DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Taylor Swift slams 'outside entity' over ticket fiasco: 'I'm not going to make excuses for anyone'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"I'm not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could. The CEO of Live Nation's largest shareholder defended Ticketmaster on Thursday, chalking up the issues to Swift's popularity and bots. "It's a function of Taylor Swift. The site was supposed to open up for 1.5 million verified Taylor Swift fans," Maffei told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Maffei said Ticketmaster sold more than 2 million tickets on Tuesday and demand for Swift "could have filled 900 stadiums."

☆ JetBlue plans Paris flights next summer in trans-Atlantic expansion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Jetblue Airways Corp. is scheduled to release earnings figures on July 25. Photographer: Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesJetBlue Airways plans to launch flights from New York to Paris next summer, a trans-Atlantic expansion it argues will bring down prices on routes dominated by large carriers. Tickets will go on sale "in the coming months" for flights between its hub at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, JetBlue said Wednesday. It plans to add flights from Boston to Paris later. JetBlue began flights to London from New York in summer 2021, more than two years after it first announced its plans.

☆ Delta gets closer to labor deal with pilots, union says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pilots talk after exiting a Delta Airlines flight at the Ronald Reagan National Airport on July 22, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. Delta Air Lines is getting closer to a labor deal with pilots, their union said, marking a big improvement in a relationship that turned icy during years-long negotiations. Delta, American, United, FedEx and Southwest pilots have picketed in recent months to demand better pay and schedules. Last month, Delta pilots voted overwhelmingly to authorize a potential strike if contract talks don't lead to an agreement. But it said that will require management "to continue to show the motivation that resulted in progress this past week."

☆ DOT says Frontier, foreign airlines must pay travelers $600 million in refunds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday said it has ordered Frontier Airlines and five foreign carriers to pay about $600 million in refunds to travelers whose flights were canceled or significantly changed by the airlines. Travelers are entitled to a refund when airlines cancel their flights, but many customers were offered vouchers when airlines slashed flights during the pandemic. Frontier Airlines has been required to pay $222 million in refunds, the Department of Transportation said Monday. "It shouldn't take an enforcement action from the U.S. Department of Transportation to get airlines to pay refunds that they're required to pay," Buttigieg said on a call with reporters Monday. DOT said those five airlines together had to pay just over $400 million in refunds.

☆ United gives pilots 5% raises early, citing return to profitability
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

United Airlines on Thursday said it was giving pilots 5% raises that were part of a pandemic cost-reduction agreement months ahead of schedule, citing the carrier's return to profitability and upbeat outlook. United is offering the raises during talks for a new contract with its pilots union. The company could have waited until May 2023 to pay the raises, Bryan Quigley, senior vice president of flight operations at United wrote to pilots on Thursday. United pilots overwhelmingly voted down a recent proposed agreement that would have increased pay by about 15% over 18 months. The union said that United pilots plan to picket outside United's flight training center in Denver next Tuesday.

☆ Thanksgiving flight bookings are down from 2019, but higher fares lift revenue, Adobe says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Consumers have booked fewer flights for Thanksgiving week than they did three years ago, before the Covid pandemic, according to Adobe data released Thursday. Domestic bookings are down 7% from the same point in 2019, but high fares have translated to a 3% increase in revenue. Inflation in October rose less than expected, but airfare was up nearly 43% from last year. Consumers have spent $76 billion on flights online this year, up 17% from 2019, Adobe said. Bookings rose 5%, showing a chunk of the increase was due to higher fares.

☆ Leslie Jordan gifted his best friends an HGTV home renovation before his death
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

How relevant is this ad to you? Video player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues

☆ Tropical Storm Nicole snarls travel in Florida, Orlando airport to suspend flights
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

This GOES-East GoeColor satellite image taken at 2:36 p.m. EST and provided by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Nicole approaching toward the northwestern Bahamas and Florida's Atlantic coastline on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Tropical Storm Nicole snarled Florida travel on Wednesday, prompting at least one airport to suspend operations as forecasters warned of "hurricane conditions" for the state's east coast. Orlando International Airport said it would suspend operations from 4 p.m. Miramar, Florida-based Spirit Airlines , said it would waive change fees and fare differences for Fort Lauderdale and Miami flights through Nov. 14 and Orlando flights through Nov. 16. Other airlines including JetBlue , which has a large operation in Fort Lauderdale, and Southwest , American and Delta, also waived fees for travelers affected by the storm.

☆ Boeing's aircraft deliveries slipped in October on 737 fuselage flaw
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington. Boeing 's aircraft deliveries in October fell from a month earlier after a fuselage flaw in its bestselling 737 Maxes delayed handovers of new planes. The Virginia-based manufacturer's commercial aircraft unit had told investors that the flaw would impact its delivery numbers for the month. "We'll recover on that quickly," Stan Deal, chief executive of Boeing's commercial airplane unit, said during an investor event last week. The company logged orders for 122 of its 737 Max planes in October from carriers including Alaska Airlines and British Airways' parent International Consolidated Airlines Group.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby noted that more relaxed office attendance policies are also letting people travel more. The appetite for travel is persisting despite soaring airfares, which have been fueled by a pilot shortage and aircraft delivery delays. Even after Labor Day, when travel normally slows down, "it's just not the case this year, especially for international travel," she said. But if a recession hits, that could jeopardize all consumer spending — and prompt even higher-income Americans to rethink big trips. Tim Quinlan, senior economist at Wells Fargo, expects the holiday season will be the "last hurrah" for consumers.

☆ United Airlines opens a new grab-and-go lounge in Denver for time-crunched travelers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

United Airlines is opening a new kind of lounge at Denver International Airport, and it's not designed for travelers to linger. The roughly 1,600-square-foot lounge, called United Club Fly, is a "grab-and-go" facility with complimentary food options like sandwiches, wraps and salads as well as smaller items like Noosa yogurt cups and treats like Milk Bar Birthday Cake Truffles. A barista will offer made-to-order coffee drinks like cappuccinos, but there is also a self-serve coffee machine and a water bottle refilling station. Seating is limited: 16 seats and standing room for eight people at a bar. Travelers scan their boarding pass to enter and can't bring guests, like they can at standard United Clubs.

☆ Pilot contract negotiations with airlines turn sour
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Delta Airlines pilots make their way to Terminal 4 to picket for a new contract at JFK International Airport on September 01, 2022 in New York City. The biggest airlines in the country are negotiating new pilot contracts, and talks with unions so far haven't gone well. This week alone, unions representing about 30,000 pilots combined at American Airlines and United Airlines rejected potential contracts. Meanwhile pilot unions are demanding higher pay and better schedules, on the heels of a roller coaster two years. Pilot pay varies widely based on experience and type of aircraft but senior wide-body captains at major airlines can make more than $300,000.

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’Even before making its way to theaters, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 film starring Chadwick Boseman — has birthed some of this fall’s biggest pop culture moments, including a Rihanna song drop. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 11. “The Inspection” opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 18. “Bones and All” opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 23. “Strange World” opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 23.

☆ American Airlines pilots' union rejects new contract proposal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

American Airlines pilots' union on Wednesday said its board of directors rejected a tentative agreement for a new contract, the latest in a series of setbacks in labor talks across major U.S. airlines. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents roughly 15,000 American Airlines pilots, said its board voted against the tentative deal 15-5. The rejection comes a day after United Airlines pilots turned down a deal that would have included roughly 15% raises. The Covid-19 pandemic had put labor talks on hold as airlines focused on making it through a massive drop in travel demand. "We cannot vote to approve a [tentative agreement] that does not adequately address the quality-of-life items of our line pilots," union representatives based at American's Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport hub said in a note to pilots before the vote.

☆ Boeing forecasts jump in aircraft deliveries, up to $5 billion in free cash flow next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An aerial view of the engines and fuselage of an unpainted Boeing 737 MAX airplane parked in storage at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, June 1, 2022. Boeing is planning to ramp up production and deliveries of new aircraft, propping up its forecast for higher cash in 2023, it said Wednesday. Supply chain problems and labor shortages have stymied output and deliveries of new planes, Boeing and Airbus said last week. Boeing forecast free cash flow of between $3 billion and $5 billion next year, below the $6.53 billion analysts polled by FactSet expected, but above the $1.5 billion to $2 billion in free cash it expects to generate this year. Deliveries are important to aircraft manufacturers because it's when airlines or other customers pay the bulk of the sale.

☆ United pilots reject contract deal that 'fell short'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

United Airlines pilots "overwhelmingly" rejected a tentative agreement that would have given pilots raises of nearly 17%, their union said Tuesday, the latest setback in rocky labor talks between unions and airlines. The tentative agreement "fell short of the industry-leading contract United pilots have earned and deserve after leading the airline through the pandemic and back to profitability," the Air Line Pilots Association said. Close to 10,000 of United's roughly 14,000 pilots participated, with 94% voting against the agreement, the union said. Unions are seeking raises and better scheduling as airlines become profitable following a more than two-year pandemic slump. Delta Air Lines pilots voted to authorize a potential strike if the airline and the union can't come to an agreement, their union said.

☆ Delta pilots vote in favor of potential strike as contract talks drag on
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Delta Air Lines pilots voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if contract talks between the carrier and the union don't lead to an agreement, the labor group said Monday. Covid derailed contract talks throughout the airline industry starting in 2020. Talks have since resumed, and the Delta pilot strike vote underscores the difficulty in getting agreements through. It's time for the Company to get serious at the bargaining table and invest in the Delta pilots." Earlier this year, Alaska Airlines pilots voted to authorize a potential strike.

☆ Analysis: 'The Surreal Life' reboot brings together another wild group of celebrity roommates
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

No judgment if Halloween is your thing, but I don’t like to be scared so I don’t indulge. Three things to watch‘The Surreal Life’The new cast of "The Surreal Life" sit down for dinner -- and some heated conversation -- in a scene from the VH1 show. From VH1/YouTubeI should probably start by mentioning that Dennis Rodman likes to walk around the house in which he filmed the new season of “The Surreal Life” naked. ‘The White Lotus’ Season 2(From left) Will Sharpe, Aubrey Plaza, Meghann Fahy and Theo James in a scene from season 2 of "The White Lotus" on HBO. And not to give too much away, but there’s a cool scene in season two which addresses binge-watch culture.

Elon Musk set the tone for his first full day as head of Twitter with a response to @catturd2. “I will be digging in more today,” Musk tweeted in response Friday morning. As of Friday morning, Trump’s account was still suspended, and trending topics included everything from the news of the day (Paul Pelosi) to culture (#FridayFeeling, Rihanna). “Elon” was one of the top trending topics of the morning, and many conservative influencers who had been critical of Twitter’s moderation were already celebrating what they saw as a tectonic shift. Those downloads, however, are still less than 5,000 per day, while Twitter often still sees hundreds of thousands of downloads per day, according to Adam Blacker, vice president of insights at Apptopia.

☆ The New York Times News Quiz, October 28, 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The comic actor Leslie Jordan died this week at 67. He found viral fame during the pandemic through funny videos on Instagram. Before that, he was known for his role on which sitcom?

☆ American Airlines offers pilots higher raises in new contract proposal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pilots talk as they look at the tail of an American Airlines aircraft at Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport. American Airlines ' pilots union is weighing an offer for higher raises in a new two-year contract proposal, the latest attempt to seal up a labor deal at the country's largest airline. The total would be higher than the raises American offered in June. Pilots are in short supply and regional airlines, where the shortage is most acute, have raised wages sharply this year. Those hikes included American Airlines' subsidiaries where pilots got 50% increases through August 2024.

☆ Southwest says travel demand still strong, warns Boeing delays could continue into 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Southwest Airlines Co. Boeing 737 passenger jet pushes back from a gate at Midway International Airport (MDW) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 11, 2021. Southwest Airlines said Thursday that travel demand is still strong but warned that delays in new aircraft deliveries from Boeing could continue into 2024. Southwest said it will likely increase capacity 10% from 2022 during the first quarter of 2023 and 14% in the second quarter. Here's how Southwest performed in the third quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations according to Refinitiv consensus estimates:Adjusted earnings per share: 50 cents vs. an expected 42 cents. 50 cents vs. an expected 42 cents.

☆ White House hammers economic issues with attack on 'junk fees' two weeks out from Election Day
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the U.S. economy from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, U.S. October 26, 2022. Junk fees are surprise costs added to consumer bills. "And we're just getting started," he said, adding that there are tens of billions of dollars in junk fees across industries that he's directed his administration to reduce or eliminate. Airlines have added myriad fees over the past decade, such as preferred seating fees that don't come with extra legroom. Biden said the move would "immediately start saving Americans collectively billions of dollars in unfair fees" and hold corporations accountable.

☆ Boeing reports quarterly loss on problems in Air Force One, tanker programs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A Boeing 737 MAX 10 airliner pauses while taxiing on the flight line before its first flight at Renton Municipal Airport on June 18, 2021 in Renton, Washington. Boeing reported a $3.3 billion quarterly loss Wednesday as problems in its defense unit countered strides in its commercial aircraft business. Revenue: $15.96 billion vs. $17.76 billion expected. Boeing reported losses of $2.8 billion in its defense unit on programs including the KC-46 tanker and Air Force One. Alaska Airlines on Wednesday said it would exercise options to buy 52 Boeing 737 Max planes to its fleet and rights for 105 more of them through 2030.

☆ Queer fans mourn Leslie Jordan, a symbol of a 'lost generation' of gay men
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

“When things really begin to change is when the social culture changes,” Biden said. By 1995, a tenth of the 1.6 million gay men ages 25 to 44 had died. Socialization among gay men and gay-centric networks, particularly in gay neighborhoods, has myriad political and social benefits. “For a lot of gay men from a certain generation, that was really hard to do without alcohol,” he said. In the same interview, DeGeneres thanked Jordan for coming on her show.

Search resuls for: "Leslie J"

25 mentions found