The German aviation giant announced they will purchase a 41% interest in ITA Airways for 325 million Euros, with an option to purchase the remaining shares at a future date.   Capital Contribution Makes ITA Fifth Airline in Lufthansa Group Umbrella  ITA Airways launched their first flights after the collapse of former Italian flag carrier Alitalia in 2021. The new state-owned airline cut their fleet in half, and trimmed the workforce by over 70% with the goal of becoming profitable.   Under the new agreement with Lufthansa Group, ITA Airways will become the fifth network ..read more

  That’s the takeaway from the latest year-on-year study by consumer travel website CheapAir.com, which has analyzed data from 128 million fares for 74 cities across the United States.   Smaller Cities Seeing the Biggest Increases  The findings revealed increases in flight prices from all cities and, on average, the lowest domestic fare has increased by 17% in comparison to the same time in 2022. The website’s analysis also found that airfare has increased anywhere between 10% up to a whopping 35%, with smaller U.S. cities bearing the brunt of these much larger increases.   ..read more

  The two groups announced the signing of a new 10-year Use and Lease Agreement, which will see new capital investments and renovations to improve the passenger experience.   Projects, Renovations and a Local Commitment In a statement issued by American Airlines on Tuesday, the airline confirmed that the agreement – which is the primary governing document between the carrier and the airport and the basis for the facility’s business model – features $4.8 billion in pre-approved capital investments plus the provision for a wide range of additional renovations and improvements to be mad ..read more

  With this in mind, Forbes Advisor has undertaken a large-scale analysis of Twitter data to isolate the facilities that invoked the most ire among passengers. By analyzing the over 37,000 tweets that were directed to America’s busiest airports between March 2022 and March 2023, it found that California’s Orange County John Wayne Airport (SNA) provoked the most anger from passengers.   The Metrics of Frustration: Flyers at Orange County, Omaha, and Jacksonville are the Angriest The outlet deployed a machine learning tool during the study to assess the sentiment behind each individual ..read more

  Bloomberg reports the carrier is looking at adding “dozens of planes” to their fleet from the French manufacturer to revitalize in the post-COVID era.   Talks Could Result in A330, A350 Orders   The last Delta aircraft order came in January 2023, when the airline added 12 more Airbus A220-300 orders to their books. This brought the total A220 family aircraft order to 119 total. Prior to that, the airline ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX-10 airframes in July 2022 after rumors swirled of Delta taking unsold aircraft from the Chicago-based aerospace giant.   While the previous ord ..read more

  As part of the celebrations, travelers have until June 9th to take advantage of Priceline’s 25 Days of Deals promotion, which started on Monday. From hotels, flights, car rentals, cruises, upgrades and more, Priceline is celebrating its 25th birthday by offering customers well over $5 million in exclusive deals. A host of sample deals and associated discount codes can be viewed here.   A Pioneer of the Online Travel Market A pioneer of the online travel market in the late 90s, Priceline became well-known for its Name Your Own PriceⓇ strategy as well as for its Express DealsⓇ and Pr ..read more

  New information from the J.D. Power 2023 North America Airline Satisfaction Study shows travelers are unhappy to the point of “possible brand damage if the current pattern of price hikes, staffing shortages and reduced routes continues.”   JetBlue, Delta, and Southwest Lead in Customer Happiness Overall, passenger satisfaction dropped to a score of 791 on a 1,000-point scale, down seven points from 2022. The reduced score suggests travelers are still unhappy with the customer experience aboard America’s airlines.   “From the customer perspective…planes are crowded, tickets are ..read more

  The New York airline announced the new TrueBlue and Mosaic loyalty program on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.   JetBlue TrueBlue Lets Flyers Collect Tiles towards Mosaic Levels JetBlue teased the new loyalty program in late 2022, announcing the program would expand to four loyalty tiers while sunsetting Take 3, Lucky 7, and Go Long bonuses at the end of the year. The new program – aligned to better match with Northeast Alliance partner American Airlines AAdvantage – offers new benefits for non-elite flyers along with more bonuses for the most frequent travelers.   In addition to earn ..read more

  New analysis from Bloomberg suggests a combination of factors, including available capacity, are to blame for higher travel prices.   Capacity Across Providers Creates Demand for Limited Availability As pilots at American Airlines and Southwest Airlines petition for better wages, it is only one part of an overall industry strain. A combination of missing personnel and late deliveries of new aircraft are reducing available seats and driving prices upwards.   According to flight tracking app Hopper, the average round trip flight between the U.S. and Europe costs $1,032. The pric ..read more

  The White House and Department of Transportation announced the plans during a press event on Monday, May 8, 2023.   Suggested Rules Include Compensation for Stranded Flyer Expenses Since coming into office, both President Biden and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg made improving the passenger experience a priority. Biden specifically cited the government assistance given to airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic as a major part of flyer frustration.   “I know how frustrated many of you are with the service you get from your U.S. airlines, especially after you, the American ta ..read more