Star Alliance

American Airlines | Delta | News | United

Trump Administration Withdraws Proposed Airline Compensation Rule
Byplanensimple September 5, 2025September 5, 2025

The Trump administration has officially withdrawn a Biden-era proposal that would have required U.S. airlines to provide cash compensation to passengers for flight disruptions caused by carrier issues. The decision aligns with the current administration’s focus on regulatory review and deregulation priorities. Understanding the Withdrawn Proposal The proposed rule would have established mandatory compensation standards…

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Alaska Airlines | American Airlines | Delta | United

Alaska and Hawaiian Launch Atmos Rewards: The Game Changing Merger That’s Shaking Up US Airline Loyalty
Byplanensimple August 20, 2025

The aviation loyalty world just got a major shake up. Today, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines officially launched Atmos Rewards, their highly anticipated combined loyalty program that promises to deliver “more choice, more rewards and more global access than ever before.” After over a year of speculation since the merger announcement, the two carriers have…

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Air Canada

Air Canada Flight Attendant Strike: The Costly Symptoms of Canada’s Aviation Infrastructure Crisis
Byplanensimple August 17, 2025August 17, 2025

The recent Air Canada flight attendant strike that began on August 16, 2025, affecting over 130,000 daily passengers, has once again highlighted the deep structural problems plaguing Canada’s aviation sector. While the government’s swift intervention to force workers back to arbitration within hours may have ended the immediate disruption, it masks a far more concerning…

Read More Air Canada Flight Attendant Strike: The Costly Symptoms of Canada’s Aviation Infrastructure Crisis
United

Another Day, Another Meltdown: United’s Tech Woes Are a Symptom of a Much Deeper Sickness
Byplanensimple August 11, 2025August 11, 2025

Here we go again. If it feels like you’re having déjà vu, you’re not alone. This past week, it was United Airlines’ turn in the IT failure penalty box. A “technology issue” led to a nationwide ground stop, cascading into more than 1,000 delayed flights and hundreds of cancellations. For those of us who practically…

Read More Another Day, Another Meltdown: United’s Tech Woes Are a Symptom of a Much Deeper Sickness
American Airlines | American Express | Delta | MasterCard | United | Visa

The Uncomfortable Truth: Airlines Are Addicted to Loyalty Programs, And It’s Both Their Salvation and Their Trap
Byplanensimple August 8, 2025August 8, 2025

I’ve been watching the airline industry’s financial reports with fascination this year, and the numbers tell a story that should make every frequent flyer pause and think. No major U.S. network airline achieved a positive operating profit margin in 2024 from passenger transport alone. Let that sink in for a moment. The business of actually…

Read More The Uncomfortable Truth: Airlines Are Addicted to Loyalty Programs, And It’s Both Their Salvation and Their Trap
Air Canada | News

Major Aeroplan Changes Coming in 2026 from Air Canada: What Elite Members Need to Know
Byplanensimple August 6, 2025

Air Canada just dropped some massive news that’ll shake up the frequent flyer world. Starting January 1, 2026, Aeroplan is completely overhauling how you earn points and qualify for elite status. We’re talking about the biggest changes since the program relaunched in 2020. If you’re currently holding Aeroplan elite status or working towards it, you…

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British Airways | Delta | Heathrow | Qantas | Singapore Air | Virgin Atlantic | Virgin Australia

No KrisFlyer elite miles on Virgin Atlantic flights
Byplanensimple June 2, 2016June 2, 2016

I just received a communication from Singapore Airlines informing that starting 1 July 2016, KrisFlyer members will not be able to earn any KrisFlyer élite miles on Virgin Atlantic operated flights between the Americas and Europe. You are although eligible to earn KrisFlyer élite miles on the rest of Virgin Atlantic’s non-transatlantic flight network. Do…

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Air India

Air India introduces paid seat selection
Byplanensimple May 25, 2016

Ever since Air India has joined the Star Alliance, things have become more and more professional for the airline as it brings in the specialist expertise to improve its service and product standards. With low fuel price helping the airline swing back into a profit. The airline is now learning from its peers and has…

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Star Alliance

Air China to launch Shanghai flights from San Jose
Byplanensimple March 17, 2016March 17, 2016

There seems to be a flurry of Chinese airlines applying to grab airline routes given the first come first serve policy that only allows one airline to fly a route, the notable exception being Air China which is the de-facto state airline. Air China has now gone ahead and applied for flying rights to fly…

Read More Air China to launch Shanghai flights from San Jose
Air Canada

Air Canada flight diverted twice!
Byplanensimple March 9, 2016March 8, 2016

An Air Canada flight from Frankfurt to Toronto had the misfortune of being diverted to London’s Heathrow airport twice on the same day in a matter of hours. According to the news article, the flight AC 873 on 3rd March 2016 took off from Frankfurt and right when it hit the UK shores, the crew detected…

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Airbus | Thai Airways

Thai airways to ground it fleet of A340s
Byplanensimple February 19, 2016February 18, 2016

As per Bloomberg report, Thai Airways has grounded its entire fleet of Airbus A340s, some of which are barely a few years old for cost efficiency purposes. The airline says that it’s unable to make any flights on these quad engine aircrafts profitable even after the substantial oil price drop. In this age of twin engines…

Read More Thai airways to ground it fleet of A340s
Thai Airways

Thai Smile to allow Luk Thep dolls to travel as passengers
Byplanensimple January 27, 2016January 27, 2016

I have seen people struggling with the ground staff to bring in many things as their carry on baggage but how about dolls? Apparently if you go by this Bloomberg story, Thai Smile which is a subsidiary of Thailand’s flag carrier Thai Airways is contemplating a move that will now allow passengers to buy seats for their…

Read More Thai Smile to allow Luk Thep dolls to travel as passengers
Airbus | Lufthansa | Qatar Airways

A320neo facing production issues?
Byplanensimple December 22, 2015December 28, 2015

Airbus’s top seller seems to be facing some production issues even before it can be inducted by the airlines in their fleet. Initially news came in about Lufthansa being the launch customer for the aircraft replacing Qatar. Now we are hearing that Indian customers, Indigo and GoAir have also expressed reservations about the delivery schedule…

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Air India

Air India technician dies after getting sucked into an A319 engine
Byplanensimple December 17, 2015December 17, 2015

In a shocking incident an Air India technician was sucked into the engine while performing pre-flight activities. The incident which happened on Wednesday night at the Mumbai airport was caused by the co-pilot misreading the signals from the ground staff and switching on the engines even though there was staff standing right next to it….

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Etihad | Jet Airways | Singapore Air

Earn Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles on Scoot and Tigerair flights
Byplanensimple September 30, 2015December 31, 2023

Singapore Airlines has been working hard in the last few months to bring its subsidiaries to become a part of the lucrative KrisFlyer program. Even though earlier this year in April, Singapore Airlines had made available redemption possibilities on these two carriers and also on its India partnership Vistara, but its low cost cousins were not…

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Air India

Air India losing senior Dreamliner pilots
Byplanensimple August 25, 2015August 25, 2015

In what could be termed as a big setback to Air India’s international plans, at least 8 Senior Boeing Dreamliner pilots have either left or are serving their notice period. Given that the airline is pushing ahead with managing its international operation on the back of the 27 Boeing 787s it has on order, losing…

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