Code of Ethics

Ethics is a perenially-important topic in the blogging world, so I’ve always put my code of ethics front and center. First, I have included disclosures of any compensated relationships in the airline/travel industry. Then you will see details about my willingness to accept free or discounted products along with all offers, whether they have been accepted, and whether any blog posts were written about them. My goal is to be an open book here. You can always contact me with questions or comments at cf@crankyflier.com.

Disclosure of Current Compensated Relationships

  • I currently have no financial holdings in any airlines
  • I am not currently working with or having discussions about working with any airlines or airports

Historical Disclosures

  • I was compensated with options to serve on the advisory council for Trippy.com, but the company has dissolved.
  • I was paid to write an occasional column for PlaneBusiness Banter from 2013 through 2015.
  • My role on the advisory council for Routehappy.com ended in June 2016 and I did receive options.
  • I was paid to write a weekly column for the Intuit Small Business Center (which no longer exists) until July 2015.
  • I stopped writing for Conde Nast Traveler in 2014.
  • Airbus sponsored a series of posts during the week of November 11, 2013. My interaction was limited strictly to their marketing agency.
  • On July 30, 2013 I agreed to accept 75,000 TrueBlue points to participate on the JetBlue New Onboard Experience Advisory Board. This panel never succeeded and the points were never awarded.
  • Credit card links were removed in 2012 and no further compensation will be earned.
  • I stopped writing for CNN.com in 2012, though I do occasionally write a freelance piece.
  • My contract to write the Headwinds blog for BNET (now part of CBS) ended in March 2011.
  • My consulting work for PASSUR Aerospace ended in August 2010.
  • My short term social media consulting project for Long Beach Airport ended in August 2010.
  • My content reproduction agreement with BoardingArea.com ended in March 2010.

Code of Ethics

For the purpose of this code, “free and/or discounted products and services” refers to anything above the cost of a meal offered to me for free or for a discount simply because of my status as a blogger/analyst/influencer.

  • I only accept free and/or discounted products and services if they are something that I expect will be of interest to Cranky readers. I will not accept them if there is solely a personal benefit.
  • When I write about free and/or discounted products and services, I will always disclose on this page who gave them to me, when they were given to me, and when I wrote about them. I will also include the discount amount offered in any post on the products/services.
  • I will always write the truth about a product or service regardless of whether it is good or bad. I will never trade favorable press for free and/or discounted products and services.
  • I will only accept free and/or discounted products and services if the people offering the product/service confirm that they have read this code of ethics and are willing to abide by the rules that have been set here.
  • Just because I have been provided with free and/or discounted products and services doesn’t mean I will write about them. The only criteria for determining whether or not to write about a product is if it will make for a compelling post, good or bad.

List of Offered Free or Discounted Products/Services Since 2018

The following is a full and complete list of trips/flights/gifts/etc with a value of over $100 that have been offered to me along with whether they were accepted or not. This list does not include invitations to events unless a free or discounted product or service accompanied that invitation.

CompanyOfferDateAcceptedBlogged
BreezeInaugural PVD-LAX5/5/2023NoN/A
AlaskaFinal flight on the Salmon Thirty Salmon3/10/2023NoN/A
Northern PacificRide on inaugural flight3/8/2023NoN/A
AlaskaFinal flight on Q4001/6/2023NoN/A
Alaska6 months of elite status to test electronic bag tag11/21/2022NoN/A
BreezeSeat on inaugural HPN-LAX flight10/24/2022NoN/A
SouthwestFlight to Dallas for media day10/11/2022Yes but canceledN/A
BreezeFlights to Mobile for A220 delivery + hotel10/13/2021NoN/A
United AirlinesFlight to press event in New York10/10/2021NoN/A
Southwest AirlinesWinner of 2 roundtrip tickets from random drawing at 2021 Southwest business/agency conference5/27/2021YesN/A
Avelo AirlinesInaugural flight4/14/2021NoN/A
Hawaiian AirVisit Hawai’i after quarantine ends9/29/2020Yes11/4/2020
11/5/2020
11/15/2020
11/19/2020
11/24/2020
Boeing737 MAX Update in Seattle11/14/2019NoN/A
Sun CountryMedia Day10/1/2019NoN/A
Hahn AirTrip to Germany9/18/2019Yes (canceled)N/A
EmbraerE2 Flight in Florida9/2/2019NoN/A
Korean AirTrip to Korea8/7/2019NoN/A
United AirlinesMedia Day air and hotel8/4/2019Yes10/29/2019
11/4/2019
11/12/2019
Southwest AirlinesHalloween Party Judge8/1/2019NoN/A
American AirlinesFinal MD-80 flight to Roswell7/31/2019NoN/A
Hawaiian Airlines6 Neighbor Island Flights in One Day7/3/2019Yes9/2/2019
Alaska AirlinesSeattle lounge opening6/24/2019NoN/A
TAP Air PortugalSFO Inaugural Flight5/2/2019NoN/A
Southwest AirlinesHawai’i Inaugural Flight2/28/2019NoN/A
Virgin AtlanticA350 Reveal Event2/25/2019Yes But Had to Cancel4/11/2019
SouthwestFlight to Southwest Rally Las Vegas2/8/2019Yes
2/21/2019
Alaska AirlinesAlaska upgraded Airbus event1/28/2019NoN/A
AmericanAnnual leadership conference flights1/23/2019Yes3/4/2019
3/11/2019
3/12/2019
SouthwestFlights for Herb Kelleher Memorial1/14/2019Yes1/24/2019
2/05/2019
Virgin AtlanticBiofuel Demo Flight9/21/2018Yes (taken by correspondent)10/11/2018
10/18/2018
11/1/2018
SpiritOrlando Media Tour9/13/2018NoN/A
British AirwaysCelebration of 60 Years of Jet Service Over the Atlantic8/31/2018NoN/A
Hawaiian AirlinesLong Beach Inaugural Flight Invite5/8/2018YesTBD
Air CanadaEvent in Toronto and Vancouver4/5/2018NoN/A
China EasternTrip to Bangkok3/21/2018NoN/A
AmericanInvite to Annual Leadership Conference1/15/2018Yes02/27/2018

Historical List of Accepted Free or Discounted Products/Services Prior to 2018

The following are listed in alphabetical order by name of the company that made the offer with the most recent offer for each company being displayed first.

Historical List of Declined Free or Discounted Products/Services Prior to 2018

The following are listed in alphabetical order by name of the company that made the offer with the most recent offer for each company being displayed first.

  • Air Canada – Invite to Roll-Out of New Premium Experience, offered 11/16/2017
  • Air France – Trip to Paris for New Coach Upgrade Announcement, offered 9/6/2013; FlyerTalk Event in Paris, offered 3/27/2012
  • Air New Zealand – Inflight Focus Group, offered 2/27/2013; Flight to Seattle for 777 Delivery Flight, offered 12/7/2010
  • Alaska Airlines – Flight to Merger Closing Event, offered 11/10/2016; Havana Inaugural Flight, offered 11/10/2016; Technology Demo Flight, offered 3/29/2015
  • Allegiant Air – Media Day, offered 3/7/2016
  • American Airlines – Invite to Fly Snowball Express, offered 11/29/2017; Invite to Media Day, offered 8/7/2017; Invite to Flagship Dining event, offered 4/21/2017; 737 Delivery Flight, offered 5/17/2011
  • ANA – 787 Flight From Seattle, offered 6/18/2014
  • British Airways – Invite on 25th 787 Delivery Flight, offered 9/6/2017; Flight to London for BAinvesting4U Launch, offered 3/20/2017; A380 Inaugural LAX to London, offered 7/22/2013; A380 Delivery Flight, offered 6/10/2013; Trip on LCY-JFK Service, offered 5/6/2009; Trip on OpenSkies, offered 2/5/2009; Trip to Opening LHR T5, offered 12/27/2008
  • Cathay Pacific – Flight to Hong Kong for New Seat Event, offered 10/27/2010
  • Delta Air Lines – Invite to Customer Experience Showcase 2017, offered 8/29/2017; Invite to Media Day, offered 3/30/2017; Havana Inaugural Flight, offered 11/11/2016; Media Day, offered 3/18/2016; Inside Delta Blogger Experience, offered 4/25/2014
  • Etihad Airways – 787/A380 Launch Event in Abu Dhabi, offered 11/26/2014
  • Etihad Airways – 787 Delivery Ceremony in Seattle, offered 9/15/2014
  • Expedia – Invite to Partner Conference, offered 11/10/2015
  • Frontier Airlines – 21st Birthday Party Flight to Vegas, offered 6/23/2015
  • IATA – Annual General Meeting, offered 3/24/2014
  • Icelandair – Media Trip to Iceland, offered 3/30/2011
  • Icelandair – Northern Lights Flights, offered 3/19/2015
  • JetBlue Airways – Fly to NYC to Meet with Management, offered 6/11/2015; Inaugural Wifi Flight, offered 11/19/2013
  • KLM – New Business Class Seat Flight NYC – Amsterdam, offered 9/6/2013
  • Korean Air – Invite to Incheon Terminal 2 Opening, offered 12/13/2017
  • LAN – 787 Inaugural, offered 8/13/2012, uninvited due to space limitations; Trip to Peru for SFO Launch, offered 5/10/2010
  • Lufthansa – 747-8 Media Trip to Frankfurt, offered 12/11/2012
  • MAXjet – Free Roundtrip LAX to London, offered 5/10/2007
  • Qatar Airways – Invite to 787 Delivery Ceremony at Boeing, offered 10/1/2015; Flight for oneworld Entry Ceremony, offered 10/7/2013; 787 Inaugural to Doha, offered 10/23/2012
  • Royal Air Maroc/The Moak Group – 787 Delivery Event in Seattle, offered 11/15/2016
  • Southwest Airlines – Invite to 737 MAX Rollout, offered 8/16/2017; Trip to Oshkosh for AirVenture, offered 6/28/2012; Trip to Cabo for SNA Inaugural, offered 5/16/2012; 737-800 Inaugural, offered 3/27/2012; Flight to Chicago and Oshkosh, offered 7/14/2010
  • Star Alliance – Round the World Trip, offered 6/15/2009
  • SWISS Airlines – Trip to Zurich for SFO Launch, offered by 2/23/2010
  • TAAG Angola – 777 Delivery Ceremony, offered 6/3/2011
  • TAP Air Portugal – Invite to Retro Livery Flight, offered 6/26/2017
  • Turkish Airlines – Flight for SocialTrippin Event, offered 10/25/2013
  • United Airlines – 777-300ER Polaris Demo Flight, offered 1/25/2017; Flight to NYC for Media Event, offered 5/20/2016; New First Class Seat Roll-out, offered 8/27/2015; Visit to Reopening of Concourse E at SFO, offered 1/18/2014
  • US Airways – Media Day, offered 2/28/2011
  • Viva Air – Invite to inaugural Viva Peru flight, offered 3/29/2017
  • WestJet – Bombardier 500th Q400 Celebration, offered 6/3/2015
  • WOW Air – Trip from Baltimore to Bristol, UK, offered 4/21/2016
Cranky Flier