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

293 - Guest Co-Host: Charles Duncan; Guest: Maury Gallagher, Chairman, Allegiant Travel Company

June 25, 2025 • 65 mins
This week: Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan; Guest: Maury Gallagher, Chairman, Allegiant Travel Company; News: FedEx Founder Fred Smith passes away at 80; JetBlue says more cost cuts are on the way; ATC understaffing continues; A muted Paris Air Show; National Academy of Sciences reports on FAA overtime; Listener Q regarding airlines taking a stake in other airlines, Pilot availability and wage rates.
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292 - Guest Co-Host: Christina Cassotis, CEO, Pittsburgh International Airport

June 17, 2025 • 66 mins
This week: Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis; Topics: Info on Air India 171, Crisis Management; A recap of the IATA meeting; Paris Air Show is underway; Listener input on Controller staffing
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291 - Guest Co-Host: Doug Parker; Guest: Robert Crandall, Fmr CEO/Chairman, American Airlines

June 11, 2025 • 61 mins
This week: Guest Co-Host Doug Parker; Guest: Robert Crandall, Fmr CEO/Chairman, American Airlines. Topics/News: Reflections on Scott's Richard Anderson interview; Backstory of presenting the renderings for the Robert L. Crandall Campus; Summer travel starting off slightly slower; SAF discussion at IATA in Delhi; Alaska postpones aircraft delivery; Price differentials on single vs multi-ticket.
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290 - Guests Greg John, CEO Infinity Flight Group; David Seymour, COO, American

June 3, 2025 • 49 mins
This week: Guests: Greg John, CEO Infinity Flight Group, and an Operational Update from David Seymour, COO, American. News: The United & JetBlue collaboration compared to other partnership agreements; Frontier CEO Barry Biffle comments and airline stock prices rise; FAA staff departures as reported by WSJ reporter Andrew Tangel; Listener praise for Richard Anderson.
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289 - Guest Co-Host: Oscar Munoz; Guest: Steve Sisneros, VP Airport Affairs, Southwest Airlines

May 27, 2025 • 62 mins
This week: Scott McCartney's Guest Co-Host is Oscar Munoz; Guest: Steve Sisneros, VP Airport Affairs, Southwest Airlines, News: Real ID kicks in; SWA Bags Fly Free no more; Newark caps traffic - United takes biggest hit; Better ATC tech & better runway utilization; ATC leadership failures; Success pending ratification on United flight attendant contract; Delta's new confusing fare classes & subclasses; Listener Input: Conflicting o...
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288 - Guest Co-Host: Charles Duncan; Guest: Richard Anderson, Fmr CEO, Delta Airlines

May 20, 2025 • 80 mins
This week: Guest Co-Host: Charles Duncan; Guest: Richard Anderson, Fmr CEO, Delta Airlines; News: Airline fares drop; Newark personnel and technology forces contraction; SWA expands international service; United projects getting back into JFK; How might JetBlue benefit from a United alliance?
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287 - Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt; Guest: Adam Stahl, Acting Administrator, TSA

May 13, 2025 • 58 mins
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.
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286 - Guest Co-Host Maya Leibman; Guest: Linda Jojo, Fmr EVP/CCO, United

May 6, 2025 • 62 mins
This week: Scott's Guest Co- Host is Maya Leibman; 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 ATC equipment and 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...
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285 - Guest Co-Host: Christina Cassotis, Guest: John Pepper, VP/Corp. Development, Allegiant Air

April 29, 2025 • 64 mins
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; Lis...
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284 - Guest Co-Host Doug Parker; Guest: Aengus Kelly, Exec. Director & CEO, AerCap Holdings

April 22, 2025 • 65 mins
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.
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283 - Guest Co-Host: Dave Hilfman, Special Report: Chris Sloan on the Pacific Island Hopper

April 15, 2025 • 75 mins
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?
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282 - Guest Co-Host: Oscar Munoz, Guests: Milind Tavshikar, SmartKargo & Marco Ferrara, Delta

April 7, 2025 • 67 mins
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 an...
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281 - Guest Co-Host Charles Duncan; Guest: Eamonn Brennan, Fmr Director General, Eurocontrol

April 1, 2025 • 54 mins
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.
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280 - Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt; Guest: Justin Jones, EVP Operations, Southwest Airlines

March 25, 2025 • 79 mins
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 takeof...
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279 - Guest Co-Host: Maya Leibman; Guest: Elise Eberwein, Fmr EVP, American Airlines

March 18, 2025 • 70 mins
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.
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278 - Big Southwest Bag/Policy Changes - Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis

March 10, 2025 • 63 mins
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.
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277 - JetBlue's Top Senior Leadership - Joanna Geraghty, CEO and Marty St. George, President

March 2, 2025 • 60 mins
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.
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276 - Guest Co-Host Doug Parker; Guest: Sara Nelson, Pres., Association of Flight Attendants

February 25, 2025 • 83 mins
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.
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275 - Guest Co-Host Chris Sloan with info on BermudAir

February 19, 2025 • 56 mins
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...
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274 - Guest Co-Host Dave Hilfman, Guest: Jim Compton, Fmr Vice Chairman, United

February 12, 2025 • 75 mins
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.
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