Airlines Confidential Podcast

Hosted by Scott McCartney

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341

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

Hosted by Scott McCartney, Fmr. Travel Editor/"Middle Seat" Columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Top Stories, C-Suite Guests, Listener Q's. The Leading Podcast Reaching Travel Industry Insiders, Frequent Flyers, & Aviation Geeks. Created by & Dedicated to Ben Baldanza.

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60 recent

June 10, 20261 hr 29 min

341 - Guest: Glen Hauenstein, Fmr. President, Delta Air Lines

Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt & Host Scott McCartney, with Glen Hauenstein, Fmr. President, Delta Air Lines. Also: A look beyond the public press release on leadership shakeup at Southwest & SWA's corporate culture; Report from the Caribbean Tourism Organization conference in NYC; Listener input: Bipartisan praise for FAA Administrator, Bryan Bedford; Thoughts on redundant Texas airports. Bonus ending: Happy anniversary from grandkids Sophia, Miller & Juliette.

June 3, 20261 hr 11 min

340 - Guest Co-Host: Charles Duncan. Guest: Erik Olund, CEO, Sky Chefs

Guest Co-Host: Charles Duncan. Guest: Erik Olund, CEO, Sky Chefs. Also: A summary of the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Charleston SC, Boeing Max7 closer to certification; What might happen with Spirit's LGA slots? SWA fare hikes holding; Scott Kirby downplays a JetBlue acquisition; Breeze expands at CHS; Listener feedback on Bryan Bedford's Biden Administration comment.

May 27, 20261 hr 2 min

339 - Scott McCartney with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford

Scott McCartney with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. Topics: Airspace management, equipment modernization, controller staffing, and more. Also: Weather and a sinkhole, and Spirit's eye popping March numbers tell the unfortunate story.

May 20, 202654 min

338 - Scott McCartney & Guest Co-Host Doug Parker on Crisis Management

Scott McCartney & Guest Co-Host Doug Parker on Crisis Management. News: Berkshire Hathaway buys stake in Delta; FAA staffing report released; Allegiant - Sun Country deal completed; Spirit capacity update; SWA new gates in San Antonio; MD-11s back in service at FedEx; Listener input on PBI being renamed DJT.

May 13, 20261 hr 30 min

337 - From Panama: Focus on Copa Airlines: Robert Carey, EVP, / Deniece Nicholas Holness, Dir, System Operations

Scott McCartney & Guest Co-Host Henry Hardeveldt in Panama City, Panama. Guests from Copa Airlines: Robert Carey, EVP, & Deniece Nicholas Holness, Director, System Operations Control Center. Also: Spirit's scattered airplanes and engines; Delta crew scheduling concerns; Frontier's cost increase & aircraft utilization issue; PBI named Donald J Trump International Airport.

May 6, 202636 min

336 - Scott McCartney & Oscar Munoz: A tip of the hat to Spirit Airlines

Host Scott McCartney & Guest Co-Host Oscar Munoz. A tip of the hat to Spirit. Also: Remembering Ben Baldanza's vision and success, and what changed after Ben's departure as Spirit's CEO. What contributed to the downfall, and which carriers will benefit most going forward; Also: Revamped front cabin pricing initiatives; JetBlue results; NY/NJ Port Authority adding transponders to vehicles; Listener corrections and comments.

April 29, 202656 min

335 - Guest Co-Host Maya Leibman. Guest: Rick Elieson, Chief Revenue Officer, Signature Aviation

Guest Co-Host Maya Leibman. Guest: Rick Elieson, Chief Revenue Officer, Signature Aviation. News: Spirit's potential government bailout; Overall demand for air travel continues; Q1 results; Alaska-Hawaiian system cutover process; NTSB preliminary report issued on LGA CRJ/fire truck incident.

April 22, 20261 hr 14 min

334 - Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Hosts Charles Duncan & Jay Sorensen

Scott McCartney with Guest Co-Hosts Charles Duncan & Jay Sorensen. Discussion topics: The Scott Kirby vision - What if? The issues with United and American; Spirit now asking for a government bailout; Listener question on credit card profitability.

April 15, 202659 min

333 - Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt. Guest: Vicki Jaramillo, EVP/CCO, Orlando Int. Airport

Guest Co-Host Henry Harteveldt. Guest: Vicki Jaramillo, EVP/Chief Commercial Officer, Orlando International Airport. Topics: Q1 loss at Delta; Fuel cost impact; Citibank files objection to Spirit proceeding; Pricing pressures & baggage fees; Listener feedback on safety issues previously discussed, plus a quick shout-out from George & Caroline.

April 8, 20261 hr 14 min

332 - Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis. Guest: Khalid Usman, Partner, Oliver Wyman

Guest Co-Host Christina Cassotis. Guest: Khalid Usman, Partner, Oliver Wyman. News: British Airways to allow Video/Audio calls with Starlink; Spirit proceedings update; JetBlue & United raise bag fees; FAA reducing SFO arrival rate; Kevin Burke of ACI to retire; IATA's Willie Walsh named new CEO at IndiGo replacing Pieter Elbers; Listener feedback on "Professor" Doug Parker's route profitability.