Airline News

Leave it to Emirates to poke fun at the increasingly confusing electronics ban while marketing its diverse in-fight entertainment offerings.

It's interesting that the UK left off three of the busiest airports in the Middle East — Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Why are they making a different calculation than U.S. authorities?

This electronics ban will make life inconvenient for travelers on long-haul flights to the U.S. It's hard not to wonder, however, about the refusal of the U.S. government to detail any specific threat that has been made.

In the past, authorities have been able to both move fast and be competent, but the complete lack of information provided this time around to travelers so far by airlines and authorities only creates confusion for international travelers.

With the seat pitch in economy class getting smaller, designers are being forced to innovate using minimal surface area – perhaps that’s why the humble armrest is receiving so much attention.

These are the aviation trends we were talking about this week.

It's been a quick turnaround for IAG, which only announced plans for a low-cost, long-haul airline in December. The legacy carriers have clearly been spooked by Norwegian's initiatives and are now working to compete in this new landscape.

Perhaps it's fitting that United is dropping its duty free program in the same year it is retiring its Boeing 747s. Both harken back to a different time in aviation.

Lufthansa is investing in direct booking connectivity with corporations (and the commercial initiatives to make them happen). The technological and commercial Tarmac being laid may pave the way for others, like IAG's British Airways.

JetBlue is taking its time in deciding whether to fly to Europe. We're guessing the airline is leaning that way, but it's hard to know for sure.