Brian Sumers

There's been some drama related to Alaska's proposed acquisition of Virgin America, but many industry insiders still expect the deal to get done. And Alaska executives remain publicly confident that they will get their prize. The big question is when.

United's new international flights, especially those to secondary cities in China, could be massively profitable some day. But it generally takes long-haul flights some time to ramp up. It makes sense that United will now place more emphasis on its domestic network.

Some consumer protections are better than no consumer protections. But the steps outlined this week by the Obama Administration are relatively minor. They won't do much to change the travel experience.

Give credit to United CEO Oscar Munoz for reaching new labor deals with many of United's employee groups. But buying labor peace is expensive. And now United's new executive team needs to come up with some creative ways to offset the increased costs.

This will be a tough rule to enforce, but the U.S. government probably made the right call. Why take the risk of having a fire on an airplane, especially for a phone Samsung has recalled?

Delta is generally considered the most fiscally sound of the U.S big three, and that likely won't change soon. But Delta, like its competitors, needs to come up with a cohesive strategy on how to challenge the discount airlines beginning to move into the trans-Atlantic market.

Feel free to read as many articles as you want about new coach concept seats. But let's be honest: The coach configuration on most planes hasn't changed in decades, and it's probably not going to change any time soon.

Richard Anderson just took over as executive chairman in May, so this news comes as a major surprise. Perhaps we'll learn more soon about why he decided to step down. Regardless, he leaves an impressive legacy at Delta.

China is a long way from being an open market, but for carriers in China and the UK, this is welcome news. And since it means more flights, and more competition, it could lead to sightly lower fares.

You have to give Frantz Yvelin some credit for thinking big, but the idea that an all-business class airline could work outside of a few of the largest financial centers in the world seems far-fetched. And even routes like London to New York aren't sure winners, as La Compagnie showed recently when it suspended flights.