don’t live in Southern California anymore.

As usual, I digress.

The more you fly, the more you learn to expect the unexpected and gird yourself for the worst possible outcome. Still, that doesn’t make things any easier.

Now, it would be way too easy for me to play the role of the cynical, grizzled frequent flyer and lob criticisms at my fellow travelers as we all navigated less than ideal conditions here at the start of 2026.

So, I’ll do it!

1. You’re not the only one getting on the plane

It’s freezing on this jet bridge. Let’s go!

2. You’re not the only one connecting

If you are flying into a hub, the majority of the people on your plane have another flight. The majority of those people have a flight that is leaving about the same time your flight is leaving. Almost all of those people want to get to where they are going.2

But please, push your way to the front of the plane with your bag in your arms and announce to everyone that you have a tight connection.

Yes, I also long for the days when the crew would make an announcement about passengers with tight connections, and those who could afford to wait would remain in their seats to let others hurry off to Gate 42. Unfortunately, that was also probably when all those onboard got a free meal and watched a movie on a big screen on the bulkhead.

3. You’re not the only one in the lounge

I know what you’re thinking.

“I’ve got two hours between flights here in Houston. I have a lounge membership. Let’s use the time wisely and have that Teams call about yesterday’s sales report in the lounge. Even better, I’ll do it in the middle of the lounge where I can speak at full volume. I’ve got my AirPods in, so I can keep loudly pontificating while I make my way through the salad bar. ‘Thanks, Lisa, for acting on that! I think we’ll see better returns on that issue moving forward.’”3

4. You’re not the only one who got hosed this week

Putting aside lost airline and airport revenue, there were a lot of plans thrown by the wayside this past weekend. Conventions, concerts, reunions, basketball games, weddings, funerals, you name it . . . all postponed, canceled or significantly affected by this crazy weather.

This is not a “heavy dose of perspective” blog. But occasionally, we will remind our readers that hurtling through the sky from one end of the country to another is not a given.

And today, neither is backing out of your own driveway.

Notes

Delta Keeps Unbundling

Delta President Glen Hauenstein confirmed the recent rumors that Delta plans on “unbundling” its premium cabin fares. Unbundling is industry code for taking a fare that once included services X, Y, and Z, and now making it only include service X, with a new higher fare to get services Y and Z. But halfway through booking, you might be able to buy up to include the Y service you didn’t add on at your initial selection. And after you actually book, you might receive an “exciting offer” to add service Z.1

This drive towards valuing every single aspect of a ticket purchase is nothing new. Doing it in Premium Cabins isn’t necessarily new, either, but it is a big step forward in the US industry, particularly when it comes to big-ticket international business class fares.2 My unofficial analysis concludes that the kind of people who book business class fares on their corporate accounts are going to be surprised when they suddenly can’t pick their seat assignment in advance or lack the ability to make changes.

There is a whole (very smart) contingent within every airline’s HQ that views things as one big math problem. I am sure that a ton of analysis has been done on how unbundling premium fares will drive X% in additional revenue or increase paid load factor by Y%. That’s their job! Still, I’m wondering at what point does the other side of the business push back and argue that the endless quest for ultimate fare disaggregation goes too far?3

United Keeps (Passengers) Pre-Ordering

United was in the headlines this past week for a variety of things, including an anticipated strong earnings call this Tuesday, a wheel falling off an A321 after a hard landing in Orlando, and CEO Scott Kirby speaking a bit off the cuff about a competing travel app (and a lot more).4

But something that did not make big headlines was the announcement that starting in March, passengers must pre-order meals for Economy flights over 1,190 miles.5 This was accompanied by the usual press release material about reducing waste and streamlining catering operations.

In today’s age, this seems like a welcome development. I can order my Tacos al Pastor in advance!

But, as I have noted before, what happens when things change?

Let’s say I have to make a last-minute flight change due to a sudden work conflict or God forbid, I miss my connection at ORD due to a 45-minute taxi from the runway to the gate.6 What happens then? Do I shell out $24 for a Torta at Frontera Grill? Or do I settle for a Tapas box onboard? Or do I eat 13 or 14 chocolate quinoa crisps?

Unfortunately, there was nothing in United’s press release about those scenarios.

Starlink Keeps on Rolling

There will never be an end to the Wi-Fi wars, but Starlink struck yet another blow with the Lufthansa Group’s announcement that it would begin rolling out free Starlink Wi-Fi across its 850 aircraft. Installations are set to begin later this year.

While this is definitely not a political blog, it’s worth noting if there ever was an airline group with pressure to resist a Starlink implementation, it would be Lufthansa, particularly given their leading position in Europe. However, Starlink’s high-bandwidth/low-latency solution is proving too hard for so many carriers to resist.

As dominant as Starlink’s aviation offer has been in recent months, one must always remember that the airline industry hates sole suppliers. Airline executives, particularly in “strategic sourcing,” will constantly be monitoring for other potential solutions the same way they do with aircraft, engines and even snacks.

When it comes to airline buying practices, promiscuity is not a flaw.

Notes

Oops.

While I’m not as plugged in as most, even I couldn’t escape the recent “viral sensation” that was a passenger’s criticism of a First Class meal served on United Airlines. Let’s take a look.

Yeah, that doesn’t look great, but I have definitely seen worse. And, as a United frequent flyer myself, I’ve been known to disparage a meal or two. However, I’ll save my measured critiques of inflight cuisine for another post.

Instead, let’s take a look at the inevitable thing that happens when something like this reaches the internet: everyone and everything goes too far.1

First, there was the litany of incredulous responses that quickly grew from basic dismay to deeming the salad unfit for human (or animal) consumption.2 That was followed up by people demonstrating their own personal travel superiority by posting pictures of their high-end meals on other carriers. And of course, that wave of preening had to include the obligatory Emirates premium class meal because “Why can’t we have every flight in the US be on Emirates?!”3

Then there was the backlash to the backlash.

“First-world problems!”

“Entitled!”

“At least you got a meal!”

As a primarily economy class flyer, I wanted to grab my social media pitchfork and torch, too! “What about the very nice lady in 37E on your flight that had to pay for her snack box while being wedged between two large fellow passengers!? Were you thinking about her while you pondered the odd translucent reflection off your turkey slices?”

It would have been easy to do, but what are we really accomplishing here?

Finally, the grandstanding came along. Dr. Peyman Milanfar, source of the original post and Distinguished Scientist at Google, challenged United to refund his money so he could donate it to charity. There’s no way United can ignore that humanitarian plea now, can they?

Dude, this is the airline that withstood “United Breaks Guitars.” Do you think that a little meal criticism is going to faze them?4

Thankfully, the one thing I did not see was chirping from other airlines. In today’s day and age, when an airline catches flak on social media, it’s not enough for competitors to stand back and say, “Thank God it’s not us this week.” Instead, too many of today’s airlines (including some executives) feel the need to jump on the dogpile. Trust me, though, it always comes back around.5

In spite of all this internet-based inanity, airlines do very much care about their public perception. However, like any mass market brand, you can’t indulge every single social media blast. It would be one thing if United didn’t serve a meal at all in First Class on a five-hour flight. It’s another to be subjected to hyper-criticism of turkey texture, cheese cubes, and a giant whole tomato.6

This latest kerfuffle is also another reminder that airline food was the butt of jokes when I was a kid and will undoubtedly be the butt of jokes when my kids are grown. You can’t win if you’re serving food on a plane.

Take it from tonight’s host, Bobby Wheat.

My usual bedeviled response?

“Well, you should never fly Airline X again.”

The cold truth, though, is that most people will fly Airline X again. As you’ve already learned, I’m no industry apologist, but the fact is the vast majority of airline customers do not vote with their wallets. The late Spirit Airlines CEO, Ben Baldanza, put it best when he accidentally replied all to a customer complaint email in 2007 with this still (in)famous quote in industry circles:

Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.

If you don’t think there are a lot of people in airline management positions who feel the exact same way, then we should probably talk.12

Well, life has a way of coming around, and this past weekend, I suddenly became the family member/friend/mild acquaintance with the axe to grind. Our family is going on a cruise this summer, and I had a decision to make:

To Allegiant or Not to Allegiant

On an objective level, I like Allegiant Airlines. I have a strong affinity towards carriers that do not waiver (much) in their brand proposition. Allegiant got its start flying ancient planes once or twice a week from tiny cities to Las Vegas with a strong focus on ancillary revenue from hotel bookings and other services. While the planes and cities have changed, their overall ethos really hasn’t. In fact, back when I used to attend airline industry conferences, one of the more informative presentations I remember was given by Allegiant’s CMO. He presented a clear vision and didn’t try to persuade anyone that Allegiant was something it wasn’t.3

Now, let’s go back to my first experience as an Allegiant customer. I booked a roundtrip for the family from Cincinnati to the Redneck Riviera, errrrr, Florida’s “Emerald Coast” over the Christmas break a few years ago.4 The outbound was perfectly smooth and uneventful. However, Allegiant cancelled our return four days before it was scheduled to operate. With little to no affordable alternatives, we ended up renting a car and making the almost ten hour drive home.

I could have been done with Allegiant then and there, but they did the right things given the circumstances. They gave us plenty of notice, offered to rebook us (not an option with their limited schedule), refunded our money right away, and even provided additional compensation. That’s about all I can ask. None of it was fun, but I wasn’t putting Allegiant in the doghouse for it. I’m a rational airline industry expert.5

Flash back again to last summer, and we decided to fly Allegiant home from our cruise as they had a perfectly-timed nonstop from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to our home airport of Lexington (LEX). Our sun-kissed family was still filled with the enchantment of our trip (wink, wink) when we got to the Allegiant check-in counter.

I knew that like many ultra low-cost carriers, Allegiant had moved to a virtually paperless experience. I also knew that they use contract employees in many stations. I knew that one needs to be patient and flexible when flying G4.6

What I did not know is that surly Allegiant contract check-in agents will performatively tear apart baggage claim checks in front of you while curtly telling you that “They’re in the app.”7

Luckily, my wife was there to witness that moment and the entire interaction leading up to it.8 We walked to security vowing never to fly Allegiant again. We sat in the gate area vowing never to fly Allegiant again. We sat on the Allegiant flight vowing never to fly Allegiant again.

Now yes, I see the contradictory logic here:

Cancel my entire trip and force me to drive home? No biggie, man!

Be rude to my wife and me at check-in? You’re done!

That may sound crazy, but remember, it’s the little things.

Now zoom forward to this past weekend. We have another cruise this summer and need to buy plane tickets. Said cruise is leaving from FLL. Flights on mainline carriers, all featuring connections, are very expensive. Allegiant has non-stops from LEX at ideal times on both ends of the cruise. Allegiant’s prices are reasonable.

What do I do? Do I stick to my guns, follow my own patronizing advice, and never fly Allegiant again? Or, do I begrudgingly enter my credit card number at allegiantair.com?

See you in June, Allegiant. No need to respond, Pasquale.

Note to Readers: this post went to “press” before the news of Allegiant and Sun Country’s planned merger. For the best immediate take (with actual data and stuff), I recommend reading the latest post from my friend Brett Snyder, aka Crankyflier and the godfather of snarky airline commentary.

Notes

1. Chaos at Schiphol

   I’ve noted how the US media never lets airport weather-related chaos go to waste, but the same thing can and does happen overseas. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport this week due to heavy snow and a shortage of deicing fluid. This obviously hit Dutch carrier KLM the hardest.
   
   Now Schiphol would not be my first choice of European airports to be stranded at, but it also wouldn’t be my last, especially if the heavy snow did not affect the delivery of bitterballen and stroopwaffels.1
   

   

   
   The highlight of the press coverage was a video of ramp workers having a snowball fight. I realize there’s not much to do when there’s no plane to push back, but maybe not the best look guys.

2. AA + AT&T + Viasat = Free Internet!

   American just made the latest advance in the wifi wars by launching its own free internet service, with plans to have the entire fleet covered by this Spring. This is a big step for American as it counters Delta’s earlier move to free wifi on its mainline fleet and United’s move currently in progress. It’s also a big moment for Viasat as it battles to maintain its market position against the Starlink behemoth.
   

   

   
   As we’ve discussed, free wifi doesn't work without an underwriter (or underwriters), and for American that patron is AT&T.2 Also unsurprisingly, you must be an Advantage Member to access the service. I know you’re not going to read the fine print on the portal page because you want to check your Instagram, but you can’t say I didn’t give you the heads up on what you might be sharing.

3. Alaska Addendum

   I tried as best I could to wedge a reference to Alaska Airlines’ seminal 1980’s TV commercials into my post yesterday about their new livery.
   
   So I’ll do it here instead. Growing up in Southern California, these ads littered the airwaves and were a staple of my tv-watching youth.
   

   

   
   They also may be the greatest commercials of any kind ever created for any industry at any time.3
   
   They were also so incredibly prescient about what flying would become . . . scarily so.
   
   Watch, laugh, sigh, and we’ll talk next week.

Notes

When I first started this Substack, I thought the only thing I would talk about is liveries.1 The biggest chunk of my career has been spent in the world of inflight entertainment, but my heart will always be in airline branding. My very first job required me to watch airline paint dry on several occasions.2

I plan on going deep into the importance of liveries in a future (and much longer) post. But for now, I’m excited that my friends at Alaska officially unveiled their new livery yesterday in Seattle. The freshly painted 787-9 made its debut along with an announcement of Alaska’s largest aircraft order in history from their neighbors at Boeing.

As someone who had the pleasure of working with Alaska for many years, it has been remarkable to watch their growth during that time. When I first started working with Alaska, they were still primarily a West Coast airline that also flew to Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico.3 We used to send them a box of audio cassettes for their boarding music because that was the only entertainment onboard.4 Since then, they’ve fended off multiple attempted kill-shots by Delta in Seattle, bought (and disappeared) Virgin America, expanded significantly across the country, bought (and didn’t disappear) Hawaiian Airlines, improved their overall product and will start flying to Europe later this year. Not bad.

So yesterday was obviously a big day for the team, and they did it up right.

Big reveal in a dramatically lit hangar at Boeing?

Check.

Enthusiastic hand-picked employees and business partners in the audience who will applaud everything that is said?

Check.

Speeches from Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci that can be easily pulled for news clips?

Check.

Extremely well done online press kit and hype video on YouTube?

Double Check!5

Beautiful livery that’s a slam dunk hit?

Well, let’s talk about that . . .

In a vacuum, I think the new livery is objectively attractive. While it adheres to the contemporary school of a mostly white fuselage, the intricate tail design definitely stands out from other recent livery debuts that use the same basic construct.6 It also helps that Alaska has a strong creative theme behind it, dubbing this the “Aurora” livery for its evocation of the Northern Lights, or as they put in their words:

The new 787-9 exterior design draws inspiration from the natural wonder of the Aurora Borealis, featuring a palette of deep midnight blues and lush emerald greens that channel the aurora’s energy and spirit of the Alaska brand.7

My main issue with the new livery, though, is why? Alaska’s existing livery is one of the most iconic in the industry. The core design, featuring the infamous “Chester” on the tail, has been going strong for decades and has deep connections to Alaska’s heritage.8 There have been several business turning points over the years where a major livery or brand change could have been justified, but Alaska has held firm. Consistency has trumped all — something I have always admired about the airline.

I guess that’s finally changed. In his speech, CEO Ben Minicucci talked about Alaska becoming the fourth US “global airline.” That’s an ambitious and laudable goal. But maybe the Alaska team doesn’t think that Chester plays in London or Rome or wherever else in Europe they want to fly. I might have been willing to give Chester that shot.

In fairness, there does not seem to be any indication that Chester will be disappearing from the Alaska domestic fleet, including the over 100 737-10 aircraft that are part of yesterday’s purchase announcement. I’m guessing there will be lots of employees and longtime loyal fliers who are relieved that he’s not disappearing entirely. It would be tough to pull up to SeaTac Airport and not see dozens of smiling Chesters.

It’s indisputable that yesterday was a big day for the folks at Alaska. They have big plans and just bought some sweet-looking new planes to help achieve them.

I’ll be cheering for them, even if I’m still cheering for Chester.

Notes