Alaska’s Anchorage to Tokyo Flight Is an Exciting Experiment Alaska has announced that it will begin flying from Anchorage to Tokyo/Narita on a B737-8 MAX every day in summer from May 13 through September 7. It will then pick it up again in winter flying 3x weekly starting in January. This is a very creative use of an airplane. This move is effectively Alaska trying to make Anchorage look like Honolulu. Stay with me for a second, because I realize that sounds absurd. The flights between Honolulu and Japan have historically been full of Japanese travelers looking to take a vacation in Hawaiʻi. What Alaska is trying to do here is the exact same thing, but it’s for Japanese travelers looking to take a vacation in, well, Alaska. This is a much smaller market, however, so it is actually pretty remarkable that Alaska has found a way to even be willing to take a chance like this. This is Not About Connections to the Lower 48 I’ve seen others suggest this is about building a hub in Anchorage, but that is not what’s happening at all. Just look at the flight times. This departs Anchorage for Tokyo at 2:10pm, and the return gets into Anchorage at noon. The traditional pattern for flights in the Continental US is for late evening arrivals and redeye returns, so this does not connect. This route was announced with three new Saturday only flights to Anchorage from Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Nashville, but these do not connect westbound and have long layovers eastbound. Besides, if you lived in those cities, wouldn’t you fly through Seattle and get a proper long-haul experience anyway? Of course you would. Or look at July 2026. There were 16 cities served in the lower 48 from Anchorage that month, and only San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle had flights departing within four hours of the noon arrival. Extend it to six hours and you only add Portland and Boise. Again, Alaska already flies nonstop from Seattle with a true long-haul product, so there really is no reason to take these awkward connections. This is About Alaska Inbound with Any Outbound That Exists On the other hand, within four hours of that noon arrival from Tokyo, there are connections on to Adak, Cordova, Dillingham, Fairbanks, King Salmon, Nome, Prudhoe Bay, and Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). Looking at Cirium ARC/BSP data, this past June through August showed about 15 people a day flying each way between Tokyo and Anchorage with only about 25 per day flying between all of Japan and Alaska. This is not a large market. Interestingly, in Jan/Feb, it only drops to about 18.5 per day each way, so this is not as variable as you might think, but it skews even more toward Japan origin in those winter months. Today, the vast majority of these people go through Seattle, though there is a sprinkling through Honolulu, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Alaska takes less than half of those today with Delta carrying about half again the number Alaska does. This would certainly be a time-saver for anyone starting in or going to anywhere in Alaska, perhaps outside of Southeast AK which might be indifferent. The thing to keep in mind here is that this is a stimulation play but really only in Japan. People there are more likely to consider an Alaskan vacation with such an easy way to get there. People in Alaska who fly to Japan are doing it today, but they are just taking a longer way around. This is Far Away The flight from Anchorage to Tokyo is 3,433 miles. That is actually shorter than Alaska’s longest MAX 8 flight today. Seattle – Reykjavík clocks in at 3,622 miles, but there are differences between these flights. Map generated by the Great Circle Mapper® – copyright © Karl L. Swartz. Alaska’s -8s have ETOPS 180, which means they can fly up to 180 minutes away from the nearest suitable diversion airport on one engine. As the map above shows, Anchorage to Tokyo is well within what’s allowed. That’s the same story for Seattle to Iceland — but that’s a route where you probably don’t even need ETOPS because of all the diversion airports in Canada and Greenland. The real issue is that most of this flight skirts Russian airspace. Sure, if there’s an emergency, there are technically airports where a B737 can land in Russia. But listen, you do not want to put down in Russia unless you have no other choice. That means diversion airports are either Northern Japan or somewhere in the Aleutians where the weather can be… sporty. The MAX 8 Has Impressive Range The -8 was always meant to be the real performer with a mix of capacity and range. (Yes, the -7 can go farther, but it’s too small for most to care.) But the -8 has a published range of 3,500nm. This is about 3,000nm. Airplanes never live up to their max range in real world conditions, and it’ll be different every day based on weather. But it’s particularly challenging to meet range limits when you have these overwater legs that require more fuel. Throw in the fact that this will fly in winter when westbound headwinds can be vicious, and this is impressive that Alaska expects it to be able to work reliably. Nobody Has Tried This for a Long Time Long ago, flights regularly went between Asia or Europe and Anchorage, because they couldn’t fly nonstop to the lower 48. This was a fuel stop by necessity. Over time, as aircraft got longer legs, the Alaska stop was eliminated. T-100 data shows that the last time a US airline regularly served this market was back in 1993 when Delta flew through Anchorage to get to Hong Kong. This ended shortly after the MD-11 replaced the L-1011 and it started flying nonstop from Hong Kong to LAX. But these flights were never meant to serve the Alaska market. That’s not been the case for the Asian airlines. They’ve long had charter operations that come and go, but both Asiana and Korean served the market until 2005. The last holdout was China Airlines which continued to fly B747-400s on the Taipei – Anchorage route until 2011. All of this is to say that nobody has tried this in a really long time, and nobody has ever tried it with an airplane this small. (Just saying you want to try it doesn’t count, Northern New Pacific.) I don’t have high hopes for this, but I love giving it a try. Because who knows, it might work? The key will be getting in good with the big Japanese agencies like JTB that can market the trips and fill those planes in a heartbeat. And fortunately, through Hawaiian, Alaska now has those relationships dating back decades. This is the kind of route that the Alaska and Hawaiian merger together really makes possible. https://crankyflier.com/2026/11/02/alaskas-anchorage-to-tokyo-flight-is-an-exciting-experiment/ #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Cranky Weekly Review presented by Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport: JetBlue and Frontier Earnings, Alaska Heads to Tokyo JetBlue Earnings Leave the Carrier Feeling Blue but Not as Blue as Some Predicted JetBlue announced its Q3 earnings a day early on Monday as the carrier reported a loss bigger than last year’s Q3 loss of $257 million. But its stock was up later in the day as its forecast for Q4 and beyond was more positive than expected. Gross revenues for JetBlue came in at $2.8 billion, 21% higher than last year with $2.6 billion coming from passenger revenue. The net loss was $257 million, a whopping 80% higher than last year’s loss in Q3 when the carrier was $143 million in the blue red. This may come as a shock to you dear reader, if you’ve been living under a rock, but fuel was a major reason for the jump in expenses as the airline spent $868 million at the pump during the quarter, 61% more than the $539 million in spent in ’25. Looking forward, JetBlue paints a more positive picture. It expects unit revenue to be up as much as 22% in Q4. Despite it not posting a full year profit since 2019, spirits are high at the airline. Capacity is expected to rise between 3 and 4% for the rest of the year despite the price spike in fuel continuing to rise — the 61% jump in fuel in paid in Q3 will pale in comparison to the 85% increase it’s bracing for in Q4. The carrier closed the quarter with $2.2 billion in liquidity, $8.4 billion in liquidity, and a bunch of slots at New York/LGA it bought over the summer that turned out to be gates with nothing but BuzzBalls, yellow paint, and 2-for-1 coupons for Happy Hour at Poor House in Fort Lauderdale. Alaska Adds Four from Anchorage Alaska Airlines announced a fun four-route expansion from Anchorage as the airline adds passenger flights from the world’s cargo hub to Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Nashville, and Tokyo/Narita. All four will be operated by the B737-8 MAX — yep that even includes Tokyo, so good luck to the guy or gal stuck in 34B for that one. Amazingly though, ANC-NRT won’t even rank amongst the top 10 longest MAX 8 routes in the world, and it won’t even be Alaska’s longest — SEA-KEF clocks in a 3,622 miles, a clear victory over the 3,422 for ANC-NRT. As for competition on these routes, American flies to DFW from ANC but (not) shockingly no one else flies to either Austin or Nashville. The Tokyo/NRT flight also brings back a piece of aviation history. Back in the day when planes couldn’t make the Pacific crossing on their own, a stop in Anchorage to refuel was considered standard. Many airlines including Air France. BA, JAL, and KLM would stop in Anchorage on their way home. The Tokyo flight will operate daily during the summer between May 13 and September 7. It will operate 3x weekly beginning in January 2028 while the other three newly announced flights will operate 1x weekly only as Saturday-only service which makes them nearly useless. Frontier Needs Somewhere New To Store All its Cash Perception can be everything, especially in the world of commercial aviation. Frontier lost money in Q3 — $104 million, significantly more than the $77 million it lost in Q3 last year but things seem to be looking up. Its fuel bill jumped 82% to $425 million, and it took a $134 million charge to return aircraft to Airbus, all this despite record gross revenue of $1.35 billion. Without those special items, Frontier posted a nearly 3% pre-tax margin. No, you aren’t imagining things. There is no minus sign in front of that number. But the airline sold tickets at an average of $67.82 during the quarter, an astronomical figure for the budget carrier and 71% higher than the $39.74 it got last year. After accounting for fees, total revenue per passenger jumped 30% to $138.22. Not only that, but total passengers rose 18% to 9.8 million, an increase of 1.5 million. Naturally some of those migrated from the carcass that was Spirit, and countless others did so because they were drawn to the friendly demeanor of Hugh the Manatee. Frontier’s forecast for Q4 projected a wide range of outcomes between a loss of $0.15 to share to a profit of $0.05. It closed the quarter with liquidity of $1.18 billion, which might be just enough to buy JetBlue and have enough left over for a BlueFirst ticket from JFK to FLL. Discover Announces First A350 Destinations…Or Does It? Discover Airlines put out a press release Thursday with the title “Discover Airlines announces first Airbus A350 destinations.” Simple enough, right? Wrong. The second bullet point under the title is where this goes awry: “Orlando or Calgary planned as first long-haul destination.” Well which is it? What would be amazing is if they had two airplanes and they both took off from Germany at the same time, one to Orlando and one to Calgary and it was a race and the winner got credit for being the first long-haul A350 destination in the airline’s history. But alas, they have just one to start, so perhaps it’ll be coin flip to decide the winner. As we keep reading, before the aircraft is deployed on long-haul rights, it will fly on a high-frequency short-haul route for training purposes for its first few weeks. That part makes sense. Then it says a second A350 will join the fleet and it will operate to San Jose (CR) beginning December 14, taking the route from FRA away from LH. But two of the 6x weekly flights will operate as a triangle (or as the German translation says, “triangular”) to (naturally) Belize City. Then, two more A350s will join the fleet in wait for it…summer 2028. Unfortunately Discover is going to make us wait to find out where those planes are going which just seems criminal. Stay tuned. Sun Sets on Jude Bricker Former Sun Country CEO Jude Bricker resigned from the Board of Directors of Allegiant this week, ending a 10-year affiliation with the carrier. Bricker previously was at Allegiant as its COO and became CEO of Sun Country in 2017. When the merger with Allegiant closed earlier this year, he found himself technically without a job anymore and was named to the board of the combined carrier. Then-Allegiant CEO Greg Anderson was named the CEO of the combined carrier leaving Bricker on the outside looking in. Jude is one of the people behind a company that just purchased Omni Air International from a private equity firm, so clearly he had to choose one or the other since they will both go head-to-head in the competitive charter market. And when it comes to fighting to see who will transport those field hockey teams for their west coast swings, you have to pick a side. Aeromexico is adding 1x daily, non-stop service to Fort Lauderdale, Orange County, and Portland (OR) from MEX. Air Canada‘s Aeroplan members can now redeem for flights on Harbour Air. airBaltic is going to be cutting jobs. Allegiant purchased six more B737-8 MAXs. ANA is gobbling up regional rivals. Congo Airways is expected to restart late this year. EVA and China Airlines resumed using Russian airspace. Flair is beginning cargo ops. Indigo posted a loss. ITA seems to have solved everything so it’s moving on to air taxis. Norwegian is cutting Q1 flying. Philippine Airlines will operate a daily A350-1000 on MNL-SFO for the rest of the calendar year. Qatar might create a premium economy product. Then again, it might not. United resumed San Francisco to Cincinnati service this week for the first time since the pandemic. What do skeletons say before they eat? Bone Appétit https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/30/cranky-weekly-review-presented-by-oakland-san-francisco-bay-airport-jetblue-and-frontier-earnings-alaska-heads-to-tokyo/ #earnings #tokyo #jetblueearnings #anchorage #carrier #feelingblue #predictedjetblue #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

American’s Nat Pieper Carries His Northwest and Delta Heritage With Him An “introvert by trade” with an algebra teacher for a mother and lawyer for a father, American’s Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper was brought up to analyze and then act. You’re going to study. You’re going to do your homework, you’re going to put rational arguments together. But once you kind of figure it out because you’ve done your homework, let’s go. When he explained this to me during our recent lunch interview, I was perplexed. He had been in the job for nearly a year when we spoke, and he had yet to make any significant changes to his organization. (Soon after our chat, he replaced the head of network planning and brought in his comms person from oneworld.) What took so long? It may have been that Nat says he’s not a “bull in a china shop.” He wanted to understand the politics, really feel comfortable. But in the end, he’s not sure why it took so long. I have to wonder if this is former Delta CEO Richard Anderson’s fault. Nat was at Northwest when the merger with Delta happened, and it’s clear that he has a deep respect for Richard. (He is certainly not alone in that regard.) But he watched how Richard handled the merger, making it clear this was not a merger of equals, decisively making leadership decisions. He recognized during this process that Richard had a distinct advantage. The secret sauce on the Delta/Northwest merger was that Richard knew both teams right from the beginning so he could pick. He’s not stepping into a merger at American, but he is stepping into an organization where he does not have the same level of familiarity as Richard did at either Delta or Northwest. Yes, Nat was in the same building when he was running oneworld, but that is not the same thing. It seems strange that it has taken this long, especially coming from someone who came up in the hard-nosed ranks of Northwest Airlines, but he’s ready to start making his mark now. And to understand what that might mean, we need to look at his background. Nat started in finance at Northwest in 1997, rising to Managing Director of Financial Planning & Analysis where he learned under Chief Financial Officer Mickey Foret, and fleet was front and center. Mickey Foret was my boss and he was incredible, and learning and cutting one’s teeth on efficiency of aircraft. His thing was, you can always move the airplane. If you make the decision that you’re going to start a route and you’re wrong, you just move the airplane. You make a decision to buy an inefficient airplane, you’re stuck, and those are the highest leverage moves you have. He became VP of Alliances in 2005, and oversaw Northwest’s long-established, groundbreaking joint venture with KLM among other partnerships. But it was that KLM relationship with a shared bottom line that formed his views on how to make a partnership work. There were three main reasons he thinks that was so successful. One, I think they both went into it in similar positions. At [Northwest], if they’re sixth biggest in the U.S, ditto for [KLM] across Amsterdam in Europe, so they needed each other. Second, they kind of had the idea of “we’re better together than we are on our own.” And then third, with that grounded into them, they were willing to do something for a year. If it didn’t work… “You may drive me absolutely bananas because your costs are so high. Or your MD-11s are terrible, but I need you, and so we need to figure this out.” It’s no surprise that he continues to push the narrative that there’s much more that American can do with its partners. And it’s also not a shock that British Airways is an example he gives of a golden opportunity. I think US – London, is, with British Airways, we’ve not done a great job collectively promoting, integrating. We have a joint business, but it’s revenue-based, and so there’s opportunity there…. whether that’s generating richer yield, whether it’s cost efficiencies, etc. But the way the agreements are set up right now, it’s revenue-based, but it’s pretty loose. That is just one of the many areas where Nat wants to take some action. I wanted to know how he would differentiate American from Delta and United. He still doesn’t have definitive answers to share publicly, but he did say this. Our hubs aren’t the same as Delta’s, aren’t the same as United’s, partners, aircraft — so you can’t just go blow up everything, and “oh gosh, I want to get to where Delta is. Let’s copy it.” You can take some of their plays for sure, but you also got to figure out “why do people want our credit card instead of theirs? Why do people want to be Executive Platinums or [Concierge Keys] on us versus on Delta and on United.” Nat seems to understand the current situation, but we need to see more tangible moves from him on how he’s going to position American in this world beyond high level goals. But to do that, he understands he needs to get significant internal buy-in, and he has to make people understand that while his background may inform his views, he does not see American as another Northwest. It’s been 11 months now, but observing — I had my opinions from the outside and then being behind the curtain — it’s just the internal struggle, scared about, how do we go really double-barreled for premium, and what’s that got to do from a cost perspective? And so, you know, it’s just a different muscle, certainly, than we had at Northwest where it was all about, “it’s cold, it’s dark, and it’s ours” as the network strategy, punched above our weight. Nat publicly is a determined optimist about American, and Delta’s trajectory while he was there gives him hope. After all, it may be obvious today that Delta is a premium brand, but it certainly wasn’t back then. If somebody would have told me in my Delta days, at that period, that this is where Delta was going to be now — these would be the other two — I don’t think any of us would have believed it. https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/27/americans-nat-pieper-carries-his-northwest-and-delta-heritage-with-him/ #natpieper #northwest #delta #richard #american #commercialofficer #mickeyforet #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

The MAX 10 Getting Certified is a Really Big Deal The logjam has finally broken. After years of Boeing’s arrogance-driven ride into the much-deserved penalty box, it is finally getting airplanes certified again. First, we had the B737-7 MAX, and now the -10 has been certified as well. The -10 is a much bigger deal for the industry and for travelers. Original B737-10 MAX image via Boeing and then very poorly stretched by Gemini AI to make a point that it’s really damn long We all know that both the -8 and -9 were certified years ago, in 2017 and 2018. Then, they started falling out of the sky, and they were grounded until November 2020. But by then, the FAA had been badly burned by its own policies and Boeing’s failures, so it put all future Boeing commercial certification on hold. And that’s where we’ve been ever since. The -10 first flew more than five years ago, and it has been quite a saga since that time. I don’t need to get into the absurdity of how the -8 and -9 could keep flying with the same engine inlet icing issues that caused so much of the last delay on the -10 certification. All that matters is it is finally done. And now airlines can finally get excited. Here’s a look at the breakdown of demand for the B737 MAX models from the Boeing website. Orders and Deliveries by B737 Type Data via Boeing By far, the -8 is the most in-demand model with more than 4,500 in total either delivered or on order. Of course, Southwest is a big part of that, but I imagine that some of these are also placeholders that will eventually be moved to other models. The -9 has been far less in-demand, but those three airplanes in the middle have been flying for some time. It was the one on the left and right which sat in certification purgatory. The -7 was just certified, but it is currently scheduled to go only to Southwest. (I didn’t realize, but it appears the only other customer, Allegiant, has converted its orders all to the -8.) This isn’t overly exciting to anyone, not even Southwest which has been converting to -8s for years anyway. It’s just a B737-700 replacement that can also do a handful of very specific missions like Orange County to Hawaiʻi. Like the smaller version of most airplane models, this one is not of interest to most airlines. It’s the -10 that is the real prize, and the orderbook reflects that. It is the second-most ordered airplane in the MAX family with more than 1,500. In the US and Canada, all the big airlines want the airplane, except for Southwest which (so far) has always gone with smaller gauge. B737 MAX Unfilled Orders+Deliveries by Model for Each US/Canadian Airline Data via Cirium So why is this so important? There are two reasons. First, the -10 has very low unit costs. Second, the size enables airlines to do more with the onboard product economically, as we’ve seen on the similarly-sized A321neo. This model is appealing enough that even Delta ordered it, and it has ordered no other MAX aircraft. (I’m actually just assuming Delta got an absolutely smoking deal when it placed the order in 2022.) I’ve been told by some outside the airline that United had originally planned to make the -10 the Coastliner outfitted with flat beds, but it was delayed long enough that the A321neo ended up getting the job. That means Alaska will be the first to put a true transcon flat bed product onboard the -10. This was the biggest news in the airline’s recent media day, and the fact that the -10 is now certified is very important for its future strategy. This is the first B737 that can have flat beds and premium economy while still having enough room for a substantial number of coach seats. Then there’s American. You’ll remember from my recent fleet post that Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper loves that airplane’s unit costs so much that he said it was the thing he wanted most in the fleet that he didn’t currently have. And that is something he learned from his time at Alaska. …seat cost on the [B737 MAX] 10 is so much better than the 9. If we had had all three airplanes available to us at the beginning to make the first order, we would have done nothing but order 10s. This is one long airplane, and as a stretch with an extra five feet on the -9, its range is less at only 3,100nm. That’s much lower than the very capable A321neo family, but this isn’t meant to be a Transatlantic airplane. Boeing has shown no real movement toward creating a B757-200 replacement for longer haul. This is a domestic airplane that can haul people for cheap, more akin to what the B757-300 does, just with fewer seats yet still lower unit costs. Up until now, Airbus has been the only one really playing in this space with the A321neo. The B737-900ER was never quite big enough and couldn’t get its unit costs down low enough either. The -10 is finally creating competition for that market, and every airline can be happy about that. Congratulations to Boeing, but more importantly, congratulations to all the airlines that are going to be able to start using this airplane next year… finally. https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/26/the-max-10-getting-certified-is-a-really-big-deal/ #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Cranky Weekly Review presented by Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport: Earnings Daze American Earnings Paint Bleak Picture “American delivered record third-quarter revenue and the strongest year-over-year revenue growth in my career, with premium performance leading the way,” American CEO Robert Isom said in a releAAse which buries the lede that AA’s Q3 was poor enough for the carrier to slow its capacity growth next year with a loss now expected for the full year to equal as much as $1.60 per share. American’s two largest expenses continue to be labor and fuel — though we assume the decision in late 2025 to switch to Bollinger Special Cuvée makes that a close third — with both rising far faster than the airline can keep up with revenues. Although losses are expected to worsen, Isom stated that he has great confidence that the airline will return to profitability in 2027, which seems like the exact thing you’d want to hear from the guy whose job is specifically tied to whether or not the airline returns to profitability in 2027. International and premium demand remained high for American (say it with us one more time, K-shaped economy), but with that high demand came an expectation that it will lose between $.50 and $1.10 per share during the fourth quarter. This comes despite revenue expected to be up as much as 22 1/2% from last year and for capacity to be up more than 6%. Overall for Q3, American posted a net loss of $269 million on $16.3 billion in gross revenue compared to a loss of $114 million in Q3 last year. The carrier did end the quarter with $1.2 billion in cash, a jump from the $938 million it had left after Q3 2025. The jump in reserves is thanks to AA’s effort to degrade the customer experience for those in Basic Economy as much as possible, proving that charging BE passengers for the cost of meal vouchers for delayed premium passengers is a great way to generate funds. Demand for United Grows Along with Profitability Gap United’s Q3 earnings were released his week, and its record-breaking gross revenue just shy of $18 billion showed that demand is strong for the Tulip Globe. But despite its strong revenue, the carrier continues to trail Delta when it comes to profitability. If we ignore third-party refinery sales for Delta, the two carriers were almost identical in gross revenue $17.87 billion for United and $17.58 billion for Delta. The difference? Delta earned a $1.6 billion profit on that revenue, good for a 9.4% operating margin, while United’s profit of $1.2 billion was just a 7% operating margin. (“Just,” of course, is relative, with American drooling at the mere thought.) With regards to gross revenue, everything went up for United. Premium revenue was up 17%, and basic economy was up 16% (suckers). Contracted business revenue was up 26%, and these jumps occurred on capacity increases of just over 1%. But what else was up? Fuel. In its investor update, United says fourth quarter adjusted earnings will fall between $.50 and $1.50 per share, with the assumption that go-juice costs around $4.80 per gallon. Its stock earned $2.54 in adjusted diluted earnings per share, within its expected guidance. It expects to earn between $0.50 and $1.50 per share in Q4, below the $1.76 which was predicted by analysts. It likely caps United’s year-end Lufthansa Adds Columbus, Phoenix It’s been a busy week for Lufthansa as the carrier announced plans to launch new service to both Columbus and Phoenix. This is the first scheduled flight from Columbus to Europe, and the PHX service marks the Lufthansa Group’s first foray into the Valley of the Sun since early 2004 when it decided it could no longer stomach watching A340-300s struggle to clear the airport fence on a hot summer day. Let’s start first with Columbus, where the midwestern airport will see 3x weekly service to Frankfurt beginning on May 5. Will it make money? Lufthansa would prefer that it does, but it’ll sleep at night either way — the route will come with a significant revenue guarantee for Lufthansa to keep it relatively whole one way or another. The flight will be the first Ohio destination in LH’s history. We figured Dayton would be first, since the city of Germantown — or as the German’s call it, “Town” — is right there, but shows what we know. Starting next August, the carrier will begin 3x weekly flights from Munich to Phoenix. The nearly 6,000-mile flight in each direction will be flown by Lufthansa’s A350-900. How about that first flight crew from Lufthansa on the inaugural which will land in Phoenix in August — at least it’s a dry heat for them to experience. A study from Sky Harbor says the new Munich flight will provide as much as an $81 million impact annually to the Phoenix community, and that comes before all those LH flight crews discover how much they enjoy sipping on The Phoenix. Southwest Squeezes Out Profit For the last couple of years, Southwest has been busy turning itself into something that looks increasingly unlike the Southwest we all knew. Assigned seats. Extra legroom. Bag fees. Basic economy. Partnerships. Corporate distribution. And now lounges. But not just any lounge — Icon Lounges ™! There have been plenty of reasons to question whether blowing up much of what made Southwest unique was actually going to make the airline more money. Well, we’re starting to get an answer, and unfortunately for nostalgia fans, it is. Southwest reported a record $8.4 billion in revenue during the third quarter, up a whopping 21.2 percent from last year. Even more impressive, capacity was actually down 0.4 percent. That math works out to a RASM jump of 21.6%, which set a new WN record. Passenger revenue alone climbed 22.8 percent to $7.75 billion, and Southwest says it had the highest passenger yield in company history. Perhaps most impressive, that figure doesn’t even account for the savings from its gate agents no longer having to explain the zone boarding process anymore. Overall, the airline earned $270 million during the quarter, or about $0.55 per share. Adjusted operating margin came in at 5.4 percent, up 4.8 points from a year ago. But before anyone starts handing out victory cigars in Dallas, we have to look at fuel, the thorny problem for every airline. Southwest spent $2.15 billion (billion…with a B) on fuel in Q3, a 62% jump from a year ago. If things don’t get better, it might have to bring back its old fare classes with a one adjustment: Wanna Get Away, Wanna Get Away Plus, and Wanna Help Pay for Jet Fuel?” Air Canada Brings Back Booking Fee It’s a great reminder that just about everything is cyclical…except the number of boarding groups — that never stops increasing. In the last 10 years, most airlines reversed course, removing the fees and charges associated with booking anywhere but online (over the phone or in-person at an airport, or at a city ticket office if any of those still exist). Most change fees (for non-basic customers) also went away during the pandemic. But the pendulum could be swinging back in the other direction again as Air Canada is bringing back a C$30 fee to book over the phone. Whether this is the first in a step of many changes remains to be seen, but it feels like a $25 change fee could be next…only to see that jump to $50, $100, and even $200 before getting wiped away again. Air Canada joins WestJet and United amongst non-ULCCs that charge for phone bookings. Who’s exempt from the new rules? Anyone needing special accommodations and there’s no charge to speak to an agent during irregular operations. Similar to fast food restaurants with secret menus, Air Canada will accept alternate payment methods for the C$30 other than cash and credit and is willing to get creative. Customers can exchange three gallons of maple syrup for one “free” over the phone booking, and the booking fee will continue to be waived for all U.S. citizens until a Canadian team finally wins the Stanley Cup, so… forever. Aeromexico might announce new U.S. routes next week…then again it might not. Air Canada announced 4x weekly winter-only service between Montréal and Sevilla. Air Cǒte d’Ivoire is finally cote-sharing with Air France. Air Serbia is adding six new destinations including Miami. Alaska is adding new Seattle service to both Osaka and Tahiti. Delta is shockingly not raising its Medallion qualification levels for 2027, making it even more likely thresholds will be going up a year from now. Discover will take over Lufthansa’s Seattle service in the spring. Qatar will be the seventh airline to operate at the new Western Sydney airport. Sky Mali is growing. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this doesn’t mean SkyMall is any closer to coming back to seat back pockets anytime soon. Southwest expects to complete Starlink installation fleetwide by next fall. United‘s newest concourse opened in Houston this week with a Texas-sized lounge. It’s also adding four new routes. Virgin Australia is seeking an increase in capacity to Indonesia. Wizz Air looks to grow in Spain. The most shocking thing about getting older is realizing how many things can injure you while sleeping. https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/23/cranky-weekly-review-presented-by-oakland-san-francisco-bay-airport-earnings-daze/ #american #bleakpicture #paintbleak #robertisom #delta #profitability #bollingerspecial #specialcuvee #premium #demand #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Tell Me Where to Go This week has been unexpectedly busy, and I don’t have a post that’s quite ready for primetime today. So, instead, I’m going to do something weird. I’m going to have you tell me where to go. See, I have a credit on Alaska that must have all travel completed in the next week. I don’t have to use this credit, but also, I can…. And I do have a couple of days that I can actually afford to take off. I’ve come up with some ideas, and I put them on Bluesky yesterday for a poll, but I’d say the results of that small sample size weren’t exactly conclusive. So, I’m bringing it here to give more context and to swap out one of the destinations for something better I found. Here’s the fun part. I’m going to do the one that gets the most votes, and then I’ll write about it here. In theory, all of the four choices sound good to me, so I really hope I won’t regret this. Just realize that all of these are for two nights except for Hawaiʻi where I could probably fly out the evening before to squeeze in some extra time. Read below to see the choices listed in alphabetical order to avoid any perceived bias. The poll is at the bottom. 1) Boise I’ve been to a lot of cities in the US, and Boise is not one of them. That’s probably why it was in the lead on the Bluesky poll at last check, and I’m totally ok with that. What would I do there? Maybe I’d do some hiking or biking, see the old penitentiary, hit the botanical garden, and oh yes, I’d eat well. It looks like there are some good spots around town. There’s nothing more fun than exploring someplace new. Flights: nonstop mainline or possibly regional, probably first class Hotels: easy and inexpensive, and I can stay in the downtown area Weather: Mostly sunny with highs in the low 60s 2) Loreto Image via Visit Mexico Loreto has been on my list for years. A little more than halfway down the Baja peninsula on the Sea of Cortés, this town seems like a big retiree ex-pat destination. It has islands off the coast that are part of a UNESCO world heritage site. What would I do? Maybe I’d take a boat out, though it’s outside of whale-watching season. I could see the historic mission, and since there are a lot of retirees, I assume I could also just find a happy hour starting around noon. There’s always the beach, which will be needed with those hot temps. Flights: nonstop on SkyWest, might be able to do first class one way Hotels: a bit tricky, probably need to find an Airbnb or a local spot since there are no big chain hotels other than Villa del Palmar, but that’s a golf resort well outside of town and it’s expensive Weather: Mostly sunny with highs in the upper 80s 3) Oʻahu As you well know, this is not a new destination for me at all. But flights would work to do a quick trip to one of my favorite places. I picked this island over the others, because Honolulu is the only place with evening flights which would let me squeeze in an extra night. What would I do? I’d definitely look to stay in a different part of the island that I don’t know well. That could mean Kāneʻohe Bay or Lāʻie on the windward side, or possibly Waiʻanae on the leeward side, though that requires some extra caution. I’d maybe do a little hiking, and I’d eat well, but I’d probably also look for a volunteer opportunity or something more locally-focused. Flights: A330 out in coach and probably a 321neo back in first class, but we’ll see Hotels: there are a couple of small independent hotels in town, one of which I’d probably use Weather: mid 80s that start partly cloud but it is expected to turn rainy by the middle of the trip 4) Vancouver Clearly I’ve been to Vancouver as this shot from Capilano shows from three years ago, but who doesn’t love Vancouver? It’s a great city to visit at any time of year. What would I do here? This would be a mission. My favorite tea spot is in Vancouver, and they stopped shipping to the US for several months now. Sure it might come back some day, and yes I could have someone mail it to me from north of the border, but I could also just go up there and get it myself. I realize that sounds silly, but then… I’m in Vancouver and there is a ton to do there. Flights: ideally an American Eagle E175, but space is limited so possibly a connection through PDX or SEA if needed, all coach Hotels: cheap and plentiful Weather: high 50s and cloudy with a chance of showers Now it’s time to vote. I’ll leave this open until 6pm PT tonight, October 22. (If you are reading this on email, you have to visit the website to vote) Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Disclaimer: Yes, I know I said I would go to the place with the most votes, but I reserve the right to change or cancel if needed. Maybe the flights are no longer available, or I end up catching the flu that’s been going around. If I do change or cancel, it will be for a good reason. https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/22/tell-me-where-to-go/ #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

The 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030 Cranky Network Awards Will Be in Phoenix Summer is over, and that means planning for the Cranky Network Awards presented by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is in full swing. I thought it was time for a little update on where things stand, and I’m delighted to announce that we’ll be staying in Phoenix for years to come. 2027 Will Look Familiar The 2027 awards will be held on February 25, and we’ll be in the same venue as the last couple of years. After last year’s move to the Courtyard, the host hotel is back at home in the Hyatt Regency where we were in 2024. The Cranky Confab is returning, so make sure you get into town the morning of the 25th so you don’t miss it. We heard your feedback last year that you want more variety in the topics, so we will be doing just that. We’re just about ready to finalize those, but we aren’t ready to tell you just yet. The Cocktail Reception presented by Arizona Office of Tourism, Visit Phoenix, and Experience Scottsdale is back again. I’ve asked that we get “The Phoenix” cocktail back on the menu, because that was quite tasty. We’ve been working feverishly on new award categories this year, and if you’re attending, please make sure to bring cash if you want to see our fabulous spectacular tribute to Spirit Airlines starring Ethel Merman. We charge $17.99 per person, per minute to see that part of the show, because it will be held in a vacated Spirit Halloween store and that doesn’t come cheap. The Afterparty is once again hosted by our friends at Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, Visit Oakland, and Visit Berkeley. As promised, there will be an outdoor space available so you can take advantage of the weather before you head back home to the frozen tundra. (Yes, we’re talking to you, United.) As always, we’ll have the much-loved Forecast Breakfast presented by Tampa International Airport. This year it’ll be in the same spot as the Afterparty, so if you’ve had too much to drink and are hungover, it’ll be easy to find. Is anything changing? Well, sadly, our post-breakfast plans probably have no choice. We’ve historically done a spring training game that afternoon, but anyone who is watching the looming player lockout is well aware that spring training starting on time in February is less likely to happen that the LAX people mover opening in the next year. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is Here to Stay Once 2027’s event is done, then we can turn our focus into the future. One thing we don’t have to worry about is where it’ll be. I’m happy to announce we now have a long-term deal to keep the Cranky Network Awards in Phoenix through at least 2030. This is actually really exciting for us, because it gives us the long-term security and flexibility we need to be able to build this event out to be even better in the future. Besides, we know you love warming up a little in the desert winter, and flight options tend to work well for people coming into town. It’s a natural fit, and we are thankful that PHX loves the event as well. PHX Aviation Director Chad Makovsky had this to say: The Cranky Network Awards might just be the most fun awards celebration in the industry, and we’re thrilled that Cranky Flier is committed to hosting them right here in Phoenix through 2030. This event is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the great work of our partners in the airline industry, and we look forward to continuing to welcome them to Phoenix. Phoenix is a dynamic city that continues to innovate, grow, and thrive. There’s simply no better place to showcase that momentum than at Sky Harbor, where we continue to develop modern airport facilities and enhance service offerings to elevate the experience for our passengers. This event remains invite-only, and those will be coming soon enough. If you have any questions, just email us at [email protected]. Or if you’d like to discuss a sponsorship, we’re at [email protected]. https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/21/the-2027-2028-2029-and-2030-cranky-network-awards-will-be-in-phoenix/ #crankynetwork #networkawards #phoenix #internationalairport #crankyconfab #harborinternational #visitphoenix #skyharbor #lookfamiliar #hyattregency #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Sports Charters: How Air Canada Flies Domestically in the US Fall has arrived, and though I’m still completely and totally focused on the baseball postseason, it is also the time when the NBA and NHL start their games. I noticed a couple of odd charters that caught my eye, and that, as usual, sent me down the rabbit hole looking at how sports charters work when there are teams traveling across borders. It is… complicated. This isn’t an issue for the NFL where no teams exist outside the US. It’s also not much of an issue for the NBA and MLB because there is only one team outside the US in each, both in Toronto. (The other Canadian baseball team is technically in Washington, DC now. Long live the Expos!) But in the NHL, it gets complicated very quickly since there are 25 teams in the US but also seven in Canada. Both Canada and the US prohibit cabotage, where an airline based in one country would fly local passengers solely within the other country’s borders. That makes it a lot harder to manage charters on the surface. All of the Canadian teams charter with Air Canada Jetz. AC Jetz uses five aircraft in an all-premium configuration, similar to what Delta does with its dedicated fleet of charter B757s. But what happens when those Canadian teams need to fly within the US? Next week, the Montreal Canadiens are in St Louis on October 27 to play the Blues, and then they have to go to Dallas to play the Stars on the 29th. Can Air Canada do that? Or does the team need to hire a US-based airline? Or does that team fly all the way back to Canada and then come back south? The logistical nightmare of all of this became clear years ago, and in 2009 there was a settlement where the Canadian and US authorities decided to solidify simplified rules for teams on season-long charter contracts that need to fly within other countries. Sean Davidson, Air Canada Spokesperson, pointed me to a recent ruling in Canada on a JetBlue contract that clearly spells out how this works. That was helpful, because I can’t find anything in writing from the US side. In effect, don’t think of these as individual flights, but one months-long flight with a whole bunch of stops along the way. That means it’s technically not cabotage, but there are some rules around this. And here’s how that works: At the beginning of each season, the charter carrier has to submit its charter contract to the government with start and end dates along with a roster of who is permitted to be on the plane for each team The roster must include only team employees or contractors and nobody else If the roster changes — you know, people get hired, players get traded, etc — then the government has to be notified within seven days of the change At the end of each month, a report has to be submitted to the government showing that each person onboard has flown at least once back into the team’s home country If someone hasn’t been to the team’s home country — think about maybe an injury or someone who was traded while the team was already in the other country, I suppose — then a plan to rectify that has to be submitted and completed within two months The carrier must have a compliance officer dedicated to making sure that only those people fly on the aircraft who are on that roster At the end of the season, a letter must be submitted affirming that no rules were broken This seems like a very fair solution to allow Canadian airlines to use their charter operators the whole way through the season while US carriers can do the same with theirs. But here’s a twist. Below I have a map of all the teams. There are a lot of outliers here. Do you see them? No, it’s not the question marks. Those are airlines who seem to use multiple providers right now. St Louis has used JetBlue, GlobalX, and Sun Country while Columbus has flown Breeze and JetBlue. New Jersey has taken both of the two big players, Air Canada and Delta. These three and more were part of a larger cohort that used to be flown by Swift (later iAero) before it went under. New Pacific came in to take that business, but as we all know, that airline failed too, in the middle of last season. There was a mad scramble to replace them, but it’s Air Canada and Delta which continue to hold the largest share. Anyway, back to the point. You’ll notice that Air Canada is not just handling Canadian teams anymore. It is the charter carrier behind Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Nashville, New York (Islanders), Pittsburgh, and Seattle. Some of these airlines have been with Air Canada for years while others came over after the New Pacific failure, but now this is something different. You have a US-based team working with a Canadian airline. That airline has to fly to and from Canada to make this not cabotage, but that isn’t hard to do since all the teams play on both sides of the border throughout the season. Still, it seems different when a Canadian airline is allowed to fly a US-based team within the US. I haven’t heard any objections to this so far, and maybe there won’t be. After all, these are pretty specialized operations that can properly handle this work, so it’s not like there’s a huge pool to choose from. But then again, all it takes is one US-based airline that wants this business to file a complaint. If you’re curious, the Detroit Red Wings own their own B737-800 that is technically operated by Olympia Aviation. https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/20/sports-charters-how-air-canada-flies-domestically-in-the-us/ #aircanada #sportscharters #canadajetz #canadaspokesperson #nhl #us #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Southwest’s Use of Language Eliminates the Fun Southwest held a media day last week to announce more details on lounges and changes to the Rapid Rewards program. I didn’t attend, but there was one thing that really stood out from all these announcements. The fun, the playfulness, is being designed out of the airline, and there is no good reason for that. This is something that has been on my mind for awhile now, especially as the airline has gone through rapid changes to its business model. The whole pitch was basically, “sure, we’re like everyone else but our people are our differentiator.” Every airline says this, but Southwest may actually be closest to having that be a true statement. Southwest has always empowered its people to take care of customers and have fun doing it. This photo above started as one I took on a flight on Halloween in 2023. As you can see, this flight attendant — who was not actually CEO Bob Jordan, to be clear — was dressed as Thing 4, and there was also a Thing 3. (I’m guessing there was a 1 and 2, but I didn’t see them.) They were having fun and it was infectious. We’ve all been on a Southwest flight where there were jokes cracked or songs sung. Maybe it wasn’t so welcome on that 6am departure, but it was Southwest. And more often than not, it was good. Of course, a company that is able to foster this has to push it down from the top. Former President Colleen Barrett was there at the beginning as a legal secretary to former Chairman and CEO Herb Kelleher, and she was the true keeper of the heart of that company. She made sure that the culture was strong for decades… so strong you could argue it was cult-like, though fortunately I never heard any reports about a mass suicide pact. But when it comes to the goofiness, well, Herb stole that show with his legendary irreverence. We’ve all heard the stories. The paper bag on the head, the arm-wrestling match… Image via Southwest Airlines That goofiness permeated the company in so many ways, and the way the front line acted was a result of that leadership setting the tone. This was serious business, but what good was it if you couldn’t have fun along the way? Over the years, Southwest grew up. It had to. The airline just kept getting bigger, and it had no choice. But it still set the tone for being just a little off, in the right way. By the the end of 2008, Southwest had more than 35,000 employees stretching coast to coast, but they still managed the annual Halloween event. I was a judge that year, so I saw it first hand. And man, I was not prepared for that cultural explosion. Southwest being different bled over into the naming conventions of everything. It was a subtle reminder that the airline shouldn’t take itself too seriously. The bigger the airline got, the more important those things were. Even products like EarlyBird check-in or Wanna Get Away fares, which weren’t introduced until the mid 2000s, fall into that category. Maybe it didn’t even register when you saw it, but these all subtly helped carry-on that culture that Southwest worked so hard to build. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the disappearance of a lot of what makes Southwest different. Bags were no longer included in the fare, open seating was killed off, you know that story. But here’s the thing. All of those changes could have been made while still trying to keep that fun persona in place. Some of these changes were necessary. Others felt rushed, but that’s not what I’m arguing here. What I’m arguing is that it should have been more fun. The naming conventions all started to change. For example: Wanna Get Away/Wanna Geta Away+ fares -> Basic and Choice fares Fly By priority security and check-in -> Priority Lane check-in and Express Lane security EarlyBird check-in -> Priority Boarding And this brings me back to the most recent media day where this trend seems to have been solidified. Southwest rolled out the first renderings of its lounges, and it gave us a name: Southwest Icon Lounge. That’s not fun or playful. It’s just, well, I’m not sure how to characterize it. It is unique, I’ll give them that. But I don’t really feel connected to Southwest when I hear that name. A good example of how to infuse your culture into naming is JetBlue and it’s new BlueHouse lounges. That feels like the JetBlue brand. Of course it’s “blue,” but it also has a less-formal-but-still-quality sense to it with the “house” part. JetBlue is not a fun and playful brand, so it should be different than Southwest. Here it feels informal, cozy, and inviting. The lounge is really the tip of the iceberg, because now we have the rejiggered Southwest Rapid Rewards program. Gone are A-List and A-List Preferred as status levels. Those were more playful, like you’re a star on the Southwest red carpet. But now? You’ll never guess what they’re going with. Silver. Gold. Platinum. Ok, maybe you did guess it. (Platinum, by the way, is a new level which holds the companion pass.) And how do you get these? Well, you earn Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs). And don’t worry if you can’t get to the next level, because you can earn Milestone Rewards in between. It feels like this could have been written about pretty much any airline’s loyalty program. And the messaging now feels like the attempts at fun are forced. Just watch the two-minute video introducing the program, and I’ll bet you cringe at least a couple times. Or look at the webpage describing the change, which seems to be filled with stock photos. (Side note: Using a photo of Paris to demonstrate the ability to redeem points on China Airlines, Icelandair, and Etihad seems like… a choice.) Again, this isn’t to suggest change is bad. The point is that you can separate the language you use from the changing product, and you should. Because words matter. Southwest used to understand that more clearly. Today, it seems that Southwest wants to use language as a way to bolster the belief that it is no longer the fun airline it used to be. The words suggest the opposite, that Southwest is trying to be more like everyone else. Customers might see it, but Southwest can be sure employees will. And while many may not luv it, they will end up taking it to heart. That’s something that just didn’t need to happen. https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/19/southwests-use-of-language-eliminates-the-fun/ #languageeliminates #southwest #fun #use #rapidrewards #thing #halloween #herb #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Cranky Weekly Review presented by Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport: Rapid Rewards Transforms, Delta One’s Next Act Southwest Overhauls Rapid Rewards Another day and another dramatic change for Southwest Airlines — the carrier shared its 2027 Rapid Rewards Program and things sure are going to look different. The carrier is leaving no stone unturned — everything is changing. New elite tiers, companion pass changes, new ways to redeem points, and new names. A-List and A-List preferred are gone and in their place will be their cleverly named Silver, Gold, and Platinum. A-List members will transition to silver, A-List Preferred will match to Gold, and Platinum status will require a blood sacrifice at Herb’s final resting place and a blood oath signed with Chase. And believe it or not, credit card spend is going up as far as how much spend counts towards status. Companion pass isn’t dead, but it’s continuing its inevitable death march. It’s now a part of Platinum Status, which means spending $140k on your credit card or a whole bunch of butt-in-seat flying. But credit card fans rejoice — beginning in 2027, every dollar spent on a Rapid Rewards credit card from Chase earns one point towards status! Additionally next year, Southwest plans to initiate the opportunity to use RR points for seat selection (perhaps you heard — Southwest now assigns seats) while RR points for car rentals through southwest.com is expected to be live before the end of ’27. And yes, redemptions on other airlines are coming as well, starting with the Big Three… China Airlines, Etihad, and Icelandair. Delta Unveils Delta One (2.0) For reasons unclear to us, Delta isn’t calling its newest business class upgrades Delta One Two Point Oh (or even the simpler Delta Two), but the carrier did announce upgrades to its on-board soft product including food, drinks, amenities, and the addition of a 12 x 12 yoga studio for premium passengers on long-haul flights of 12 hours or more. To make efficient use of the space, Delta is cutting two FAs from each flight in exchange for one yoga instructor and an athletic trainer to deal with on-board muscle pulls and tears. Revamped service will be live out of LAX this fall with the rest of the network being added next year. Delta is adding reimagined menus (we assume that means the food on offer and not the literal menus being reimagined with new fonts, colors, and paper), with enhanced hospitality and tableware. In reality that means a new Delta One wagyu burger (which we assume is the Shake Shack burger on fancy plating), lighter-fare, Blanton’s (bourbon), and a new wine program. The service will also feature new winter amenity kits, Bombas socks on select flights, and more Porsches in its fleet to offer priority connecting service for a select chosen few. Anyone curious on what’s in the amenity kit should just hold tight as they’ll surely end up in bulk on eBay any day now. United Enhances MileagePlus Qualification While United’s 2027 MileagePlus changes aren’t nearly as dramatic as Southwest’s, the airline did make elite qualifying more difficult, eliminating a path which includes fewer points paired with Premier Qualifying Flights. Through 2026, United customers could earn elite status through PQP earned, but a sliding scale of increasing qualifying flights allowed for fewer PQP to earn equivalent status. In 2027, that pathway goes away and it’s PQP or bust. It seems the goal here is to reduce the swells of 1K members as silver, gold, and platinum qualification standards are unchanged while 1K qualification jumps from 28,000 PQP annually to 32,000. Delta famously reduced its MQD spend for Diamond from 35,000 annually to 28,000 in 2023 — it seems this move by UA opens the door for Delta to raise its threshold as well. United is also removing the other flight requirements, but keeping the rule that elite members must fly on at least four United or United Express flights per year. Customers with the United-branded credit card will still receive a PQP boost to get a head start on everyone else. Breeze Blows from Myrtle Beach Breeze Airways unveiled a major network expansion this week, including four new destinations and 16 new nonstop flights, including a whopping 11 to the Grand Strand — Myrtle Beach. The routes to and from MYR being added to Breeze’s nice network map include this 11, all of which will operate 2x weekly unless noted: Albany Boston (1x daily) Buffalo Burlington Columbus Latrobe (PA) New Haven Portland (ME) Portsmouth (NH) New York/Stewart Syracuse Other new flights for Breeze in the non-MYR division, also at 2x weekly unless noted: Buffalo: Charleston (SC), Raleigh-Durham (4x weekly) Orlando: Latrobe (PA) Raleigh/Durham: Nassau Tampa: Santo Domingo The carrier also announced six new BreezeThru one-stop routes for those who want the Breeze experience but for longer with the extra bonus that you could be stranded somewhere new and exciting. Lufthansa Wins TAP Battle It’s been more than a year since the Portuguese government relaunched its effort to privatize TAP Air Portugal and the government selected Lufthansa over Air France-KLM for the very specific 44.9% stake in the carrier. 5% will go to the employees of the airline while the government will keep a 50.1% stake and majority control — for now. Lufthansa won out over its rival as it offered an all-cash deal while the AF/KL offering included some cash and a stock swap. The Portuguese government says the first phase of the deal will bring it €1.2 billion in cash, and with Lufthansa taking over operational management of the airline, it values the deal at €2.552 billion and that’s before taking into account the eight capacity-controlled passes the government received to the LH Senator Lounge B (non-Schengen) in Frankfurt. TAP, of course, is already a member of the Star Alliance family, but its not a member of the Atlantic JV. To smooth the entrance, we suggest combining with Lufthansa’s other recent prize, ITA, to form a single new airline called AliTAPia to enter the JV. Aegean named Michalis Kouveliotis as its new CEO. Air India‘s second Japanese destination was unveiled to be Osaka. Air Tahiti took delivery of an all-business class ATR 72-600. Air Vanuatu is mulling. AirAsia is looking for funding from the Malaysian government. airBaltic has an offer for its ACMI ops. Delta‘s flight to Riyadh is totally going to operate in March. Seriously. No joke. It’s fully committed to the route. Finnair‘s profit guidance is trending upward. ITA is adding Rome – Caracas service beginning March 30. The route will operate 3x weekly or whenever ITA damn well pleases. JAL is bringing the E190-E2 into the fold. Kenya Airways saw $350 million approved from the Kenyan government. Oman Air is is adding capacity. Philippine Airlines would prefer to lessen its tax bill. Qantas‘s nine-year partnership with Air New Zealand is coming to an end. Ryanair is leaving Bremen over a fee dispute. Of course it is. Singapore is finally bringing pajamas to business class. We’ll all sleep better tonight. VietJet Air is beginning Prague service. Viva‘s merger with Volaris is expected to receive Mexican antitrust approval. I would tell you my autumn joke, but you probably wouldn’t fall for it https://crankyflier.com/2026/10/16/cranky-weekly-review-presented-by-oakland-san-francisco-bay-airport-rapid-rewards-transforms-delta-ones-next-act/ #rapidrewards #overhaulsrapid #platinumstatus #southwest #airlines #two #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit