This letter should get Sens. Markey and Blumenthal some attention. But beyond that, it is not likely to have much of an influence on the nation's airlines.
The new flight attendants' contract at United, coupled with other steps CEO Oscar Munoz is taking, could finally enable United to make up some serious ground against its competitors.
With American Airlines capitulating, in-flight entertainment on all three legacy carriers is now completely free. The next phase of competition will likely revolve around the quality of that content with each airline trying to out-do the other.
A good operational meltdown like Delta's should make travelers nostalgic for the good old days, when carriers regularly cooperated to help each other's passengers.
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly is dismissing union calls for his ouster but if profits slip, or there is another major tech outage, then the CEO's future will get more interesting.
Sometimes generosity and taking care of your most loyal customers gives a halo that is not immediately visible, but can have long-term benefits and end up saving your skin.
Airlines remain highly profitable, but there are signs U.S. carriers may be expanding too much. We'll find out soon whether other carriers will follow Delta's lead and moderate their growth.