RT @davidshepardson: Inbox: @AlaskaAir layoff notice in WA

This is awesome.

Congrats!

Writing this in my personal capacity, but I have been flying these types of aircraft for more than 20 years, with over 8,000 hours, and have reasonable familiarity with how the charter world operates. I feel compelled to post after seeing commentary about the Lear 60 crash, from missile strikes to DEI to critiquing this poor woman’s final radio calls. That last part is what I find most troubling. She was the second-in-command (SIC), and while she was empowered to point out mistakes as part of good crew resource management, she was doing her job, communicating with ATC right to the end in a terrifying situation. She likely knew before many of those calls that she was going to die. I have heard final calls from friends, from military pilots with thousands of hours in fighter aircraft, and they are just as heartbreaking because they know the end is approaching. I understand the public interest given the footage and audio. But you do not know the aircraft’s maintenance history, whether there was a structural failure, if any failure was induced by turbulence, overspeed, or overcontrol, or everything happening in that cockpit. I am sure weather will be part of the investigation, but beyond that, it is speculation. The charter industry routinely hires commercial pilots very early in their careers to gain experience alongside an ATP-qualified captain before they move up to the airlines. She would still have the appropriate training, qualifications, and checkouts by an FAA examiner or designee. Let people investigate, learn, and share the facts. Be respectful to those who perished and the families who carry their memories. God bless them and their loved ones.

RT @xJonNYC: AA (get it?) "PHX Crew Meal Alert - Tiramisu Containing Alcohol The APA Aeromedical–HIMS Committee has been made aware of an…

NEW: @united CEO Scott Kirby was at the luxury Amangiri resort in Utah when he felt compelled to draft a message about his vision to merge with @AmericanAir. Kirby said he felt all of the critics were missing the point about his goal through a tie-up of the giants.

United CEO Scott Kirby joins @benthompson and me to break down the airline business: justifying big capex, how they do route planning, what other CEOs screw up, the Starlink decision, why everyone misunderstands the credit card economics, and lots more.

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.@AlaskaAir's new Anchorage–Tokyo flight will be only about 50 miles longer than Anchorage–JFK. Both are scheduled to use a 737 MAX 8 next summer. Anchorage–Narita is 3,433 miles. Boeing publishes the MAX 8’s range at up to 3,500 nautical miles, or roughly 4,028 statute miles. The Japan route is about 2,983 nautical miles, though winds, payload, and operating requirements affect actual range. Cirium Diio’s July 2027 schedules put Alaska’s Anchorage–JFK flight at 3,385 miles and Anchorage–Boston at 3,383 miles. Seattle–Reykjavik is longer than all three at 3,622 miles. Other airlines have longer MAX 8 routes scheduled, too. GOL’s Brasilia–Orlando service covers 3,778 miles. Arajet’s Buenos Aires–Santo Domingo flight covers 3,734 miles. Anchorage’s geography gives Alaska a way to add Japan with roughly the same stage length as its flights to the Northeast. Alaskans also get a nonstop option that avoids the trip south to Seattle before crossing the Pacific. Alaska plans daily Tokyo flights from May 13 through early September, followed by three weekly flights beginning in January 2028. It is also adding Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth and Nashville from Anchorage, each once weekly during the summer. airlinegeeks.com/2026/10/27/…

Buying Hawaiian gave Alaska a way to keep more of its customers’ international travel in-house. Now it’s adding the cabins, lounges, and loyalty products to compete for their spending. The harder part is making a more complex airline earn more money.

The costs are real, too. Q3 revenue rose 14% on 2.4% capacity growth. Alaska Air Group still reported a $147 million GAAP net loss, with higher fuel costs weighing on the business. A stronger revenue mix helps. It doesn’t make long-haul flying immune to airline economics.

This goes beyond business-class seats. Alaska’s revenue measure includes premium flying, loyalty, and cargo. Premium revenue grew about 25% in Q3. Loyalty cash remuneration rose 21%. Different measures, but both help explain where the company is putting its money.

The Hawaiian acquisition closed in September 2024, giving Alaska a platform for long-haul growth. London, Rome, and Reykjavik joined its Seattle network this spring. Paris and Athens are scheduled for 2027. Alaska is now competing for international trips it previously handed to partners.

.@AlaskaAir's global expansion is a bet that selling more economy seats won’t be enough. Revenue outside the main cabin now makes up 54% of Air Group’s total. Management wants 60%. The new routes, premium cabins, and loyalty products are parts of the same plan.

@PHXSkyHarbor averaged 52 monthly long-haul departures in 2019. The published 2027 schedule approaches 100, including just two months of Lufthansa. For an airport that spent decades with London alone, that’s a fairly substantial change.

Taipei went from unserved to two airlines in a matter of weeks. China Airlines launched in December 2025. STARLUX followed in January. Together, they supplied a quarter of PHX’s long-haul departures in the year ending September 2026. Neither had operated for the full reporting year.

Today, American’s own long-haul offering from Phoenix still consists of London. Its departures on that route fell from 359 in the year ending September 2024 to 211 in 2026 following a year-round-to-seasonal shift. Meanwhile, Air France added Paris and China Airlines, and STARLUX opened Taipei.

The London story started in July 1996: BA launched Gatwick–Phoenix–San Diego with a DC-10. America West helped make the network work. Its new codeshare with BA provided domestic connections through Phoenix. Thirty years ago, PHX’s hub airline was central to that long-haul strategy.

Phoenix is an @AmericanAir hub. But foreign carriers account for 94% of its net growth in long-haul departures since 2019. Air France and two Taiwanese airlines have expanded the map beyond London. @Lufthansa is next. That’s a meaningful shift for this airport. 🧵

Great job to the crew of @united flight 1775 from IAD to ORD! Their communications with passengers and flight attendants and focus on #safety during turbulence was exceptional… the best I’ve ever heard. (Yes, I immediately texted their VP of Corporate Safety) DYK @NTSB published a study and recommendations on preventing turbulence-related injuries in 2021: ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studi…