Airline News

Mumbai is a big route for United. It uses its flagship aircraft. But it's probably best to err on the side of safety.

By ordering Airbus' longest-range narrowbody jet, JetBlue showed it's serious about international expansion. The jet it ordered earlier in the year has enough range to fly to London, so the airline probably intends to fly farther into Europe.

No one should be surprised that Vivienne K. Tan has taken over the top post, but it could've been done more stylishly. Aside from the boardroom drama, PAL is interesting to watch as it undergoes an internal shake-up led by a new younger chief. And — at last — a female airline chief.

Broad changes to the frequent flyer program employed by Qantas should largely be welcomed by the airline's road warriors, a rarity in today's airline loyalty industry.

Big U.S. airlines have erased most of the ghosts from their past. They don't engage in many market share battles or fare wars anymore. They don't dump capacity. But they still have labor disputes with their unions. And those can be as disastrous to operations today as they were two or three decades ago.

Emirates has fired the first salvo in the unbundling of business class fares. Now you can buy just the seat, with none of the other trimmings that travelers are used to with top-tier carriers. It's a pragmatic strategy, one that gives more choice to travelers. The tension will now be maintaining that great luxury brand halo and still letting the premium cabins do the marketing hard yards for the carrier.

Some airlines track delays and cancellations associated with computer outages internally to identify patterns and recurring issues that need fixing. The industry as a whole might benefit if it shared such data. But don't hold your breath on that happening.

This week in aviation, airlines grapple with increasing pressure to reduce their environmental impact. Plus, one of the world's largest airline groups is finally moving into Asia, after partnering with regional airline Thai Smile.

For long-haul flights SAS lacks the size and scale to compete with its much larger European competitors. On short-haul routes the airline can't compete with the cost structure of the continent's strongest low-cost-carriers. But there's one place it probably does have an edge: its onboard food.

While last week's eco-friendly flight was as much marketing as it was real innovation, United is still leading the way toward environmentally friendlier skies.