Airline News

The transformation of loyalty programs into ones that are better for airlines than they are for passengers is almost complete.

These are the aviation trends we were talking about this week.

Could the Force side with Air France? With limited availability, it may not pay in ticket revenue, but Star Wars is great brand alignment and is a great distraction from the wars taking place between management and labor at the airline.

Traditional full-service airlines are an endangered species in the skies, and have been for decades, as industry consolidation proves. But a passenger perception gap still threatens the business. The legacy airlines remaining must focus on better brand definition to improve passenger satisfaction, if they are to survive.

Passengers like to have nice cabin environments, but they don't seem willing to reward airlines for offering them. It would appear, most often, that passengers choose airlines based on affordable fares and convenient routes. As IATA’s Tony Tyler said, you get what you pay for.

Passengers will certainly JetBlue know how they feel -- one way or the other -- about the reduced pitch and extra seats added in JetBlue's A320s starting midway through 2016. Barring a passenger rebellion, the extra seats will be a financial bonanza for JetBlue.

JetBlue was all about giving passengers more choice when the airline introduced new fare families in June. But It came as a surprise to JetBlue that passengers decided to check more first bags than the airline predicted.

Spirit is facing substantial competitive pressures over the short term as legacy carriers try to take away its price advantages. A lot of the outcome depends on who blinks first.

Yes, it’s a gently skewed sales tool for Icelandair. Of course, it is! But it’s still gorgeous. We hope it will inspire other airlines to go make a better one. They can start right now.

These are the aviation trends we were talking about this week.