Brian Sumers

Brian is the Los Angeles-based airline business editor-at-large for Skift. He loves baseball, travel and the American West.

Latest Stories

Airlines

IAG Wants Other Companies – Not Just Airlines – to Use Its Avios Points

IAG's Avios points are coveted among people who want free or reduced-priced flights. A company might prefer to adopt its currency rather than start its own program. But IAG needs to invest in technology to make earning and burning a more attractive proposition for consumers.

Brian Sumers | 1 month ago
IAG Wants Other Companies – Not Just Airlines – to Use Its Avios Points

Airlines

U.S. Airlines Face Steep Marketing Challenge After Epic Nightmare Summer

You don't wan't airlines to apologize. You want airlines to get better. There's the starting point in how to message to your customers going forward.

Brian Sumers | 2 months ago
U.S. Airlines Face Steep Marketing Challenge After Epic Nightmare Summer

Airlines

Southwest Needs a Strong Business Travel Return After June’s Leisure Peak

For most U.S. airlines, June was the best revenue month in a very long time. But don't mistake that for a sustained recovery. The situation is dicey. It's not clear whether this recovery can continue for the final three months of the year.

Brian Sumers | 2 months ago
Southwest Needs a Strong Business Travel Return After June’s Leisure Peak

Airlines

United Airlines CEO Warns of Choppiness Affecting Recovery

Demand for summer air travel is sky-high. But let's be honest, these are still uncertain times. The airline recovery might continue to grow in a linear way. But it also might zig and zag. There's no guarantee the good times will last through the fall and winter.

Brian Sumers | 2 months ago
United Airlines CEO Warns of Choppiness Affecting Recovery

Airlines

U.S. Airlines Shouldn’t Enter the Blame Game Fray Over Travel’s Summer of Chaos

This is going to be a tough summer for U.S. airlines. They are scheduling more flights than the system can handle as passengers show a near insatiable appetite for tickets. The last thing they need to be doing is joining the pass-the-buck club between airports and governments.

Brian Sumers | 3 months ago
U.S. Airlines Shouldn’t Enter the Blame Game Fray Over Travel’s Summer of Chaos

Airlines

Inside Delta’s Strategy to Capture the Premium Traveler

Delta CEO Ed Bastian, who left the company briefly in 2005, loves to tell the story about why he quit. At the time, Delta was pursuing a discount strategy that he didn't like. Not long after he returned, Delta made aggressive moves for premium traffic, which has made it considerable money since with new efforts under way.

Brian Sumers | 6 months ago
Inside Delta’s Strategy to Capture the Premium Traveler

Hotels

Accor CEO Explains Why He Won’t Close Hotels in Russia

A couple of regions are performing well for Accor, the France-based hotel company. But let's not confuse this with those booming pre-pandemic times. The Covid hotel industry recovery still has a long way to go.

Brian Sumers | 6 months ago
Accor CEO Explains Why He Won’t Close Hotels in Russia

Hotels

MGM Resorts Overhauls Loyalty Program to Track Big Non-Gambling Spenders

Loyalty is big business. Presumably, MGM Resorts replaced its old program with a new one to juice revenues. But it's not exactly clear why this program is better than the old one.

Brian Sumers | 8 months ago
MGM Resorts Overhauls Loyalty Program to Track Big Non-Gambling Spenders

Airlines

David Neeleman’s Startup Breeze Rankles Pilots Union With Australia Workaround

There are probably enough qualified pilots in the United States for Breeze to hire. But some may want higher wages than Breeze wishes to pay. Why shouldn't the airline look abroad for labor? It is a perfectly legal program.

Brian Sumers | 9 months ago
David Neeleman’s Startup Breeze Rankles Pilots Union With Australia Workaround

Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines Gambles on Big New Business Class Cabin

Hawaiian Airlines is late to the lie-flat seat game, but its new Boeing 787s will have 34 beds in the front of the aircraft. Why? The airline thinks leisure travelers, especially from Japan, will pony up when travel restrictions ease and they resume vacations to Hawaii again.

Brian Sumers | 11 months ago
Hawaiian Airlines Gambles on Big New Business Class Cabin