Edward Russell

Edward is Skift's Washington, D.C.-based editor of Airline Weekly, and transport reporter. He's covered the airline industry from the American-US Airways combo to the Boeing 737 Max grounding and through the Covid-19 pandemic. He enjoys bikes, trains, and runs with his dog, Heathrow.

Latest Stories

Airlines

The Biggest Challenge to Airlines’ Recovery in 2021

Airlines face a myriad of challenges in 2021. But above them all is the question: when will travelers return in significant numbers? Once flyers do, the industry can exit crisis mode and look forward again.

The Biggest Challenge to Airlines’ Recovery in 2021

Airlines

More Airline Worker Furloughs Likely Even With Additional Coronavirus Aid

Airlines promised that more payroll assistance would allow them to avoid dramatic staffing reductions. That relief is now here to the tune of $15 billion but it looks like the furloughs, while temporarily rolled back, are still coming.

More Airline Worker Furloughs Likely Even With Additional Coronavirus Aid

Airlines

Airlines Still Waiting on Governments for a Single Digital Health Passport Standard

The CommonTrust Network signed Aruba this week as its first member country, a win in the race to develop a digital health passport. But competition remains fierce as airlines await a single standard that can safely restart travel.

Airlines Still Waiting on Governments for a Single Digital Health Passport Standard

Airlines

The Financial Metric That Matters Most to Airlines Now

Unprecedented losses forced airlines to focus on cash burn as the metric to watch early on during the coronavirus pandemic. The recent surge in new infections has delayed breakeven goals but, with billions of dollars on hand, most are looking ahead and getting ready for when travelers return in droves.

The Financial Metric That Matters Most to Airlines Now

Airlines

U.S. Airlines Shed the Most Jobs in 3 Decades After Federal Relief Expired

Airlines shed jobs at the fastest rate since 1990 this fall as they slashed costs to weather the coronavirus pandemic. With prospect of additional federal relief still mired in politics, very real questions remain about the industry's ability to ramp up flights once travelers — and the economy — return.

U.S. Airlines Shed the Most Jobs in 3 Decades After Federal Relief Expired

Airlines

United Airlines Spurns Carbon Offsets With New Effort to Go Green

United Airlines plans to stay ahead of the pack with a new effort to go "100 percent green." But it's unclear whether the decision to invest in something called direct carbon sequestration plants is any better than the industry norm of buying offsets for the nearly billion tons of greenhouse gases planes pump into the atmosphere every year.

United Airlines Spurns Carbon Offsets With New Effort to Go Green

Airlines

All Eyes on Gol as Brazilian Airline Is First to Put 737 Max Back Into Service

Gol is set to be the first global airline to resume Boeing 737 Max flights on Wednesday, returning the jet at the beginning of Brazil's busy summer travel season. But questions remain over whether travelers have confidence in the aircraft after a 20-month grounding with no less than the future of Boeing hanging in the balance.

All Eyes on Gol as Brazilian Airline Is First to Put 737 Max Back Into Service

Airlines

Airlines Are Betting on a Vaccine Lift to Pandemic Financial Struggles

Airlines reeling from the effective shutdown of most air travel by the coronavirus pandemic are looking forward to a shot-in-the-arm as pharmaceutical companies begin the gargantuan task of shipping their Covid-19 vaccines around the world. But challenges remain, not least how airlines will carry hundreds of millions of doses on greatly reduced schedules.

Airlines Are Betting on a Vaccine Lift to Pandemic Financial Struggles