Brian Sumers

Maybe five years ago, it would have been bad news if an airline decided not to add in-seat screens. But times change, and many passengers prefer to watch content on their own screens. This is not a big deal.

Is it time for the airline industry to adopt a new metric to determine revenue growth? Probably not, but kudos to analyst Hunter Keay for trying something new.

Haywood was a big hire for United several months ago, but apparently it did not work out. That's OK, as President Scott Kirby should continue to do a fine job running the airline's commercial team.

Airlines in Europe and the U.S. may have underestimated the threat posed by short-haul, low-cost operators. There's not much they can do about that anymore. But as more low-cost airlines look to add long-haul flights, expect legacy carriers to respond aggressively.

As happened with United, this story will probably go viral, and consumer groups will whine about not having access to bin space. But remember, the market has spoken: Frontier and Spirit charge for bin space, and yet passengers fly them. Why should American and United not sell similar products?

In the previous Jeff Smisek reign, United fell far behind some of its competitors in profitability. But that's beginning to change — slowly.

These operational guarantee programs are not as generous as airlines would like people to believe, but they're better than nothing. It's a good thing United and Delta are focusing on on-time arrivals and mishandled baggage rates.

Passengers probably should not get too used to all those new amenities in coach, like free snacks or booze on long-haul flights. If the economy falters, they could disappear again.

The Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 are probably the two most iconic jets in the sky. But both have four engines, and burn a lot of fuel, so many airlines are wary of them.

International Airlines Group likely has no choice but to try to take on Norwegian in London, Barcelona and elsewhere. The company likely learned its lesson from Ryanair and EasyJet.