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Airlines Confidential Podcast

Education Podcasts

Hosted by Scott McCartney, Fmr. Travel Editor/"Middle Seat" Columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Top Stories, C-Suite Guests, Listener Q's. The Leading Podcast Reaching Travel Industry Insiders, Frequent Flyers, & Aviation Geeks. Created by & Dedicated to Ben Baldanza.

Location:

United States

Description:

Hosted by Scott McCartney, Fmr. Travel Editor/"Middle Seat" Columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Top Stories, C-Suite Guests, Listener Q's. The Leading Podcast Reaching Travel Industry Insiders, Frequent Flyers, & Aviation Geeks. Created by & Dedicated to Ben Baldanza.

Language:

English


Episodes
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287 - Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt; Guest: Adam Stahl, Acting Administrator, TSA

5/13/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Henry Hardevelt; Guest: Adam Stahl, Acting Administrator, TSA; News: Real ID takes effect; US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy presents plan for ATC technology upgrade; What's happening at Newark? Gate reallocation drama with United & American in Chicago; Decline in business travel continues; Validity of JD Power survey? Listener input on Real ID, Affordable Skies Coalition.

Duration:00:58:39

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286 - Guest Co-Host Maya Liebman; Guest: Linda Jojo, Fmr EVP/CCO, United

5/6/2025
This week: Scott's Guest Co- Host is Maya Liebman; Guest: Linda Jojo, Fmr EVP/Chief Customer Officer, United. News: Rep. Sam Graves (R) proposes $15B ATC modernization; United cuts flights at Newark due to tech & staffing issues; Projected United - JetBlue partnership; How problematic will TSA enforcement of Real ID be? New less fun names for SWA fare bundles; A Freddie Awards recap; United & others seat count changes at ORD; Listener Q: Why is AA suing JetBlue, and what happened to JetBlue BOS-ISP?

Duration:01:02:55

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285 - Guest Co-Host: Christina Cassotis, Guest: John Pepper, VP/Corp. Development, Allegiant Air

4/29/2025
This week: Scott's Guest Co-Host is Christina Cassotis, Guest: John Pepper, VP/Corporate Development, Allegiant Air; News: Why has a proposed Allegiant-Viva Aerobus alliance been held up by DOT for 3 years? Earning news from AA, SWA, Alaska; Southwest assigns very generic names to fare classes; Alaska increasing flights to West Coast cities; Boeing pauses X-66; Jetzero gains more support; Dozens of JetBlue pilots taking buyout; Listener input on pilot training, airport staffing.

Duration:01:04:25

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284 - Guest Co-Host Doug Parker; Guest: Aengus Kelly, Exec. Director & CEO, AerCap Holdings

4/22/2025
This week: Scott's McCartney's Guest Co-Host is Doug Parker; Guest: Aengus Kelly, Exec. Director & CEO, AerCap Holdings: News: United reports positive earnings & offers two different projections; Spirit hires Dave Davis as CEO as speculation builds on a merger with Frontier; American teaming with AT&T to offer free Wi-Fi; Listener Q on potential reason for new administration's toughness on airlines.

Duration:01:05:28

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283 - Guest Co-Host: Dave Hilfman, Special Report: Chris Sloan on the Pacific Island Hopper

4/15/2025
This week: Scott's Guest Co-Host is Dave Hilfman, Special Report: Chris Sloan on the Pacific Island Hopper; News: Frontier, Delta, revenue lower than projected; United adding significant numbers of seats; What's happening with the NOTAM system? FAA still having trouble with technology; Avelo accepts contract to operate deportation flights; Listener Q: Is a Republic - SkyWest merger in the cards?

Duration:01:15:10

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282 - Guest Co-Host: Oscar Munoz, Guests: Milind Tavshikar, SmartKargo & Marco Ferrara, Delta

4/7/2025
Guest Host: Oscar Munoz, Guests: Milind Tavshikar, CEO, SmartKargo & Marco Ferrara, Mngr Product/Strategy, Delta; Ted Christie out as Spirit CEO: Republic buying Mesa; Info on new Executive Aviation focused MBA program at U of Colorado; Airline stocks take another beating; United adding interesting Asian flights; Economic changes potential effects on Southwest; Listener feedback on Southwest, and shades position during boarding and deplaning.

Duration:01:07:43

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281 - Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan; Guest: Eamonn Brennan, Fmr Director General, Eurocontrol

4/1/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan; Guest: Eamonn Brennan, Fmr Director General, Eurocontrol; News: Trans Canada booking data conflicts; Potential market share shifts related to fees; Alaska/Hawaiian increasing Asian service from Seattle; Listener input: Lots about SWA, but not much about JetBlue's situation, YTD stock prices, and future pilots getting hours as a CFI.

Duration:00:54:50

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280 - Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt; Guest: Justin Jones, EVP Operations, Southwest Airlines

3/24/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt; Guest: Justin Jones, EVP Operations, Southwest Airlines. Recorded in Dallas TX at Cirium OTP Board Meeting; News: Heathrow power failure; International travel slowdown; Report issued on Delta CRJ incident; Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford nominated to head FAA; SWA earns world's lowest cancellation rate; Could the SWA bag rule change be problematic? Listener input on shades during takeoff and landing.

Duration:01:19:15

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279 - Guest Co-Host: Maya Leibman; Guest: Elise Eberwein, Fmr EVP, American Airlines

3/18/2025
This week: Scott's Co-Host is Maya Leibman; Guest: Elise Eberwein, Fmr EVP, American Airlines; News: Crisis communication; Delta celebrates 100 Years; Revised earnings projections from United, Delta; The SWA transition; Spirit's quick exit from bankruptcy; Listener Q's on airlines deferring OEM deliveries.

Duration:01:10:46

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278 - Big Southwest Bag/Policy Changes - Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis

3/10/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis; News: Big bag news & changes at Southwest; Can SWA remain SWA? Cost of enplaned passenger (CPE) & the structure around airport funding; AA asks for a NE Alliance deal review; Staffing requirement change at DCA; A Scott Mini-Rant on Axios fare data conclusion; Listener Q on the future of SWA, & a look ahead to Southwest 3.0.

Duration:01:03:39

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277 - JetBlue's Top Senior Leadership - Joanna Geraghty, CEO and Marty St. George

3/3/2025
This week: JetBlue's Top Senior Leadership - Joanna Geraghty, CEO and Marty St. George, President. News: The SWA go-around to avoid Flexjet in Chicago; SWA routes and distribution changes; Frontier makes significant moves in Atlanta; A rant from Scott; Some very much appreciated listener input.

Duration:01:00:04

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276 - Guest Co-Host Doug Parker; Guest: Sara Nelson, Pres., Association of Flight Attendants

2/25/2025
This week: Scott's Guest Co-Host is Doug Parker; Guest: Sara Nelson, President, Association of Flight Attendants; Topics: Organized labor, Partners and mergers, Delta 4819 flight lands, flips upside down, crew performs with excellence, all survive; A drop in government travel, A4A seeks congressional funding to fix the FAA; Spirit restructuring deal approved; AA announces routes expansion at ORD.

Duration:01:23:36

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275 - Guest Co-Host Chris Sloan with info on BermudAir

2/19/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Chris Sloan with info on BermudAir; Several see Spirit as attractive; British Airways & Virgin participate in love triangle; Las Vegas "Supplemental" Airport in the works; American adds to BOS-LGA; Tom Doxey to Southwest as CFO; DCA incident news update; Boeing steps up deliveries; Listener comments on open skies in the new administration, post DCA crash reactions. Next week: The Delta crash and SWA layoffs.

Duration:00:56:06

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274 - Guest Co-Host Dave Hilfman, Guest: Jim Compton, Fmr Vice Chairman, United

2/12/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Dave Hilfman, Guest: Jim Compton, Fmr Vice Chairman/Chief Revenue Officer of United Airlines. Topics: Pricing: Favorite Superbowl ads; United brings back stroopwafels; PSA 5342/PAT 25 Crash info update; JetBlue ending BOS-LGA service; United asking for American gates in ORD? Frontier reports interesting numbers.

Duration:01:15:06

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273 - Guest Co-Host Oscar Munoz; Focus: A Tragic Week in Aviation

2/5/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Oscar Munoz; News: A tragic week in aviation; Context and elements to consider; Frontier (again) tries to buy Spirit; Is the American-JetBlue Northeast Alliance back on the table? Listener input on Spirit's attempt at upgraded services, plus differing thoughts on the work of the TSA and Fmr Admin David Pekoske.

Duration:00:42:27

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272 - Scott McCartney - Island Edition from Hawaii

1/29/2025
This week: Scott McCartney - Island Edition from Hawaii; News: David Pekoske out as TSA Administrator; American reports good times-bad times; Operating margin numbers; Wall Street Journal's latest performance rankings; On Point Loyalty's report on loyalty program values; Lister comments: Comparing AOPA to NRA goes to far.

Duration:00:20:40

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271 - Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt, Travel Industry Analyst

1/22/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt; SWA rejects outgoing DOT "chronically late" fine, DOT sues SWA; Service increase coming to TLV; A Delta - United near collision over PHX; Spirit announces layoffs; Can GoBig/GoComfy upsells drive significant revenue? AMEX GBT / CWT merger challenged by US Dept of Justice; Azul Abra/Avianca looking to merge; Nick Calio retiring from A4A; Air Wisconsin changing operations.

Duration:01:05:00

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270 - Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan

1/15/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan, Fmr President, Norse Atlantic; News: Tough week for air travel; Questions around wheel well stowaways; Ed Bastian's Sphere presentation & numbers behind Delta's earnings report; Overall capacity changes taking hold; Bill Swellbar report referenced; Bob Jordan's 737 store open for business; Fmr Boeing CEO says time to design a new airplane; Listener Q's on service classes and privatizing ATC.

Duration:01:03:47

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269 - Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis; Guest Jeremy Bowen, CEO, Cirium

1/8/2025
This week: Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis, CEO, Pittsburgh Int. Airport; Guest Jeremy Bowen, CEO, Cirium; News: Context around recent airliner crashes; DOT fines JetBlue 2MM for chronic lateness; Silver Airways files Ch11, Alaska shares and others up significantly in 2024; 2025 expectations; Elements of Airport-Airlines communication and collaboration; Listener feedback on Doug Parker travel tip to avoid checking bags and a Question on how much time does Spirit have?.

Duration:01:09:52

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268 - Guest Co-Host Doug Parker, Guest: Nick Calio, Pres/CEO, Airlines for America

12/18/2024
This week: Guest Co-Host Doug Parker, Fmr CEO, American Airlines. Guest: Nick Calio, President/CEO, Airlines for America; News: New FAA Commissioner Jan 20th; Investor David Bonderman passes; Is Alaska's expanding international service from SEA sustainable? Infrastructure constraints. Listener Q's on best travel tips, privatizing ATC. Happy Holidays/New Year - Next episode: Jan 8, 2025

Duration:00:50:31