American Airlines News

Good morning from Skift. It's Friday, January 21, in New York City. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today.

In his final quarterly earnings call as CEO of American Airlines, Doug Parker bid adieu after 107 consecutive results presentations since 1995. And he leaves American in solid shape with the airline having maintained its market-leading position in the U.S. and profitability expected to return later this year.

Good morning from Skift. It's Tuesday, January 18, in New York City. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Airlines may be waving goodbye to the Omicron variant but they are just beginning to feel the fallout from the pandemic. U.S. carriers face a worsening shortage of pilots to fly small, regional jets, which is hampering their recovery and sending more travelers into the hands of budget competitors.

A wave of CEO departures swept across the entire travel industry this year. But new names in the top office don't always translate to major changes in how some of these companies will operate going forward.

The C-suites of U.S. airlines will look quite a bit different when the pandemic recedes than it did before Covid-19. Gone or soon to be gone from the corner offices are United's Oscar Munoz, Alaska's Brad Tilden, and Southwest's Gary Kelly. And now another veteran has decided to peace out: American's Doug Parker.

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker is out come March. While not everyone agreed with his decisions, credit where credit’s due: He built and led the world’s largest airline, changing the industry in the process.

The airline industry is taking a wait-and-see approach to the new Omicron variant. But the new variant is the latest indication that rolling travel restrictions and dips in demand in the wake of endemic Covid-19 outbreaks could be just become another facet of the airline business.

Blockchain distribution, and how it can eliminate the need for intermediaries, has been discussed for some time in travel. When these bigger players take a seat at the table, the rest of the industry needs to pay attention.

American and JetBlue executives have argued that the Justice Department's suit against their alliance is, simply put, "wrong." Now, they've made good on that opposition and have asked a district court to dismiss the lawsuit. Will the judge agree?