Skift Take

This week in aviation, Delta's president suggests the airline could throw back to a simpler fare structure — or at least something similar. Meanwhile, travel leaders are already picking sides ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Airline News Weekly Roundup

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.

Delta Hints at Return to Days of Simpler Fares: Airlines aren’t always the most customer-centric businesses so any move to make things easier to understand should be welcomed. As usual, we’ll believe it when we see it.
Why Delta Air Lines Covets This Not-So-Profitable Latin American Airline: Delta’s planned $1.9 billion investment for a 20 percent stake in Latam is a pretty penny, but the U.S. airline is confident the deal will pay off by expanding its network in South America.
Why Are Top Airline CEOs Donating Ahead of the 2020 Election to This Political Group? Airlines spend so much time massaging their public images every time they face a crisis. It’s important to remember that for all the woke posturing from these brands, their leaders still often back the leaders more likely to give them tax breaks than support liberal social causes.
American Airlines Shuffles Top Executives as Damage Control Begins: Offering up a sacrificial lamb to investors won’t do much to solve American Airlines’ operational issues, which are multifaceted in nature. Perhaps its new executive structure, though, will let it solve its woes more effectively than before. The rest of the U.S. aviation sector is watching.

American Airlines Targets January 16 for Boeing 737 Max’s Return to Service: Is the Boeing 737 Max returning to service? American Airlines is more confident than ever that the airplane will be ready by January 16.

Why Airlines Keep Creating Even More Types of Fares: Many airline executives insist that their so-called New Distribution Capability, or new method of sharing data for selling tickets, will hit a major target next year. But industry insiders say the target will be missed. To cope in the meantime, several airlines will expand the marketing for bundled fares under a confusing array of brand names.

American Airlines Pushes Deeper Into Australia With Revamped Qantas Loyalty Partnership: The joint venture between American and Qantas is bearing fruit in the form of better frequent flyer benefits on both sides.

American and Alaska Make Further Cuts to Their Loyalty Partnership: The loyalty linkage between Alaska and American hasn’t been particularly fluid these last few years. Now it’s getting even harder to take advantage of the partnership.

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Tags: aviation, Travel Trends, trends roundups

Photo credit: As it aims to be more consumer-driven, Delta is hinting at a return to simpler fares for plane tickets. Shown is a Delta carrier at JFK Airport in New York City. Andrés Nieto Porras / flickr.com

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