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A4A Spokesperson: “Safety is and will always be our top priority”
USTN sat down with Airlines for America (A4A) to get an industry-wide view on some of the most pressing economic issues facing the aviation industry. A4A is the trade association for the leading U.S. airlines, both passenger and cargo, with members including American Airlines, Delta, and United. This is the second iteration of USTN’s ‘Ask the Expert’ interview series, and we encourage our readers to submit any query they have regarding airline financials for our next resid
22 hours ago2 min read
China plays hardball on Panama Canal and Washington is watching
The US shipping regulator fired a warning shot at Beijing this week, putting the world's second-largest economy on notice that its campaign of maritime retaliation against Panama is now squarely in America's crosshairs. Federal Maritime Commission Chair Laura DiBella said the agency is "closely monitoring" a surge in Chinese detentions of Panama-flagged vessels and their effects on global shipping conditions. The statement, issued Thursday, marked Washington's most direct pub
2 days ago2 min read
Two pilots dead, dozens hurt in LaGuardia runway collision
Two Canadian pilots are dead and more than 40 people were hospitalised after an Air Canada Express regional jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck on a runway at LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, in what is shaping up to be the most serious U.S. aviation incident in years. Air Canada Express Flight AC8646, a CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation, was arriving from Montreal when it struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle on Runway 4 at approximat
Mar 232 min read
UNION PACIFIC AND NORFOLK SOUTHERN'S $85 BILLION MERGER BID FACES REGULATORY FIGHT
It began with an audacious premise: that Abraham Lincoln's original vision for a coast-to-coast railroad, signed into law in 1862, had never truly been fulfilled. More than 160 years later, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are betting $85 billion that they can finish the job. The two companies submitted their merger application to the Surface Transportation Board in December, proposing to combine Union Pacific's vast western network with Norfolk Southern's eastern reach int
Mar 182 min read
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A4A Spokesperson: “Safety is and will always be our top priority”
USTN sat down with Airlines for America (A4A) to get an industry-wide view on some of the most pressing economic issues facing the aviation industry. A4A is the trade association for the leading U.S. airlines, both passenger and cargo, with members including American Airlines, Delta, and United. This is the second iteration of USTN’s ‘Ask the Expert’ interview series, and we encourage our readers to submit any query they have regarding airline financials for our next resid
22 hours ago2 min read
U.S. AVIATION SAFETY LEGISLATION: ONE VOTE SHORT
The framework for a safer American airspace exists on paper. The politics of building it remain, for now, one vote short. Sixty-seven people died when an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River in January 2025. Fourteen months later, the legislation designed to prevent it happening again has stalled in the House, defeated not by opposition, but by a last-minute Pentagon withdrawal that cost supporters the two-thirds maj
Mar 133 min read
Sara Nelson’s Blame Game Isn’t Fooling Anyone
A Leader Running Out of Road There is something almost theatrical about watching the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) President Sara Nelson lecture airline CEOs about how labor deals should be done given that United flight attendants have been working without a new contract since August 2021. Under her leadership, they have endured four years of stalled negotiations, stagnant wages, and false promises. The only output from AFA-CWA to date has been a tentative agreem
Mar 93 min read
Why Unions Can't Agree on Robert Isom
The CEO that 28,000 flight attendants want fired just got a public endorsement from the most powerful flight attendant in the world. Here's what's really going on. Less than two weeks after American Airlines' mainline flight attendant union issued the first vote of no confidence against a CEO in its nearly 50-year history, something remarkable happened: Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) and widely regarded as the most influential labor l
Mar 24 min read
'MH370 disappearance shows how ruthless democracy's enemies are' | Interview with aviation journalist Jeff Wise
Jeff Wise is a journalist specializing in aviation, technology, and psychology who has written for Businessweek, Psychology Today, and...
Aug 16, 20244 min read
A High Flying Career: Flight Attendant Kara Mulder on the Evolving Landscape of Aviation
Kara Mulder, an accomplished flight attendant and the creative force behind the popular Flight Attendant Life blog, has leveraged her...
Aug 17, 20234 min read
With Summer Travel Almost Here, the FAA Remains Leaderless
In another twist in the saga of complications and chaos that has been plaguing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it has recently...
Apr 12, 20233 min read
'We Need To Embrace Change' - ALPA President Capt. Jason Ambrosi
Capt. Jason Ambrosi (Delta) is the 12th president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l, better known as ALPA. Elected in October...
Apr 11, 20236 min read
A4A Spokesperson: “Safety is and will always be our top priority”
USTN sat down with Airlines for America (A4A) to get an industry-wide view on some of the most pressing economic issues facing the aviation industry. A4A is the trade association for the leading U.S. airlines, both passenger and cargo, with members including American Airlines, Delta, and United. This is the second iteration of USTN’s ‘Ask the Expert’ interview series, and we encourage our readers to submit any query they have regarding airline financials for our next resid
22 hours ago2 min read
U.S. AVIATION SAFETY LEGISLATION: ONE VOTE SHORT
The framework for a safer American airspace exists on paper. The politics of building it remain, for now, one vote short. Sixty-seven people died when an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River in January 2025. Fourteen months later, the legislation designed to prevent it happening again has stalled in the House, defeated not by opposition, but by a last-minute Pentagon withdrawal that cost supporters the two-thirds maj
Mar 133 min read
Turbulence at the Top: American Airlines Faces a Leadership Crisis
Robert Isom became CEO of American Airlines in 2022 American Airlines is one of the world's largest carriers. It flies millions of passengers every year, generates tens of billions in revenue, and employs a workforce that spans the globe. So when its own employees publicly declare they have lost faith in the person running the show, it is worth paying attention. CEO Robert Isom, who took the helm nearly four years ago, is now facing what may be the most serious internal leade
Feb 263 min read
Airline Finance 101: Where your Airfare Actually Goes
American, Delta and United collectively generated over $170 billion in revenue in 2025. Yet for every dollar that comes in, airlines keep just four cents in profit. Understanding how the other 96 cents gets consumed explains why the airline business remains, as Warren Buffett put it, "the worst sort of business … one that grows rapidly, requires significant capital to engender the growth, and then earns little or no money." Here is how a single dollar of airline revenue gets
Feb 174 min read
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