Evergreen airline-focused content that isn’t primarily news. Includes airline reviews, fleet and cabin guides, loyalty program explainers, and airline-specific reference content.
Turkish Airlines is moving ahead with plans to add a lot more airplanes.
The airline finalized an order Wednesday for 100 Boeing 737-8 aircraft, with options for another 50 737 MAX jets. Turkish can also substitute some of those planes for the larger 737-10.
For passengers, the useful part isn’t necessarily the aircraft itself. It’s what Turkish could do with a fleet that continues to get much bigger.
More planes give the airline room to add flights, destinations, and seats over time. Turkish hasn’t said where these particular aircraft will fly, and some could replace older planes rather than represent entirely new capacity.
But this order is part of a much larger growth plan.
Turkish Airlines Is Building Toward More Than 800 Aircraft
The 787 order includes 35 787-9s and 15 of the larger 787-10, which Turkish plans to use to support long-haul growth. Boeing has said the 787 and 737 MAX deals together will double Turkish Airlines’ Boeing fleet.
Turkish has an even bigger target beyond Boeing. The airline wants its overall fleet to exceed 800 aircraft by 2033 while sustaining average annual growth of 6%.
The 737 MAX aircraft are intended for shorter routes, while the additional Dreamliners give Turkish more room to grow long-haul flying. That combination matters at Istanbul, where shorter flights from across the region feed Turkish’s much larger international network.
None of that guarantees more seats on a particular route or the introduction of new ones. But Turkish is planning for a substantially larger fleet, and more aircraft give it more room to add capacity.
Australia isn’t exactly a quick trip from the U.S., but American Airlines is offering a cheaper way to get there for anyone with some flexibility this fall.
For a limited time, American is offering one-way economy award tickets to Sydney (SYD) for as few as 25,000 AAdvantage miles. That’s 10,000 miles less than the 35,000-mile starting price on American’s award chart.
There’s one big catch, though: both booking and travel need to happen by October 31, 2026.
That leaves just over a month to make the trip happen.
What to Know Before Booking
The offer covers Main Cabin awards between the contiguous 48 states and Sydney. These tickets start at 25,000 AAdvantage miles one way, plus applicable taxes and fees.
American says availability is limited, and the mileage price can change depending on the flight and date.
There’s another important restriction. The discounted awards must be on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle. Codeshare flights aren’t eligible, so don’t expect the 25,000-mile price on a Qantas-operated flight just because it appears on AA.com.
The offer can’t be applied to an existing reservation, either.
That gives this deal a pretty narrow window:
Book by 11:59 p.m. CT on October 31, 2026.
Complete travel by October 31, 2026.
Fly in Main Cabin.
Travel between the contiguous U.S. and Sydney.
Stick to American-operated flights.
AA.COM
A Long Flight, but a Lower Mileage Price
There’s no getting around the obvious part. Australia is a long way to fly in economy. American’s nonstop from Los Angeles to Sydney spends roughly 15 hours in the air.
At 25,000 AAdvantage miles one way, though, the savings are pretty meaningful. A round trip at the lowest price would cost 50,000 miles, although finding that rate in both directions from a home airport isn’t guaranteed.
It’s worth searching from American’s major gateways, too. If the deal doesn’t appear from a home airport, a positioning flight could open up more options.
But the bigger limitation here isn’t the long flight. It’s the calendar. Anyone who can make Australia work before the end of October has a lower mileage price available for a limited time.
When U.S. Bank launched points transfers to airline partners less than a month ago, one addition caught my eye: Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles.
It got me wondering whether ShebaMiles could be the next non-U.S. airline program to make a bigger push into the U.S. points and miles market, following programs such as Avios, Aeroplan, LifeMiles, Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and Japan Airlines Mileage Bank.
Airline points and miles are a multibillion-dollar business and a reliable cash cow for carriers. Airlines sell billions of dollars’ worth of miles to banks and other partners every year, and during COVID, several pledged their loyalty programs as collateral to raise billions in cash. More recently, Air Canada sold a 25% stake in Aeroplan for C$2.5 billion.
The U.S. is by far the largest miles market globally, followed distantly by Brazil. Given how profitable selling miles can be, more and more non-U.S. airlines want a piece of that cash flow.
Domestically, the U.S. “Big Three” each pursue their own strategy, backed by a physical presence across the entire country. Foreign airlines, by contrast, have a much smaller footprint in the U.S., so they lean on miles sales and bank partnerships to generate cash and attract members from the world’s largest points and miles market.
Origins of the Non-U.S. Airline Playbook
The strategy was pioneered by British Airways Avios, under International Airlines Group (IAG), and later refined by LifeMiles after its parent airline, Avianca, joined Star Alliance in 2012. The formula included:
Buy-miles promotions
Bank transfer partnerships and promotions
Intentionally curated redemption “sweet spots” to generate word-of-mouth buzz, particularly for partner redemptions
Change, cancellation, and partner-redemption fees as additional revenue streams
Other non-U.S. and regional carriers later adopted a similar model to attract members outside their home markets. Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue and Air Canada’s Aeroplan are chief among them, particularly because the U.S. market dwarfs their home markets in size.
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COVID as a Turning Point
When COVID hit, people stopped traveling and airlines across the industry were suffering. Several major airlines turned to their loyalty programs as collateral to raise billions in cash, making the value of these businesses impossible to ignore.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a prime example of how programs have evolved since then. In just a few years, it transformed from a currency centered largely around Virgin Atlantic flights into one of the more prominent programs in the space by expanding bank transfer partnerships, joining SkyTeam, launching online partner redemptions, and shifting to dynamic pricing on its own flights and select partners.
As a side note, Alaska Airlines’ Atmos Rewards program took a slightly different path. Still U.S.-based and historically regional, it broadened the program’s appeal by pairing a highly competitive elite program on the West Coast with a unique co-brand credit card, a broad range of airline partners, and other benefits that extend beyond Alaska’s traditional footprint.
The Next Movers
More recently, the spotlight has shifted to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, which has added partnerships with Bilt, Capital One, and most recently Citi.
Now, it may be Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles’ turn. The program has already checked several boxes:
Star Alliance membership
A website supporting partner redemptions
Buy-miles promotions
Its first U.S. bank partnership
If ShebaMiles continues following the playbook used by programs such as Avios, LifeMiles, Aeroplan, Flying Blue, Flying Club, and JAL Mileage Bank over the past 15 years, I think there are several likely next moves:
Creating/Maintaining a few redemption sweet spots to generate buzz, potentially while continuing to use an award chart for the time being
Adding more bank partners with attractive pricing for those partners, potentially below 130 basis points per mile
Launching bank transfer promotions
Introducing multi-tier and eventually dynamic redemptions on Ethiopian’s own flights, with some inventory reserved exclusively for ShebaMiles members rather than relying on the current single-tier, inventory-based system
Improving customer service and adding online changes, or at least cancellations, paired with change and cancellation fees
Adjusting fees over time as members become more familiar with the program
Africa has also become an increasingly popular destination in recent years. I’ve personally visited the continent six times over the past 15 years and traveled through about half of it.
There are very few places Ethiopian Airlines doesn’t fly across Africa today, apart from some North and Southern African markets served by partners such as EgyptAir and Airlink. That’s the result of a network Ethiopian began building years ago.
Fathala Wildlife Reserve. TROY LIU / POINTS INSIDER
Sure, United MileagePlus, Air Canada Aeroplan, and Turkish Miles&Smiles can already be used to book Ethiopian flights, but those programs only have access to the award inventory Ethiopian makes available to partners.
If ShebaMiles eventually introduces multi-tier redemptions on Ethiopian’s own flights, with additional inventory reserved exclusively for its own members, that could become a real competitive advantage.
U.S. customers would have another option when choosing a miles program, and I’ve never been more bullish on the future of this industry as more banks and programs enter the market.
And with ShebaMiles becoming more relevant in the U.S., we’ve added the program to PointsYeah Live Search, making it possible to search ShebaMiles award availability alongside other supported programs.
Booking a flight can occasionally produce something that looks a little strange.
The ticket might have an American Airlines or Delta flight number, even though the flight is operated by another airline. Or the same flight might appear in a search twice, each time with a different airline and flight number.
That’s usually a codeshare partnership at work.
The basic idea is pretty simple: one airline operates the flight, while another can sell seats on that flight under its own flight number. That lets airlines sell trips to places they don’t actually fly themselves and makes it easier to combine flights from different airlines.
How a Codeshare Works
Say American Airlines sells a ticket from Fort Lauderdale to London via Philadelphia.
American can operate the first flight to Philadelphia, while a partner airline handles the flight to London. Thanks to a codeshare agreement, American can sell both flights together as one itinerary.
That partner flight can even carry an American flight number when it appears on AA.com. Look a little closer, though, and there should be language such as “Operated by British Airways.”
That’s the important distinction.
AA.COM
The operating airline is the airline whose plane and crew are actually flying the flight. The marketing airline is the airline selling that flight under its own flight number. One airplane can therefore show up under multiple flight numbers.
For airlines, codeshares expand the destinations they can sell without adding more planes or routes.
For passengers, the useful part is being able to combine flights from different airlines into one booking. That can mean checking in with the airline operating the first flight and having checked bags transferred between airlines rather than collecting and rechecking them along the way.
There are still a few things worth knowing about. The operating airline determines things such as the aircraft, seats, and onboard service, while baggage rules, mileage earning, and elite-status benefits can vary depending on which airline sold and operated the flight.
At the airport, check in with the airline operating the first flight, not necessarily the airline whose flight number is printed most prominently on the ticket.
Codeshare flight numbers are also primarily for cash tickets. When booking with miles, the award will typically use the flight number of the airline actually operating the flight rather than a partner’s codeshare number.
That distinction can matter when comparing cash and award options. PointsYeah’s Miles Fare Search maps available codeshare flights when there’s a corresponding cash fare, making it easier to recognize when two differently numbered results are actually the same flight.
POINTSYEAH
So when another airline’s name appears underneath the flight number, don’t ignore it.
American and Starlux Are the Latest Example
American Airlines and Starlux Airlines announced a new codeshare partnership effective September 30.
The arrangement lets the airlines sell certain flights operated by the other under their own flight numbers. For American, that can connect its U.S. network with Starlux flights across the Pacific and beyond Taipei. Starlux can similarly sell connections onto American flights in the U.S.
It doesn’t mean American is suddenly flying its own planes to all of those destinations. The plane might belong to Starlux and the flight attendants might work for Starlux, but the flight can still show up as part of an American itinerary.
Japan Airlines miles used to be a little harder to come by in the U.S.
Flying JAL was one way to earn them, and transferring hotel points was another. But for most people earning points through credit cards, Mileage Bank wasn’t an obvious program to use.
That’s changing quickly.
Citi ThankYou Rewards became the latest program to add Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a transfer partner on September 20. Bilt, Capital One, and Rove also transfer directly to JAL. Hotel programs like Marriott Bonvoy and Accor Live Limitless add a few more options.
For most Citi cardholders who can transfer ThankYou points to airlines, the new JAL partnership is 1:1. That means 1,000 Citi points become 1,000 JAL miles. Cardholders with Citi’s no-annual-fee cards get a lower 1:0.7 ratio, turning 1,000 points into 700 miles.
But why care about JAL miles in the first place?
Japan has been one of the most searched international destinations among PointsYeah users. JAL flies there nonstop from several U.S. cities, and its miles can be used to book those flights. They can also be used for flights on partner airlines, including American Airlines and other Oneworld carriers.
So there’s a lot more that can be booked with JAL miles than the name might suggest.
There are also a few things worth knowing before transferring points over.
That 55,000-Mile Business-Class Award Has an Asterisk
Between North America and Japan, a one-way flight starts at 27,000 miles in economy, 40,000 in premium economy, and 55,000 in business class.
Those are the starting prices. What shows up when searching can look very different.
JAL uses a system called Award Ticket PLUS. If the cheapest award seats are all booked up, the airline can sometimes make another seat available for more miles. The price rises based on how many seats JAL expects to have left.
I searched from Los Angeles to Tokyo and saw just about every outcome. Several dates had no business-class awards available. Some flights checked in around 80,000 miles. Plenty approached 200,000. Others were somewhere in the middle.
JAPAN AIRLINES
And 200,000 isn’t the ceiling.
JAL’s award chart shows that a business-class award from Los Angeles can climb as high as 421,500 miles with PLUS. From Dallas, the maximum is 509,500 miles.
Those are extreme examples, but they illustrate why it’s worth searching before transferring points. A flight that starts at 55,000 miles on the chart may cost considerably more on the date you want to travel.
First class follows different rules. JAL doesn’t use PLUS there, but prices change depending on the season. Los Angeles to Japan currently ranges from 110,000 miles one way during low season to 140,000 during high season.
There’s cash to pay on top of the miles, too. JAL currently lists fuel surcharges starting at $320 one way between North America and Japan, plus taxes and fees.
JAL Miles Aren’t Just for JAL
There’s another reason all these new transfer options matter.
Mileage Bank miles can be used to book flights on partner airlines, including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific. Instead of PLUS, these awards are priced based on the total distance of the trip.
For example, a partner trip covering 2,001 to 4,000 miles costs 23,000 miles in economy or 42,000 in business class. A flight from New York to Los Angeles falls within that distance band.
Longer trips cost more. An itinerary covering 6,001 to 8,000 miles costs 45,000 miles in economy or 80,000 in business class.
BOARDING1NOW / ISTOCK
That doesn’t mean JAL will always be the best program for booking those flights. There still needs to be an award seat available, and it’s worth comparing the price with other programs before transferring anything.
But JAL Mileage Bank is suddenly relevant to a much bigger group of people.
That’s really what makes Citi’s addition interesting. It isn’t another transfer partner to memorize. It’s another way into a program that can book flights to Japan and plenty of flights that never touch Japan at all.
The useful part is knowing it’s there when one of those awards turns up.
Sometimes the flight you want doesn’t leave from your home airport.
Maybe there’s no award availability from where you live, but plenty from an airport a short flight away. Or maybe starting somewhere else gets you a nonstop flight or costs fewer points.
A positioning flight is a separate flight booked to get to the airport where the trip actually begins.
For example, say someone lives in Raleigh (RDU) and finds a business-class award to Europe from Washington Dulles (IAD). They could book a separate flight to Washington, then begin the international itinerary from there.
That first flight is the positioning flight.
Why Book a Positioning Flight?
Positioning gives you more airports to work with when searching for flights.
Award availability can vary considerably depending on where a trip starts. A flight that isn’t available from a home airport might be available from another city, sometimes for fewer points or with a better itinerary.
And positioning doesn’t always require another flight. If another airport is within driving distance, driving works too. In some places, a train might be an option.
The idea is the same: getting to the airport where the itinerary you want begins.
What to Know Before Booking a Positioning Flight
The biggest thing to remember is that positioning flights are usually booked separately from the main itinerary.
That means making the connection is your responsibility. If the positioning flight is delayed and the next flight is missed, the airline operating the main itinerary generally isn’t obligated to rebook it.
A few things can make positioning less risky:
Leave plenty of time. For an important international flight, arriving the night before may make sense.
Be careful with checked bags. Bags may need to be collected and checked again before the next flight.
Consider the entire cost. Factor in the positioning flight, hotel, transportation, parking, and other expenses before deciding whether the better award is worth it.
Have a backup plan. Know what other options exist if the positioning flight is delayed or canceled.
Are Positioning Flights Worth It?
Sometimes.
If getting to another airport requires a short flight or drive and opens up a much better itinerary, positioning can be worth the extra step.
Other times, the additional cost and risk outweigh whatever the alternative itinerary saves.
But knowing to search from other airports can open up options that aren’t obvious when looking only from home. Just leave enough room between separate itineraries that a good award doesn’t turn into a missed flight.
Southwest Airlines has changed considerably over the past year and a half, from assigned seating and extra-legroom seats to bag fees. But the airline isn’t finished reshaping the guest experience.
Starlink Is Coming to Hundreds of Southwest Planes
Southwest recently began installing Starlink, and the rollout is moving quickly.
Doxey said the airline expects around 300 aircraft to have Starlink installed by the end of this year, with installations continuing into 2027.
That means the faster Wi-Fi should become much easier to find on Southwest flights over the next few months. There will still be some luck involved, though, as plenty of planes will continue offering Southwest’s existing Wi-Fi until they get Starlink.
The airline has already said it plans to start with 11 lounges, and Doxey indicated there could eventually be more. But perhaps more interesting is how far along some of those first locations already are.
Construction has started at some locations, Doxey said, while designs and mock-ups are already taking shape. He suggested that early construction work contributed to the lounge plans becoming something of a “worst-kept secret” before Southwest announced them.
He also hinted that the finished product may not look quite like what some people expect from Southwest.
“I think some people are going to be a little surprised, actually, when they say, ‘Oh, this is the Southwest lounge,’” he said.
Southwest still hasn’t revealed all 11 locations. Doxey didn’t name any additional airports, but said the choices should look “very logical” when looking at a map of Southwest’s network.
A More Premium Southwest Credit Card Is Coming
The lounges also give Southwest something new to offer current and future credit card holders.
Doxey was unusually direct about why Southwest wants one. He called the absence of a top-tier premium card a “hole” in the airline’s current credit card lineup.
For now, details such as the annual fee, other benefits, and launch date are still up in the air. But with lounge construction already underway, both pieces are getting closer.
The Boeing 737 MAX 7 Could Finally Arrive Next Year
Southwest also expects another long-awaited change to its fleet.
The FAA certified the Boeing 737 MAX 7 in August after years of delays. This finally cleared the smaller MAX variant for commercial service.
Southwest already has 27 MAX 7s that were built before certification and have been sitting in storage. Doxey said Boeing is now working to bring those aircraft up to the final approved specifications.
Southwest expects some of those planes to begin arriving around the end of this year before entering passenger service in early 2027.
International Long-Haul Flying Is Still on the Table
One much bigger potential change is less certain.
Southwest executives have repeatedly floated the possibility of eventually flying farther internationally. Doxey confirmed that the airline is still considering it, although no decision has been made.
“We haven’t decided what we’re doing with that particular item,” Doxey said. “But what we have said is that we’re absolutely considering whether that should be part of the offering that we have.”
There are still some big questions to answer, including where Southwest might fly and what aircraft it would use. For now, long-haul flying is something Southwest is considering rather than a firm plan.
But it’s another example of just how different Southwest could look a few years from now. Assigned seating and bag fees are already changing the airline people know today. Add lounges, a higher-end credit card, better Wi-Fi, and perhaps longer international flights, and Southwest starts to look different in ways that go well beyond how boarding works.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom and CFO Devon May sat down with investors this week at Morgan Stanley’s annual Laguna Conference. The majority of the conversation centered on revenue, fuel prices, and profitability, but there were also several updates that could affect the experience of flying American over the next few years.
Here’s what stood out.
American’s Premium Push Is Still Just Getting Started
American has spent the last several years pushing its product upmarket, with upgraded lounges, more premium seats, and the launch of its new Flagship Suite.
There’s a pretty simple reason why.
Isom said just 30% of American’s seats now account for 50% of the airline’s revenue. And despite all the attention American has placed on premium cabins recently, the airline still considers itself relatively early in that transition.
By the end of the decade, American expects its number of premium seats to grow by roughly 50%.
Some of that growth is already underway. American’s first retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER entered service with a larger Flagship Suite cabin, while Isom said work on the airline’s 777-200ERs will be “moving before you know it.” Airbus A319 and A320 reconfigurations are also beginning to roll out.
The result should be considerably more premium seating across American’s fleet over the next several years, on both its domestic and international jets.
American also appears to be preparing for one of its biggest periods of lounge investment in years.
Isom said customers will see “more new lounge openings at American over the next couple of years than we’ve done in decades.”
Several lounge projects are already underway, but the comment suggests there’s plenty more happening behind the scenes.
That’s worth watching as American puts more emphasis on the experience before a flight, not just the seat onboard.
Free Wi-Fi Is Also Growing AAdvantage
American’s rollout of free Wi-Fi isn’t just about making the flight better.
Isom said AAdvantage enrollments are running at record levels, with much of that growth driven by free Wi-Fi. An AAdvantage membership is required to use the service.
More members also gives American a larger pool of customers for other parts of AAdvantage, particularly its credit card partnership with Citi.
The onboard upgrades still have some distance to go. Isom said a “significant chunk” of American’s fleet will have high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi as the airline moves through 2027. Seatback entertainment will take several years to spread across the fleet.
Some Flights Could Be Trimmed
There was one less exciting update.
Higher fuel prices are causing American to reconsider some of its planned flying. May said the airline will make adjustments to its December schedule and now expects to grow somewhat less in 2027 than it anticipated several months ago.
That doesn’t necessarily mean widespread route cuts. American still sees room to grow its network over the longer term.
But schedules could get a little thinner in the near term as American adjusts to higher fuel costs.
In the aggregate, the comments point to an American that will look different over the next several years. More premium seats and lounges are coming, Wi-Fi and seatback entertainment are spreading across the fleet, and some of that investment is already starting to show up. The immediate question is how much higher fuel prices slow the airline’s plans to grow the network around it.
Edelweiss is getting a new business class. And for an airline built largely around taking people on vacation, it’s fairly simple.
The Swiss leisure airline unveiled the new cabins for its Airbus A350 fleet on Wednesday, September 16. There’s a standard business class seat, plus a small number of larger suites at the front. The first aircraft gets the new cabin in December, with the rest following by summer 2027.
That’s not particularly notable on its own. But Edelweiss is part of Lufthansa Group and serves as the leisure counterpart to SWISS. Discover Airlines plays the same role alongside Lufthansa and unveiled a similarly straightforward business class earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa and SWISS have spent years developing Allegris and SWISS Senses (the respective terms for their new cabins), with five different business class seats offering different amounts of privacy, space, and bed length.
Yet somehow, Lufthansa Group’s leisure airlines have ended up with business class that’s much less confusing. And depending on what matters in a seat, the standard product might be more appealing, too.
Edelweiss Doesn’t Make the Seat Complicated
Edelweiss’s new A350 cabin is a massive upgrade from what the airline offers today.
Every business class seat will have direct aisle access, convert into a fully flat bed, and have a substantial shell separating it from the aisle. Roughly half are arranged as pairs for two people flying together.
EDELWEISS
The front-row Business Suites add roughly 4-foot-high closing doors, 32-inch screens, more storage and space around the feet, plus a mattress topper. That’s about as complicated as the cabin gets.
The pricing structure is also straight and to the point. Edelweiss’s fare conditions say advance seat selection is free in business class, with the Business Suite specifically listed as the exception that costs extra.
EDELWEISS
Discover Keeps the Choices Limited, Too
Discover Airlines announced its new Ocean Blue cabins in January. Its first retrofitted Airbus A330 is scheduled to enter service in April 2027.
Its business class follows much the same formula. Standard lie-flat seats have direct aisle access and substantial privacy shells. The cabin has just two front-row Business Class Suites, which add roughly 4-foot-high doors, 32-inch screens, and additional space and storage.
DISCOVER
Standard business class seat selection is included with most Discover business fares, although its cheapest Business Light fare can charge for advance selection. Discover hasn’t published what selecting one of the future suites will cost.
The details differ slightly, but both leisure airlines arrive at roughly the same place. The standard seat already delivers the basics expected from a modern business class, while a small number of suites offer a little something extra.
Lufthansa and SWISS, on the other hand, have gone in a very different direction.
Lufthansa and SWISS Turn One Cabin Into Five Choices
Lufthansa’s Allegris has five business class seat types. There’s the Classic Seat, Privacy Seat, Extra Space Seat, Extra Long Bed Seat, and Business Suite.
The idea behind that is personalization. A longer bed, more room, more privacy, or a suite can be selected depending on what matters most. But that also means buying a business class ticket isn’t necessarily the end of the purchasing decision.
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On my last Lufthansa Allegris award (that happened to be booked with Aeroplan points), the Classic Seat was the only option available without an additional charge. Lufthansa wanted 210 Canadian dollars, or about $153 at the time, for a Privacy Seat or Extra Long Bed Seat. The Extra Space Seat cost about $185.
The Business Suite was about $545 just to select the seat.
And those fees are per person. For two or more people flying together, choosing something other than the Classic Seat can very quickly become a significant additional expense.
Those prices were specific to that flight, but they illustrate the tradeoff. The free Classic Seat is also the least private option, with considerably more exposure to the aisle. SWISS has a similarly exposed Classic Seat in its Senses cabin.
That’s where Edelweiss and Discover start to look a lot more appealing. Their standard seats already have substantial shells wrapping around them. More privacy isn’t something reserved for another category of business class seat.
There’s an aesthetic argument, too. Edelweiss and Discover arguably look more cohesive, with essentially one design language running through business class. Allegris and SWISS Senses mix several visibly different seats because each is meant to do something different.
Put the four cabins next to each other without airline names attached, and it might be difficult to pick out which belong to the leisure airlines.
Somehow, the Leisure Airlines Are Simpler
That doesn’t make Edelweiss or Discover categorically better.
Lufthansa and SWISS offer more choice, and their best business class seats can provide more space and privacy. Both also offer international first class, something Edelweiss and Discover don’t have.
But business class is where the contrast within Lufthansa Group becomes hard to miss.
Edelweiss and Discover are rolling out attractive cabins with suites, direct aisle access, free Starlink, and relatively simple seat choices. Lufthansa and SWISS have turned the business class seat itself into a menu, where more privacy, room, or bed length can mean paying again after the ticket is booked.
It’s an odd state of affairs. Leisure airlines cater heavily to vacation trips, exactly where it would be easy to imagine more aggressive upselling.
Instead, Edelweiss and Discover may have landed on something the group’s full-service carriers haven’t. Business class that looks premium without requiring much explanation or another round of nickel-and-diming.
Air France is getting a much bigger home at New York-JFK.
The airline announced September 15 that it will move its JFK flights into the airport’s New Terminal One starting next year. Along with the move, Air France plans to open a new lounge spanning more than 2,700 square meters, or roughly 29,000 square feet.
It will be the largest lounge in Air France’s international network, with more than 400 seats spread across two levels.
Air France already operates a lounge in JFK’s existing Terminal 1, so this isn’t a new addition as much as a major upgrade. The current lounge includes dining, showers, a Clarins treatment area, and dedicated services for La Première passengers.
The new space will take that considerably further.
What to Expect From Air France’s New JFK Lounge
Air France hasn’t revealed every detail of the lounge yet. So far, the airline has released a rendering of the bar along with some early details about what will be inside.
The two-level lounge will include multiple dining areas focused on French cuisine, a bar serving French wines and Champagne, and dedicated spaces for working, relaxing, and beauty treatments.
AIR FRANCE
There will also be an exclusive area for Flying Blue Ultimate members.
La Première passengers will get a separate space of their own, including a dedicated dining experience created for the airline’s first class customers. Air France says the lounge will be part of a more personalized La Première airport experience extending from arrival at New Terminal One through boarding.
Who Will Have Access to the New Lounge?
The lounge will be open to Air France La Première and eligible business class passengers, although Business Light fares won’t include access.
SkyTeam Elite Plus members will also be eligible, along with qualifying passengers flying KLM and other SkyTeam partner airlines.
And Air France has plenty of passengers to accommodate at JFK. During the summer season, the airline operates up to six daily flights between JFK and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), in addition to three flights operated by transatlantic joint-venture partner Delta Air Lines.
Four of those daily Air France flights are operated by Boeing 777-300ERs equipped with the airline’s new La Première cabin.
Air France Is Moving Into JFK’s New Terminal One
The lounge is part of a much larger change underway at JFK.
New Terminal One is being built as part of the airport’s $19 billion redevelopment and will eventually replace the existing Terminal 1. Air France plans to move all of its JFK operations there beginning next year.
For Air France passengers, that also means the existing lounge’s days are numbered. Its replacement will be substantially larger and built around the airline’s latest premium products, including La Première.
There’s still plenty Air France hasn’t shown, including what most of the lounge will actually look like. But at nearly 29,000 square feet and with room for more than 400 guests, the new space will be a major step up from Air France’s current JFK lounge.
