Why it’s getting harder to get a free first-class flight upgrade

Why it’s getting harder to get a free first-class flight upgrade

Passengers deplane through the business class seating area on an American Airlines flight, London Heathrow Airport, Aug. 14, 2018. Jeff Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images Cheap seats aren’t enough for airline passengers anymore. Since the pandemic, travelers have shown airlines that they’re willing to pay up to sit at the relatively spacious … Read more

Frontier Airlines to debut first-class seats for high-paying flyers

Frontier Airlines to debut first-class seats for high-paying flyers

Frontier Airlines planes are parked at gates in Denver International Airport (DEN) in Denver, Colorado, on August 5, 2023. Daniel Slim | Afp | Getty Images Frontier Airlines, one of the world’s biggest budget airlines, is adding first-class seats. Its change in strategy comes as the industry is battling for customers who are willing to … Read more

Senate report slams airlines for raking in billions in seat fees

Senate report slams airlines for raking in billions in seat fees

A Delta Air Lines cabin. Leslie Josephs/CNBC A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday slammed U.S. airlines large and small over fees to pick seats on flights. Between 2018 and 2023 American, Delta, United, Spirit and Frontier brought in $12.4 billion in seating fees, including for seats with extra legroom as well as those in “preferred” locations … Read more

Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy protection after mounting losses

Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy protection after mounting losses

Passengers check in at the Spirit Airlines counter at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on February 07, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Spirit Airlines, an icon of budget air travel that reshaped the industry, has filed for bankruptcy protection after years of mounting losses, a failed merger, increased competition and … Read more

What travelers need to know about Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy

What travelers need to know about Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy

A passenger waits for assistance at the Spirit Airlines check-in counter in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on November 13, 2024 in Austin, Texas.  Brandon Bell | Getty Images Spirit Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the first major U.S. passenger carrier to do so since American Airlines 13 years ago. The budget … Read more

Spirit Airlines stock jumps as carrier plans to sell planes, cut jobs

Spirit Airlines stock jumps as carrier plans to sell planes, cut jobs

Spirit Airlines baggage tags are seen near a check-in counter at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on April 10, 2024 in Austin, Texas.  Brandon Bell | Getty Images Spirit Airlines shares surged after the struggling budget carrier said it would cut jobs and sell aircraft. The carrier late Thursday laid out a plan to reduce costs and raise cash … Read more

Spirit Airlines tumbles on report it’s exploring bankruptcy filing

Spirit Airlines tumbles on report it’s exploring bankruptcy filing

A Spirit commercial airliner prepares to land at San Diego International Airport in San Diego, California, U.S., January 18, 2024.  Mike Blake | Reuters Spirit Airlines shares tumbled to a record low on Friday after a report that it’s exploring Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The carrier faces a deadline this month to renegotiate more than … Read more

JetBlue to build airport lounges in New York, Boston

JetBlue to build airport lounges in New York, Boston

JetBlue planes at JFK’s Terminal 5 in New York. Leslie Josephs | CNBC JetBlue Airways will open its first airport lounges in its more than two decades of flying, a major shift for the low-cost airline as it chases high-spending travelers. The lounges will open at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport late next … Read more

Flights are getting more expensive as airlines scale back growth plans

Flights are getting more expensive as airlines scale back growth plans

Delta Airlines planes are seen parked at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on June 19, 2024 in Seattle, Washington.  Kent Nishimura | Getty Images Airlines are reporting better unit revenues for the tail end of summer, a sign customers will continue to have to shell out more to fly in the coming months. Alaska Airlines on Thursday … Read more

U.S. airlines cool hiring after adding employees in post-Covid spree

U.S. airlines cool hiring after adding employees in post-Covid spree

A pilot performs a walkaround before a United Airlines flight Leslie Josephs/CNBC U.S. passenger airlines have added nearly 194,000 jobs since 2021 as companies went on a hiring spree after spending months in a pandemic slump, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Now the industry is cooling its hiring. Airlines are close to their … Read more