There are three major airline alliances in the world. These are oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam. Frequent travelers will often try to stick to member airlines of one alliance as their status is reciprocal across the alliance. Being based in Frankfurt, I tend to find myself flying with Star Alliance carriers, though I also enjoy flying on oneworld Airlines when I get the chance. Let us know which your preferred alliance is in the comments below!

Like many, Orlando International Airport (MCO) has its slow periods throughout the year. However, its passenger numbers remain consistently high. Thanks to the city’s pleasant weather, theme park attractions, and numerous resorts, plenty of people have reason to visit. Southwest Airlines is the airport’s largest carrier, and will soon launch a new transcontinental route to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The service will compete with the likes of American Airlines Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. Delta, the second-largest carrier at MCO, is also responsible for a large portion of the market share. 

Since Orlando brings in the numbers with its year-round demand, why hasn’t an airline established a hub at the airport? Depending on the carrier, an expanded presence and operation could open new international routes, offering up some competition for European giants across the pond.

What do you think? Sound off below!

Nelle Diala, a former Alaska Airlines flight attendant, broke her silence this week after her viral TikTok video left her unemployed late last year. To celebrate six months with the airline, Diala posted a video of her twerking in uniform on an aircraft without any passengers onboard. After garnering much attention, Alaska terminated her.

Diala, who believes she was wrongfully terminated, set up a GoFundMe account, which has received over $3,000 in donations. In an interview with Inside Edition, the former flight attendant said, “I just didn’t think that my video and my post and the way I was dancing would be deemed as inappropriate.”

Do you think Alaska made the right decision to fire Diala? Or do you believe she should still have a job? Let us know your thoughts below!

Star Alliance became the first global aviation alliance in 1997 with five airlines. Now, the organization has grown to 25 carriers, which all offer numerous connections to destinations all over the world. As it competes with the SkyTeam Alliance and oneworld, which airline do you think will be the next to join?

Disclaimer: The statement above is shared by one of our readers and does not necessarily reflect the views or ideas of our publication.

Many of us have fond memories of our first flights or an especially memorable trip with an iconic carrier. However, have many carriers gone bankrupt, merged with other airlines, or simply ceased operating?

What are some of your favorite memories from airlines past, and which airlines do you think stood out above the competition?

It is hard to be disappointed with low-cost and ultra-low-cost carriers, at least when things run as they should. After all, they have a bare-bones approach, meaning expectations are usually low. It’s then easy to meet or even exceed them. The same cannot be said for the spectrum of ‘full’-service carriers, which often overpromise and underdeliver.

It is hard to pinpoint one airline that has disappointed me the most because some aspects of the experience could be good, while others may not. One flight might be less than desirable, while the next – if there is a next time – might be noticeably, or at least acceptably, better. Such inconsistencies only add to the trouble.

Which carrier has disappointed you the most and why? For me, it is Ethiopian Airlines. I have flown it four times, which is not really enough to have a fair impression. Still, the food was unusually poor, even by airline standards, and the cabins, even on nearly ne

Russian-carrier Aeroflot used to serve over 50 destinations before the Russia-Ukraine War but mostly all have been terminated in Europe and North America since the beginning of the war.

In the United States, Aeroflot served direct flights from Moscow (SVO) to: New York (JFK), Miami (MIA), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Chicago (ORD), Seattle (SEA), and Washington (IAD).

In Europe, Aeroflot served Moscow (SVO) to: Madrid (MAD), London (LHR), Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC), Rome (FCO), Warsaw (WAW), and so many more. However, all have been terminated since the EU banned Aeroflot from flying to Europe.

The airline currently serves flights to Dubai (DXB), Istanbul (IST), Bangkok (BKK), Tehran (TEH), Almaty (ALA), and other destinations. This also includes flights around Russia including St. Petersburg (LED), or places like Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (PKC). These are mainly reasons why Aeroflot makes money still. Other airlines banned from Europe are Rossiya, and S7 Airlines.

With

United plans to have 50 Airbus A321XLRs, with the first aircraft due to enter service in 2025. Naturally, the carrier said they’ll partly replace the Boeing 757-200ER, including to Europe. Unlike the A321LR, a variant United does not have and has not ordered, the XLR is a true 757 replacement – just with a longer range and much better fuel burn.

The XLR may also help United to make some seasonal routes year-round while right-sizing capacity with demand on others, freeing up other equipment to be used elsewhere. It may also enable higher frequencies.

More interesting are new route possibilities. While necessarily vague, United said, “The XLR can fly much further [than the 757] and will open new stations that either don’t have service from an airline today [from the US], or they don’t have United service.” Where would you like the carrier to fly the type? Let us know!

Modern aircraft have the ability to seamlessly venture on transcontinental and transoceanic adventures across the skies. The longest nonstop flight I’ve been on was a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A350 trip from Kuala Lumpur to London, which took nearly 13 hours to complete. However, I’m sure many of our readers have been on longer flights. Please share your experiences with us below!

The 777X completed it’s first test flight after previously being suspended, and with the fleet grounded. The 777X is an attempt at modernizing the 30-year-old Boeing 777, while also offering a replacement or alternative to the Airbus A380. Should Boeing modernize an aircraft family or start on a clean sheet design?

This is user generated content. The views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Simple Flying.

Airbus today shared that it is talking with Rolls-Royce regarding plans for a new narrowbody aircraft for the late 2030s. The manufacturer already has the successful A320 family under its belt and also took on the A220 program from Bombardier in 2018. Julie Kitcher, the chief sustainability officer of Airbus, told Simple Flying at the Farnborough Airshow that her company is looking to continue improving aircraft fuel efficiency. What other changes could we see with this type? Let us know what you think below!

There have been several new long-haul route launches this month, including avianca’s return to Paris from Bogota, Beond’s arrival in Milan from Maldives (via Dubai), and Juneyao’s inauguration to Brussels from Shanghai. With family across the globe, I would love to see more long-haul flights to the likes of South America and South Asia from Europe. Which long-haul routes would you like to see launched?

In August, the world has more than 8,600 daily widebody-operated flights. One in 12 of the world’s services is on a twin-aisle. Most flights are on the Boeing 777-300ER, an excellent variant for range, high-capacity passenger cabins, and considerable belly-hold freight volume. The A330-300 is second, and the 787-9 is third. It raises an obvious question: which widebody type or variant have you flown the most? Let us know!

Air India already flies to five destinations in the United States – Newark, Washington Dulles, New York JFK, Chicago O’Hare, and San Francisco. Some of these routes are served by multiple Indian airports. Still, during a chat with Simple Flying last month, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson shared that his airline is keen to expand within the US once it receives more widebodies. There have been reports about adding Dallas and Los Angeles to the works. Still, how much could the airline expand across the US? Could we see some additional routes along both coasts? Let us know what you think below!

Everyone knows that New York JFK is the US’s leading long-haul gateway. In the year to July, it welcomed approximately 23 million passengers from Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East, and lower South America.

Despite service from airlines globally, an estimated 40% of passengers—more than nine million people—had to connect to another flight en route.

More than eight in ten passengers who traveled to/from the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa connected.

Since South African Airways pulled out of JFK in 2020, Southern Africa has had no non-stop or one-stop flights, so all 100,000+ passengers transferred. (United has non-stop flights from Newark.)

These were JFK’s 10 largest unserved cities in the examined period. Mentioning them does not mean they warrant flights or would be commercially feasible.

– Dhaka: 164,000 roundtrip passengers (served by Biman until 2006, then 2009-2011)

– Bangkok: 107,000 (served by Thai Airways until 2008)

– Tirana: 10

I began my commercial flying career at 18 while still in high school. I was fortunate to spend the next 50+ years doing what has been described as “The Best Job in the World,” that of a professional pilot. At age 23, I received an FAA flight check for Airline Transport Pilot and was designated as Captain for an airline. Since then, I have served airlines from the smallest start-up to some of the largest carriers in the world. Ask me anything!

Edit: Thank you all for asking me questions. The AMA has concluded now. It was a pleasure to talk about my flying career, and I hope that I can share more with you in the near future!

Given oneworld Alliance carrier Alaska Airlines’ recent acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, it would appear another brand is set to join the oneworld fold. The smallest of the three major airline alliances with just 13 current members, the group has the potential to grow even further.

Two airlines have already confirmed they will be joining the program in the coming months. Fiji Airways (which is set to adopt the American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty program) and Oman Air (the second Gulf carrier to join oneworld following Qatar Airways) will officially join the group. 

Speaking to Simple Flying’s Sumit Singh earlier this summer, oneworld CEO Nathaniel Pieper said that any future airlines must bring a range of new destinations without significantly eroding the market share of existing oneworld carriers. Which airlines do you think have a complimentary network that would fit well in the oneworld Alliance?

While there are several factors at play when choosing a flight, many people will tend to gravitate towards a particular airline. This could be because they live near a base, have frequent flyer status, or simply prefer the service on offer. I track all of my flights in the Flighty app, and today took a look at my most flown airlines and was slightly surprised to see British Airways claiming the top spot with 49 flights compared to 41 at Ryanair (which I had expected to be at the top)! Equally cool is Air Astana with 7 flights from a single trip to Kazakhstan last summer. What are your most flown airlines? Join the conversation below!

Flight demand between the United States and Europe is at an all-time high. Notably, there are 4,674 one-way flights scheduled between the the US and UK this month, according to Cirium data. British Airways dominates the number of weekly flights. However, there is a host of other carriers with a significant presence in the market both sides of the pond. It’s not only the major operators such as the US Big Three and Virgin Atlantic that have a stronghold. The likes of JetBlue, Aer Lingus, TUI, and Norse Atlantic Airways are also regulars across the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, there are mainstays across the Americas and continental Europe. So, with a range of airlines to choose from, which one is the best? Let us know below!

In this job, I’ve been lucky to travel all across the continents, from North America to Asia. However, my journey in the skies started long ago when I was just three years old, during a trip to Delhi with my family. According to my parents, the aircraft I flew on was an Air India Boeing 747. What was your first flight? Let us know below!