Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Global aviation has not just recovered from the pandemic – it has moved well past where it was before the outbreak. Last year, airlines worldwide carried 5.3 billion passengers, a new all-time record. And with demand continuing to climb, the pressure on airlines to find flexible, cost-effective capacity solutions has never been greater. Gediminas Ziemelis, founder and chairman of Avia Solutions Group – the world’s largest ACMI provider – has been watching this shift up close. In his view, the industry is at an inflection point: wet leasing, once seen as a last resort, is steadily becoming a mainstream fleet…

Strategically buying points for premium travel can be a great value. Finnair Plus has just launched its newest promotion on purchased Avios, offering up to a 40% discount. This is among the better deals we’ve seen from the program, and there’s even a trick to getting the lowest price possible. Between March 17 and March 30, 2026, Finnair Plus is offering a discount on purchased Avios. This promotion offers tiered rewards, as follows:Buy 5,000-19,000 Avios, receive a 25% discountBuy 20,000-49,000 Avios, receive a 30% discountBuy 50,000-84,000 Avios, receive a 35% discountBuy 85,000-200,000 Avios, receive a 40% discountBuy Finnair Plus Avios…

British Airways has just announced plans to add a second route to Australia, and of course it will be a fifth freedom route. I’m curious if this has been in the cards for some time, or if this is happening in light of developments in the Middle East in recent weeks. British Airways launching flights to Melbourne, Australia As of January 9, 2027, British Airways plans to launch a second daily, year-round flight to Australia. Specifically, the airline plans to fly from London (LHR) to Melbourne (MEL) via Kuala Lumpur (KUL). The schedule will be as follows: BA33 London to…

We’re now several weeks into the latest partial government shutdown, which means many federal workers aren’t receiving paychecks. Perhaps the most public impacts of this are felt at airports, and there are some statistics that I think are worth covering. How many TSA agents are calling in sick for work? One of the (many) big stories in recent days and weeks has been how long security lines have been at many airports in the United States. As you’d expect, TSA agents are increasingly calling in sick, as they haven’t received a paycheck in weeks. It’s totally unfair how they’re pawns…

Here’s a good reminder that perception of service onboard flights can differ significantly between passengers…. “I’m in first class, I shouldn’t be pouring the can” View from the Wing lays out the case for why he doesn’t like the practice of flight attendants giving passengers the can of what they’re drinking (in addition to the cup or glass, which may or may not already have some drink poured into it). He argues that if you’re flying first class, you shouldn’t be pouring your own drink, as someone should be doing it for you. Meanwhile if you’re in economy, he argues…

Delta Air Lines has quietly made a negative change to one of its most customer friendly policies. It’s worth being aware of, or you may miss out… Delta limits window for requesting bag guaranteeDelta has a 20-minute bag guarantee, whereby the airline promises that your checked bag will arrive at the baggage carousel within 20 minutes of your domestic flight’s arrival time at the gate. If the airline doesn’t meet that guarantee, you’re entitled to 2,500 bonus SkyMiles.For a long time, there have been rumors that we could see changes to this, or that Delta might discontinue the policy altogether.…

As someone who grew up in Tampa, I take more of an interest in Tampa International Airport (TPA) than most, and like to keep track of the major developments there, especially as it impacts long haul service. The airport has grown a lot over the years, and it’s also a lovely mid-size facility. Along those lines, there’s a major update when it comes to the airport’s longest standing transatlantic route… British Airways will fly from London Heathrow to Tampa British Airways has been flying to Tampa since 1985, so that’s for over 40 years now. While Tampa now has some…

Note: This post is updated to reflect that JetBlue appears to be increasing the size of its planned first class cabins — instead of having two to three rows of first class, the airline will have three to four rows. JetBlue is known for its excellent Mint business class experience, though the catch is that it’s only available on select premium routes. Fortunately some time ago, JetBlue announced plans to introduce a premium product throughout the rest of its fleet, more comparable to domestic first class. This makes perfect sense, not just due to the broad travel trends we’ve seen,…

American AAdvantage issues systemwide upgrades through its Loyalty Point Rewards program. The idea is that systemwide upgrades can be used to confirm upgrades in advance, though only if there’s confirmable upgrade space available (otherwise the upgrade requests are added to a waitlist).While upgrades do often eventually clear, having to waitlist sure isn’t fun, and adds stress for a lot of travelers. So along those lines, American has just launched what’s perhaps the most interesting systemwide upgrade promotion we’ve seen from the program. American will confirm systemwide upgrades, with a catchAmerican is offering a very limited time promotion when redeeming systemwide…

I just took my first cruise in over 20 years, and I have to say, my expectations were exceeded! I hadn’t really considered taking cruises for a long time, but I’ve been fascinated by the recent trend of luxury hotel groups getting into the cruising industry (or at least licensing out their names for such concepts), and I couldn’t help but give one of these a try. This industry is getting crowded — while Ritz-Carlton was first among these, we’re seeing similar concepts launch shortly from Four Seasons, Orient Express, and Aman. Anyway, I digress. We just sailed with Ritz-Carlton…