APEX
• Joshua Kupietzky
American Airlines plans to begin construction this year on a roughly 40,000-square-foot Admirals Club at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, with the lounge expected to open in 2028. The facility will be the largest in American’s network, exceeding the size of its planned Dallas/Fort Worth club.
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As airlines embrace free in-flight connectivity, Starlink has made significant inroads over the past two to three years. Four airlines compare offerings spanning low-Earth-orbit, geostationary and multi-orbit systems, reflecting a market at an inflection point.
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American Airlines plans to begin construction this year on a roughly 40,000-square-foot Admirals Club at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, with the lounge expected to open in 2028. The facility will be the largest in American’s network, exceeding the size of its planned Dallas/Fort Worth club.
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British Airways is redesigning its Airbus A380 cabins, removing 52 seats to add premium-economy capacity and create what it says will be the world’s largest business-class deck. The investment reflects the airline’s effort to prioritize higher-yield passengers at slot-constrained Heathrow, even as A380 production has ended and new widebodies face delays.
Alaska Airlines plans to limit seatback in-flight entertainment screens to selected seats in the premium Aurora configuration of its 737 MAX 10. The unusual choice reflects a differentiated approach to cabin design and passenger experience, with the airline offering specific reasons for departing from the industry norm.
The FAA is proposing changes to the medical equipment airlines must carry, but doctors say the plan fails to adopt recommendations from an expert panel, including requiring modern tools such as EpiPens. The proposal instead emphasizes carrier flexibility, raising questions about consistent onboard emergency preparedness.
The British government plans to prohibit airlines from charging parents extra to reserve seats next to their children, while also promising action on fees for correcting simple name mistakes. The measures are being framed as an “everyday fix” to reduce what ministers call rip-off airline charges.
Delta Air Lines has chosen Amazon’s Leo satellite network to power its next-generation in-flight Wi-Fi, opting for the service over SpaceX’s Starlink. The decision positions Amazon’s emerging connectivity network as a competitor in airline broadband and gives Delta a different technology path from United.
A passenger who says a male seatmate masturbated beside her during an American Airlines transatlantic red-eye from New York JFK to Milan has been allowed to pursue a lawsuit against the carrier. She alleges the incident left her with post-traumatic stress disorder after being trapped in her window seat for about an hour.
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