APEX Editor's Blog

Once American and US Airways combine to produce the “new American”, inflight product is set to take on an unprecedented eminence as a distinguishing competitive factor among the country’s big three carriers. Current US Airways CEO and future chief of the merged American Doug Parker stressed the new paradigm during the recent Phoenix Sky Harbor [...]

Part of IATA’s charter – issued more than 60 years ago when the agency was founded – is to push forward with industry standards that ensure safe and efficient air travel. The association’s latest effort in that endeavour is its highly scrutinised New Distribution Capability (NDC), a complex undertaking that has garnered both praise and [...]

PHOENIX: Hawaiian Airlines has undertaken a study to determine what inflight entertainment solution it will offer on its ageing Boeing 767 widebodies. Even though the Honolulu-based carrier’s 767s are being replaced by new flagship A330 widebodies – which feature Panasonic Avionics’ eX2 inflight entertainment system – Hawaiian still intends to operate six to eight of [...]

Airlines that largely rely on slick advertising campaigns to convince travellers that their product is better than the next guy should prepare to up their game. The first and only travel site to rank billions of flights and connections worldwide based on what it calls “happiness factors” – such as seat size, entertainment, Wi-Fi, PED [...]

PHOENIX: American Airlines believes the US Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) move to delay lifting the ban prohibiting small knives on aircraft allows the agency to reverse course and seek proper feedback regarding changes on its barred items list. TSA’s original plan to lift the ban on 6cm (2.36in) knives in carry-on bags drew sharp criticism [...]

After unravelling their product offerings for the last few years to combat volatile fuel prices and build steady flows of ancillary revenues, many airlines are going back to the future by rebundling offerings in an effort to simplify the booking process for customers who have grown frustrated at having to navigate through the numerous add-ons [...]

PHOENIX: As airlines get more creative in driving down seat mile costs, customers could find themselves packed even more tightly on aircraft. Noting that airlines’ preferences have moved towards larger-gauge aircraft, Airbus Americas CEO Barry Eccleston told attendees at the Phoenix International Aviation Symposium today that the A321 narrowbody is rapidly becoming the airframer’s most [...]

PHOENIX: IATA’s effort to simplify the complex web of product distribution is failing to gain a ringing endorsement from airlines as sentiment grows that there is no single solution for carriers to offer more personalised products to customers as their merchandising programmes grow more sophisticated. Airlines are not openly throwing their support behind the association’s [...]

PHOENIX: US Airways admits it lags behind its peers in mobile technology, but aims to close that gap in the near future with the launch of a new mobile phone application for customers. The app would put the carrier on par with it US legacy airline rivals American, Delta and United who all presently offer [...]

PHOENIX: US Airways could receive a small kickback from the sale of ‘red flower’ organic wellness products featured in the new amenity kit available for customers travelling in the carrier’s Envoy international business class beginning in July. Each kit will feature a romance card containing a code that passengers can use on the red flower [...]