Airlines Confidential Podcast

Airlines Confidential Podcast

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.

Episodes

349 - Scott McCartney with Jay Sorensen, CEO, IdeaWorks: Ancillary Revenue in Depth

August 11, 2026 • 72 mins
Scott McCartney with Jay Sorensen, CEO, IdeaWorks Company: Ancillary Revenue in Depth. Bag fees, Seat options, co-branded credit cards, lounges, and more.
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348 - Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan. Guest: Dr. Jeremy Stone, CEO, EERO Group

August 4, 2026 • 80 mins
Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan. Guest: Dr. Jeremy Stone, CEO, EERO Group ( www.eero.nexus/direct ) Also: JetBlue, Frontier report numbers; JetZero to receive $3B; Spirit's former HQ sold; A look at On Time Performance stats courtesy of Cirium; Listener Q's on operations at gates at ORD.
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347 - Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan. Guest: Greg Anderson, CEO, Allegiant Travel Company

July 28, 2026 • 81 mins
Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan. Guest: Greg Anderson, CEO,  Allegiant Travel Company. Plus: Farnborough Air Show's military focus; Thoughts from  EAA  AirVenture Oshkosh; SWA, United, Alaska, American reports numbers; JetBlue wins bid for former Spirit gates at LGA.
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346 - Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host Oscar Munoz

July 21, 2026 • 42 mins
Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host Oscar Munoz. Topics: More earnings news. A deeper dive into fare data - current fares vs 10 years ago; Investors showing more interest in airlines; A look at the current state of industry competition.
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345 - Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host Maya Leibman

July 14, 2026 • 57 mins
This week: Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host Maya Leibman. Topics: The fate of EasyJet - Apollo tops Castlelake offer; Earnings season starts with Delta, huge fuel cost increases, refinery income; Tribute to aviator Wally Funk; Thoughts on Delta's new Basic Business Class options; Anko van der Werff appointed CEO at Air Canada; Listener input on post-event audio recordings, Avelo adding routes at alternative Dallas area airport.
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344 - Guest Co-Host Dave Hilfman. Guest: Joerg Eberhart, CEO, ITA Airways

June 30, 2026 • 74 mins
Guest Co-Host Dave Hilfman. Guest: Joerg Eberhart, CEO, ITA Airways. Also: Two go-arounds at Boston Logan; GAO report issued on airfares indicates strong competition persists; Aviation Week Boeing and Airbus CEO interviews reveal two very different outlooks; Improved ATC system starts taking shape; Listener Q: How to compete in CLT. Happy July 4th! Next episode: July 15th.
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343 - Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis

June 23, 2026 • 65 mins
Host Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis. Topics: Prix Versailles names Pittsburgh International among world's most beautiful airports, praises biophilic design; Thoughts from IATA Transport Summit on backordered aircraft, passenger compensation; Issues around E261; European bag fee confusion; Japan Airlines President Mitsuko Tottori bans crew drinking on layovers; Hawaiian cuts free meals in economy; JP Morg...
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342 - Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host and Guest Chris Chiames

June 16, 2026 • 70 mins
Host Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Host and Guest Chris Chiames. Topics: The complexity of the Cruise Industry vs Airlines, Working for legendary CEOs. Plus: News from the IATA World Air Transport Summit in Rio de Janeiro; Consumers changing views on travel; Scott Kirby continues to talk about an American takeover; A difficult day at Chicago's ORD; Listener input on FAA safety inspection programs, Southwest on-time performance dec...
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341 - Guest: Glen Hauenstein, Fmr. President, Delta Air Lines

June 9, 2026 • 89 mins
Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt & Host Scott McCartney, with Glen Hauenstein, Fmr. President, Delta Air Lines. Also: A look beyond the public press release on leadership shakeup at Southwest & SWA's corporate culture; Report from the Caribbean Tourism Organization conference in NYC; Listener input: Bipartisan praise for FAA Administrator, Bryan Bedford; Thoughts on redundant Texas airports. Bonus ending: Happy anniversary fr...
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340 - Guest Co-Host: Charles Duncan. Guest: Erik Olund, CEO, Sky Chefs

June 2, 2026 • 71 mins
Guest Co-Host: Charles Duncan. Guest: Erik Olund, CEO, Sky Chefs. Also: A summary of the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Charleston SC, Boeing Max7 closer to certification; What might happen with Spirit's LGA slots? SWA fare hikes holding; Scott Kirby downplays a JetBlue acquisition; Breeze expands at CHS; Listener feedback on Bryan Bedford's Biden Administration comment.
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339 - Scott McCartney with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford

May 26, 2026 • 62 mins
Scott McCartney with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. Topics: Airspace management, equipment modernization, controller staffing, and more. Also: Weather and a sinkhole, and Spirit's eye popping March numbers tell the unfortunate story.
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338 - Scott McCartney & Guest Co-Host Doug Parker on Crisis Management

May 19, 2026 • 54 mins
Scott McCartney & Guest Co-Host Doug Parker on Crisis Management. News: Berkshire Hathaway buys stake in Delta; FAA staffing report released; Allegiant - Sun Country deal completed; Spirit capacity update; SWA new gates in San Antonio; MD-11s back in service at FedEx; Listener input on PBI being renamed DJT.
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337 - From Panama: Focus on Copa Airlines: Robert Carey, EVP, / Deniece Nicholas Holness, Dir, System Operations

May 12, 2026 • 90 mins
Scott McCartney & Guest Co-Host Henry Hardeveldt in Panama City, Panama. Guests from Copa Airlines: Robert Carey, EVP, & Deniece Nicholas Holness, Director, System Operations Control Center. Also: Spirit's scattered airplanes and engines; Delta crew scheduling concerns; Frontier's cost increase & aircraft utilization issue; PBI named Donald J Trump International Airport.
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336 - Scott McCartney & Oscar Munoz: A tip of the hat to Spirit Airlines

May 5, 2026 • 36 mins
Host Scott McCartney & Guest Co-Host Oscar Munoz. A tip of the hat to Spirit. Also: Remembering Ben Baldanza's vision and success, and what changed after Ben's departure as Spirit's CEO.  What contributed to the downfall, and which carriers will benefit most going forward; Also: Revamped front cabin pricing initiatives; JetBlue results; NY/NJ Port Authority adding transponders to vehicles; Listener corrections and com...
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335 - Guest Co-Host Maya Leibman. Guest: Rick Elieson, Chief Revenue Officer, Signature Aviation

April 28, 2026 • 56 mins
Guest Co-Host Maya Leibman. Guest: Rick Elieson, Chief Revenue Officer, Signature Aviation. News: Spirit's potential government bailout; Overall demand for air travel continues; Q1 results; Alaska-Hawaiian system cutover process; NTSB preliminary report issued on LGA CRJ/fire truck incident.
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334 - Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Hosts Charles Duncan & Jay Sorensen

April 21, 2026 • 74 mins
Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Hosts Charles Duncan & Jay Sorensen. Discussion topics: The Scott Kirby vision - What if? The issues with United and American; Spirit now asking for a government bailout; Listener question on credit card profitability.
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333 - Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt. Guest: Vicki Jaramillo, EVP/CCO, Orlando Int. Airport

April 14, 2026 • 59 mins
Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt. Guest: Vicki Jaramillo, EVP/Chief Commercial Officer, Orlando International Airport. Topics: Q1 loss at Delta; Fuel cost impact; Citibank files objection to Spirit proceeding; Pricing pressures & baggage fees; Listener feedback on safety issues previously discussed, plus a quick shout-out from George & Caroline.
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332 - Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis. Guest: Khalid Usman, Partner, Oliver Wyman

April 7, 2026 • 74 mins
Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis. Guest: Khalid Usman, Partner, Oliver Wyman. News: British Airways to allow Video/Audio calls with Starlink; Spirit proceedings update; JetBlue & United raise bag fees; FAA reducing SFO arrival rate; Kevin Burke of ACI to retire; IATA's Willie Walsh named new CEO at IndiGo replacing Pieter Elbers; Listener feedback on "Professor" Doug Parker's route profitability.
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331 - Guest Co-Host Dave Hilfman, Guest: Dave Harvey, Founder, Harvey Global Advisory

March 31, 2026 • 94 mins
Guest Co-Host Dave Hilfman, Guest Dave Harvey, Founder/Principal, Harvey Global Advisory. 4/1/26 items: SWA introduces "Cattle Class" and LUV app, while Scott Kirby eyes CEO position at Spirit; News: Gary Kelly recognized for work at SWA; Air Canada/Fire truck fatal incident at LGA; Presidential directive issued to pay TSA agents; United coach couch seating; JetBlue evaluating potential sale opportunities.
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330 - Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan. Guest: Robin Hayes, CEO, Airbus North America

March 24, 2026 • 79 mins
This week: Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan: Guest: Robin Hayes, Chairman/CEO, Airbus North America. Also: A report on the JP Morgan conference; The TSA situation; Could a constitutional amendment be helpful? Air travel used as political football; Allegiant-Sun Country merger approved; Listener feedback on Professor Doug Parker's Route & Hub Profitability class.
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