Airline Weekly Lounge

The U.S. and the EU ended a 17-year-long spat over which side provided more illegal state aid and agreed to drop tariffs, which means chocolate, wine, and exercise equipment may get cheaper. Huh? Edward "Ned" Russell and Madhu Unnikrishnan get into why that is, and also chew over why JetBlue is pruning its pandemic-era schedule.   Read more essential airline news at Airline Weekly.

Southwest Airlines ordered 34 Boeing 737-7 Max aircraft, a strong sign of confidence in the once troubled airline program and a spot of good news for the beleaguered airframer. Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Airlines Reporter Edward "Ned" Russel talk about what that means for both Boeing and Southwest and whether there is a capacity-traffic mismatch for the summer. Also, how realistic are United's plans for supersonic travel by 2029 (when Boom's overture doesn't yet have an engine)? Read the latest at airlineweekly.com. 

U.S. airline CEOs were encouraged by passenger traffic during the week's Memorial Day holiday, which marks the unofficial start of summer for the United States. But their European counterparts are less optimistic, and are hoping to avoid a second "lost" summer. Meanwhile, rumblings of mergers and acquisitions has caused no end of drama in Brazil. Stay ahead of the news with our weekly forecast and daily updates at Airline Weekly. 

David Neeleman's new airline breezes to a ticket counter near you soon, as the first flights launch next week. Edward "Ned" Russell discusses his interview with Neeleman (in the May 24 issue) with Madhu Unnikrishnan.  And why is Ryanair trying to make "fetch" happen?   Learn more by subscribing to Airline Weekly.

In the first segment of this episode, Accenture's Jonathan Sullivan argues that domestic business travel is coming back around the world, particularly as companies ramp up their sales pipelines. One complicating factor, though, is that it's hard to have face-to-face meetings when most employees still are remote. In the second segment, Edward "Ned" Russell and Madhu Unnikrishnan talk about domestic summer demand and why Americans are falling back in love with their national parks.   Stay up to date on the business of aviation at Airline Weekly.

Europe could reopen for vaccinated U.S. tourists sometime this summer, officials say. But it's already May. Will all the pieces be in place to salvage airlines' peak summer season? Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Airlines Reporter Edward "Ned" Russell ponder that question. Also on this episode, Ned tells us about his field trip to American's Tulsa MRO, and is the world's largest airline right to pull all stored jets out of mothballs? Learn more by subscribing to Airline Weekly.

United CEO Scott Kirby says business travel is coming back, while Southwest CEO Gary Kelly says it could take years? Who's right? Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Airlines Reporter Edward "Ned" Russell get into it. And we also take a look at the Mexico market and why Volaris is so bullish, as well as when business travel might return. Learn more by subscribing to Airline Weekly.

We're in the thick of U.S. airline first-quarter earnings, and executives almost across the board are optimistic that the industry has turned the corner. But is that optimism misplaced? Brazil, after all, offers a cautionary tale of how the virus isn't yet done with us.   Stay on top of airline news with a subscription to Airline Weekly. 

After not getting any aid from the Canadia government, Air Canada finally got about $5 billion in assistance. Skift Airlines Reporter Edward "Ned" Russell and Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan discuss what this might mean, why Latam is retiring its A350s, and what are they smoking at Frontier's HQ in Denver to add so many routes? Get more with a subscription to Airline Weekly. 

It's a reunion for Brian Sumers, Skift editor at large, and Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan, as they debate whether there really is that much pent-up demand for travel. Airlines are banking on it. Brian thinks there is, but Madhu is skeptical. Where do you fall on the issue?   Learn more at Airline Weekly.