Gordon Smith

North America

Airline Junk Fees Under Scrutiny

In this week’s episode, Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat are joined by Skift airlines reporter Meghna Maharishi to discuss why ancillary fees are coming under pressure from lawmakers in Washington.…
Asia-Pacific

Good Times in Taiwan

Ten years ago, Airline Weekly published a story about Taiwan’s booming airline traffic. East Asian economies were growing rapidly, low-cost carriers were expanding aggressively, and Emirates had just launched services linking Taipei with its Dubai mega-hub. Today, as 2024 nears its end, Taiwan’s airline market is again flourishing, however the dynamics are rather different. In this week’s feature, we examine the key factors driving impressive margins and double-digit growth.

Asia-Pacific

Bad Luck Run Amok: The Air New Zealand Story

Talk about bad luck. Greg Foran’s first day as chief executive of Air New Zealand was February 3rd, 2020. Barely a month later, the Covid virus all but grounded the airline’s passenger business. The crisis would end. But Foran’s luck didn’t get much better. Today, about 16% of ANZ’s jet fleet is grounded due to engine issues, affecting both B787s and A320-family Neos. Despite the woes, Foran and his team are bullish about the carrier’s prospects, as we discover in this week’s feature story.

North America

Eleven Sent: Spirit Files for Bankruptcy

It’s the question everyone’s been asking for more than a year now: Will Spirit Airlines, a profit superstar before the pandemic, file for bankruptcy? Now we have the answer: Yes. 
Skift Aviation Forum

5 Takeaways From the Skift Aviation Forum 2024

Barbecue. Big Hats. Big Oil. The Cowboys. Here’s something else that Dallas is known for: Its airlines. American is based there. So is Southwest. It wasn’t too long ago that…