Frontier Vs. Spirit, Ryanair Plus Booking and Flight Attendants Vs. Bad Deals
Photo Credit: File image of Frontier and Spirit Airlines aircraft. Adobe Stock / John Rohans
Skift Take
On today's pod we explain why Spirit is irked by Frontier, why Ryanair is friendly with Booking, and why flight attendants don't want to work for free.
Skift Daily Briefing Podcast
Listen to the day’s top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday.Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, August 27. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Frontier Airlines is expanding its network with 20 routes as rival Spirit Airlines struggles, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.
Maharishi reports Frontier’s new routes will fly to some of Spirit’s most popular leisure destinations, which include Fort Lauderdale and Mexico. Most of those routes will start in the winter, typically a popular season for those warm-weather spots.
Spirit recently released a “going concern” notice that said it may not stay in business for the next 12 months unless it receives more funding. Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said that Frontier could benefit and that the new routes would help his airline gain market share.
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Next, Ryanair has announced a deal with Booking Holdings to make its fares available on Booking.com, Kayak, and Priceline, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
Under the agreement, Ryanair passengers will have access to their Ryanair accounts when they book on Booking websites and will be able to receive updates directly from the airline.
Ryanair had previously called online travel agencies “pirates” for selling its flights without authorization. Now it has struck similar deals with other online travel agencies, including Expedia, Kiwi, and lastminute.com. The largest online travel agency without such a deal with Ryanair is Spain’s eDreams Odigeo.
Finally, Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi examines the issue of boarding pay, which has become a lightning rod for flight attendant contract negotiations across North America.
Air Canada’s flight attendants recently ended a days-long strike after winning concessions for boarding pay. Boarding pay refers to pay for work done outside the plane before takeoff and after landing. Most flight attendants are paid only for work done inside the plane, which has long been the industry standard.
However, Maharishi notes flight attendants now have a lot more leverage, partly due to an ongoing staffing shortage. In addition, major airlines have reported record profits after the pandemic, further fueling unions to seek more at the negotiating table.
