To see the archives, go to crankyflier.com/media
No, United is not coming back: Why Cleveland Hopkins will never be a major airline hub again
January 7, 2026 – Susan Glaser
Brett Snyder, a former airline employee who writes about the industry at CrankyFlier.com, said airline consolidation has eliminated any demand for new hubs in the United States.
“There will not be any new hubs,” said Snyder, in an interview this week. “There is no need for new hubs in the United States.”
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“As soon as United and Continental merged [in 2010], there was no way Cleveland was going to compete with the Chicago hub,” said Snyder.“That’s why most of the hubs in these midsized cities went away – better hubs in bigger cities,” said Snyder. “That’s where we’re at today. I see no way any airline will open a hub in any midsized city.”
RDU loses flight to tropical getaway
November 26, 2025 – Lauren Ohnesorge
“BermudAir has an uphill battle in general, because Bermuda is just not a big market, and itʻs a seasonal one at that,” said Brett Snyder, founder of aviation blog Cranky Flier. “As an airline based in Bermuda, it has to try a variety of routes to see what may or may not work, and it isnʻt a surprise to see some of the markets not work out.”
Bay Area airports prep for busy holiday travel as uncertainties loom
November 20, 2025 – George Avalos
Decisions by airlines to reduce or increase the number of flights out of the airports are huge factors behind a rise or decline in passenger numbers, according to Brett Snyder, founder and author of the Cranky Flier airline industry site.
“Fewer airline flights for the last few months are a factor behind the reduced passenger trips at Oakland and San Jose,” Snyder said. “At San Francisco International, United Airlines just keeps getting stronger and keeps adding more service to more cities.”
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Snyder said the decision by airlines to cut back flights in the Bay Area is a crucial factor.“At Oakland, some airlines have pulled out,” Snyder said. “Southwest has reduced its departures out of Oakland. Spirit Airlines is down about 1,000 seats a day. Delta is down almost one-third in its flights, which is about 100 seats a day.”
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“At San Jose Airport, Southwest Airlines is down about 1,000 seats a day, which is about an 8% decrease,” Snyder said. “Spirit was big out of San Jose, but almost 1,600 seats a day are gone now. Frontier is down to almost nothing as well. Alaska Airlines is down a small amount.”
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“The failure of Spirit to make the West Coast work has become a problem for Oakland and San Jose,” Snyder said.
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“United just announced more domestic flights out of San Francisco,” Snyder said. “That means more people will go to the airline they think will provide them with a broad travel solution. SFO seems to be strengthening.”
Thanksgiving Travel Outlook Still Murky Amid Potential Shutdown Deal
November 12, 2025 – Jessica Puckett
“The real question is whether air traffic controllers snap right back into the rhythm they were in before the shutdown,” said Brett Snyder of Cranky Concierge. “I fear there may be lingering damage with controllers who might not return, especially since we will probably have this exact same fight at the end of January again.”
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With an unclear timeline, it’s hard to say what might happen during Thanksgiving travel. “Airlines will get back to normal when the FAA allows it and controller staffing permits it,” Snyder says. “We have no idea when that may or may not be, but I would imagine the airlines will do everything they possibly can to run a regular operation during Thanksgiving.”
Haphazard flight cancellations are hurting an already strained travel industry, Cranky Flier says
November 10, 2025 – Lauren Gilger
The Federal Aviation Administration announced last week it would cut 10% of flights at the nation’s 40 busiest airports to reduce pressure on them. Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix is one of the 40, and the number of cancelled and delayed flights is on the rise. At last check, it’s at 97 cancelled flights and 403 delayed flights.
As he wrote in his blog Cranky Flier, airline connoisseur Brett Snyder is angry about it all.
Should I Cancel My Flight Due to the Shutdown?
November 6, 2025 – Bailey Berg
Brett Snyder, CEO of Cranky Concierge, a company that specializes in urgent air travel assistance, said he wouldn’t recommend that travelers preemptively cancel their flights.
“The reality is that in the next couple of weeks, airlines are not overly full,” Snyder explained. “The pre-Thanksgiving period is usually quiet, so when the flight cancellations are pushed out, there should be room to re-accommodate most people on other flights.”
He added that if travelers’ original flights are among those canceled by the airlines, then they can decide to continue with their travel plans or not based on whether the new options work for them.
“The bigger question is what will happen if the shutdown extends into Thanksgiving, because that’s when flights are very full, and there will be more pain,” Snyder said, adding, “Fortunately, I’ve seen [several airlines] offer anyone the ability to cancel without penalty, regardless of the fare rules. So if people are truly over-stressed and don’t want to deal with this, the option is there.”
Air traffic reduction only ‘band-aid solution’ to problem, insider claims
November 6, 2025 – Marc Blaine
“A 10 percent cut on domestic-only flights is also not necessarily going to reduce the need for controllers. Maybe it reduces the workload a little bit, but it seems like a fairly haphazard band-aid type of solution to try and improve things and show the government is trying to do something,” shared Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Flier, an airline industry blog.
Snyder claims the aviation industry isn’t enamored with the FAA’s solution. He’s not sure what it will accomplish and figures it will be a big headache for the airlines.“You have to figure out how do you route aircraft? They need to be in certain places for maintenance at certain times of the night. You have to figure out crew scheduling. You have to figure out how to re-accommodate all these passengers. So there’s a lot that the airlines have to do,” he explained.
Ripple effects from flight cuts won’t stop at major airports. Here’s what travelers need to know.
November 6, 2025 – Andy Medici
Brett Snyder, head and founder of Cranky Concierge, a personalized travel service, said while people have a lot of questions, the best thing they can do right now is likely nothing.
“That’s because more details will emerge about the plan, the cuts and how airline strategies around the cuts will evolve — not to mention uncertainty over the shutdown itself.”
While people might see advice about booking backup flights, it’s better to wait and see exactly what they are dealing with, Snyder said.”
“I am hopeful that people are more worried about the impact than the reality will prove,” Snyder said.
“Right now, airlines have more room to switch flights and change up schedules. That will change if the shutdown reaches the holiday season, Snyder said.
“Think we are all hoping it never gets to that point,” Snyder said of the potential for the cutbacks making it to the holidays. “But people have to prepare for that.”
RDU faces impacts from FAA air traffic cuts
November 5, 2025 – Lauren Ohnesorge
Brett Snyder, with airline industry blog Cranky Flier said travelers hoping to fly Friday face uncertainty, and that it’s tough to predict what will happen next.
“Having to pull down 10 percent of departures with less than two days notice is virtually impossible without having a very significant impact on nearly everyone who travels,” Snyder said.
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Snyder’s advice: “Get ready for disruption. And that’s even if RDU is not directly impacted, as its flights to the nation’s busiest hubs such as Atlanta, and Boston.”
Frontier Airlines cancels popular Cleveland routes to Puerto Rico and New York City
November 6, 2025 – Susan Glaser
Industry analyst Brett Snyder said that Frontier, a low-cost carrier that generates a large percentage of its revenue from baggage and other fees, continues to struggle with both competition and capacity.
“This is an airline that has changed its stripes so many times it’s hard to figure out what is working,” said Snyder, who operates crankyflier.com.
Why you can’t just move to an empty airplane seat for free
October 8, 2025 – Zach Wichter
“There is a thing called weight and balance and airplanes need to be in balance to ensure that they can fly safely,” Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier and owner of the travel agency Cranky Concierge, told me.
While Snyder acknowledged that weight and balance are more of an issue on smaller planes, they can still be a factor in the safety of a larger jet, too. If a plane of any size is out of balance, it may not be able to take off or land safely, and even a small amount of weight in the wrong location can affect a plane’s flight capabilities.
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“The airlines will know where people are sitting, they calculate the weight and balance using their systems, and they will load the cargo and the luggage properly to make sure it stays in balance,” Snyder said. “It is still something that can be a problem and travelers do not want to mess that up for their flight.”
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“When you start getting into extra legroom, that is something that people paid for, they found enough value in it to pay for it.” “It makes people angry that actually did pay for it and it’s not fair for them,” Snyder said.
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“Often you can do that in the app, it’s no problem at all,” Snyder said. “Self-service is your best bet.”
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“Generally, your best bet will be someone at the gate if they’re not overwhelmed and they have the time, but they have a million things that they’re trying to do to get that airplane out on time,” Snyder said.Your last line of defense should be speaking to the flight attendant, but Snyder warned that’s really only worth doing if there’s a serious problem.
“Maybe sometimes the flight attendant can help you, maybe they can take payment on board if you want to move to an extra legroom seat, but otherwise, you’re just going to make their jobs harder,” he said, but with a caveat: “If there is a legitimate concern, like a health or safety concern that you encounter when you get on the aircraft, that is when you should absolutely bring it up to the flight attendant.”
What happens when online plane enthusiasts meet up IRL?
October 8, 2025 – Rob Pegoraro
“The original plan was really just me putting out a blog post saying that I was going to go to the park across from In-N-Out and hoped some people would join me for burgers, spotting, and conversation,” Snyder says in an email. “A handful did. And then it just kept growing from there.”
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“You have to own it,” says Snyder, whose job title at his travel agency, Cranky Concierge, is “president and chief airline dork.”
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“We realized we should keep doing that,” Snyder says. “It really increased the opportunities for people to participate and helped justify travel from farther away to come join.”
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As Snyder says: “The best moments are meeting people who I’ve never seen other than in [a] discussion online.”
United Airlines gets gates at O’Hare, American loses a few
October 1, 2025 – Talia Soglin
“Competition keeps fares lower, that’s the bottom line,” said airline expert Brett Snyder, president of the industry website Cranky Flier.
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Going forward, the gates are liable to ping-pong back and forth between the airlines each year, experts said. American will likely gain gates in the next reallocation, said Snyder — who briefly worked for United in the mid-2000s — because they’ve added plenty of flights out of O’Hare this year.
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Snyder agreed that “use it or lose it” provisions are pro-capacity, in the sense that they encourage the departure of as many flights as possible out of an airport.But that doesn’t necessarily mean the provision is pro-competition, he added: The provisions don’t necessarily guarantee that one airline or another, such as United, won’t continue to gain a larger and larger market share at the airport.
“Everyone would like American to keep being the sacrificial lamb to prevent United from dominating Chicago on its own,” he said.
Alaska Airlines travelers will need to choose an option to earn frequent flier points
September 27, 2025 – Randy Diamond
Aviation blogger Brett Snyder, who writes the Cranky Flier blog, said that the general feedback he has been getting about the Alaska Airlines changes has been positive.
“It seems to people that people are excited at the fact Alaska didn’t do anything to destroy it,” he said. “Which is effectively saying the other airlines have just set the bar so low that anything you do that doesn’t completely dismantle and ruin reward opportunities is going to be considered a win,” he said.
Broward-based Spirit Airlines plans major cost cuts amid second bankruptcy in a year
September 18, 2025 – Ted Scouten
“There probably will be job cuts. If you’re flying 25% fewer flights year over year, you certainly don’t need as many people to do that work,” said Brett Snyder, president of the Cranky Flier.
Snyder said he believes Fort Lauderdale will fare better than most cities. Right now, Spirit operates 102 peak-day departures to 60 destinations. The airline said it plans to focus on stronger-performing cities.
“What we do know is that Fort Lauderdale absolutely has to be a part of that. That is the heart and soul of Spirit. But what else gets included in that remains to be seen,” Snyder said.
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“What we see is other airlines are just watching and waiting to see if Spirit can get out of bankruptcy protection, or if this might be the end for it,” Snyder said.
The DOT Scraps a Proposed Rule to Compensate Travelers for Flight Delays
September 9, 2025 – Jessica Puckett
For now, US travelers won’t see any immediate changes as a result of scrapped proposal, says Brett Snyder, president of travel assistance company Cranky Concierge. Airline passengers “have never been compensated [with cash payments] for delays in the US, so this just keeps the status quo,” Snyder tells Condé Nast Traveler. “In theory if that previous plan had gone into effect, people could have been paid for delays, but it very well may also have resulted in higher ticket prices to cover the costs of paying that out.”
Chapter 11 redux: Spirit Airlines’ quest for financial stability
September 5, 2025 – Robert Silk
The second restructuring, or at least the timing of it, appears to have been forced by aircraft lessor AerCap, said airline industry analyst Brett Snyder, who writes the Cranky Flier blog.
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Spirit disagrees with the assertion that it is in default. The Chapter 11 filing, Snyder said, delays the issue and places it in the hands of the court.
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Both Snyder and Duflot raised the possibility that Spirit will end up converting this bankruptcy from a Chapter 11 restructuring to a Chapter 7 liquidation.“At some point, to get out of this they’re going to need external financing, and I’m not sure who would give that to them,” Snyder said. “The last reorganization went so poorly it lasted only 5 months. So, lots of creditors are losing their shirts. Would you really take another chance on that?”
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Now, said Snyder and Duflot, with Frontier itself losing money and with Spirit having degraded further, Frontier might prefer to wait it out in expectation of benefitting from the demise of its main ultralow-cost rival.
Spirit Airlines is on shakier ground after avoiding hard decisions in bankruptcy
August 21, 2025 – Leslie Josephs
“You have no place to sleep if you burn your bed,” said Brett Snyder, founder of the Cranky Flier travel website, author of a weekly airline industry network analysis and a former airline manager.
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“They’ve squandered every opportunity to make everything work,” Snyder said.
Why Cheap Airline Seats Are Getting Harder to Find
August 15, 2025 – Alison Sider
“I don’t think the window is closing for cheap fares,” Snyder said. Travel demand has stabilized, but may not continue growing at a fast clip. And the industry is heading into a time of year when leisure trips tend to slow down anyway, he added. “Once you get back into the reality of post-summer, I think it becomes a very different situation.”
Blocking the middle seat is doable on some airlines
August 14, 2025 – Zach Wichter
“If legroom is your thing, most airlines are offering some extra legroom section. Even if they don’t, they have exit rows you can pay extra for,” Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier and owner of the travel agency Cranky Concierge, told me.
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“If an airline is truly creative and smart, they’re looking at the data, they’re seeing how many seats they expect to be available on any given day,” Snyder said. “If they expect something is going to be empty, can we sell that seat to someone sitting next to it and make a little more money that we’re not otherwise going to make?”
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“If you’re on a widebody on a longhaul flight, look in the back where the cabin starts to taper and they have to reduce the number of seats in the row,” he said. “You can think about cabin architecture.”
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“If you’re comparing JetBlue and Spirit, you’re going to get more room on JetBlue’s base product,” Snyder said.
A new Southwest Airlines takes off — to mixed results
August 1, 2025 – Robert Silk
Bags didn’t go on sale until two-thirds of the way through the second quarter, noted Brett Snyder, who pens the Cranky Flier blog. And seat assignments are still only available for very advanced bookings.
“Q3 should tell us more about bags, but it will probably be Q4 or later before we can get a read on seat revenues,” Snyder said.
Are Global Entry and TSA PreCheck Losing Their Value?
July 28, 2025 – Jessica Puckett
PreCheck is still “different than the regular line considering you don’t have to remove large electronics, and you go through a metal detector, which doesn’t require emptying your pockets the same way as in the regular line,” says Brett Snyder, president of air travel assistance firm Cranky Concierge.
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Snyder also points to another PreCheck perk that’s not as obvious: access to Touchless ID, the program that allows travelers to use a facial scan to access the security screening area instead of showing an ID and boarding pass.
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“At this point, I think most people will still find value in TSA Precheck, but fewer and fewer will see Global Entry as important,” Snyder says.
TSA rule change on shoes might mean the end of 3 ounce liquid restriction and more
July 16, 2025 – Mark Brodie
A 6-minute segment that looks at the end of the shoes-off policy at TSA.
No easy fixes to connect passengers between International Terminal and MARTA
July 7, 2025 – Maria Saporta
Brett Snyder, who writes the Cranky Flier blog and runs the Cranky Concierge travel agency, called it a “really tough situation.” Looking back, it would have made sense to keep all the ticketing and baggage claim at the Domestic Terminal.
“Now you have an airport with ticketing and baggage claim at opposite ends,” Snyder said. It would have made sense to keep all the infrastructure at the western side of the airport that had served arriving and departing passengers for decades. “So, what can you do about it? Not much, I’m afraid.”
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Snyder concluded, after speaking to other industry experts, “that the only real solution is to improve the shuttle service.” Eventually, it would make sense to have dedicated bus lanes to make the shuttle more reliable.“But if we’re just talking about the MARTA issue and not broader connections between the two sides of the airport, the most efficient is probably to just run that bus to East Point,” Snyder said. “You can get there from the International terminal more reliably with less traffic disruption, and it will speed up the trip for people heading north into town.”
Want to fly in a fancy seat for less? Try this hack. | Cruising Altitude
June 18, 2025 – Zach Wichter
“In general the reasons airlines do this is there’s enough demand and they can put these airplanes, fill them up and do it, but that really only makes sense if they can pair it with the slack in the system that they have from international flying that gives them free time to play with,” Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier and owner of the travel agency Cranky Concierge, told me.
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“Sometimes it’s a matter of connecting the dots,” Snyder said. “Sometimes … it’s because there’s huge (passenger) demand and there’s huge cargo demand and that’s a great place to put that airplane.”
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“In the winter you can look at Florida, Latin, Caribbean type of stuff,” Snyder said. “Year-round, you can always look at hub-to-hub flying. That’s usually where you’ll find it is between an airline’s hubs.”
In the summer, when travel demand to Europe is higher, there are typically fewer short-haul widebody routes, because airlines surge capacity across the Atlantic. There are usually more quirky flight options like this in the winter, according to Snyder.“More often than not they get decent usage flying it to Orlando or Cancun or someplace where there are a ton of people looking to fly,” he said.
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“It can really depend on the airline and the route, but in general, you’re getting a domestic first-class style service. You’re not getting blankets and pajamas and multicourse meals and all of this,” Snyder said. “They cater it to act more like a domestic first-class type of service, just with a much nicer seat.”
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“If you’re flying on a route with a flat bed versus a non-flat bed, there is a very good chance it will be priced higher,” Snyder said. “They know they can get more money, it’s not like the old days where they were bad at this.”
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“There are some sweet spots on that airplane, depending on the airline,” Snyder said.
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“If you book these don’t 100% count on it not changing, because there are always airline schedule changes. Depending on how far out you book, airlines may sub it out,” Snyder said. And while airlines do offer some flexibility to change your ticket if there’s an equipment change, he added that those policies don’t usually apply to these kinds of flights, because tickets are sold as domestic first, for example, not as business class, so you’re still technically getting what you paid for.Snyder also said a bigger plane could make connections a little more annoying.
“Sometimes you will see these airplanes operating more out of the international gates if they’re at terminals that segregate those because maybe they’re coming in from somewhere internationally,” he said. “For connections it can sometimes make it a little more challenging depending on where you are.”
Could Newark’s trouble affect your summer travels? Here’s what to know | Cruising Altitude
May 28, 2025 – Zach Wichter
“The most acute problem right now is the runway construction that’s going on there,” Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier and owner of the travel agency Cranky Concierge, told me. Newark is down one runway, which limits the airport’s flexibility.
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“It’s absurd that it’s been so difficult to get a modernized system that they’ve been talking about for more than 25 years,” Snyder said.
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“I don’t think I would be overly concerned on the safety issues, but I would have real concerns about the on-time issue,” Snyder said.
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Snyder said that in some ways, the flight reduction at Newark could make flying in the Northeast a little easier for everyone this summer.“It could actually benefit the rest of the system in the Northeast, because there are fewer aircraft trying to use that airspace,” he said. “You will have fewer airplanes that they need to try and sequence. That may be a stretch, but it’s possible.”
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Snyder agreed that weather remains a major concern for summer travel, and the usual advice for dealing with that applies.“It’s no different than any other summer. If you can fly nonstop, fly nonstop − it makes your life easier. If you have a connection in a place that is potentially likely to be impacted by weather or whatever it may be, just give yourself a buffer on your connection time, and just be patient.”
Chicago O’Hare battle: United has a tactical advantage over American
May 20, 2025 – Robert Silk
Brett Snyder, an airline industry analyst who pens the Cranky Flier blog, said that a United net pickup of 10 gates on American at O’Hare could be decisive for the airline, which has already substantially tipped the balance of power at the airport in its favor.
“This could set in motion a process for United to keep getting gates while making it harder for American to continue to keep the gates it has,” Snyder said.
Airline Lounges Are a Crowded Waste of Time
May 5, 2025 – Scott Laird
This was a lengthy discussion about why I don’t care about lounges. Just read the article for details since I can’t post it all here.
Newark Flight Disruptions Still Causing Travel Chaos—Here’s How Travel Advisors Are Handling the Situation
May 5, 2025 – Jessica Puckett
Travel advisors are working to make their clients aware of the potential issues at the New Jersey hub. Clients with layovers at Newark are a particular concern, says Brett Snyder of Cranky Concierge. “We always proactively monitor flights at Cranky Concierge, but we are actively flagging Newark flights to make sure there’s a comfort level with connecting times,” Snyder says. “We are also keeping an eye open for possible reaccommodation options well in advance. Then we are quick to respond and help talk people through what’s happening if they have concerns.”
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“The Newark situation is very fluid, and it’s hard to make people feel comfortable, but we are doing our best to just answer questions and closely monitor flights,” says Snyder. “With United cutting back on flying, that should help to ease the delays in the near term, but it’s hard to know since it all depends on ATC staffing.”
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Snyder says his team is also trying to stay ahead of the situation and helping customers change flights when the need arises. “We are constantly watching out for airline travel waivers that might allow changes in advance of travel even if nothing has gone wrong yet,” he says. “When that happens, we notify our clients that they are eligible for a no-cost change if there are alternatives available that might use another hub.”
RDU loses international flight to beach getaway
May 5, 2025 – Lauren Ohnesorge
Brett Snyder of aviation tracker Cranky Flier said Avelo’s decision isn’t surprising given how the airline operates.
“Avelo is an airline that is not going to spend time letting flights develop, hoping they will get better,” he said.
“Initial bookings must have been poor, so instead of waiting around, the airline decided to scrap the flight. This is certainly a move specific to this route, but Avelo has noted leisure weakness around its network as well which is a more macro issue.
This new Phoenix flight was just named the sexiest. Here’s why
April 4, 2025 – Michael Salerno
Paris speaks for itself because “everyone wants to see Paris at least once in their lives” for its culture, city sights and museums, Snyder said.
“But beyond that, this opens up so many other destinations with a single stop from Phoenix that can’t easily be served today,” he said. “The only other long-haul flights to Europe from Phoenix are on American and British Airways to London, and Heathrow is very crowded, so it can’t serve many of the places that Air France now connects through Paris.”
Summer Perspectives: Is US Growth Slowing Down or Speeding Up?
March 27, 2025
I participated in a webinar with OAG looking at summer demand
How long will global air chaos last? Here’s what we know
March 21, 2025 – Tamara Hardingham-Gill
Brett Snyder, who runs a concierge air travel assistance service and website named Cranky Flier, describes the situation as “shocking,” noting that the closure will “absolutely’ have a ripple effect on other airports and airlines.
“It is definitely going to be a mess that needs to be untangled,” he said.
Snyder stresses that “there’s no way to know” how long the effects of the closure may last, at this stage, explaining that it depends on how long it takes for Heathrow to resume normal operations.
He added that British Airways passengers would likely see the largest effects on their travel plans, while the the outage will “probably not be that big of an issue” for those traveling on US airlines.
As the outage took place before the summer spike in travel, airlines may have more “excess capacity to help get passengers where they need to go,” he said.
What Happened to Southwest Airlines? A Deep Dive Into Its Decline
March 13, 2025 – Scott Laird
Brett Snyder, CEO of the travel assistance service Cranky Concierge, was even more succinct on his popular airline industry business blog CrankyFlier, titling a post about the announcement “The Day Southwest Died.”
“Within six months, Southwest has eliminated any positive differentiation that existed between it and the legacy carriers. It has an uphill battle now trying to fight for customers with an unremarkable value proposition,” Snyder told Fodor’s.
“The burden falls on Southwest management now to find a new value proposition that gives it a leg up,” he continued. In his blog post, he outlined how the only things that now set the airline apart from its competitors are things it lacks in comparison: first class, lounges, global partner redemptions, long-haul flights, and access to smaller regional destinations.
Southwest Will Begin Charging for Checked Bags, Ending a Popular Policy
March 11, 2025 – Niraj Chokshi
“I think we’ll remember today as the day that Southwest died,” Brett Snyder, a former industry insider who writes about aviation at the Cranky Flier website, said in a post on Tuesday. “Its entire value proposition — everything that made it different — has disappeared faster than you can say, ‘Elliott Investment Management.’”
Florida Tonight: Episode 21
March 11, 2025
I joined the program to discuss Southwest’s recent changes.
Southwest Airlines ends free baggage policy and bets on profits starting in May
March 11, 2025 – Redação Portal
Industry analyst Brett Snyder of Cranky Flier went as far as calling the announcement day “the day Southwest died,” underscoring its symbolic weight.
RDU regains international flight to popular vacation spot
March 11, 2025 – Lauren Ohnesorge
Brett Snyder of Cranky Flier said the news likely indicates Avelo is “pleased with the results on Montego Bay and Punta Cana, so it will continue to look for more flights in that same vein.”
Airline incidents and layoffs have made recent headlines. What does it mean for the industry?
March 3, 2025 – Mark Brodie
I paid another visit to The Show to talk about all sorts of things happening in the airline world.
What do historic layoffs mean for future of Southwest Airlines?
February 19, 2025 – Sydney Asher
“Southwest’s culture has always been such a secret sauce, part of the magic of the airline,” said Brett Snyder, an industry observer and founder of the Cranky Flier LLC. Snyder said that while the layoffs may lower costs in the short term, the long-term implications for that company culture could be just as impactful.
The cuts make Southwest — one of the first low-cost carriers, with a distinctive model that included open seating, no cancellation fees and the “bags fly free” policy — more like other airlines, Snyder suggested.
“It’s not all bad,” he said. “But laying people off, just like the other airlines, it takes some of that shine off and makes it less attractive to people that are looking to work in a place.”
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Snyder pointed to activist investor Elliott, which nearly drove Southwest to a proxy fight last year. Eventually an agreement was reached as Southwest overhauled its board, adding five of Elliott’s nominees. Former CEO and board chairman Gary Kelly was also pushed to step down earlier than anticipated.
“No question this is a decision that gets discussed at the board,” Snyder said about the layoffs. “Presumably, Elliott is channeling its desires through the board members that it put up to be on that board.”
Airline expert says to look at the statistics if you’re nervous about flying with recent crashes
February 17, 2025 – McKenzie Jarrell
“It’s almost uplifting when you hear that, at least so far, everyone has survived,” said Brett Snyder, an Airline Industry Expert.
“I mean, you’re at the point in the flight where everyone should be seat belted, right? You’re almost landing here,” he said. “And the aircraft largely stayed intact, and it didn’t catch on fire. There was nothing there. It just would have been, you know, disorienting and very confusing for people as all of a sudden, they’re upside down.”
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“You can see just how many flights there are every day. You can count on one hand the number of fatal accidents there have been in the last decade in the U.S. and, you know, you can look at those statistics and you can compare it to things like driving a car or whatever it may be,” he explained. “And for some people, that will really put it into perspective.”
How the Airbus A321XLR is changing the air map of the world
February 13, 2025 – Edward Russell
“The airplane likely won’t have the range to do some of the routes people have hoped to see, like East Coast to Rome,” said Brett Snyder, president of the travel assistance service Cranky Concierge and author of the Cranky Flier blog. “But it is enabling flying including Dublin to Nashville and Indianapolis. Over time, there will be more opportunity to stretch and try new things.”
18 Airlines Using Apple AirTag Data to Find Lost Luggage
February 12, 2025 – Jessica Puckett
“This is a win for customers,” says Brett Snyder, president of airline travel assistance firm Cranky Concierge. “Before, customers were frustrated because they could see where their bags were, but it wasn’t easy to get the airline to use the same data to recover them. Now with airlines adopting usage of this, it makes it easier to get reunited with a lost bag.”
Breeze Airways navigates headwinds, turns first quarterly profit
January 23, 2025 – Robert Silk
Aviation analyst Brett Snyder, who pens the Cranky Flier blog, noted that Neeleman has a strong history of founding airlines, including JetBlue, and has been successful at raising funds, but investors will lose patience if losses continue.
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“This game is all about cash, and you never know when the spigot gets cut off if you can’t make it work,” Snyder said.
7 new airline routes to plan a trip around this year
January 23, 2025 – Edward Russell
It’s so unique in that getting to Greenland was remarkably difficult for Americans previously, having to fly via Europe. This makes it accessible for the first time,” said @crankyflier.com.
RDU rolls out new way to skip long TSA lines
January 22, 2025 – Lauren Ohnesorge
Brett Snyder of Cranky Flier said he’s not surprised to see the new offering at RDU. “It needs to convince travelers that it’s worth the price, so anything that speeds up and simplifies the process can only help,” he said.
RDU flights axed after airline suspends routes
December 16, 2024 – Lauren Ohnesorge
“It goes into a ton of new markets and then it culls the ones that don’t make money quickly,” said Brett Snyder of Cranky Flier. “It just keeps trying new markets and hoping that some of the ones it tries will perform well enough to stick around.”
‘Will Fares Increase?’ We Answer the Top Questions About the Spirit Airlines Bankruptcy
November 19, 2024 – Scott Laird
Brett Snyder, author of the popular industry blog Crankyflier told Fodor’s the main issue was one of distraction: “Spirit has seen massive revenue declines from the heady pre-pandemic days. It got distracted while JetBlue was trying to buy the airline, and it failed to prepare for the possibility that the deal wouldn’t go through. Once the deal was blocked by the courts, Spirit was left scrambling to create a functioning business model before its debt came due.”
Airline plots RDU expansion even as it snubs Triangle for crew base
November 15, 2024 – Lauren Ohnesorge
“Whether RDU will eventually join the list depends on multiple factors. Brett Snyder of Cranky Flier said Breeze is an exception in an industry currently slow on growth. Breeze has yet to make money and it is trying hard to find something that works,” he told TBJ. “Maybe RDU is an option, but Florida is historically more reliable for leisure traffic.”
Why flights to Europe are the cheapest they’ve been in years
November 3, 2024 – Leslie Josephs
“It is brutal to fill seats during these times of year,” said Brett Snyder, who writes the Cranky Flier travel industry site.
The Latest Hurricane Milton Travel Updates
October 8, 2024 – Jessica Puckett
Although it’s possible to cancel or reschedule flights, travelers who want to change destinations for this week might be face additional challenges. “I’m afraid it’s pretty late for people to pivot at this point,” says Brett Snyder, president of airline assistance firm Cranky Concierge. “The airlines do have flexibility for people who are traveling around the hurricane to most Florida airports. If people want to delay flights, they can do that with no charge. But if they want to completely change a destination, then they’ll be able to do so only by paying a fare difference.”
Southwest Air’s lackluster profit fuels pressure to revamp business model
September 25, 2024 – Rajesh Kumar Singh
Brett Snyder, an airline analyst, suggests that Southwest’s problems stem from a failure to plan for the future when its business was still humming.
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Southwest’s challenges highlight the need for the airline to identify and capitalize on new growth opportunities beyond its existing fleet and network, Snyder added.“The airline was going to run out of traditional growth opportunities with its existing fleet and network,” he said.
“One of the failings was to really look more forward as opposed to living in the present.”
With Alaska’s acquisition complete, Hawaiian Airlines’ outlook brightens
September 20, 2024 – Robert Silk
Airline industry analyst Brett Snyder, who pens the Cranky Flier blog, said the merger won’t broadly impact the competitive landscape of the U.S. airline industry, but that Hawaii-based flyers will experience immediate benefits.
Instead of having to rely on separate airlines — Hawaiian to get them from the Islands to the U.S. mainland and another carrier for most destinations within the U.S. — Hawaiians will have broad access to the continental U.S. with the combined Alaska-Hawaiian network.
In the long run, Snyder said he expects Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Hawaiian’s fleet of widebody aircraft to result in the Alaska brand launching its first transoceanic service from its home base in Seattle.
“I would be shocked if we didn’t see some long-haul flying from Seattle, where they’ve pushed the limits of what you can do with short-haul flying,” he said.
Has the LUV run out for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines?
August 22, 2024 – Alexandra Skores
Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Flier who writes a weekly aviation blog and has worked at
America West and United Airlines, said Southwest leaders need to spend time answering a few key
questions: “‘How do we think about our product to appeal to more people? Do we need to make
changes to things?’ I think the Southwest of the last 20 years just didn’t do that.”
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“I think Gary (Kelly) did a real disservice by just deflecting or genuflecting to Herb and Colleen as
these almost Godlike creatures in the origins of the company and not trying to evolve it,” Snyder
said. “You can stay true and still make a lot of change. Times change. The world changes. What
people want changes.”Snyder said the operational changes the airline has announced will help financially.
“This should improve revenue, but it really depends on how it’s implemented,” Snyder said. “It
may not be enough for the airline’s activist investor, which seems more interested in short-term
revenue hits that will spike the stock price than anything more sensible like what Southwest is
doing.”
Frontier Airlines has cut six nonstop routes from Cleveland Hopkins this month
August 19, 2024 – Susan Glaser
“All airlines are getting pretty good at figuring out how to move capacity up and down depending on demand,” said industry observer Brett Snyder, who writes about airlines at CrankyFlier.com.
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Snyder said Frontier’s end-of-summer reductions are just part of the airline’s way of doing business.“Their general plan is to add a blizzard of new routes, hope that some of them work and get rid of the rest,” said Snyder. “There will never be a time where they add a bunch of routes and they all stick. That’s not how they work.”
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Snyder said he expects Frontier will continue to experiment in Cleveland.“When you open a crew base, you don’t do that lightly,” he said. “They have a vision that Cleveland will work. We’ll see them try other routes.”
US airlines jump on the premium-seat bandwagon
July 31, 2024 – Rajesh Kumar Singh
Similarly, JetBlue’s (JBLU.O), opens new tab earnings are languishing despite its premium offerings. Brett Snyder, an airline analyst who runs the popular industry blog Cranky Flier, attributed it to the New York-based carrier’s operational challenges.
On Tuesday, JetBlue said operational reliability is a top priority for its customers and an essential element of the company’s strategy to return to sustained profitability.
“If airlines think they can get away with running a poor operation, they’re mistaken,” Snyder said.
Bare-bones Spirit Airlines will reinvent itself with premium perks
July 30, 2024 – Hannah Sampson and Edward Russell
Spirit remains a budget airline even with the changes, said Brett Snyder, who runs the air travel blog Cranky Flier and the travel planning company Cranky Concierge. The carrier is not, for example, making any changes to its core offering, which includes some of the tightest legroom of any U.S. airline.
“Spirit is just trying to make it easier for people to fly them,” Snyder said.
Why Travelers Should Start Preparing for the Next Airline Scheduling Meltdown
July 26, 2024 – Jessica Puckett
“These can happen for a variety of reasons,” says Brett Snyder, president of travel assistance firm Cranky Concierge. “Usually there is some trigger, poor weather in the case of Southwest in 2022 and the CrowdStrike faulty update for Delta. Then, when things get out of sorts too quickly, systems can fall behind and it makes it hard to recover.”
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Although customer service agents might not bite, flying out on your own dime and asking for compensation later is still a viable option. “Ultimately, the best way out is to see if you can just buy a ticket on another airline, if you have the means to do it,” Snyder says. “With any luck, they’ll reimburse you after the fact. You can also just take advantage of waivers and stay a couple extra days until the mess is over.”
Southwest Airlines plans to start assigning seats, breaking with a 50-year tradition
July 25, 2024 – David Koenig
“It’s certainly one of the things that anger people even if it doesn’t have a material impact on them,” said Brett Snyder, a travel agent and author of the Cranky Flier blog. “In some cases those are people who have absolutely legitimate reasons. In other cases, it’s the ‘Jetway Jesus’ phenomenon.”
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Snyder doubts that fans of open seating will abandon Southwest.“Those people will still fly Southwest,” he said. “They may grumble about it, but there’s no one else they can go to that has open seating.”
PIT’s Ultra Low-Cost Carriers Expand Into Non-Leisure Markets
July 15, 2024 – Evan Dougherty
“There’s just too much capacity in Florida and Las Vegas… they can’t add flights and make more money,” added Brett Snyder, founder of the industry site Cranky Flier.
“That means looking for places where fares are higher but there’s still enough passenger demand fill their aircraft because they have big airplanes with a lot of seats.”
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In April, Frontier announced it was moving excess capacity out of leisure markets with a new focus on high-fare, underserved routes. “And so that’s where you look for these sweet spots, which are still large enough, but have higher fares,” Snyder said. “You could look at any mid-continent hub or former hub as a place that might create an opportunity for them.”
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“It’s not that traditional group that’s going to see Mickey Mouse or going to gamble away their life savings,” Snyder said. “It’s a shift from a traditional pure leisure type of market to one that has a lot more visiting-friends-and-relatives; bigger cities with more people that go back and forth. Pittsburgh is on that list of places that has received more service.”
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Snyder said while ULCCs aren’t targeting business travelers, amenities and perks that come with new bundled fares make it easier for business fliers to choose ULCCs, especially if there are nonstop flight choices available.
American Walks Back Confusing Plan That Impacted AAdvantage Miles
May 30, 2024 – Scott Laird
Brett Snyder, author of the popular travel industry blog Crankyflier, and CEO of the travel assistance service Cranky Concierge, was a vocal critic of the scheme and welcomed the news that the airline planned to roll it back, but noted that the airline lost a lot of goodwill in the process. “It’s encouraging that American has finally realized the mistakes it has made over the last year and a half, but there is significant damage done. This can’t be unwound quickly.”
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Snyder explains, “[American] has relationships burned with travel agencies, corporate clients, airline partners. The sales team has been decimated, and can’t be built back up easily. It will take time.”
Want a free upgrade to first class? The only hack is your wallet. | Cruising Altitude
May 29, 2024 – Zach Wichter
“It’s just not going to happen,” Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier and owner of the travel agency Cranky Concierge, told me.
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First class fares used to be so high that people wouldn’t buy them, and instead you just had massive numbers of elite upgrades and all different sorts of people sitting up there that weren’t paying for it, they were just getting it as a perk,” Snyder said. “At some point the airlines realized, if we start pricing this as a fare upsell, we can get people to actually pay for these seats. Now you have a lot fewer seats that are available for an upgrade because people are buying.”
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“If people had too much ability to upgrade travelers at the gate (for free) or whatever it was, that was likely something that was leaving money on the table for them,” Snyder said.
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“You can also use miles to upgrade, even if you don’t have status,” Snyder said. In addition to cash upgrades, airlines often let you redeem miles for buy-ups to premium cabins.
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“You can always pay for extra legroom seating, but depending on the airline, that can be a very modest upsell,” Snyder said.
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“Don’t expect that you’re going to be able to game the system and find this magical loophole. It’s just not going to happen. So figure out what you’re OK with and make sure you have that arrangement before you get to the airport,” Snyder said. “If you’re booking something you absolutely cannot tolerate – you’re 7 feet tall and book coach on Spirit, don’t do that.”
A new Frontier? Airline adds bundled fare options
May 27, 2024 – Robert Silk
Airline industry analyst Brett Snyder, who writes the Cranky Flier blog, said that Frontier’s new merchandising approach is likely to bring in additional customers.
“Making it easier to book should help fill seats,” he said. Less clear, he said, is if it helps them make more money. “It depends a lot on how they end up pricing everything.”
Snyder also said that Frontier will have to improve its reputation. Among other concerns, the carrier had the lowest on-time performance among the 10 largest U.S. airlines last year.
“They need to get operational integrity. They need to stop getting themselves in the news for whatever bad reason. Then they may change their reputation over time,” he said.
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Snyder said it’s noteworthy that Spirit, which until March had been distracted by its failed attempt to merge with JetBlue, has acted much slower than Frontier.“Frontier is throwing everything at the wall,” he said. “Spirit is just saying, ‘Wait.’”
Brett Snyder – Founder, Cranky Flier LLC, Season 2, Episode 9
May 21, 2024 – Courtney Miller and Gueric Dechavanne
A long podcast discussion about my history but also the current state of the industry.
U.S. travelers are hungry for international travel. These stocks will likely benefit.
May 20, 2024 – Claudia Assis
This summer, U.S. airlines are also well staffed, said Brett Snyder, president of the Cranky Flier website.
A pilot shortage, which had been a continuing problem exacerbated by the pandemic, is not a big issue for the airlines anymore, Snyder said.
Airlines are staffed well, and “in terms of operations there’s a good chance airlines will have a good summer,” he said.
That’s barring technical issues, severe weather, and air-traffic control issues, he said.
For consumers, even though domestic fares have come down, fares will still be “pretty high” this summer, Snyder said.
“Airlines are still trying to find that optimal place to be,” and fly as many people as possible for a good profitable fare, but not so high that they may scare off potential travelers.
What Happens If You Miss Your Connecting Flight?
April 23, 2024 – Jessica Puckett
“Airlines will try to rebook travelers automatically, but it doesn’t always work,” says Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge, an airline assistance firm. “If there are no obvious flights available, or if the travel involves multiple airlines, it can be much harder for the airlines to auto-rebook people. And even if they do auto-rebook, it may not be an option that’s acceptable to the traveler.”
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“Try everything,” Snyder says. “Get on the phone with reservations, stand in line at a desk to see an agent, send a tweet, try chat. Whatever options the airline gives, the traveler should take advantage and use the first one that comes available.”
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“If a travel agent has made the booking in their system, they can often just put the travelers on the next connecting flight if they miss it,” Snyder says. “It saves a great deal of hassle. Even if that can’t be done in the system, agents can be watching and helping while the traveler is stuck in the air or in an airport. It helps take the pressure off, and it can end up getting the problem solved earlier.”
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“There is no fixed answer,” says Snyder. “It depends on the airport and terminal configuration. If someone is flying in the morning via a smaller airport, they might not need more than half an hour. But if it’s an inbound international flight landing at JFK that requires changing terminals, then two hours might make sense.”
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“There are more people traveling and especially during the summer, there is a higher chance of thunderstorms that can disrupt travel more,” Snyder says. “But it really is up to individual preference.”
Frontier Airlines cancels new Cleveland to Jamaica route — just one month after it started
April 16, 2024 – Susan Glaser
Industry observer Brett Snyder said Frontier and other low-cost airlines don’t have a business model that allows new routes to develop over time.
“They have to earn their keep or they’re gone,” said Snyder, who follows the industry at CrankyFlier.com. “They don’t give them time to develop. They either work or they don’t.”
Some American Airlines Flyers Won’t Earn Miles for Flights Starting Next Month
April 15, 2024 – Scott Laird
Brett Snyder, author of the popular travel industry blog Crankyflier, and CEO of the travel assistance service Cranky Concierge—a travel agency that could be affected by American’s changes if it is not designated as “preferred” by the end of April—is frustrated by the moves.
“This move just adds more confusion for travelers who continue to try to and navigate American’s frequent changes. The biggest impact will likely be on business travelers who may not have a choice of where to book depending upon company policy. The fact that American still hasn’t told everyone who is or is not preferred adds more to the confusion.”
Leisure travelers who do have a choice of booking channel will also be affected, say Snyder, particularly because American hasn’t yet released the list of preferred agencies, and agencies that are not preferred may not disclose that to travelers during the booking process.
The award for ‘sexiest new route’ of the year goes to …
April 4, 2024 – Ben Mutzabaugh
A write-up about the 2024 Cranky Network Awards.
This Airline is Now Charging Peak and Off-Peak Checked Luggage Fees. Will Others Follow?
April 3, 2024 – Jessica Puckett
Some airlines use a sliding scale of fees for extra charges like seat selection and pricing for award trips using frequent flier miles—the more in-demand the route or travel window, the higher the cost for these services. “Some of the ultra low-cost carriers vary their bag fees as well, but it’s not rigidly spelled out in the same way,” says Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge, a firm that provides travel planning and airline assistance.
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“I would never be surprised to see an airline adopt a new method of charging fees that would allow it to increase revenues,” says Snyder. “This plan allows JetBlue to keep bag fees at the same low level as other airlines during off-peak times. But during peak times, it can charge more and make more money since it knows people are more likely to have to travel anyway.”
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If travelers want to avoid the sliding scale of fees, there are a few key points to pay attention to in JetBlue’s new policy. “There is a discount for booking checked bags in advance instead of waiting to do it until the last minute,” Snyder says. Under the new rules, passengers can save up to $10 if they pay for a checked bag more than 24 hours before departure (essentially, before check-in opens). “If someone has to check a bag, they should do it in advance. Otherwise, the only way to avoid this is by not checking a bag. That might mean stuffing everything into a carry-on, or looking into shipping services that send you baggage ahead of you,” Snyder says.
United’s Latest Move Probably Means Higher Airfares
April 3, 2024 – Scott Laird
This could ultimately translate into higher fares if travel demand remains steady. Brett Snyder, author of the popular airline industry business blog Crankyflier, notes, “With fewer airplanes coming, airlines will have fewer seats to sell and that usually means higher fares.” Snyder, who is also CEO of the travel planning service Cranky Concierge, further explains that while the environment is good for higher fares, he hasn’t seen a marked increase—yet.
I will fight for overhead space on a plane, but I shouldn’t have to | Cruising Altitude
March 27, 2024 – Zach Wichter
“Sometimes you’ll hear an agent blame the FAA, but that’s not true,” said Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier and owner of the travel agency Cranky Concierge.
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“We initially got there when checked bags were still free, but people were primarily concerned that their checked bag would be lost,” Snyder said. “When (airlines) started charging for checked bags, then it became even more important for people, because people don’t want to pay for it.”
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Snyder said airlines can encourage or require passengers to gate-check their bags but acknowledged that sometimes backfires, especially if they start forcing checks before the overhead bins are full.And, of course, airlines can charge for overhead bin access, which is unpopular with passengers, but it does smooth things along at the boarding door.
“You have airlines like Spirit and Frontier, they charge you more to carry-on than to check a bag,” Snyder said. “You don’t see the same kind of mad dash that you see on other airlines to get on board just so you can claim your bin space.”
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For Snyder, the best way to avoid the stress is to just determine not to rely on the bins at all.“When you travel without a carry-on bag, it is remarkably freeing. You, all of a sudden, don’t care when you board if you have an assigned seat,” he said.
With so many flights, customers find low fares to Orlando, Las Vegas. Will it last?
March 13, 2024 – Sean Cudahy
The thing is, adding more and more flights to the likes of Orlando and Vegas has traditionally worked, according to Brett Snyder, analyst and president of the Cranky Flier aviation site and the Cranky Concierge travel service.
“Demand is strong, historically, to Orlando. And they figure, ‘Let’s put more in here and see what happens,’” Snyder explained.
But, more recently?
“It did not go well,” he said. “Effectively, they put too much capacity in and they were scrambling to try to figure out how to fill those seats.”
In a recent analysis, Snyder noted just how much base fares to Orlando dropped in late 2023 — as much as 20% on some carriers like Frontier Airlines.
“Fares going down — that’s good news for consumers,” Snyder said. “But it’s not sustainable for the airlines, so now they’re pulling it all back.”
DOT criticized for approach to policing U.S.-Mexico airline joint ventures
March 11, 2024 – Robby Silk
Ozores, along with Brett Snyder, author of the Cranky Flier blog, agreed that the Allegiant-Viva Aerobus joint venture would have clear consumer benefits: Allegiant doesn’t fly to Mexico, so the partnership wouldn’t eliminate them as competitors on any route. And by combining service, the carriers could deploy their combined fleet to provide low-cost alternatives to larger competitors.
…Still, there would be some impact. Snyder cited Aeromexico’s service between Boston and Mexico City, set to launch March 21, as an example of a route that could be hurt if the DOT ends the Delta-Aeromexico joint venture. The Mexican carrier would rely heavily on Delta, which has a Boston hub, to sell that flight. Absent the venture’s profit-sharing, Delta would have less incentive to do so, even if it continues codesharing on the route.
“I think they’re really just trying to push Mexico to live up to their promises,” Snyder said of the DOT. “But I don’t think Mexico will give in.”
Spirit Airlines on retreat at Cleveland Hopkins, cutting three nonstops including Las Vegas
March 7, 2024 – Susan Glaser
In the wake of the failed merger, industry observer Brett Snyder said Spirit needs to get back to basics.
“They have to show they can make money again,” said Snyder, who follows the industry at crankyflier.com. He noted that Spirit hasn’t posted a profit since before the pandemic.
JetBlue resets with new CEO, industry veterans to run airline on time, and profitably
February 12, 2024 – Leslie Josephs
“We’ve been given the appetizer but the main course isn’t until investor day,” said Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge travel assistance company and the Cranky Flier site. “They’re hiring the right people. I am cautiously optimistic for the first time in years.”
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Snyder said that JetBlue will need to take a long, hard look at its network to cut what isn’t working, and to make hard decisions, like putting more slack in the system to improve the operation.
Lower fares, fewer flights: How the closure of United’s hub in Cleveland has altered air travel over 10 years
February 8, 2024 – Susan Glaser
“The beauty of a hub is that it brings demand in from other places,” said Brett Snyder, who follows the airline industry at crankyflier.com. “There are more destinations and more flights than a city could support on its own.”
How right-wing influencers turned airplanes and airports into culture war battlegrounds
January 28, 2024 – David Ingram
Brett Snyder, who has been writing about the airline business since 2006 and who runs the website Cranky Flier, said that he’s seen no connection between diversity efforts and safety.
“Even someone with basic knowledge of airline operations and safety would know that there’s no data to support this,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s an affront to the people who are being brought into this industry and making them feel like they don’t belong.”
Snyder said the industry is used to being under a harsh media spotlight, which creates an opportunity for anyone who’s pushing an agenda.
“Airlines are always in the news, and people love talking about airlines,” he said. “Anyone who is trying to seize on an anti-diversity message would probably do the same thing as anyone else and say, ‘Where are the eyeballs?’”
What’s the Difference Between Business Class and First Class?
January 25, 2024 – Hannah Towey
At the end of the day, travelers seeking an elevated flight experience can’t go wrong with either choice. According to airline industry expert Brett Snyder, “the real difference between business and first class these days is prestige and exclusivity.”
“Both cabins will almost certainly have flat beds, and even business class cabins are now starting to receive suites with doors on some airlines. First class will often come with things like special lounge access on the ground, transfers direct to the airplane, and upgraded meals and drinks,” he tells Traveler. “The vast majority of people will be exceedingly happy with business class, but some just want that higher level of exclusivity because they can.”
Will Travelers Suffer Because of the Ruling Against the Spirit-JetBlue Merger?
January 17, 2024 – Scott Laird
Brett Snyder, author of the popular aviation business blog The Cranky Flier and CEO of the air travel assistance service Cranky Concierge, says the outlook for both carriers is now uncertain. “It’s unclear what this means in the long run. If Spirit stays independent, it will provide lower fares than the combined entity would have, but the future is somewhat cloudy,” he said.
He went on to note that, “Spirit faces a real challenge just to continue operating. Its financial results have been terrible. It will now have to make serious changes to create a profitable airline before it runs out of money.” Snyder also says that “JetBlue can no longer rely on buying Spirit as a strategy—it has to create one that actually works based on what it has.”
Running late for your flight? Don’t panic. Here’s what to do. | Cruising Altitude
January 3, 2024 – Zach Wichter
“The best thing to do is find your options and help feed these people that information,” Brett Snyder, author of the Cranky Flier blog and owner of the Cranky Concierge travel agency, told me. “If you know the rules and you know what has availability and you can spoon feed that to them, they love it.”
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“Pick an airport that has another airport nearby. Say Austin – you’re going to Austin and they can get you to San Antonio,” Snyder said. “Generally, they’ll have a radius of how far they’re willing to reaccommodate you.”
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According to Snyder, if you have any shot of making your flight, it’s usually best to act like you’re going to get there and deal with it at the airport if you don’t because airport employees are typically best positioned to help with close-in changes.However, Snyder said, if your plans change or missing the flight makes the trip not worth taking, you should cancel so you’re not marked as a no-show, which will usually mean forfeiting the value of your ticket.
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Snyder also said that as much as airlines may want to help, the options can be limited, especially during busy travel periods.
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Exact policies vary by airline, but you shouldn’t necessarily expect to be rebooked for free. Snyder pointed out that being proactive and ponying up can help the situation get resolved more quickly.“Most airlines, the big guys –domestic at least – you can try to do a same-day confirmed change or a same-day standby for a flat fee,” he said.
“If you know you’re going to miss a flight, don’t be cheap. If there’s an option available to you, take it because it may not be available to you when you get to the airport,” Snyder said.
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In that case, or any time an airline operational issue disrupts your travel, carriers will still be required to get you where you planned to go. Snyder warned thatif you miss a connection and then there’s no reasonable way to get to your final destination, you could wind up going home and getting a refund instead.