Airline News

Alex Cruz is walking a fine line. On the one hand he wants British Airways to become a more cost-effective operation, but on the other he still wants to retain its reputation as a premium carrier.

As airlines double down on investment in business class, there are some experiential table stakes for customers paying the money to sit up front.

British Airways may be moving award bookings through its Executive Club to dynamic pricing, shifting the way that loyalty program members redeem free tickets. The move may render an already-troubled loyalty program to something even less competitive for elite flyers.

This week in aviation we looked at Air France-KLM's approach to courting millennials, plus we launched our latest newsletter on trends in the next-gen aviation industry: Airline Innovation Report.

Air France-KLM had hinted at adding a distribution surcharge as far back as 2015, so the announcement doesn’t come as a surprise. What it does tell us is that airlines are increasingly confident that the positives of introducing such a fee outweigh any negatives.

The lenses through which we view the travel ecosystem are often heavily distorted. The first step toward countering it is acknowledgement.

We expect Singapore's new first-class suites will be considered among the world's best products. But the airline still faces intense competition from Gulf and Asian airlines. It's not clear how much this cabin update will help on that front.

Welcome to the very first Skift Airline Innovation Report. Be sure to subscribe so you can receive it every week in your inbox. We'll stay atop current industry trends, and have fun doing it.

We're excited to debut the Skift Airline Innovation Report. We hope it will become an essential tool in keeping abreast of and deciphering developments in the ever-changing global airline industry.

Is there a tougher job in the airline industry than making Air France more nimble? It's an airline that prides itself on its systems and procedures. But to compete forcefully in the 21st century, an airline must take chances. Air France needs to be more, in that regard, like its Dutch sibling, KLM.