We’ve made it through the first full week of 2025 and it’s time for our second weekly recap of 2025. This week was full of technology innovations, some more far fetched than others, from Delta while American Airlines continues its race to the bottom with more service cuts. Winter slammed the southeast leading to flight cancellations and Alaska Airlines announced a fast track to elite status for employees of select companies. Check out the full weekly recap for January 11, 2025 below.
Delta Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary With New Innovations and Partnerships
Delta rang in 2025 in a massive way at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The event, which felt more like an Apple product unveiling rather than an airline announcement, featured a keynote speech from CEO Ed Bastian and highlighted some of the new onboard innovations and partnerships the airline is launching. While some, like the ability to call a flying taxi to your house, are far fetched, passengers will see some of the changes onboard soon.
American Airlines is Ending the Second Beverage Service on Domestic Flights
While Delta was announcing a slew of new, passenger friendly, innovations, American Airlines was making unfriendly changes its onboard service protocol. The airline will no longer provide a second beverage service in the Economy cabin on longer flights. Instead, after the first beverage service, drinks will be served “on-demand”.
Alaska Airlines is Offering Fast Track Elite Status to Employees of Select Companies
Alaska Airlines announced this week that it is offering a fast track to elite status for employees of select companies. The opportunity is limited to employees of 30, very large, organizations but it could be a good opportunity for OneWorld frequent flyers looking to move away from British Airways after its recent changes. Alaska is also one of the only airlines left in the United States that awards status based on distance flown rather than the price of your ticket.
American Airlines is Removing the CRJ-200 From Its Regional Fleet
It wasn’t all bad news on the passenger experience front for American Airlines frequent flyers this week. The Fort Worth based carrier and its regional partner Air Wisconsin are ending their partnership in April 2025. Air Wisconsin flies CRJ-200s under the American Eagle brand from its hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). With the removal of the CRJ-200, only the Embraer E145s operated by Piedmont will remain as the single cabin aircraft in the American Eagle fleet.
Summary
The first full week had plenty of aviation and travel related news. Most of the stories revolved around the passenger experience with some carriers moving to make improvements while others reduced service. Thanks for checking out the January 11, 2025 weekly recap!
(Images courtesy Air Wisconsin and Delta Air Lines)