December 9, 2020

Thank you to this week’s Cranky Daily presenting sponsor, The Airchive.

Delta Eliminates International Change Fees, United Matches

Delta Air Lines is the latest U.S. airline to eliminate change fees on all non-basic economy itineraries for international flights originating in North America, announcing on Wednesday that it would end the practice effective immediately.

After Delta’s announcement this morning, United, not wanting to be left out, said in a statement that it would be matching its two chief rivals in eliminating international change fees. American eliminated change fees on all tickets originating in both North and South America last month, and it definitely wants you to remember that it went first.

In true obnoxious airline fashion, each airline’s rule is slightly different from the others. American’s applies to any non-basic ticket originating anywhere in the Americas, Delta’s applies to any non-basic ticket originating only in North America, and United’s applies to any non-basic ticket purchased in the U.S. regardless of origin.

Additionally, both Delta and United have extended their current waiver of fee-free changes on all tickets purchased anywhere in the world through March 31. This waiver has been in place since the start of the pandemic, and includes all domestic and international tickets, including basic economy.  If you understood all of that, congratulations. You may be the only one.


JetBlue Announces 2021 Budget Cuts

With revenue not likely to return to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon, JetBlue has announced plans to cut costs next year in order to keep the airline on solid financial standing.

JetBlue restated its commitment to no furloughs of non-union employees through September of 2021, but it made no such promises for unionized employees, specifically its pilots and flight attendants. 

The airline also cut Labor Day from its 2021 budget as a paid holiday, and you’ve gotta hope they at least see the irony in cutting Labor Day and not some other holiday. JetBlue is also cutting its paid parental leave program, instead asking employees who have children to “just find an empty seat somewhere in the back of the plane and strap ‘em in.’


South African Government Asks SAA Employees to Accept Less Money

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South Africa’s Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has requested South African Airways employees accept less salary than the airline and government had previously agreed upon. This is sure to end well for everyone involved.

The DPE had agreed to pay eight months worth of salary to employees in the rescue plan approved by the South African bankruptcy courts, but DPE is now requesting to make just three months worth of payments. In a shocking development, SAA’s pilots union said “thanks, but no thanks.”

The government sent a $99 million payment to the airline last week as a part of its rescue plan. The country’s Finance Minster has expressed his concern over the rescue process and is expected to be the person pushing for the reduced payments. SAA administrators have told the government that they will keep the airline from flying if the payments are not made on-time. This would be a change from the usual protocol in which the airline keeps itself from flying through impressive ineptitude.


Air Canada Launches Biometric Boarding

Air Canada has become the first Canadian airline to offer biometric boarding, as it begins a program today in San Francisco.

The airline is offering the chance to board with just your face for its flights from San Francisco to the five Canadian gateways it normally serves from the airport. Air Canada is promoting the new service as an additional COVID-friendly part of its travel journey, potentially eliminating another touchpoint between passengers and airline employees.

Passengers who do not want to utilize the option because they have read 1984 or hate the way their hair looks in biometric scanners can visit the Air Canada agent working the flight, apologize profusely, and politely ask to board the old-fashioned way.


Wizz Air Abu Dhabi Ready to Take Flight

Wizz Air’s latest subsidiary, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, is set to begin operating next month, with its first day in service scheduled for January 15 after several delays.

The Hungarian-based LCC will see its newest operation fly to 11 destinations from Abu Dhabi to start:

  • Alexandria, Egypt (ALY)
  • Athens (ATH)
  • Bucharest (OTP)
  • Budapest (BUD)
  • Katowice, Poland (KTW)
  • Larnaca, Cyprus (LCA)
  • Odessa, Ukraine (ODS)
  • Skopje, Macedonia (SKP)
  • Sofia, Bulgaria (SOF)
  • Yerevan, Armenia (EVN)

To support its new operation, the airline will base two sparkling new A321neo aircraft at AUH, with four more planes joining them in the next six months.


Airline Potpourri

  • Air Canada is suspending service from its Toronto/Pearson hub to Sydney.  No, not that onethis one.
  • Delta is eliminating reduced hours for its hourly employees. Some employees return to their full-time hours as soon as today with the entire hourly workforce expected back full-time by January 1.
  • flyDubai is launching twice-weekly service to Grozny, Chechnya (GRV) beginning December 17.
  • GullivAir, which maybe you’ve heard of…but probably not…has applied to fly from Bulgaria to the United States.
  • HOP! is reinventing itself as an all-Embraer carrier with the airline reintegrating itself into Air France as a typical regional feeder carrier. It plans to remove the exclamation point from its logo and make it a cigarette sticking out of the O in honor of this new arrangement.
  • LaudaMotion Executive — the German charter airline, not the former Ryanair subsidiary — has changed its name to the very German SPARFELL Luftfahrt GmbH.
  • Royal Air Maroc is adding flights from three gateways in Morocco to Lyon, Marseille, Madrid, Milan, Brussels, and London/Heathrow.
  • Thai is suspending service to Brisbane and Perth indefinitely. It is also closing its Brisbane office on December 18 and laying off all of its Brisbane-based staff.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I looked down at the far end of the museum hall and I saw my ex. I was too nervous to go say hello. There was just way too much history between us.