Why Won’t American Let Me Use Miles on a Connecting Flight? (Ask Cranky)

It's time for another Ask Cranky. This one is a follow-up on a post I wrote last December. I read your post in December [about American opening up more awar | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Air New Zealand Starts Dating Its Former Best Friend’s Worst Enemy

There have certainly been some dramatic airline spats over the years, but down in Australia and New Zealand, quite the doozy is developing. Here's a short syno | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

After Diversifying Its Brands, Singapore Reverses Course

There was a time that it seemed like Singapore Airlines thought the more brands it had, the better off it would be. But after amassing quite the collection, th | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Cranky on the Web: When to Buy Tickets

Landing the Best Airfare Is a Matter of Timing - NerdWallet I would love to see a statistic about just how many times an article about when to buy plane ti | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

3 Links I Love: Explaining the Lufthansa Livery, Flight 1, California Pacific Tries Again

This week's featured link: Exclusive Interview: Lufthansa Explains Its New Livery, Why Yellow Was Dropped (+Photos) - Airways Though the commenters on this ar | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

United Rushes Out a Semi-Basic Economy Transatlantic Offering

When I first saw the announcement that United and its joint venture partners Lufthansa Group and Air Canada were rolling out Transatlantic fares without the fir | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Delta to India: Anatomy of a Masterful Press Release

I generally expect airline press releases to bend the truth. I know that releases will gloss over the negatives and focus on the positives; that's what compani | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

3 Links I Love: White House and State Dept Spar Over Open Skies, Allegiant Loses, Alitalia May Go It Alone

This week's featured link: Navarro clashes with State Department over UAE airline deal - Associated Press Remember how I said there were differing views on th | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

United’s Clever Pricing Strategy for Access to the Fancy Private Suite

If you're super rich and famous, you may have heard of the Private Suite at LAX. If you haven't, well, then you clearly aren't rich and/or famous enough. Unit | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

A Video Walkthrough of Delta’s New A350

Last week, Delta brought its fancy new A350 to Los Angeles to show it off. The airline parked the airplane at the Flight Path Museum on the south side of LAX a | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

United Shuffles Newark and Washington Flying Because of Capacity Constraints

When United first announced that it would shift flying in Newark to focus more on local traffic while Washington/Dulles would be bulked up to handle connections | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

3 Links I Love: The Dutch Fight Back, WOW India, Lowering Airport Costs

This week's featured link: Air France Turmoil Is Said to Spur KLM to Seek Change at Top - Bloomberg Finally, the Dutch are revolting! Or at least, they're st | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

If You Say You Don’t Like to Fly Spirit, You’re Running Out of Excuses

A couple of years ago, it was easy to come up with a laundry list of reasons why you would never want to fly Spirit Airlines. No frills, a poorly-run operation | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Differing Views on Whether the Agreement Between the US and UAE Is Worth Anything

After years of fighting, it looked like we had an official end to the dispute between the three biggest US airlines and the three big Middle Eastern ones. Now, | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

WestJet Goes Full Service, Releases Its 787 Interiors Along With a New Livery

Let's pretend you didn't read the title of this post, and you just randomly happened to see this photo: If you were told to guess the airline that operat | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

3 Links I Love: The Mexico City Airport Problem, Air France in Jeopardy, KLM and Mauritius

This week's featured link: Critics Take Aim at Mexico City's Wild New Airport - CityLab If there's one thing everyone can agree on, it's that Mexico City need | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Thinking Through DOT’s Surprising FAA Oversight Memo

You may have heard yesterday something about how the Department of Transportation (DOT) was investigating maintenance practices at Allegiant and American. That | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Alaska Prepares to Shuffle Airbus and Boeing Fleets

The "proudly all-Boeing" Alaska Airlines is no more. With the Virgin America merger done from a customer perspective, there are both Airbus and Boeing fleets f | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Southwest Continues to Slowly Trickle Out Details of Hawai’i Flying

I can't decide whether to be annoyed or just plain impressed at how much Southwest has drawn out the announcement of its coming service to Hawai'i. There has b | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Cranky on the Web: Kansas City’s New Terminal

Long-Awaited KC Airport Rebuild Moving Ahead - Icons of Infrastructure I had never heard of this publication previously, but I really enjoyed talking to th | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

3 Links I Love: WOW Gets Crazy, Hawaiian Stories, United’s New Coach Seat

This Week's Featured Link: Iceland's WOW air eyes first foreign hub, Asian routes - ch-aviation I can't say this news about WOW is making me all that bullish | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

(Even More) Storm Clouds on the Horizon for Alitalia

You've probably been wondering when there would be a new post on Alitalia. After all, the airline was supposed to have been sold by now, but alas, that hasn't | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

The Deal That Brought a Delta Transatlantic Flight to Indianapolis

It's not surprising to see airports put out incentive packages to bring in new flights, but there was something about the deal Delta did to bring Transatlantic | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 5 years ago

Questionable Motives and Tactics Cast a Shadow on the 60 Minutes Allegiant Story

When word came down that 60 Minutes would be shining a spotlight on Allegiant's safety record a couple weeks back, I assumed I knew what it was about; I was jus | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Cranky on the Web: Dynamic Pricing’s Pros and Cons, More on JetBlue, Cranky Profiled

To work, dynamic pricing must be transparent - Travel Weekly Ok, so technically I wasn't quoted in this piece, but instead the author used quotes from a po | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Mark You Calendars: 2018 Dorkfest is on September 22

I usually wait until June to set a date for Dorkfest, but many of you have asked if I could move things up. Yes, I can. Dorkfest is now set for September 22 | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

JetBlue’s New SoCal Strategy: Shrink Long Beach, Grow Long Haul

One of the biggest questions surrounding JetBlue has been what exactly it was going to do for its West Coast strategy. It was assumed that Virgin America was th | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia Prepare for Battle as Joint Venture Ends

It’s not often we see a joint venture unravel, but that’s exactly what’s happening across the Tasman as Air New ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Virgin America Has One More Day Before it Disappears and Alaska Is Prepared

Virgin America’s time is almost up. After the last flight goes tomorrow night, April 24, the airline will officially be ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Cranky on the Web: Rethinking Window Seats After Southwest 1380

Window seat or aisle? After Southwest incident, some fliers think twice – CNN Money If you read the title of ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

3 Links I Love: Allegiant and the FAA Get Hammered, Rolls Royce Has Engine Problems Yet Again

This week’s TWO featured links: I decided to feature two links this week, because they shine light on two sides ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Southwest’s Post-Accident Response Starts the Right Way, But The Road is Long

At first, it seemed like a routine engine failure. Sure, the pictures coming off Southwest flight 1380 looked bad as ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Sun Country Earns the Cranky Jackass Award for Giving No Options to Stranded Customers

When it comes to major weather problems, I’m a pretty forgiving person. Weather wreaks havoc on an airline, and recovery ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

IAG Shows Its Smarts With Effort to Acquire Norwegian

There is nothing quite like watching CEO Willie Walsh and the team at the generically-branded International Airlines Group (IAG) work. ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Cranky on the Web: Why Boarding Sucks, Taking Out Loans to Travel

Boarding an airplane is such a pain in the neck. Can the process be fixed? – Los Angeles Times Catharine ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

3 Links I Love: Two Airlines Pour Money into JetSuite, Evolution of Ontario, Prescott’s Options

This week’s featured link: JetSuite Plans Big Expansion With New Investments From Qatar Airways And JetBlue – Forbes I continue ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

American Makes a Move to Grow Dallas/Ft Worth, But Bigger Decisions Need to Be Made

Everyone wants an Atlanta. Delta has built Atlanta into an incredible hub, a machine that pushes through an enormous number ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

A Pleasant Alaska First Class Flight to Puerto Vallarta and an Equally Pleasant Return on Delta in Coach (Trip Report)

I celebrated my 40th birthday in Hawai’i last year. This year, it’s my wife’s turn. Though our big celebration is ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

American’s Widebody Plans Crystallize with 787 Order, A350 Cancellation

What American would do with its widebody fleet has been top of mind for a whole lot of people lately. ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

Cranky on the Web: Southwest Stretches Its Fleet

Southwest Tries to Do More With Less Because of a Temporary Aircraft Shortage – Skift Last Saturday my wife and ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago

3 Links I Love: Why Dogs Die on United, Hawaiian and Emirates Interviews

This week’s featured link: More dogs die on United than on any other airline. Here’s why. – The Washington Post ... Read More | Continue reading


@crankyflier.com | 6 years ago