Friday Flyer – July 21, 2023

Earnings calls for the US airlines have started this week.  As expected, the results are quite good. You can find the details of United’s earnings here and Delta’s here. 

Interesting Stories This Week

  • Speaking of United, the other big news for them this week was reaching an agreement with their pilots’ union for a new agreement.  The contract agreement is massive for the pilots and illustrates exactly where the industry is right now for the supply of pilots.
  • Qantas’ flight QF28 flies Santiago to Sydney and passengers this week got a special treat as they flew over Antarctica on their journey.  The path was chosen to avoid headwinds.  People pay big money to fly over Antarctica, so this certainly is a nice treat for those who saw it.
  • While demand booms this summer, we have seen some stories of delays impacting travel plans.  In case you’re not a frequent flyer, this list of things you should keep in your carry-on is handy as you’re doing your packing in the event you can’t reunite with your checked luggage.
  • Going green is a hot topic in the airline industry and food waste is an area for improvement by airlines.  Emirates made an announcement this week where they’ll allow passengers to pre-order food up to 15 days before departure.  This is huge as it allows airlines to carry less food that will expire and get thrown away. 

Interesting Aviation Fact

Most people connected to the aviation industry in the US (and many not connected) know the story of the “Miracle on the Hudson” where a bird strike occurred on takeoff and resulted in a water landing on the Hudson river with no engine power.  It turns out, a very similar story happened in Russia several years ago with Ural Flight 178 and the story of what happened both during and after is fascinating.  I highly recommend taking the time to read through this interesting story. 

Cool Aviation Photo

I don’t have a source to cite for this photo, but someone shared it with me from a LinkedIn post.  It’s really cool to see all of the old logos together in one place.  I believe the photo is from outside of a Boeing factory as these aircraft are getting ready for delivery.  They’re clearly not ready for flight – bonus points for those who spot why they’re not ready.