Airline News

This week in aviation, don't miss our new deep dive into the history, economics, and psychology behind national airlines, many of which struggle chronically. We also looked at how and why airlines raise fees — and how they might do it better.

Folks in Pittsburgh would probably love a nonstop flight to Dubai. But will they get it? It seems unlikely, even if Emirates CEO Tim Clark said the airline would consider flights from smaller U.S. cities.

JetBlue took criticism for moving to raise bag fees first. But the airline's CEO, Robin Hayes, made clear that customers who plan in advance will keep getting to pay the old rate.

Many politicians believe their nations must have a national airline. But in most cases, they're wrong. The weakest carriers probably should disappear, and the market can take care of the rest.

Southwest has survived by being different. That gets harder, but the lessons of its past success may help define its legacy. The Texas-based airline is one of the subjects in Skift’s recent sixth anniversary book, For the Long Haul, Lessons on Business Longevity, whose chapters we are excerpting for you here.

Many politicians fear their nations will be irrelevant if they abandon their money-losing flag airlines. That's probably a stretch. In most places, the market likely would fill the gap — provided the government got out of the way. But national pride is powerful, and few people want to see storied brands disappear.

Airlines need to increase revenue. We get that. But can't they be smarter about how they assess fees?

This week in aviation, we have a Q&A with United President Scott Kirby, whose choices — while not always popular — have borne fruit. Outside the U.S., Icelandair hasn't fared as well.

Airline executives often say they don't know why consumers hate their industry so much. Bag fees are among the reasons.

Loyalty is big business, and Air Canada is working hard to create a forward-looking program that leverages advanced e-commerce techniques. The airline's acquisition of Aeroplan bodes well for scaling up its program over the next few years.