Airline News

VivaAir is the latest carrier to take a Silicon Valley-style approach to improving its technology, recently announcing that it has partnered with local universities, government entities, and startups to create an innovation lab. If executed well, this could raise the bar for customer service in the region.

In aviation news this week, United raises ticket prices to help offset rising fuel costs, while Qatar Airway's CEO claims he's ready to pull out of the Oneworld airline alliance for good.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker may be posturing about leaving Oneworld, but he is indeed making alternative plans nonetheless.

Deep down, American Airlines President Robert Isom is an operations guy. We've rarely seen someone get so excited while talking about what it takes to make sure an airplane departs on time.

We told you United would probably turn things around on finances when it hired revenue whiz Scott Kirby back in August 2016. And look what's happening. Now, it's time for the airline to improve its customer service, too.

This week in aviation, we looked at the long-term development of low-cost carrier Air Baltic, and don't miss the on-stage videos from Skift Global Forum, featuring executives from Delta, American, JetBlue, and more.

All U.S. airlines are performing well. Demand is robust, and while fuel prices are up, they're not that high compared to historical levels. Delta is using that state-of-play to go on the offensive to win more share from its competitors.

Travelers hoping for more free first-class upgrades should probably root for a recession. The economy is too strong for airlines to give away their best seats for free.

Stephen Kavanagh is staying on for a couple more months and will then serve as a non-executive director, both of which imply an amicable decision. New CEO Sean Doyle inherits an airline in decent financial shape but one that has its fair share of competitive challenges.

It's a shame the airline business is so dependent on scale. If it wasn't, we might have more airlines like Air Baltic. Despite being passenger-friendly and innovative, Air Baltic probably can't survive long-term as an independent entity.