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--- transportation:airlines [2025/08/29 03:33] – [Purchase] timb
+++ transportation:airlines [2026/09/07 20:15] (current) – [Employees] timb
@@ Line 263: / Line 263: @@
 https://www.flightconnections.com/
+===== Apps / Applications =====
+== These Are the Best Apps to Track Your Flights ==
+Know exactly where your plane is at any given time.
+Emily Long - May 4, 2026
+You don't necessarily need an app to see where an aircraft is at any given time—if you type the airline and flight number into Google, it'll show you the arrival and departure information and where it is en route based on data pulled from Flightview (which also has a standalone app). However, there are a handful of native and third-party flight trackers, both paid and free, that provide live updates and other alerts so you have the most current information when you travel, often faster than the airlines themselves. Here are five of my favorite recommendations.
+https://lifehacker.com/tech/these-are-the-best-apps-to-track-your-flights
@@ Line 559: / Line 574: @@
+===== Loyalty =====
+== $30,000 In Loyalty, Still Stuck In Coach—Airlines Now Sell First Class To Once-A-Year Flyers For $40 ==
+Gary Leff - September 20, 2025
+Frequent flyer loyalty is a promise that if you stick with one airline, they’re going to treat you better on your future flights. You ‘build up’ status, and benefit most elite flyers cherish is the upgrade. In the U.S., if the airline doesn’t sell first class seats they say they’ll hand those out to passengers in the order of their status… starting several days prior to departure.
+For years this was a consistent benefit that flyers could count on, and it kept them loyal – buying less convenient flight schedules, connections instead of non-stops, and paying more for tickets to stick with their preferred airline. But the upgrade benefit has become a mirage.
+Here’s one American Airlines passenger complaining that their status only gets them upgrades “5-10%” of the time, and they’re frustrated because there are of open first class seats for a flight they’re about to board – more empty first class seats than there are elite flyers hoping to upgrade, even – and the airline hasn’t awarded any yet.
+https://viewfromthewing.com/30000-in-loyalty-still-stuck-in-coach-airlines-now-sell-first-class-to-once-a-year-flyers-for-40/
@@ Line 931: / Line 962: @@
 https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/air-india-russia-diversion/
+== Air India Just Discovered a Missing Boeing 737, Forgot They Owned ==
+At the time, taxpayers were responsible for losses, and the outdated processes allowed this lapse to persist.
+Shweta Shukla - November 22, 2025
+GURUGRAM- Air India (AI) identified a missing Boeing 737 at Kolkata Airport (CCU), uncovering an aircraft that had been abandoned for 13 years and overlooked across successive administrative cycles.
+The jet, a 43-year-old Boeing 737-200, remained unnoticed until Kolkata Airport requested its removal.
+The discovery triggered an internal audit that revealed how the aircraft vanished from official records before privatization.
+The case reflects legacy gaps that once shaped the former state-run airline’s asset management practices.
+https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2025/11/22/air-india-just-discovered-a-missing-boeing-737/
+===== Aer Lingus =====
+== Only 62% Full: Aer Lingus' 10 Surprisingly Empty US Routes From Dublin Airport [Map] ==
+James Pearson - Jul 7, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT
+Aer Lingus is the sixth-largest European operator to the US. In the 12 months to March 2026, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) shows that nearly 2.8 million round-trip passengers were transported. Only British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, Turkish Airlines (whose hub is on the European side of the Bosphorus Strait), and Virgin Atlantic had more traffic.
+In the examined period, Aer Lingus' US operations were from three European airports: Dublin Airport (DUB; 2.34 million passengers), Manchester Airport (MAN; 247,000), and Shannon Airport (SNN; 191,000). The airline has since ended all transatlantic flights from MAN. In this article, only Aer Lingus' DUB routes are examined.
+https://simpleflying.com/only-62pc-full-aer-lingus-10-surprisingly-empty-us-routes-from-dublin-airport/
@@ Line 1150: / Line 1216: @@
 https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/07/21/2025255/alaska-airlines-resumes-operations-after-system-glitch-grounds-all-flights
+== Alaska Airlines’ statement on IT outage ==
+Alaska Airlines - Oct 23, 2025
+Friday, Oct. 24 – 6 a.m. Pacific Time
+Alaska Airlines is working to restore operations to normal as quickly and safely as possible after a significant IT outage led to a systemwide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights. The ground stop was lifted at 11:30 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, Oct. 23; the issue began earlier that day at approximately 3:30 p.m. when a failure occurred at our primary data center.
+Throughout Thursday and into Friday morning, we have canceled more than 360 flights on Alaska and Horizon. Additional flight disruptions are likely as we reposition aircraft and crews throughout our network. Hawaiian Airlines flights are not impacted. The IT outage is not a cybersecurity incident.
+We sincerely apologize to our guests whose travel plans have been disrupted. We’re working to get them to their destinations as quickly as we can. Before heading to the airport, we encourage flyers to check their flight status.  A flexible travel policy is in place to support guests as operations return to normal following the IT outage.
+https://news.alaskaair.com/on-the-record/alaska-statement-on-it-outage/
+== Alaska Airlines grounded by mystery IT meltdown ==
+Failure at primary datacenter leaves planes parked and passengers angry, second incident since July
+Richard Speed - Fri 24 Oct 2025 11:58 UTC
+**Updated** Timing is everything – except when it isn't. US carrier Alaska Airlines has grounded its fleet once again due to a mystery IT issue.
+The problem began at 3:30 pm Pacific Time on October 23 with a "failure" at the company's primary datacenter. Alaska Airlines insisted it wasn't a cybersecurity event or related to "any other events."
+The result? A system-wide ground stop of Alaska and Horizon Air flights, though Hawaiian Airlines (which joined Alaska in 2024) was apparently unaffected.
+"The IT outage has impacted several of our key systems that enable us to run various operations, necessitating the implementation of the ground stop to keep our aircraft in position," Alaska Airlines said. "The safety of our flights was never compromised."
+The ground stop wasn't lifted until 11:30 pm Pacific Time, by which point more than 229 flights had been canceled. The company didn't confirm delay numbers but warned that "additional flight disruptions are likely as we reposition aircraft and crews throughout our network."
+Customers took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with both the airline and its customer service. Some reported being on hold for hours as they attempted to contact the airline to find the fate of their flight, while others found themselves stranded.
+https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/24/alaska_airlines_calls_a_ground/
@@ Line 1533: / Line 1629: @@
 https://viewfromthewing.com/american-airlines-flew-passengers-on-the-wrong-plane-for-8-hours-too-big-to-land-diverted-to-rome/
+== American Flying Empty Airbus A321neo Across The Atlantic 20 Times ==
+Ben Schlappig - 6 September 2025
+Well here’s something you don’t see that often, as flagged by JonNYC. This month, American Airlines is intentionally operating 20 roundtrip flights across the Atlantic without any passengers or cargo. What’s the logic for this? Well, there’s an interesting explanation, as you’d expect…
+American’s empty Philadelphia to Edinburgh flights
+American operates a daily seasonal flight between Philadelphia (PHL) and Edinburgh (EDI), using a Boeing 787, which is currently scheduled for several more weeks. Separate from that, between September 4 and September 24, 2025, American is operating daily flights in the market using a standard domestic configured Airbus A321neo. The flight has no passengers or cargo, and operates daily with the following schedule:
+AA9805 Philadelphia to Edinburgh departing 8:40PM arriving 8:30AM (+1 day)
+AA9806 Edinburgh to Philadelphia departing 9:30AM arriving 12:00PM
+The flight is even expected to be operated by the same exact aircraft every day — a brand new A321neo with the registration code N471AN. Why would American operate 20 empty roundtrip transatlantic flights? Well, it’s about training check airman.
+https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-flying-empty-airbus-a321neo-across-atlantic/
@@ Line 2331: / Line 2443: @@
 A passenger flying American Airlines out of Orlando Melbourne International Airport says he was effectively removed from his flight thanks to understaffed and unresponsive employees. “Rules are rules.”
- * He arrived at the airport roughly 50 minutes before departure—within American’s published 45-minute cutoff for checked bags at most airports.
+* He arrived at the airport roughly 50 minutes before departure—within American’s published 45-minute cutoff for checked bags at most airports.
- * There was no one at the check-in counter. Eventually, an employee emerged from the back – he says that she was eating food as she came out.
+* There was no one at the check-in counter. Eventually, an employee emerged from the back – he says that she was eating food as she came out.
- * After handing over his ID, she told him he had missed the baggage cutoff by two minutes and could not check his golf clubs.
+* After handing over his ID, she told him he had missed the baggage cutoff by two minutes and could not check his golf clubs.
 Thinking quickly, the customer handed his golf club bag to his friend that had taken him to the airport to ship them separately and headed to TSA. But his mobile boarding pass had been deactivated. His electronic check-in was canceled.
@@ Line 2343: / Line 2455: @@
 https://viewfromthewing.com/american-airlines-first-class-passenger-shows-up-on-time-gets-kicked-off-flight-when-agent-vanishes-for-donuts/
+== "No Apology, No Acknowledgement": American Airlines Passenger Denied Boarding Because Ticket "Did Not Exist" ==
+Mandi Rainwater - May 16, 2026, 2:26 PM EDT
+A recent American Airlines traveler reported that an organizational error turned into a bizarre overnight ordeal after the airline’s system forced them to miss a flight while standing at the gate. Despite their early arrival and check-in, the passenger was denied boarding. Making matters worse, they didn’t receive any kind of apology for the incident.
+This isn’t the first time American Airlines has been flagged for rude behavior. Reddit posts have also decried the airline for failing to greet passengers as they board or enforce headphone usage when listening to content on the plane. This most recent incident is one of the strangest yet, as a passenger was forced to watch their plane leave despite holding a ticket for the flight and arriving hours early.
+https://www.thetravel.com/no-apology-no-acknowledgement-american-airlines-passenger-denied-boarding-because-ticket-did-not-exist/
+== New American Airlines Policy Says It Can Sell You First Class, Give You Coach — And Keep Most Of Your Money ==
+Gary Leff - June 1, 2026
+If American Airlines downgrades you from first class, they now say they will keep most of your money.
+Upgrades are rare these days, with CEO Robert Isom confirming that they’re trying to upsell coach passengers rather than allow elite members to receive complimentary first class seats. So if you ‘want first’ you have to ‘buy first’.
+Sometimes, though, you buy first and still don’t get to fly up front. American, more than other airliens, seems to fly around with broken first class seats. They also might swap planes for one that has fewer first class seats. Then they need to move passengers from first class down to coach. (American does say they plan to work on the broken seat problem.)
+Three months ago, American Airlines updated its contract of carriage to say that when they downgrade a first class passenger to coach, they’ll only give back 40% of the money (“refunds are issued at 40% of the ticketed fare on the affected segment”).
+This is inconsistent with DOT’s articulation of an airline’s obligation to “refund the difference between the original fare and the downgraded fare.”
+https://viewfromthewing.com/new-american-airlines-policy-says-it-can-sell-you-first-class-give-you-coach-and-keep-most-of-your-money/
@@ Line 2713: / Line 2850: @@
+==== Hub ====
+== The Hub Delta Air Lines Threw Away After Merging With Northwest ==
+Daniel S Osipov - Aug 14, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT
+The 2008 merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines was the first to create one of the US's current 'mega legacy carriers.' Delta Air Lines and its contemporaries today have hubs spanning the entire country while operating over 1,000 mainline aircraft each.
+The main benefits of these mergers were scale, including network size, and all three legacy carriers have largely used the hubs that they inherited from their mergers to their advantage, enabling further growth and boosting relevance in more markets. One of the biggest exceptions, however, came with Northwest's hub at Tokyo Narita International Airport.
+Northwest had traditionally been heavily focused on its Asia network, competing primarily against United Airlines to be the dominant US airline across the Pacific. Ever since the merger, Delta has attempted to still be competitive in this market space, but has moved away from the Narita hub, slowly de-prioritizing it and then pulling out of Narita entirely in 2020.
+https://simpleflying.com/hub-delta-air-lines-threw-away-merging-northwest/
@@ Line 3094: / Line 3247: @@
 https://www.distractify.com/p/20-year-old-kicked-off-frontier-flight
+== Frontier passenger denied boarding due to aircraft swap, highlighting airline rule loophole ==
+A Denver man's return from Las Vegas was disrupted when Frontier Airlines unexpectedly denied him boarding due to a plane swap.
+Steve Staeger, Anna Hewson - 6:57 PM MDT August 7, 2026 / Updated 6:57 PM MDT August 7, 2026
+DENVER — What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but Vince Vranesic was hoping to leave.
+He and his wife were returning to Denver after a quick trip to Las Vegas to see "The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere" for their 30th wedding anniversary in early July. But as the couple went to board their Frontier flight, his wife was waved through, but the gate agent asked Vranesic to step aside.
+“She kind of grabs me and says, 'Sir, you cannot board.' It's like, what? For what reason?”
+Vranesic said people at the gate couldn’t seem to explain why he and several others had been stopped.
+“I asked them 20 times, and they just never would give us a concrete answer,” he said. “They said we're going to book you on another flight.”
+He said it took 45 minutes for a Frontier supervisor to finally explain that the airline had to change the aircraft flying the route, reducing the number of seats, leaving only 180 seats for the 186 passengers on board.
+He was shocked to find out that not only was the airline allowed to do this to a paying customer but that federal rules don’t require compensation for passengers who have been involuntarily bumped because of an
+operational issue.
+https://www.9news.com/article/money/consumer/steve-on-your-side/frontier-passenger-denied-boarding-aircraft-swap/73-00094539-bb32-431c-a59e-9ddc006a1a00
@@ Line 4110: / Line 4286: @@
 [[https://tech.slashdot.org/story/22/10/09/2218231/united-airlines-hopes-to-use-electric-planes-for-flights-under-200-miles-by-2030|https://tech.slashdot.org/story/22/10/09/2218231/united-airlines-hopes-to-use-electric-planes-for-flights-under-200-miles-by-2030]]
+== Economy-Class Couch Seats Are Coming to United Airlines Flights ==
+The United Relax Row will be available on some long-haul flights starting in 2027.
+Bruce Gil - March 25, 2026
+At a time when flying seems like it can’t get any worse, there is finally a bit of good news.
+United Airlines announced Tuesday that it’s rolling out a new kind of economy seating that can transform into a couch, giving passengers more room to stretch out or even sleep more comfortably on long-haul flights. The airline says it will be the first U.S.-based carrier to offer this kind of option for economy flyers.
+The new setup is called the United Relax Row and is essentially a row of three seats with adjustable leg rests that fold up 90 degrees to create a flat, couch-like seat.
+https://gizmodo.com/economy-class-couch-seats-are-coming-to-united-airlines-flights-2000737976
@@ Line 4168: / Line 4365: @@
 https://viewfromthewing.com/pilot-comes-into-the-cabin-sees-wing-damage-leading-to-emergency-landing-for-united-flight/
+== United's latest Economy Plus gambit? Kick out the middle-seat passenger for more space. ==
+Pras Subramanian, Senior Reporter - Tue, July 14, 2026 at 12:07 PM PDT
+United Airlines (UAL) has found a new way to monetize the seat nobody wants to sit in — by kicking out the middle passenger and charging more for the space.
+Later this year, United will begin selling an Economy Plus "innovation" that guarantees an empty middle seat, debuting on its new Airbus A321XLR aircraft. United claims to be the first US airline to provide such an offering.
+Essentially, United is installing a custom tray table that stretches from armrest to armrest across the unoccupied middle seat in its Economy Plus cabin. The window and aisle passengers share it and, more importantly, share the guarantee that nobody will ever wedge in between them. On a long international flight, that empty seat could likely be very welcome.
+https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/uniteds-latest-economy-plus-gambit-kick-out-the-middle-seat-passenger-for-more-space-190742980.html
@@ Line 4355: / Line 4563: @@
 https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2025/05/10/money-troubles-forced-her-to-quit-her-dream-job-as-a-united-flight-attendant-now-the-airline-wants-payback/
+== United Airlines Pilot Defies Gate Agents And Sticks Head Out Of Window In Heroic Moment At SFO ==
+Alessandro Passalalpic - Aug 19, 2026, 6:30 AM EDT
+A United Airlines pilot did the right thing at San Francisco International Airport, defying gate agents and signaling customers to board the flight despite their tardiness. Another traveler caught the incident at the major United Airlines hub, and it generated plenty of reactions online. This moment follows a similar incident in which a Delta Air Lines pilot warned passengers to get into their seats quickly on a flight at Boston Logan International Airport, trying to avoid the service being timed out after multiple delays.
+In this case, the United flyers were able to board, and, according to a commercial flight pilot, it was a rare situation given how strict certain gate agents are about flights departing on time.
+https://www.thetravel.com/united-airlines-pilot-defies-gate-agents-sticks-head-out-of-window-in-heroic-moment-at-sfo/
+== "Pops?": Father And Daughter Pilots In US Cross Paths On Airport Radio, Their Exchange Wins Hearts ==
+While Kent was communicating with air traffic control, he suddenly heard a familiar voice come through the headset.
+Ritu Singh - Sep 06, 2026 13:12 IST
+A routine day at the airport turned into a sweet family moment when a father and daughter, both commercial pilots, unexpectedly found themselves on the same radio frequency at Washington Dulles International Airport. The moment happened on September 1, when Kent Katnik was preparing to take off as the pilot of United Airlines Flight 108. Nearby, his daughter Kenny Katnik was also getting ready for departure, flying CommutAir Flight 4977 for United Express.
+While Kent was communicating with air traffic control, he suddenly heard a familiar voice come through the headset. His daughter had recognised her father and greeted him with a quick, affectionate call. Kent immediately realised who was speaking and asked where she was. Kenny told him she was holding on Runway 1R, just nearby and ready to depart.
+The interaction then took a humorous turn when the air traffic controller asked Kent whether he was a proud father of a pilot daughter. Kent gave a playful response before the conversation shifted to Kenny's living arrangements.
+https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/pops-father-and-daughter-pilots-in-us-cross-paths-on-airport-radio-their-exchange-wins-hearts-12008654