JetBlue to build airport lounges in New York, Boston

JetBlue to build airport lounges in New York, Boston

JetBlue planes at JFK’s Terminal 5 in New York. Leslie Josephs | CNBC JetBlue Airways will open its first airport lounges in its more than two decades of flying, a major shift for the low-cost airline as it chases high-spending travelers. The lounges will open at the carrier’s hubs in New York late next year … Read more

Flights are getting more expensive as airlines scale back growth plans

Flights are getting more expensive as airlines scale back growth plans

Delta Airlines planes are seen parked at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on June 19, 2024 in Seattle, Washington.  Kent Nishimura | Getty Images Airlines are reporting better unit revenues for the tail end of summer, a sign customers will continue to have to shell out more to fly in the coming months. Alaska Airlines on Thursday … Read more

U.S. airlines cool hiring after adding employees in post-Covid spree

U.S. airlines cool hiring after adding employees in post-Covid spree

A pilot performs a walkaround before a United Airlines flight Leslie Josephs/CNBC U.S. passenger airlines have added nearly 194,000 jobs since 2021 as companies went on a hiring spree after spending months in a pandemic slump, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Now the industry is cooling its hiring. Airlines are close to their … Read more

Where are low-cost airlines cutting back now? New planes

Where are low-cost airlines cutting back now? New planes

JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines airplanes proceed to gates after landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey on May 30, 2024. Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images Airlines that spent years clamoring for new jets are changing their tune. Cash-strapped, low-cost and deep discounter airlines are putting off … Read more

Highest class will include snacks, W-Fi, bags

Highest class will include snacks, W-Fi, bags

A Spirit commercial airliner prepares to land at San Diego International Airport in San Diego, California, U.S., January 18, 2024.  Mike Blake | Reuters Free Wi-Fi? Free checked bag? Free snacks? On Spirit? The Florida-based carrier that is practically synonymous with budget air travel in the U.S. said Tuesday that it plans to offer packages … Read more

Spirit Airlines issues second-quarter loss warning

Spirit Airlines issues second-quarter loss warning

A Spirit Airlines aircraft undergoes operations in preparation for departure at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2024. Brandon Bell | Getty Images Spirit Airlines said Tuesday it would post a wider-than-expected loss for the last quarter because of revenue that came in short of its expectations. Spirit expects to report … Read more

Airline profits lag even as travel demand breaks records

Airline profits lag even as travel demand breaks records

Passengers pass through O’Hare airport in Chicago, July 3, 2024. Scott Olson | Getty Images Record summer air travel demand isn’t translating to record U.S. airline profits. Carriers will have to answer for that disconnect when they report quarterly results this month. Some airlines have forecast record demand, and in some cases, revenue. But higher … Read more

Frontier Airlines CEO says passengers abuse airport wheelchair service

Frontier Airlines CEO says passengers abuse airport wheelchair service

Frontier Airlines plane seen at Cancun International Airport. On Wednesday, December 08, 2021, in Cancun International Airport, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act requires airlines to provide a wheelchair to passengers with disabilities at the airport. The problem: Many travelers are faking it, Frontier … Read more

Spirit Airlines gets rid of change fees, joining Frontier

Spirit Airlines gets rid of change fees, joining Frontier

A Spirit Airlines aircraft undergoes operations in preparation for departure at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on February 12, 2024 in Austin, Texas.  Brandon Bell | Getty Images Spirit Airlines is doing away with both change and cancellation fees, effective immediately, days after Frontier’s similar announcement, part of an overhaul of the country’s biggest discount carriers’ … Read more

Frontier Airlines change fees scrapped in pricing overhaul

Frontier Airlines change fees scrapped in pricing overhaul

A Frontier Airlines plane lands at the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Feb. 27, 2020. Elizabeth Page Brumley | Tribune News Service | Getty Images Frontier Airlines said it will stop charging customers a fee to change their flights, taking a page from larger competitors as the Biden administration issues stricter rules targeting … Read more