Travel Week in Review – March 8, 2024

Delta Air Lines beginning Tuesday raised its fees for checked bags for most U.S.-originating domestic and short-haul international routes, the carrier confirmed. The checked-bag increase is the first for the carrier since 2018, according to Delta, and it applies to tickets purchased on or after March 5. The fee for a first checked bag is now $35, up from $30, and the fee for a second checked bag is $45 up from $40. According to Delta. Active military personnel also are exempt, per the carrier’s website. Read More…

JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines announced the companies have agreed to terminate their July 2022 merger agreement. Officials from JetBlue and Spirit mutually agreed that terminating is the best path forward for both companies as required closing conditions, including receiving necessary legal and regulatory approvals, were unlikely to be met by July 24, 2024. We believed this merger was worth pursuing because it would have unleashed a national low-fare,” said Joanna Geraghty, chief executive officer, JetBlue. Read More…

As part of its ongoing investigation following the January 5 incident in which a portion of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 blew out shortly after takeoff, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it has halted production expansion of the aircraft. The Administration, following a six-week audit of both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems (which makes the fuselage for the Max), “identified non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control,” it said in a statement. Read More…

Air Canada was ordered to reimburse a passenger who was mistakenly promised a cheaper bereavement fare by the airline’s AI chatbot. Jack Moffat, a Vancouver resident, had asked the airline’s support chatbot whether it offered bereavement rates following the death of his grandmother in November 2022. The chatbot responded by telling the grieving grandson he could claim the lower price up to 90 days after flying by filing a claim. Read More…

Germany-based car rental company Sixt reported 2023 revenue of more than €3.6 billion (nearly US$4 billion), an increase of 18 percent year over year and making it the second year in a row the company achieved record revenue, according to a Friday earnings release. Revenue from its domestic market of Germany increased 23.6 percent compared with 2022 to nearly €1.1 billion and accounted for 29.9 percent of the 2023 revenue total. The European market outside Germany was up 14.3 percent to nearly €1.5 billion for 40.4 percent of the total. Read More…