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Shippers hold their breath as US-Iran deal promises to reopen Hormuz
The most consequential development in maritime trade this week unfolded not at a US port but in the narrow waters of the Strait of Hormuz, where months of conflict have throttled one of the world's most vital oil arteries. Washington and Tehran announced a framework agreement to end their war, lift the US naval blockade of Iran and reopen the strait, with a memorandum of understanding expected to be signed in Switzerland on Friday 19 June. President Trump said on 14 June that
2 minutes ago2 min read
American re-enters the widebody race as Delta and United pull ahead
For nearly a decade, American Airlines watched from the sidelines while its two biggest rivals quietly stockpiled long-haul jets. That changed this week. At the carrier's annual shareholders meeting on 10 June, chief executive Robert Isom confirmed that American has issued a request for proposals to both Airbus and Boeing for a new generation of widebody aircraft, its first such order since committing to the Boeing 787 in 2018. Isom framed the move as routine long-term planni
9 minutes ago2 min read
Rail's Banner Spring Collides With a Merger in Limbo and a Picket Line at CPKC
Freight rail is enjoying the kind of spring it has not seen in years, even as the industry's defining storyline, the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern megamerger, grinds through a regulatory holding pattern with no resolution in sight. The volume picture is genuinely strong. For the week ending June 6, total US rail traffic rose 7.8 percent year over year, the ninth straight week of gains, powered overwhelmingly by intermodal, which jumped 13.6 percent. Domestic intermo
20 hours ago2 min read
Trucking's 'Uncharted Territory': Spot Rates Surge as Federal Crackdown Thins the Herd
The American trucking market has barreled into conditions that industry insiders are no longer pretending to recognise. Heading into the week of June 8, spot rates on well-trafficked lanes were running at roughly double their normal levels, and analysts at multiple freight desks have begun using a phrase that ordinarily invites eye-rolls: uncharted territory. The numbers carry the argument. Truckload spot rates have climbed to around $3.55 per mile against contract rates near
20 hours ago2 min read
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Newark Airport Dispute Exposes Political Risk to US Aviation
One of America’s busiest international airports found itself at the centre of political confrontation. The Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin threatened on 28 May that the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travellers and cargo at Newark airport as local law enforcement in the Blue State of New Jersey refused to assist federal immigration officials. With fans gearing up for the FIFA World Cup this summer, questions over international
Jun 83 min read
The Right Policy at the Wrong Moment: Why Family Seating Fees Should Wait
When a parent books a flight for themselves and a young child, most assume the family will sit together. For many travellers, that assumption does not survive contact with the booking page. Across several major carriers, seating a parent next to their child can mean an extra charge, a gamble on whatever is left at check-in, or an awkward negotiation with strangers at the gate. A long-running effort in Washington has sought to put an end to that. The question now is not whethe
Jun 44 min read
United Airlines Flight Attendants Ratify New Contract Following 6 Years of Negotiations. Was The Wait Worth It?
United flight attendants ratified the tentative agreement yesterday with a vote of 82% in favour. The result emerged after eight months of further mediated talks and was announced on March 26 following a four-day session in Washington D.C. The agreed contract will last for five years from May 31, 2026, to May 31, 2031. The United Airlines flight attendants have been on stagnant pay since the pandemic as they watch rival aviation companies Delta and American reward their work
May 144 min read
‘We owe it to the victims’ families and the American flying public’ | Interview with Rep. Sharice Davids on aviation safety reform after Flight 5342
Sharice Davids is the Democratic representative for Kansas’s 3rd District, covering much of the Kansas City metropolitan area. She sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and has played a leading role in Congress's response to the midair collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on 29 January 2025, in which 67 people were killed. Davids helped lead the bipartisan ALERT Act, which passed the House last month by 396 votes
May 64 min read
‘We owe it to the victims’ families and the American flying public’ | Interview with Rep. Sharice Davids on aviation safety reform after Flight 5342
Sharice Davids is the Democratic representative for Kansas’s 3rd District, covering much of the Kansas City metropolitan area. She sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and has played a leading role in Congress's response to the midair collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on 29 January 2025, in which 67 people were killed. Davids helped lead the bipartisan ALERT Act, which passed the House last month by 396 votes
May 64 min read
'MH370 disappearance shows how ruthless democracy's enemies are' | Interview with aviation journalist Jeff Wise
Jeff Wise is a journalist specializing in aviation, technology, and psychology who has written for Businessweek, Psychology Today, and...
Aug 16, 20244 min read
A High Flying Career: Flight Attendant Kara Mulder on the Evolving Landscape of Aviation
Kara Mulder, an accomplished flight attendant and the creative force behind the popular Flight Attendant Life blog, has leveraged her...
Aug 17, 20234 min read
With Summer Travel Almost Here, the FAA Remains Leaderless
In another twist in the saga of complications and chaos that has been plaguing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it has recently...
Apr 12, 20233 min read
Newark Airport Dispute Exposes Political Risk to US Aviation
One of America’s busiest international airports found itself at the centre of political confrontation. The Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin threatened on 28 May that the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travellers and cargo at Newark airport as local law enforcement in the Blue State of New Jersey refused to assist federal immigration officials. With fans gearing up for the FIFA World Cup this summer, questions over international
Jun 83 min read
The Right Policy at the Wrong Moment: Why Family Seating Fees Should Wait
When a parent books a flight for themselves and a young child, most assume the family will sit together. For many travellers, that assumption does not survive contact with the booking page. Across several major carriers, seating a parent next to their child can mean an extra charge, a gamble on whatever is left at check-in, or an awkward negotiation with strangers at the gate. A long-running effort in Washington has sought to put an end to that. The question now is not whethe
Jun 44 min read
Duffy’s Xbox Controllers
How the FAA's gaming pitch drew a record 12,350 applications in a single hiring window The United States Federal Aviation Administration has spent the better part of a decade wrestling with a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers. This month, it tried something unorthodox: it asked video gamers to step up. The response was overwhelming. On 17 April 2026, the FAA opened its annual hiring window for trainee air traffic controllers with a recruitment campaign built around
Apr 223 min read
Fuelling the Crisis: Aviation’s most dangerous vulnerability exposed
There is a line buried in airline annual reports that tends to get overlooked in good times. Fuel costs are, the reports note, "extremely volatile and unpredictable, and even a small change in market fuel prices can significantly affect profitability." Southwest Airlines wrote that in its 2025 filing. Weeks later, it became the understatement of the year. When the US and Israel struck Iran on 28 February 2026, the airline industry's most intractable cost problem moved from ch
Apr 103 min read
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