Ryan Ewing

Founder of @AirlineGeeks and a lover of all flying things.

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

I often ask myself what makes aviation so special. Is it the miracle of flight? Absolutely. But I also like to think about what we are doing: connecting people from all walks of life. To most, these trips are significant life events. To us, they’re just another day in the life.

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

Buying Hawaiian gave Alaska a way to keep more of its customers’ international travel in-house.

Now it’s adding the cabins, lounges, and loyalty products to compete for their spending.

The harder part is making a more complex airline earn more money.

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

.@AlaskaAir's global expansion is a bet that selling more economy seats won’t be enough.

Revenue outside the main cabin now makes up 54% of Air Group’s total. Management wants 60%.

The new routes, premium cabins, and loyalty products are parts of the same plan.

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

The costs are real, too.

Q3 revenue rose 14% on 2.4% capacity growth. Alaska Air Group still reported a $147 million GAAP net loss, with higher fuel costs weighing on the business.

A stronger revenue mix helps. It doesn’t make long-haul flying immune to airline economics.

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

@PHXSkyHarbor averaged 52 monthly long-haul departures in 2019. The published 2027 schedule approaches 100, including just two months of Lufthansa.

For an airport that spent decades with London alone, that’s a fairly substantial change.

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

Phoenix is an @AmericanAir hub. But foreign carriers account for 94% of its net growth in long-haul departures since 2019.

Air France and two Taiwanese airlines have expanded the map beyond London. @Lufthansa is next.

That’s a meaningful shift for this airport. 🧵

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

Taipei went from unserved to two airlines in a matter of weeks.

China Airlines launched in December 2025. STARLUX followed in January.

Together, they supplied a quarter of PHX’s long-haul departures in the year ending September 2026. Neither had operated for the full reporting year.

[Jennifer Homendy @JenniferHomendy]

Great job to the crew of @united flight 1775 from IAD to ORD! Their communications with passengers and flight attendants and focus on #safety during turbulence was exceptional… the best I’ve ever heard. (Yes, I immediately texted their VP of Corporate Safety)

DYK @NTSB published a study and recommendations on preventing turbulence-related injuries in 2021: https://t.co/mDawqgtiFX

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

Trevor Milton gives an exterior tour of the @SyberJetAero SJ36.

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

Checking out the BBJ at #NBAA2026 ✈️

[David Shepardson @davidshepardson]

.@FAANews confirms it has certified the Boeing 737 MAX 10

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

.@lufthansa will add another point to its U.S. route map.

Starting in August 2027, the carrier will launch year-round service from its Munich hub to Phoenix.

https://t.co/TMwCsrkRHJ

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

Former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton unveiled a full-scale mockup of SyberJet’s SJ36 light jet Monday.

The nine-seat aircraft is targeting Mach 0.88 and 3,000 nautical miles of range. Milton was pardoned by President Trump in 2025 following a fraud conviction. #NBAA2026

[David Shepardson @davidshepardson]

.@AmericanAir announces some management changes including Chris Kelly Singley
"will join the team as vice president – Commercial
Communications, Advertising and Sponsorships"

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

No Wild Turkey tastings?

[AirlineGeeks @AirlineGeeks]

CHECK IT OUT: @SouthwestAir sharing this rendering of the new Southwest Icon Lounge at @Fly_Nashville. Several lounges will be open by the end of 2027.

#southwestairlines #nashville #lounges #avgeek

📷: @SouthwestAir

[Ben Bearup @TheAviationBeat]

11 years ago today chasing the mighty Air France A380 around Dulles Airport with @FlyingHighRyan.

[Ryan Ewing @FlyingHighRyan]

Love stories like this one. Airline employees being empowered to properly serve customers is a beautiful thing.

[Anand Valavalkar @AnandValavalkar]

i fear my @Delta glazing has reached terminal levels after what happened this morning.

for context, i’m admittedly one of the biggest delta fans on the planet.

platinum medallion since 2019. diamond since 2023. they’ve driven me across the tarmac in a porsche during a layover in SLC. i genuinely aspire to make delta 360° someday.

i love this airline an unreasonable amount.

but today was something else entirely.

i had a 6 am flight from JFK to SLC to meet with customers and close a few new ones. pretty important meetings, and not ones i could easily reschedule.

called my uber at 4 am. got in at 4:15. ETA 4:46.

plenty of time. or so i thought.

my uber driver made the bonehead decision forsake the gps and take a highway that was down to ONE LANE for overnight construction.

ETA became 5:01.

then 5:07.

then 5:14.

i have two checked bags because i’m traveling for the next three weeks, and JFK has a 60-minute cutoff for checking bags.

i’m watching the ETA slip further and further past that cutoff, knowing i’m increasingly cooked.

finally arrive at JFK at 5:16.

run inside. six groups ahead of me in the sky priority line.

by the time i reach the counter, it’s 5:24.

i’ve already accepted defeat. the next flight gets into SLC at 2:14 pm. i’m mentally drafting the emails to customers explaining why i need to cancel/reschedule meetings.

but i figure i’ll ask anyway.

“any chance my bags can go on a later flight than me?”

no. obviously no.

the agent, who happens to be a red coat, gets me checked in for the 11 am flight. hands me my ID, bag tags, and boarding pass.

then, almost as an afterthought:

“i wish i could help you, especially when it’s this close. maybe go to the gate and ask if they can put you on the 6 am.”

wait.

THAT’S AN OPTION?

i tell this man, verbatim, “if this works i’m going to come back here and kiss you.”

and then i SPRINT through JFK terminal 4.

get to the gate. explain to the agent that i missed the baggage cutoff, got moved to the later flight, and was wondering if there was ANY way i could still get on this one.

she looks at me. she knows this was entirely my fault.

“all i have left are middle seats.”

“i would fly to salt lake city in the lavatory if you let me.”

she laughs.

prints my boarding pass.

i look down.

WINDOW SEAT.

i board the plane, still in disbelief.

then my phone buzzes.

a notification from the delta app.

both of my checked bags are on my flight.

somehow, despite arriving at JFK 44 minutes before departure with two checked bags, i’m on my original flight, in a window seat, with my luggage, and my meetings are saved.

i know airlines get a lot of hate. sometimes deservedly so.

but two delta employees took a situation that was entirely my fault and went out of their way to help me when they absolutely didn’t have to.

that’s the kind of thing that makes a customer for life.

i was already embarrassingly loyal to delta.

at this point i don’t know how much more loyal i can get.

although, delta, if anyone from the 360° team is reading this, i am extremely available.

i love this airline. 🔺