{"id":7043933,"date":"2026-08-22T14:21:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T14:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/delta-wins-in-court-aa-brings-back-screentime-cranky-flier\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T14:21:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T14:21:42","slug":"delta-wins-in-court-aa-brings-back-screentime-cranky-flier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7043933","title":{"rendered":"Delta Wins in Court, AA Brings Back Screentime \u2013 Cranky Flier"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n I was solo on the podcast again this week, but instead of a guest host, I interviewed Southwest COO Andrew Watterson. Yes, he was on the show earlier this year, but a lot has happened since then. Tune in to hear about how the airline is going to fix its on-time problem, what the plans are with the MAX 7, and a little talk about Andrew\u2019s recent change in responsibilities.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n Listen on Spotify<\/a>
\n \u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0
\n Listen on Apple Podcasts<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

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Delta and Aeromexico Win in Court<\/h3>\n

Delta and its joint venture partner Aeromexico scored a big win in court<\/a> Thursday when the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the two carriers to continue their JV \u2014 rather than close up shop. This ruling comes more than two years after the DOT ordered the two airlines to end collaborating on scheduling, capacity, pricing, and how many tons of Mexican avocados can be used in guacamole in the United States annually.<\/p>\n

In its ruling, the court said the DOT \u201cdid not reasonably explain why it conducted a far more limited market analysis in this case \u200bthan it has always done in the past or why it imposed a requirement for approval of the joint venture that it did not require of similar joint ventures it approved in Japan.\u201d The resounding victory for Delta in federal court came in \u2014 we\u2019ll give you one guess \u2014 Atlanta, and the carrier said that the ruling would allow for the JV to continue to \u201cprovide(d) greater choice, more seamless travel, and increased connectivity for consumers while supporting U.S. jobs and economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government isn\u2019t done, however. The DOT said it will consider all legal options available at its disposal to prove illegal cooperation, including seizing the contents of Delta\u2019s secret (though not to us) Biscoff Tunnel in the Atlanta airport which rumors suggest is also holding vats of Jarritos.<\/p>\n

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Oh Say Can You See on the Back of the Seat In Front of You?<\/h3>\n

American Airlines is bringing back seatback screens<\/a> on the majority of its narrowbody fleet, which, coupled with Starlink Wi-Fi , means American is getting closer to replicating the living room setup at 30,000 feet.<\/p>\n

The screens will have what AA calls \u201cindustry-leading screen sizes,\u201d along with 4K technology, expanded content and partnership, USB-C charging ports, and bluetooth connectivity. So in other words, American will join Delta and United in 2022. If you\u2019ve already booked your travel on AA, don\u2019t hold your breath. Installation will begin in 2028 on newly delivered narrowbody aircraft. The entire fleet including a retrofit of the current aircraft in the fleet isn\u2019t expected until next decade.<\/p>\n

Now, AA\u2019s 140 widebody aircraft already feature seatback screens as do its A321XLRs. The narrowbody reversal comes 12 years after the airline doubled-down on the idea that the screens aren\u2019t worth the cost during the post-US Airways merger period. We\u2019ll see what AA\u2019s move is 12 years now \u2014 perhaps it\u2019ll be to remove those screens\u2026 again.<\/p>\n

For more on this, visit this week\u2019s post on Cranky Flier<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Alaska Adds Athens and Paris<\/h3>\n

Alaska Airlines continues to mold its image into that of a global carrier, as it announced two new European destinations<\/a> from its Seattle home. This May, Alaska will begin flying to both Athens and Paris\/CDG from SEA, operating 5x weekly to Paris and 3x weekly to Athens. Both flights will be operated on Hawaiian\u2019s<\/del> Alaska\u2019s B787-9 Dreamliners.<\/p>\n

Prior to last year, the Hawaiian islands were as far as Alaska had strayed from North America, but that has changed in a big way. These two flights will join London\/LHR, Reykjavik, and Rome\/FCO as European destinations on the carrier, along with Tokyo\/Narita and Seoul\/Incheon in Asia. In its release, Alaska said that both Athens and Paris were among the most requested by Atmos members. Well, yeah, you could put Paris with Newark or Tucson, and all of a sudden people would want to go to all three. Paris always does the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n

This comes as part of Alaska\u2019s goal of having 14 long-haul destinations by 2030. Alaska will compete head-to-head with Delta on SEA-CDG, while it will not face non-stop competition on SEA-ATH as its the sole carrier flying there not only from Seattle, but from the entire west coast.<\/p>\n

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American Grows Premium Offerings<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not just seatbacks changing on American. The carrier is also growing its onboard premium seating options<\/a> as it expands both first class and its extra legroom options on its narrowbody fleet.<\/p>\n

At this time, American says about 25% of the seats on its narrow body fleet are premium, but after this project is complete, the figure will be closer to 40%. This includes new MAX 10s being delivered with 24 first class seats and a retrofit for its A321neos with more as well. The AAirline will also expand the number of Main Cabin Extra seats, which, when combined with the additional seats in first class will only go to bring greater shame to those still stuck in Main Cabin.<\/p>\n

It also plans to refresh the interiors of its single-aisle aircraft, to include adding storage (to encourage more carry-ons and force the boarding process to take even longer), redesigned seats (to increase the chance you won\u2019t find gum on the bottom of your seat), and enhanced lighting (so you can better see the passengers still relegated to Main Cabin despite the dramatic increase in premium seat counts).<\/p>\n

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Google Wins Bid for Spirit\u2019s Data<\/h3>\n

Google won an auction with a price of $10 million giving it access to Spirit\u2019s abandoned data<\/a>, software code, and operations records. Google says it wants the bundle to improve its AI processes but we think they\u2019re doing all this to reverse engineer the feeling of euphoria that came from cracking open a BuzzBall in seat 37C when flying from Fort Lauderdale to Latrobe, PA. The purchase does not include personal data (allegedly) including the 50 million members of Free Spirit, the 97 million who flew on the airline, or internal personal records.<\/p>\n

Supposedly what\u2019s included is data from marketing campaigns, HR, strategy, and project management. We understand that to be primarily a comprehensive record of Spirit\u2019s cache of yellow paint cans.<\/p>\n

It also includes pricing from billions of flights, pricing curve data, and billions of passenger transaction records. Lastly, it has 30 million lines of codes, metadata, software models, and algorithms along with redacted employee records. At this point, the relevant question isn\u2019t to ask what Google will really do with all this \u2014 but to ask how it\u2019s possible they didn\u2019t already have all of it already?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a done deal yet, however, as Spirit\u2019s flight attendant union is objecting to the sale<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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