Air Travel & Airline Industry & Business News by Skift

American Airlines Looks to Downsize and 5 Other Aviation Trends This Week

Sarah Enelow-Snyder, Skift

This week in aviation, it's time to confront difficult truths. American Airlines is getting ready to trim its executive ranks and the FAA is getting audited for safety as it relates to Southwest.

23 hours ago

Airbus Threatens to Reduce Its UK Presence in Brexit Warning

Chris Bryant, Bloomberg

Airbus is a gigantic company that needs to plan far in advance so it does not have supply chain issues. There's little surprise it wants clarity about Brexit — as soon as possible. But will it follow through on it threat to reduce UK operations if the British government doesn't show more urgency?

3 days ago

Singapore Air CEO Sees Cargo Demand Slowing as Trade Battle Brews

Eliza Haverstock and Kyunghee Park, Bloomberg

Earlier this month, Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg told Skift the air cargo business was holding up well, as Chinese consumers were importing high-value items from the rest of the world. Has something changed? Or is Singapore Air's situation different?

3 days ago

Bombardier’s Renewed Focus on Regional Jets Is Paying Off

Frederic Tomesco, Bloomberg

For a long time, Bombardier was focused on getting into the bigger jet game, as it desperately tried to sell the CS100 and CS300. It is ceding control of that program to Airbus, so it will once again focus on its regional programs. Bombardier has not been known for building the most passenger-friendly regional airplanes, but that may be changing.

4 days ago

U.S. Airport Security Cracks Down On Powders in Carry-On Bags

Mehr Nadeem, Bloomberg

Security is important, but the list of banned items in carry-on bags is getting ridiculous. We keep hearing about next-generation security screening measures that will make many of these bans obsolete. When will those come to market?

4 days ago

Virgin Atlantic Names New CEO as Richard Branson Gives Up Control

Kaye Wiggins, Bloomberg

Virgin Atlantic has not performed as well financially as many other European airlines. Much of the problem is the airline's scale. It is too small to compete effectively with Europe's behemoth airline groups. But Craig Kreeger is the CEO, and the CEO has to be accountable. It's unsurprising he is stepping down.

4 days ago

New Skift Report: A New Formula for Airline Success

Amadeus Airlines + Skift

In our newest report, we investigate the potential of customized offer creation to transform the airline industry’s approach to marketing and revenue management.

4 days ago

Time Is Against UK Regional Airline Flybe as Challenges Mount

Patrick Whyte, Skift

Flybe's management team will be hoping the airline's latest turnaround strategy works, where others have failed. The carrier has plenty of challenges and is operating in a very tough environment. Might it find things easier as part of a bigger aviation group?

4 days ago

Should Major Carriers Be More Transparent About Their Relationships With Regional Airlines?

Brian Sumers, Skift

PSA Airlines has been in the news lately. But do travelers have any idea what PSA is? Is this a problem? Should passengers have a better idea what regional airline they're flying? Or doesn't it matter?

4 days ago

Federal Auditor to Investigate FAA’s Safety Oversight of Southwest Airlines

Brian Sumers, Skift

The Department of Transportation's inspector general has several ongoing audits trying to measure the effectiveness of the Federal Aviation Administration. That's probably a nuisance to the FAA, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Oversight is important.

5 days ago

Airlines Push Back on Trump Asking Government Not to Use Their Flights for Separated Kids

Justin Bachman, Bloomberg

Kudos to the airlines for stepping up on President Trump's policies forcing children to be separated from their parents. It would be great to hear from more executives across the entire travel industry about taking a collective stand versus Trump. Let's not forget the travel ban.

5 days ago

Why Context is Key in the New World of Airline Retailing

Sabre + Skift

The global distribution system and next-generation retailing solutions will play pivotal roles in helping airlines and agents offer contextual, personalized products that NDC-enabled content presents, allowing them to step confidently into the future of retailing.

5 days ago