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I used to fly on an @AmericanAirlines #737MAX in my day job every other week. Flying didn't get much more mundane than. Now that its re-entered service after nearly 21 months of grounding, what has changed? Spoiler Alert: other than a pandemic, not much. businessinsider.com/i-flew-f…
Chris Sloan retweeted
Last week in Seattle felt like a coming-out party for aviation’s new couple: Chester and Pualani.
I was there as Alaska unveiled Phase 2 of Alaska Accelerate: moving from integration to acceleration.
New cabins, lounges, international ambitions and big bets. Can they pay off?
Our latest Window Seat Podcast:
aviationweek.com/podcasts/wi…
🤖 Made with AI
Last week in Seattle felt like a coming-out party for aviation’s new couple: Chester and Pualani.
I was there as Alaska unveiled Phase 2 of Alaska Accelerate: moving from integration to acceleration.
New cabins, lounges, international ambitions and big bets. Can they pay off?
Our latest Window Seat Podcast:
aviationweek.com/podcasts/wi…
🤖 Made with AI
Canada’s number two airline went back to its roots in the west. And then the hits kept coming: Geopolitical, fuel, labor actions, and mushrooming competition. WestJet’s CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech is determined to turn crisis into opportunity, taking some big swings with massive fleet orders, unconventional network moves, and new lines of business. I travelled to the carrier’s Calgary headquarters for this profile in the current issue of Air Transport World.
At the opposite end of the spectrum from American Airlines' new super-premium 777-300ER flagship I reviewed last week is @Allegiant upgraded bundle, dubbed Extra. How does this step above their ULCC economy rate? Here's my review for @BizTraveler_USA
businesstraveller.com/tried-…
Chris Sloan retweeted
Unveiling its refurbished Boeing 777-300ER, American Airlines has raised the stakes in the premium arms race.
Yesterday, RGN contributor @airchive stepped aboard this flagship widebody (tail number N718AN) at the carrier’s DFW hub to take part in a media flight to JFK.
American rolled out the red carpet, quite literally, for the twinjet, which boasts the highest number of premium seats ever installed on a U.S. carrier’s aircraft — at least for now.
The 330-seat aircraft, known internally as Project Olympus, brims with 114 premium seats, including 70 Flagship Suite seats with privacy doors, and 44 Premium Economy seats.
While American’s new long-haul interiors, including Flagship Suite seats up front, are already flying on new-delivery Boeing 787-9s and Airbus A321XLRs, the new-generation products have finally come to the fleet’s flagship.
The very thought of American doing something as audacious as a special media charter is, well, rather un-American.
United is the last U.S. carrier in recent memory to do something on this scale when it previewed its new Polaris product in 2017 (more recently, it hosted media flights as it rolled out SpaceX’s Starlink Low Earth Orbit satellite-powered inflight Wi-Fi.)
Desperate to rid itself of its whipping boy status amongst America’s ‘big three’ global carriers, American Airlines has been on a premium tear lately, awash in customer experience upmarket enhancements.
To wit, seatback IFE is making a much celebrated return on the carrier’s narrowbodies; it’s adding more premium seats; and Starlink has been earmarked for a portion of its fleet.
Taken together, this is nothing short of a giant leap as American tries to change the narrative.
Full #nosetotail trip report: runwaygirlnetwork.com/2026/0…
#paxex #avgeek
ALT Inside the refurbished 77W's Flagship cabin on yesterday's DFW-JFK media flight. Image: Chris Sloan
ALT Delectable beef meal is served; one of four options on the media flight.
ALT Inside a lav with cloud + sky wallpaper.
ALT A fully closed, and certified (!) suite door.
This week: Listen @ airlinesconfidential.com - I profile Canadian North Airlines; Plus: United's new int destinations; FAA seeks termination of 2 LGA controllers; Proposal to rename BNA for Dolly Parton; Would Delta be losing $$ without AMEX partnership?
I was really, really curious to review @BreezeAirways take on First Class. Did Ascent soar? Find out in my Nose-to-Tail trip report for @RunwayGirl
runwaygirlnetwork.com/2026/0…
Five years ago, I flew on @BreezeAirways inaugural flight - which was more of a soft launch on an E190. Now, half a decade later, I am back on their A220 for the first time to see how this startup has grown up.
For this "Breezy" trip report, first I chose the "Nice" product and then went full on for the "Nicest", in their case, First Class. Here's part one of my trip report of Breeze's entry-level branded fare for @RunwayGirl
runwaygirlnetwork.com/2026/0…
Come fly with me, Come fly with me! Yes, ummm on Allegiant. My trip report for Runway Girl tells all about a little something “Extra” that made me do it.
Just before the pandemic, Allegiant quietly did something that didn’t seem very… Allegiant. The carrier experimented with its own twist on extra-legroom seating on just three aircraft. The experiment clicked and Allegiant Extra was born. Management expanded the offering to more aircraft and more routes, though not all.
Allegiant Extra bundles extra legroom seating, priority airport services, baggage, and other perks into a more premium experience — by low-cost carrier (LCC) standards anyway. At the time, it looked like just another ancillary product designed to boost revenue by generating more cash than from the ticket itself.
Today, it looks like the opening chapter of a much bigger story. Following the lead of other LCCs before it like Frontier, Spirit (rip), and Breeze, Allegiant in spring 2027 will venture into territory few would have imagined even a few years ago with the introduction of Allegiant First aboard select Boeing 737 MAX twinjets.
Launching first from Punta Gorda, Florida, the new cabin will feature just eight seats in a 2-2 configuration with 37 inches of pitch, generous recline, upgraded amenities, and bundled services that move the airline upmarket for its increasingly upscale customer base.
Allegiant says the new cabin is designed to complement, not replace, Allegiant Extra, making today’s extra-legroom product the clearest preview yet of where the airline is headed.
Full #nosetotail trip report about Allegiant Extra by @airchive for RGN runwaygirlnetwork.com/2026/0…
ALT Inside an Allegian A320 cabin, with extra-legroom seats up front
ALT Allegiant A320 in white, yellow, orange and blue livery
ALT Cheetos, a cheese and meat snack and a small bottle of red wine sit on the tray table.
ALT Allegiant overhead bin says Allegiant Extra
Ice, Ice, Baby: An even more Northern Exposure to the Canadian Arctic onboard a @CanadianNorth ATR, part 2 of my Nose-To-Tail Review for Runway Girl. runwaygirlnetwork.com/2026/0…
Northern Exposure: Some odd & obscure Canadian flying in the higher latitudes of our Neighbor to the North. Canadian North Airlines' Boeing 737-300 combis are still doing a job few other airliners can. Here's my Nose-to-Tail Trip Report for @RunwayGirl from Edmonton to Yellowknife, NWT—my first leg on my trip to the Arctic.
runwaygirlnetwork.com/2026/0…
It’s no secret to anyone who know me, that Key West is my happiest of happy places on earth. I am so grateful to be honored as a Steward of the Keys by The Florida Keys & Key West / VFK / TDC as a result of community involvement and my 5 year labor-of-love TimeFlies in Key West video series.
❤️🏝️🙏
👉 Here’s the profile story and the video series: visitfloridakeys.com/plan-yo…
War can be your friend when you're a defense contractor and foe when you're a commercial aviation OEM. When you're RTX, the answer is both PLUS Pratt answers Airbus GTF AOG spat in my latest Q1 earnings story for Leeham News and Analysis leehamnews.com/2026/04/21/rt…
GE Aerospace's boffo Q1 2026 earnings were overshadowed by after-market concerns rising from the conflict in Iran. Will prolonged high oil prices hasten older airframe retirements and slow the key MRO Services businesses? My latest story for Leeham News and Analysis: leehamnews.com/2026/04/21/ge…
Steel City’s got a Stunner! My inside story of the brilliant new terminal & revitalization of one of the world’s most innovative airports: @PITairport in the current issue of @_AirlinerWorld .
nterminable waits at @lgaairport this morning. 90 minute TSA pre-check line snaking more times than a coiled rattlesnake, though the line moved quickly. ICE agents manning ID stations and screening belts after on the job training. There seemed to be more of them present than TSA agents, who understandably are depleted of morale and finances.
❤️Thank you for riding with me on the Dolphins Cancer Challenge XVI. Together, we will #CrushCancer.💪
Sharing my note of gratitude 🙏and my personal journal of this year’s ride 🚴♂️ in the link:
👉 dolphinscancerchallenge.com/…
This is such a nice gesture from a kind @AmericanAir crew member, especially for a 30 minute flight.
Fasten my seatbelts, this could be an interesting flight. The D Gates at MIA are clearly upset about being demolished and replaced at the end of the decade, and their FIDs aren’t taking it lying down.
@GEAerospace reported FY & Q4 2025 results showing continued reliance on services growth, higher LEAP volumes and margin expansion, with CES performance doing alot of the lifting.
My latest earnings story for @LeehamNews:
👉 leehamnews.com/2026/01/22/ge…
