On the heels of its strongest second quarter results since the 2010 merger United Airlines found itself facing tough questions from investors about future fleet plans. There’s a decent chance neither the NMA nor XLR figure into the company’s needs for the next decade, given other options available.
United Airlines
United Airlines wants WiFi to be free
Is the move to free inflight WiFi inevitable? United Airlines seems to think so, with plans in the works to make it a reality. Exactly when and how much remain unclear, but in today’s investor earnings call the company indicated those plans as part of a brief update on the overall product quality.
PaxEx Update: 2019-07-05
Welcome to the PaxEx Update for 5 July 2019, bringing you biggest headlines on what’s changed for passenger experience in the past week.
United expands stroopwafel catering
United Airlines has heard the stroopwafel pleas. After removing the Dutch treat from its cabins in mid-2018 the carrier reintroduced them in a limited fashion earlier this year. As of 1 July 2019, however, the snacks will be available for economy class passengers on every domestic flight, regardless of departure time.
American gives up on China – Chicago connections
Just over a year after admitting publicly that the routes “often don’t earn enough cash to cover the price of fuel” American Airlines is officially surrendering its route authorities from Chicago-O’Hare to Beijing and Shanghai. Both Delta and United figure to gain significantly as a result.
FAA declares no-go for Iranian airspace
The FAA is prohibiting flights over portions of Iranian airspace in a move that could further heighten tensions in the region.
Investment & Innovation: KLM’s sustainability initiatives
From biofuel investment to supporting crazy new aircraft design concepts, KLM is leading the charge in a push towards more sustainable operations. And there’s plenty more yet to come.
Viasat’s inflection point
Massive expansion costs are set to give way to recurring revenue growth. That is the message Viasat delivered as it issued is most recent earnings numbers this week. Even as the company pushes forward with the build-out of its new ViaSat-3 constellation with dramatically more bandwidth and geographic coverage, it hopes to convert the existing capacity into new deals and new subscribers, with a significant push into new inflight connectivity markets, among other areas.
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Delta, United win big in Haneda slot allocation
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines came home the big winners in the most recent allocation of coveted route authorities at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport. The pair combined for nine of the twelve available slots, with American Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines picking up the other three. The new flights should begin operation in Summer 2020.
Sleep like Spider-man in the sky with United’s new offerings
United Airlines introduced a new marketing campaign this week, tied in to the launch of Spider-Man™: Far From Home. The deal includes an updated safety video and Polaris amenity kit for business class passengers. United is also launching an opportunity for its MileagePlus members to bid miles to attend premier parties for the movie around the country in advance of its widespread release on July 2, 2019.