United Airlines News

Southwest dropped the ball widened in-flight use of portable electronic devices. It's ironic that the airline's new tagline in TV spots is, "If it matters to you, it matters to us." Well, Southwest, this matters.

The last time slots opened up at LaGuardia, Southwest wasn't a successful bidder. If DCA slots open up, and LaGuardia slots again become available, you can expect Southwest to go all in.

This stumbling and bumbling by United after the merger has been way longer than most people envisioned. Passengers indeed want a user-friendly experience through the booking and travel cycle, and won't be satisfied with "Fly the Friendly Skies" commercials.

United's seats aren't revolutionary, but a freshly cushioned seat is nothing to criticize -- at least for the first few years.

Promising too much, too soon? DEN, IAH and CLE friendly? Surely weary New Yorkers would care, right?

The millennials may not care about the United nostalgia, but old timers will surely remember the slogan. Ultimately, customers may not go for a pining-for-simpler-times slogan, especially if United's un-friendly problems with technology, customer service, on-time-performance, and the general miserable experience of air travel in these times continue.

It is somewhat surprising that United has agreed to honor all of those mistake fares. But, considering all of the ill will that the airline generated through its glitch-ridden merger over the last year-and-a-half, this decision will be very well-received.

With regional airlines and their major-airline benefactors fighting over the recruitment of pilots, Mesa's hiring binge will exacerbate the tussle. Mesa's new agreement with United is a game-changer for the airline, which will increase its pilot ranks by nearly 50%.

This major re-hire highlights airlines' economic recovery, but also hints at a coming dilemma as airlines will struggle to find qualified pilots among a generation strongly discouraged from pursuing that career.