Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Historically, Delta Air Lines has shied away from ultra long haul flights, with a limited number of exceptions. However, that’s slowly starting to change, as Delta plans to launch flights to Hong Kong (HKG) and Riyadh (RUH). That’s only the beginning of the growth, though, and there’s an interesting update regarding a new destination the airline plans to add. Delta confirms 2027 launch for flights to Manila, Philippines In late October 2025, a Delta executive revealed to employees internally that the airline plans to add flights to Singapore (SIN) and Manila (MNL), though stopped short of providing a timeline for the…

What a sad state of affairs when a major airport is begging passengers to bring gifts for those working at the airport… Denver Airport requests grocery & gas gift cards Denver Airport has taken to social media to ask for donations for TSA agents. Specifically, the airport is asking passengers to “support the dedicated TSA employees working without pay by donating $10 and $20 grocery store and gas gift cards.” It’s noted that Visa gift cards can’t be accepted, and that’s because federal employees can’t accept gifts of cash or cash equivalents. You’d think a grocery store or gas gift…

GHA Discovery is a hotel loyalty program that flies under the radar, but really shouldn’t. It offers the ability to earn and redeem rewards, and take advantage of elite perks, at hundreds of properties around the globe, including some small, luxury hotel groups (like Capella Hotels & Resorts).Along those lines, GHA Discovery has just launched a lucrative new paid status match promotion in partnership with statusmatch.com, which may interest some people. GHA Discovery is offering a status match to either Titanium or Platinum status. This is an outright match, and status is valid through December 31, 2027 (so there’s no…

Marriott Bonvoy has just rolled out a positive change, though perhaps in reality it’s just intended to slightly offset the points inflation we’ve seen in recent years. Marriott expands free night award top off featureIn early 2022, Marriott Bonvoy rolled out a new functionality, whereby free night awards could be topped off with up to 15,000 points per night to stay at a more expensive property (compared to not being able to top them off at all). In other words, if you have a free night certificate valid at a property costing up to 50,000 points, you could redeem the…

A Russian Il-20M surveillance aircraft was intercepted two days in a row by Norwegian F-35s in international airspace around the country while NATO’s Exercise Cold Response is ongoing. The Norwegian Armed Forces announced that the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s (RNoAF) F-35A Lightning IIs intercepted a Russian Il-20M “Coot” surveillance aircraft operating in international airspace around the country two days in a row. The statement stressed that these events are now routine, but also said they were expected as the country is currently hosting NATO’s Exercise Cold Response 2026. “It is important to emphasize that there is nothing unusual or dramatic…

The habits of United Airlines’ CEO might explain why the carrier’s Polaris business class catering is still such an area for improvement… Scott Kirby has never eaten on overnight transatlantic flight David Slotnick recently had the chance to sit down with United CEO Scott Kirby for an interview, and he shared some thoughts on that in his Substack. Kirby is a smart and interesting guy, and he’s typically willing to talk, and say things that other executives might not be willing to say. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit is Kirby denying that United is interested in merging with JetBlue, claiming…

Japan’s Aviation Development and Testing Group has released official photos of the JASDF’s EC-2 Stand-Off Jammer aircraft which was first spotted last month at Gifu Air Base. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Aviation Development and Testing Group has released the first official photos of the new EC-2 Stand-Off Jammer aircraft, providing a close-up look at the platform. The aircraft was first spotted in February 2026 at Gifu Air Base, where it was caught at a distance in the background of a photo showing a Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft taking off. The EC-2 is the latest in a number of Japanese aircraft…

You might notice American Airlines flight attendants wearing more union pins going forward, and that has some symbolic significance… American flight attendants wage “WAR” on Robert IsomAmerican CEO Robert Isom isn’t very popular at the moment, especially among employees. A little over a month ago, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents the Fort Worth-based carrier’s 28,000 flight attendants, issued a vote of no confidence in Isom, the first time the union has ever done that.While the union wants Isom replaced, it’s clear that’s not happening any time soon, as the Board of Directors (of which Isom is…

The tanker was reportedly lost after an incident involving another aircraft in friendly airspace over western Iraq; the second aircraft landed safely. A KC-135 was lost during Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command announced on Mar. 12, 2026. Here’s the statement released by CENTCOM:  U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile…

An OMAAT reader who asked to remain anonymous shared an interesting story with me, and I’m not sure what exactly the correct take is… I’m curious what others think. Emirates passenger learns he’s banned after booking Several weeks back, a family from the UK (husband, wife, and baby) booked Emirates tickets for a holiday in Dubai. Then around 24 hours before the flight, Emirates canceled the traveler’s booking, and sent him an email saying he is “not welcome to travel on any Emirates flight.” As a result, he booked travel on another airline. He flew the outbound on mid-February and…