Articles in In Flight
Avianca Flight 24 Business Class Lima, Peru-Bogota, Colombia – Review
Avianca is a new member of the Star Alliance and, following its recent merger with Taca, the company is now a powerhouse in Latin America, with hubs including San Salvador, El Salvador; Bogota, Colombia; and Lima, Peru. Its route network stretches to numerous U.S. destinations, as well as Europe (Madrid is its biggest destination), and other points in South America.
I traveled on the evening flight from Lima to Bogota, on …
Delta Flight 131 BusinessElite Munich-Atlanta – Review
Munich’s Franz-Josef-Strauß Airport is one of the most modern and efficient in the world. The on-airport Kempinski Munich Airport Hotel, where I stayed, is located next to Terminal 2. Today I was booked on Delta, which flies out of Terminal 1, an easy 10-15 minute stroll. As I walked out, one of the hotel’s porters caught wind of my intentions and offered to drive me over in one of the …
Swiss (Edelweiss Air) Business Class Flight 14 Zurich-New York – Review
Edelweiss Air, a small airline based in Switzerland and part of the Swiss family, has been operating one Swiss flight per day between Zürich and New York since earlier this year. While the crews wear Edelweiss uniforms, the aircraft and service are what I like to think of as Swiss Plus. The flights use Swiss flight numbers and feature the airline’s Taste of Switzerland menus, but the warm and friendly …
American Airlines-US Airways Merger: Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings
Despite a wave of enthusiasm for the American Airlines-US Airways merger that was seemingly shared by everyone except for this writer and perhaps Tom Horton, American’s CEO, it appears that the merger may not, after all, take place.
If the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to block the merger are successful, it will leave American in a curious position. Until February 14 of this year, American’s Horton was steadfast in his …
Poll: Most Flyers Observe Onboard Safety Procedures and Prefer Demos to Videos
Frequent flyers say they pay attention to safety briefings on airplanes on a regular basis and, in general, practice safe flying, according to a survey conducted by Frequent Business Traveler. Passengers also prefer having a flight attendant conduct the safety briefing versus watching a canned video and almost all keep their seatbelts fastened during a flight while in their seats.
Even though many frequent travelers have seen the briefings so often …
American, US Airways Outline Defense, Seek Speedy Trial to Revive Merger
On Wednesday, US Airways and American Airlines trotted out antitrust experts as they began to prepare the case they plan to make in defense of their proposed merger. One thing was clear: the airlines have no plans to immediately offer the Department of Justice any concessions and fully expect to go to court to see the merger through, although at the same time they are open to settlement talks down the …
Justice Dept. Suit Signals End of Airline Consolidation, AA-US Airways Merger Said to Hurt Consumers
In the last century, the U.S. Department of Justice spent a great deal of time and energy on breaking up large companies that were behaving, in the view of regulators, in an anticompetitive and/or monopolistic manner, ranging from Standard Oil to AT&T to Microsoft. In the current century, the agency’s modus operandi has been a bit more preemptive, moving to block mergers that it felt would create such entities.
On Tuesday, …
