Brian Sumers

Airports are welcome to prefer local businesses, but they should also understand Starbucks has a loyal following and should remain in terminals. When it's 5 a.m., and you're at an unfamiliar airport and you just want your reliable coffee fix, Starbucks is often the best bet.

There's always some give-and-take whenever any customer places a big order for anything. But did Airbus go too far to try to sway AirAsia? And what will this mean for CEO Tony Fernandes' grand digital plans?

Customers may not like so-called segmentation in airplane cabins. But almost every U.S. airline is using it to boost revenues.

After changing its fare structure to compete with low-cost carriers and earmarking $400 million to improve its cabins, Latam’s rollout of premium economy on domestic and regional routes makes sense. It puts the carrier in a position to offer higher-end services without the added complexity of a major business cabin reconfiguration.

Southwest is concerned it is losing market share because of the Max grounding. That is likely true. But the Max is also forcing the airline to be more efficient about where it flies and when. That's probably helping boost unit revenue.

Airlines have been boom-and-bust businesses for as long as almost anyone can remember. But has Delta Air Lines cracked the secret code? Or is it just better at managing expectations?

At the typical airline, revenue managers take themselves very seriously. They don't like to do anything that could dilute their numbers. It's nice to see Alaska taking a fresh approach.

The technology is fun. But Delta's biggest strength is the consistency of its product.

United may argue it isn't tweaking its delay compensation scheme to save money. But we're betting this new policy will save some cash. Still, it probably won't bother customers too much. How many of them were expecting compensation anyway?

As he retires, Tim Clark will be celebrated as an aviation visionary. He deserves all the credit. But Emirates is slowly losing many of its competitive advantages.