The drama-filled year in airlines started with a midair door panel blowing off a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9.
CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC last week that demand looks strong going into 2025. The airline has been stepping up its premium offerings for high-paying customers, like with three new Delta One lounges, dedicated to travelers flying in that eponymous highest-tier cabin; New York, Los Angeles and Boston opened this year, with more on the way.last week featured Martin Short playing a Delta employee who blocks actor Paul Rudd from entering a coveted Delta Sky Club, saying his name"sounds poor.
United is introducing freshly outfitted narrow-body planes with new interiors featuring seat-back screens and Bluetooth connections into its fleet. It announced aCEO Scott Kirby early in the year said the carrier isn't counting on Boeing's yet-to-be-certified 737 Max 10 and will look at more Airbus planes as an alternative, but he's thrown his support behind the planemaker's new chief executive,Say goodbye to open seating.
The airline started the year with the door-plug blowout of one of its new Boeing planes, which led to a temporary grounding of Max 9s, and later a payout from Boeing, which makes the Maxes a few miles away in Renton, Washington.