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While all airlines were affected, one stood out as the grounding of domestic flights had a cascading effect on air travel: Southwest Airlines. According to the flight tracking company Flight Aware, Southwest had as many as 49% of its flights delayed as of noon Wednesday. Anuvu, another site that tracks flights, showed just 7% of Southwest flights were departing on time, compared with 15% for American Airlines, 21% for United Airlines, and 33% for Delta Airlines. Southwest is still reeling from the huge disruption it experienced over the Christmas holiday that saw an estimated 11,000 of its flights canceled. Southwest said Wednesday it would rebook customers on the next available Southwest flight with seats available to the customer’s ticketed destination, at no additional cost.

☆ Everyone's elite, but not for long. Airlines make travel perks harder to earn this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

And now it's a small army," said Cohen, who leads a digital entertainment consulting firm and has lifetime elite status on United and American Airlines . Travelers willing to shell out more for tickets and popular rewards credit cards are swelling ranks in front cabins and airport lounges. Osorio frequents airport lounges on trips booked with rewards points that she earned through strategic credit card use and sign-up bonuses. Bigger space for big spendersDelta, American, United and American Express have been opening bigger airport lounges to fit more travelers. A new American Airlines and British Airways lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport, November 29, 2022.

☆ American is cutting 3 more cities and leaving one without airline service entirely — see the full list of 19 cities it has dropped since the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

American Airlines is cutting 3 cities from its network, blaming the pilot shortage and "soft demand." One small airport — Del Rio, Texas — will lose airline service entirely after the carrier's exit. Del Rio, a tiny city in southern Texas with only about 35,000 people, is currently served by American from Dallas/Fort Worth. However, the airline's announced exit will leave Del Rio without any air service link to the rest of the country. Del Rio joins a growing list of 19 cities that American has dropped since the pandemic, the carrier confirmed to Insider.

While travel demand is roaring back, many hotels, airlines, cruise operators and airports are still racing to hire and train workers. That means the level of customer service will likely take a hit, industry experts say. One potential bright spot can be found at sea: During the summer, several cruise lines had to cancel voyages due to staffing shortages, but major disruptions have been largely resolved. “It’s highly unlikely your holiday cruise will be canceled due to lack of staffing,” said Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic, a Tripadvisor-run travel site. “This year, I moved my annual holiday travel to earlier in December,” said Abby Rhinehart, an educational researcher in Tucson, Arizona.

☆ Thanksgiving travel was still below pre-pandemic levels and it proves air travel isn't back to normal yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Travel analyst Henry Harteveldt applauded airlines for their on-time performance over the Thanksgiving holiday. Before the pandemic reshaped the aviation industry as we know it, Thanksgiving was the US' busiest holiday for air travel. United Airlines told Insider that it flew more than 476,000 customers on Sunday, and the Thanksgiving holiday period was the carrier's third-busiest behind 2018 and 2019. Although the historically unreliable holiday flight operations may have scared people away from flying over Thanksgiving, Harteveldt told Insider the successful week is a win for US carriers. "They have to continue to operate reliably during the next few weeks, during the Christmas and New Year's period, and throughout 2023 and beyond," Harteveldt told Insider.

☆ Amazon just hired another passenger airline to fly cargo jets using the biggest aircraft yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hawaiian Airlines announced a deal with Amazon on Friday to use converted Airbus A330-300F freighter jets. The carrier will operate on behalf of Amazon to transport cargo, joining other operators like Sun Country Airlines. On Friday, Hawaiian Airlines announced a deal with Amazon to lease and maintain 10 Airbus A330-300F cargo jets to fly on behalf of the e-commerce giant. According to Airbus, all 10 A330s, which are bigger than the Boeing 767s, will be converted from passenger service to cargo jets. Sun Country and Silver Airways are the only other passenger airlines to fly cargo on behalf of Amazon; they use Boeing 737-800BCF and ATR 72-500F converted freighters, respectively.

☆ The world's largest jet engine maker confirms it won't develop supersonic engines for Boom, leaving the startup with few options
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CFM International told media on Sunday that the company has no plans to build a supersonic engine for Boom. Colorado-based startup Boom Supersonic is developing an ultra-high-speed jet, known as Overture, that could catapult travelers from New York to London in less than four hours. But, there is one problem — no engine makers want to help Boom create a supersonic engine. Engine maker Rolls-Royce was at one point a contender, having signed an "engagement agreement" with Boom in 2020 to look into a supersonic engine. However, if Boom is able to pull off creating a supersonic engine, it could give the company a big advantage in the industry.

☆ Supersonic jet startup Boom's future is in doubt after every major jet-engine maker refuses to help
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Travel analyst Henry Harteveldt told Insider that Boom may build its own engine, which could be advantageous. However, Rolls-Royce told AIN Online in early September that it has since left the table. "We've completed our contract with Boom and delivered various engineering studies for their Overture supersonic program," Rolls-Royce said. "As a practice, we avoid commenting on any ongoing and confidential negotiation with our suppliers, until both sides are ready to announce jointly," Boom told Insider on Friday. "However, we can reconfirm our intention to announce Boom's selected engine partner and transformational approach for reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable supersonic flight, later this year."

☆ American, Delta, and United have collectively dropped 73 US airports since the pandemic — see the full list
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-12 | by ( Taylor Rains | Bianca Giacobone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines have exited 74 airports since 2020. Some of the airports are in the Essential Air Service program and are now served by a new airline. In September 2022, the company's research revealed American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines had exited 59 airports. In total, American has left 19 airports, Delta has exited 17, and United has departed 38. American, Delta, and United have all cut routes in recent months, citing poor performance and the pilot shortage as contributing factors.

☆ From vegan meatballs to ice cream sundaes, airlines are revamping in-flight menus
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-04 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

From vegan meatballs to ice cream sundaes, airlines are offering new options and old favorites to woo returning travelers. The pandemic drove airlines to record losses and had them looking to cut costs wherever possible, such as in-flight food. Chasing high-paying travelersBetter in-flight menus can boost a carrier's image and help it bring more high-paying travelers on board. A plethora of videos have been posted online by airline passengers reviewing meals, plating and service in detail. Veggie and veganEven before the pandemic, airlines were expanding options for travelers who prefer vegetarian and vegan meals.

☆ From legroom to airfare: How JetBlue's takeover of Spirit could change air travel
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-30 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In this article JBLUSAVEPassengers wait in line at the Spirit Airlines check-in counter at Orlando International Airport. This is the first time anyone wanted Spirit Airlines," quipped "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert about the deal on Thursday. As the two distinct airlines push ahead with their plans to combine, here's what passengers can expect:What are JetBlue's plans for Spirit? Afterward, passengers might be confused if they're flying in Spirit planes that haven't been retrofitted yet. Frontier Airlines, meanwhile, is already saying it's happy to take on a bigger share of the ultra-low-cost market after its Spirit deal fell apart.

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