Greetings from Austin! Its been a busy week here in Central Texas with the United States Grand Prix Formula 1 race taking place at Circuit of the Americas. Mrs. ATX, ATX Jr., and I visited the track yesterday for qualifying and to take in the festivities. While I’m not a huge fan of F1 racing, it was fun seeing all of the different activations at the track, including the one from American Express.
On the travel and aviation front, we saw some special liveries released, Starlink make its debut on a mainline United aircraft, and a dispute between the Detroit airport authority and the TSA over a video regarding the government shutdown. All of that and more in the ATX Jetsetter weekly recap for the week ended October 18, 2025.
In this post:
- The Detroit Airport is not Happy About the TSA Checkpoint Videos
- Delta Won’t Fly Narrowbody Planes on Transatlantic Routes
- Starlink Makes Its Debut on United Mainline Aircraft
- The Citi Strata Elite Card is Having Some Issues
- American Airlines Unveils Special Flagship Livery Ahead of Centennial
- Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW)
- Summary
The Detroit Airport is not Happy About the TSA Checkpoint Videos
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been putting up videos near checkpoints blaming Democrats for the federal government shutdown. Multiple airports, including Detroit, aren’t happy with the messaging though the Michigan airport can’t take the videos down since the monitors are located in TSA leased space. Instead, they have deployed signage stating their position on the matter.
Delta Won’t Fly Narrowbody Planes on Transatlantic Routes
Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein said during the airline’s most recent earnings call that it has no plans to operate narrowbody jets on transatlantic flights. Unlike American and United, Delta hasn’t ordered the Airbus A321XLR and won’t operate narrowbody transatlantic flights due to “product and brand issues”.
Starlink Makes Its Debut on United Mainline Aircraft
United Airlines has just introduced its first mainline aircraft equipped with Starlink Wi-Fi into the fleet. The fifteen year old Boeing 737-800 flew media members earlier in the week before entering revenue service with a flight between Newark and Houston.
The Citi Strata Elite Card is Having Some Issues
According to The Wall Street Journal, Citi Strata Elite cardholders have been locked out of their accounts and forced to upload IRS documents in order to get them unfrozen. This has been quite a nightmare for cardholders and certainly isn’t what you’d expect from a premium travel card.
American Airlines Unveils Special Flagship Livery Ahead of Centennial
American Airlines will paint one of its Boeing 777-300ERs in a special ‘Flagship’ livery in advance of the airline’s centennial celebrations. The aircraft, registration N735AT, will make its debut in the new livery in November 2025.
Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW)
Overall, the American Airlines Flagship Lounge at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport is a very nice lounge. It has a ton of space to spread out, great views of the ramp, and an above average beverage selection. Maybe it was the time of day but the food didn’t live up to the expectations I had for a Flagship Lounge at American’s home airport and largest hub.
If you have the ability to access the Flagship Lounge I definitely recommend a visit. Get to the airport early to check out the views and enjoy a glass of champagne before your flight but don’t get too excited about the food.
Summary
With the United States Grand Prix happening this weekend, its been a busy couple of days here in Austin. The race and the festivities that accompany it have been fun but, I’m ready to get back to traveling next weekend. We’ll be in Dallas next week and closing out the month with a quick trip to Houston.
As always, thank you for checking out the weekly recap for the week ended October 18, 2025!