We’re coming to you one day early this week, because nobody wants to work on Independence Day. I mean, come on. We have hot dogs to grill. But we’re actually extending this celebration through the next week when Brett is on vacation. (You may have noticed that The Air Show is taking off this week and next as well.) We’ll be back next Friday with the Cranky Weekly Review.
Oakland Tries the Rename Game Again, This Time with Feeling (and Legal Advice)
Oakland International Airport is back with another name change — because apparently once wasn’t enough. This time, the proposal is “Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport,” a slightly rearranged remix of last year’s “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport,” which, as you may recall, was swiftly tackled by San Francisco’s legal team like it was trying to cut in line at a packed TSA checkpoint at 7 a.m. The new version puts Oakland front and center, which is both geographically accurate and –let’s be honest — likely a necessary legal strategy to avoid round two in federal court.
To be fair, this isn’t just a branding exercise; it’s a visibility play. Oakland’s got a good thing going: low fares, easy access, short lines, and now, apparently, a naming committee with Google Maps open. The goal is to remind sun-seeking and Europe-bound travelers that the Bay Area has two great airports, meanwhile SJC is sitting here asking “what about me?” If the Port Commission signs off on July 10, the new name rolls out July 24, which gives everyone just enough time to update signage, press releases, cease-and-desist orders, and titles for snarky, exquisitely-written, weekly aviation-focused blog posts.
The Reports of the Death of Silver Airways Are Possibly Greatly Exaggerated
Silver Airways — The Eras Resurrection Tour — could be coming to a Caribbean airport near you. Just weeks after closing its doors, and leaving ticketed customers scrambling for plan B (or C, the ferry) Silver might be gearing up for an encore under new overlord Argentum Acquisition Company — Argentum of course being latin for “silver.” No, really, it is. Argentum, which says it did not expect Silver to cease operations, filed with the DOT to transfer Silver’s operating certificates and start flying again, initially with one ATR turboprop (possibly expanding to two soon but let’s not overdo it) on familiar Florida-to-Caribbean routes.
It’s a classic aviation reboot strategy: buy the carcass, keep the certificates, and relaunch as the kind of regional player people kind of miss. Argentum says it wants to bring back the airline “as quickly as possible,” which likely means once someone finds the manuals, restarts the crew group chat, and figures out how to make people forget the whole “stranded in San Juan” thing. There’s even chatter of a spinoff to fly in Alaska alongside sister carrier Sterling/Aleutian, because why not layer risky financial decisions with frostbite?
If this all sounds ambitious for a company with a one-plane fleet and a well-worn bankruptcy file, that’s because it is. But hey, in regional aviation, never say never—just say “under new management” and hope the FAA doesn’t look too closely.
Supreme Court to American: The Northeast Alliance Is Still Dead, Please Move On
The Supreme Court on Monday politely told American to take a hike, declining to review its AAppeal over the DOJ’s successful dismantling of the Northeast Alliance with JetBlue. That’s right — American flew this one all the way to the top, hoping someone in robes might resurrect its short-lived Boston–New York bromance. Instead, SCOTUS gave the legal equivalent of a middle seat in the last row: a silent rejection with no explanation. The Northeast Alliance remains grounded, this time likely for good, and American is left standing at the gate holding a cold brew and a grudge while the court slammed the door as if it had no standbys to clear.
American, clearly not over the breakup but mostly concerned with trying not to set precedent that would derail future plans, called the decision “disappointing,” which is its way of saying “we’re furious but trying not to sound like it.” The carrier insists the alliance was pro-consumer and pro-competition — a bold take for a scheme that allowed two major airlines to coordinate schedules, share revenue, and dominate slots at congested airports. Meanwhile, JetBlue, which bailed on this eons ago, is now fending off a DOJ hangover of its own. As for American? It might be time to stop filing lawsuits and start finding new — and legal — ways to compete in NYC. What consumers need isn’t more appeals, but a reason — any reason — to book American on purpose.
Delta Locks Thousands of SkyMiles Accounts—Totally Not CrowdStrike’s Fault (Probably)
Delta quietly froze access to tens of thousands of SkyMiles accounts this week after detecting suspicious activity, leaving loyal flyers locked out and confused. No warning, no mass email, just radio silence and a login screen that suddenly acted like you’d never spent dozens of nights hauling in Atlanta’s Biscoff tunnel between Concourses B and C just to see your SkyWest regional push back from C11 leaving you stranded during thunderstorms — again.
The airline says it was a proactive cybersecurity move and insists its systems are still secure—which, probably means “we’d rather not explain what actually happened right now but here’s 5,000 SkyMiles you’ll never be able to log in and use to stay quiet.”
CrowdStrike swears it had nothing to do with this “incident” despite one of its IT execs being spotted with “How can we make SkyMiles even less valuable?” on his to-do list. While Delta promises to restore access as accounts are verified, the whole incident is a reminder that even elite status doesn’t guarantee immunity from digital purgatory — just a longer hold time when you try to get it fixed.
Dream Purchase: Alaska Adds Five
Alaska Airlines pulled the trigger on five additional B787‑9 Dreamliners, marking its first own orders since absorbing Hawaiian’s widebody fleet. These dreamy new airplanes will join their Eskimo Hawaiian cousins in Seattle, where a new 787 pilot base is being established. With Seattle to Rome already on the books for 2026, this makes it clear Alaska is ready to graduate from “mostly domestic” to “surprisingly global.”
The carrier also firmed up options for ten 737-10 MAXs, because someone’s gotta feed all those shiny long-haul flights with passengers who still think Alaska’s a West Coast-only brand. Combined with the 17 Dreamliners it now has on order or inherited, Alaska’s shaping up to be a legit transpacific player — no longer just the airline that gets you to Kona, but the one that might just get you to Tokyo, Seoul, or beyond with a lie-flat seat and actual international aspirations. All that’s left now is to teach Mileage Plan members how to say “upgrade request” in Italian. And FYI, the answer is “richiesta di aggiornamento.”
- Air Antilles is back in the game.
- Allegiant grew in May.
- Aleutian Airways is adding an ATR.
- BA is testing in-flight streaming. Welcome to 2016.
- Condor is moving its stripes to TBIT in Los Angeles.
- Etihad‘s inaugural flight to Atlanta arrived yesterday. Its crew discovered upon arrival that it is, in fact, not a dry heat.
- Garuda Indonesia might lease a B737-8 MAX. Of course, it might not.
- GOL is giving itself new goals to accomplish.
- Kenya Airways finally has a strategic partnership with Qatar.
- KLM made a new offer to ground crews.
- LATAM will use Viasat for long-haul connectivity.
- Lufthansa is hoping to take delivery of new Dreamliners by the end of this year.
- Mauritania Airlines is finally adding the wet-leased A320 capacity we’ve been begging them to add.
- Mexicana took delivery of its first E2.
- Norse Atlantic decided to Phuket and begin flying to Thailand.
- Oman Air officially joined oneworld on Monday.
- Qantas received its first A321XLR.
- SAS is purchasing 45 E195-E2s with an option to grab 10 more.
- Southwest is willing to do
whatever Elliot tells it to doanything. - United FAs are being accosted by union reps.
- WestJet is partnering with Saudia because it wanted to, not because Delta said it had to.
What’s a firework’s favorite type of relationship?
Long-distance with a lot of sparks.
