United President on Potential Boycott and 6 Other Aviation Trends This Week

Throughout the week we post dozens of original stories, connecting the dots across the travel industry, and every weekend we sum it all up. This weekend roundup examines aviation.

For all of our weekend roundups, go here.

>>Mileage Plan from Alaska Airlines just won as the best airline loyalty program in FlyerTalk's annual survey -- largely because of its distance based earnings: Alaska Air Overtakes American Airlines in Annual Loyalty Program Awards

>>Sure, United screwed up royally. The real question is, what comes next? Trying to Get Past United’s Dragging Fiasco — Skift Business Traveler

>>Ukraine's flag carrier is the first airline to follow Lufthansa's bold September 2015 move to add a surcharge to bookings made via third parties. Yet the industry may be overstating the threat to the revenue of the middlemen: Lufthansa Is No Longer Alone in Its Battle Against Airfare Middlemen

>>United says it does not yet know if business was hurt by last week's bumping drama in Chicago. It's possible that the airline lost some customers on the margins, but United will be fine long-term. If the price is right, passengers will be back: United President: It’s Too Early to Know if Any Customers Are Boycotting Airline

>>Is there a more honest airline executive than United's Scott Kirby? Probably not. But that's a good thing. United's 2015 decision to leave New York JFK was a head-scratcher, and it's nice to see new management calling it a mistake: United Airlines President: Leaving New York’s JFK ‘Was the Wrong Decision’

>>This is a curious move. In May, JetBlue will start flying smaller airplanes to Cuba, as demand is not as strong as expected. But now the airline wants to add more daily flights. Perhaps this is more of a long-term play: JetBlue Wants to Add Flights From Fort Lauderdale and Boston to Havana

>>Sadly, it seems the TSA is still far away from recognizing that its policy requiring travelers to assume a gender when passing through security causes distress to many members of the LGBTQ community: TSA Video Seeks to Reassure Transgender Travelers