Airlines Confidential Podcast Ben Baldanza & Scott McCartney

This week: Scott McCartney interviews Ben Baldanza, Fmr CEO, Spirit & current Board Member JetBlue: Ben has been selected to receive National Aeronautic Association 2024 Wright Trophy; FAA looking at new public charter rules; The Basic Economy misnomer with almost incompressible policies; SWA flight low altitude situations cause concern; Listener input: APUs, should a pilot stay at Spirit.

This week: Tim Toerber, VP Business Development, Assaia; A focus on Southwest - changes coming, overstaffing, the impact of Elliott Investment Management, and more; Mishandled bag numbers; Alaska must pay for a trademark they don't use; Listener suggestions for Southwest.

This week: Sammy Patel, VP/Commercial, Vantage Airport Group & CEO Midway Partnership and Simon Gandy, EVP/COO, New Terminal One: Rebuilding JFK: FAA understaffing continues; DOT issues minor fine to foreign carriers over passenger refunds; Increased flights to TLV; GBTA, business travel types, numbers, & average trip cost; Listener input: Differentiating between lower cost carriers; Unfair to blame F/A's for American operational issues.

This week: Michael Landguth, Pres. & CEO, Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority; American CEO Robert Isom fires CCO Vasu Raja, actual margins, a brain drain, and more @ AA;  Weather issues at DFW; FAA meets with Boeing; A near collision at DCA; Listener Q: If Spirit went bankrupt how would other airlines react?

This week: Chris Sloan: In depth on Hawaiian Airlines; Also: The reality of the London-Singapore flight story; Adding clarity to Frontier's pricing/change fee policy; Remembering Norm Mineta; Listener input: Calling out Allegiant on a "rip-off" ticketing fee, Expedia's multiple brands. Bonus interview content from AFA available at https://airlinesconfidential.com/afa2024

This week: Simon Newton-Smith, SVP Americas, EL AL Israel Airlines; Cirium seat capacity growth data; Airlines For America sues DOT over fee listings; FAA reauthorization bill signed; Congress misunderstands aircraft capacity & evacuation reality; A change in Boeing assembly line process; Listener comments.