The Airline Observer

The Airline Observer

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Southwest Looks for Solutions in Connections
With its load factor sagging, Southwest seeks to carry more one-stop traffic through its focus cities.
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Brian Sumers
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American’s Whiny Earnings Call
Executives came up with *new* excuses about why they underperform Delta and United. I didn't think much of them.
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Brian Sumers
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United Says the Worst is Over
The airline reported a material improvement in demand in the past three weeks but Scott Kirby said not all airlines will benefit equally.
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Brian Sumers
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Delta Made Big Money This Spring. Other Airlines May Not.
America's most consistently profitable airline had a surprisingly strong second quarter. But I'm not sure that means much for the rest of the industry.
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Brian Sumers
How Ben Smith is Branding Air France and KLM
The group’s CEO shares how each airline’s brand is developing a distinctive style, and tells us why customers never again will see the Air France-KLM…
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Brian Sumers
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June 2025

Why Air New Zealand's Bunk Beds Can't Fail
A senior executive said he hopes the airline's six economy class bunk beds (soon to come on two airplanes) can break even. But he has a broader…
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Brian Sumers
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Why Paisly Was the Key to the JetBlue-United Deal
JetBlue would not accept a partner that wouldn't boost its vacation package business, a senior executive told me.
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Brian Sumers
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Tim Clark on Tariffs and Other Topics
At this point in his career, Emirates' president will give an honest answer about nearly every topic, including political ones.
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Brian Sumers

May 2025

Marty St. George Explains JetBlue's United Deal
United and JetBlue announced their new partnership on Thursday. I spoke to JetBlue's president about why his airline chose United.
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Brian Sumers
Why Ryanair Isn't in the Vacation Package Business
Many airlines salivate over the packaged holiday business for the big margins, but Michael O'Leary says he's not interested. I think there's a lesson in…
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Brian Sumers
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Aero’s Semi-Private Ambitions
The Los Angeles-based public charter carrier is more premium than JSX. Is there a market for it?
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Brian Sumers
Will Sun Country Find a Merger Partner?
CEO Jude Bricker was cagey on the subject last week, but he had interesting things to say about competitive dynamics and other stuff.
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Brian Sumers
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