DLD 355: Weather Gone Wild

We faced a couple mechanicals getting this week's episode recorded, but are willing to admit that truth, rather than blaming weather, unlike some airlines. Also in this episode: * British Airways drama, including: * The A380 is coming back, as are a bunch of US routes * Gatwick short-haul might not really be dead after all * A very bad day trying to get to Hong Kong * Southwest Airlines' operational meltdown last weekend* A big biometrics push by AirAsia * Tata buying Air India, and the mess that it includes* New vaccinated travel lanes added for Singapore, and a demand spike that crashed the company website* Spirit Airlines launching service in Miami, FL and Manchester, NH last week* Old UA 747 moving to a Seattle mixed use building* Air Belgium gets its first new plane, an A330neo that is part of a significant fleet refresh For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including: * AmEx closing a bunch of Membership Rewards accounts* United Airlines' December schedule includes an interesting collection of point to point routes* The new Dulles Polaris lounge is finally opening later this month, and some others should be reopening soon And plenty more. Enjoy the show!