PaxEx.Aero
• Seth Miller
Southwest Airlines hosted a live gaming tournament aboard a flight at 35,000 feet, turning the cabin into an inflight gaming arena. The event coincides with the carrier promoting Starlink as it refreshes its inflight internet, though one report questions claims about gamer performance on the service.
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U.S. airlines expect nearly 29 million passengers to travel over Thanksgiving in 2026, according to the report. The busiest airport days are forecast to be Nov. 29 and 30, following a record for TSA passenger screenings during the previous year’s holiday period.
A Microsoft service failure lasting about 18 hours affected businesses across 74 countries, creating communication bottlenecks for airlines and contributing to localized delays and cancellations, including grounded flights in India. Microsoft attributed the disruption to overwhelmed servers, not a cyberattack; most flights were spared, but the episode exposed operational reliance on cloud services.
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Southwest Airlines hosted a live gaming tournament aboard a flight at 35,000 feet, turning the cabin into an inflight gaming arena. The event coincides with the carrier promoting Starlink as it refreshes its inflight internet, though one report questions claims about gamer performance on the service.
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Global airlines are relying more heavily on well-heeled passengers to offset high fuel costs, but winning their business is becoming harder—even for Singapore Airlines, long seen as a pacesetter. The backlash over its cabin design highlights the challenge of meeting premium travelers’ expectations.
Turkish Airlines, a Star Alliance carrier, says it sees no need to offer first class as it brings back premium economy. The airline introduced an upgraded economy product more than a decade ago, ahead of competitors, before removing it altogether.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has filed a police complaint against former CEO Camiel Eurlings after a power bank caught fire during a flight in September, prompting an emergency diversion, according to reports. The complaint brings attention to the onboard safety risks posed by battery-powered devices.
Proactive AI is changing how airlines approach customer experience, but its role in routine service depends on whether it can perform reliably. The central question is how much responsibility airlines should delegate to these features before they have demonstrated consistent results.
SpiceJet cancelled its Dubai-to-India services on Nov. 12-13 after ground handler dnata stopped check-in services over unpaid bills reportedly totaling $3.8 million. Four flights to Amritsar, Jaipur, Mumbai and Delhi were affected, adding an operational disruption to the Indian carrier’s financial pressures.
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