The top U.S.-based airline continues to play it cool. Delta's execs were casual during the airline's most recent investor day — yes, Delta's targeting younger, more affluent customers and it's experimenting with A.I. for revenue management, but why overstate the possibilities? Jon Ostrower, Brian Sumers and Brett Snyder talk about the state of calm, cool, confident Delta. Is it too confident? Could it use some humility, as United is motivated to overtake it?

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Marty St. George joins the show this week to discuss his second stint at JetBlue, this time as president. With Brian Sumers, Jon Ostrower and Brett Snyder, St. George discusses the turnaround he intends to oversee at the struggling JetBlue to improve its profitability, culture, and operations (called Jet Forward). St. George also talked about how he's evolved as a manager and decision-maker, his dream airplane and how to deal with the effects of Pratt engine issues, and more.

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The A321XLR entered service with Iberia on November 14, and so begins the next generation of long-haul, narrowbody flying. Will this usher in an era of new and exciting routes or will it just end up being a 757 replacement? Brett, Brian, and Jon ponder that topic in this week's episode.

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Is the drama over? Is this a ceasefire? An agreement to cooperate? Brett Snyder, Brian Sumers and Jon Ostrower discuss the recent détente between Southwest Airlines and Elliott Investment Management. Elliott gained five of Southwest's 13 board seats, and the two sides agreed to table the rest of their disagreements until Valentine's Day 2026. Will Southwest fix its revenue problem by then?

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The Boeing strike continues. On Wednesday, 64% of machinists rejected Boeing's negotiated proposal, extending the strike indefinitely. Earlier that day, Boeing's third-quarter earnings revealed an expected $6.2 billion loss and an official delay until 2026 of the 777X. It's not great, for really anyone. Jon Ostrower discusses the dynamics here with Brian Sumers and Brett Snyder.

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United Airlines is making moves and announcing splashy new routes — the kind you might expect from an airline with a healthy balance sheet and an innovative network chief. And still, there were some surprise additions to United's plans. Brett Snyder and Brian Sumers discuss Patrick Quayle's approach, including the airline's out-of-the-box new routes from Newark and Tokyo Narita.

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Brett Snyder and Jon Ostrower discuss Q2 2024 data for the domestic airline market. American Airlines faced significant challenges. Southwest, in contrast, actually did alright! This DOT data set also sheds light on the performance of new-ish ultra-low-cost carriers, Avelo and Breeze, which are privately held.

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Brett Snyder recaps his trip to Dallas for Southwest Airlines' investor day, even though we already knew the news: assigned seating, expanded extra-legroom sections, and network changes, plus how Southwest is planning to improve productivity. And the big question: will all of this be enough to please Elliott Management, Southwest's activist investor?

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Now that the U.S. government has approved the merger, Brett Snyder, Brian Sumers, and Jon Ostrower talk (and speculate) about how Alaska might navigate the logistics of acquiring Hawaiian. Alaska has a lot of work to do to combine the airlines' fleet, loyalty programs, and network strategy. It also needs to do something highly unusual for a U.S. airline — run two full-service brands on a single operating certificate.

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It was a busy week in the aviation world in the Pacific Northwest. We'll get to the Alaska-Hawaiian merger soon — this week Jon Ostrower, Brett Snyder and Brian Sumers talk about the strike by the largest group of workers at Boeing, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The strike, the first in 16 years, affects production on the 737, 767, and 777 lines. Boeing's financial response includes a hiring freeze, travel cuts, and furloughs (and more).

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Questions, responses or feedback? Visit www.theairshowpodcast.com to get in touch with us.