Brian Sumers

Unless you're obsessed with aviation, you probably don't know SpiceJet. But you might someday. India is a fast-growing aviation market, and SpiceJet has nearly 200 Boeing 737s on order. Someday, it might even fly long-haul jets to London or beyond.

Airlines might have some trouble in the Caribbean longer term, but Florida should bounce back relatively quickly. That's good news for American and other U.S. airlines.

Virgin Atlantic has a strong brand, but for years it has lagged far behind British Airways in most categories. The upstart has just been too small to be a bona fide competitor. But Virgin Atlantic is finally taking action to ensure it will be more nimble going forward.

We think there's probably demand for this airplane for transatlantic routes. Wouldn't it be great to fly between London and New York in fewer than three hours? But the airplane would have to make a fuel stop on longer routes, so it might be less useful from, say, Tokyo to Los Angeles or London.

Consumer groups may criticize Clark for even considering adding a "budget economy" section on the Airbus A380. But a sizable segment of passengers continue to demonstrate they want only one thing — cheap fares. Why shouldn't Emirates create a cabin that will allow it to compete for these customers?

Ryanair does appear serious about taking over Alitalia. But it still seems odd that Ryanair would want to take over one of the world's most dysfunctional airlines. Wouldn't it just be better for Ryanair to keep growing organically?

There's a reason they call it an act of God. Every airline in the world is going to lose money when a massive hurricane hits one of its largest hubs. United will be fine. It'll just take some time.

Spirit Airlines spent years angering customers with shoddy customer service. Now it wants those travelers to return, promising they'll find a kinder, gentler airline with an increased emphasis on on-time arrivals. But will they come back, or will they opt for deeply discounted fares from full-service airlines?

There's no public data here, so it's hard to know how much of an issue this is. But generally, inbound tourism to the United States is important, so if fewer visas are being granted, it's probably not good for American businesses.

This Open Skies debate never goes away, does it? So far, the Trump administration hasn't treated it much differently than the Obama administration, at least publicly. We'll have to see whether it eventually takes a tougher stance.