• The American Airlines jet that crashed in DC was given a runway change minutes before the tragedy.
• Audio tapes show the military helicopter had the passenger plane "in sight" before the collision.
• The NTSB will look at pilot and air traffic control actions when investigating the crash.

In the minutes before an American Airlines flight crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, an air traffic controller requested a last-minute runway change.

The regional jet, operated by PSA Airlines, was descending over Virginia and headed for the north-facing "Mount Vernon Visual Runway 1" approach at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Pilots had confirmed their approach to air traffic controllers at the airport tower around 8:42 p.m.

Moments later, a controller reported high crosswinds on Runway 1 and asked the pilots to shift to the intersecting runway.

"Bluestreak 5342 Washington Tower winds are 320 at 17, gusts 25. Can you take Runway 33?" the controller said. Bluestreak is the call sign for PSA flights.

The pilots agreed, and within minutes, the plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter. All 67 people on board both aircraft died.

Business Insider reviewed official briefings, flight data, and air traffic control audio recordings to piece together what happened before tragedy struck.

The plane and helicopter's final moments of flight

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is an extremely busy airspace, but officials said it was a largely normal night of flying. Winds were gusty — something pilots are trained for — and the skies were clear.

The American flight had been approaching from the south, following the Potomac River along a well-known path for pilots and frequent flyers of the DC area.

The narrow corridor helps separate traffic from highly secure airspace around the White House, Pentagon, and other government buildings.

Seconds before the American flight agreed to change its path, another PSA jet responded to the same request to shift to Runway 33 as "unable," meaning it was not in a position to make the adjustment.

That flight, from Montgomery, Alabama, landed on Runway 1 as planned and continued to its gate.

The PSA pilots of flight 5342 accepting the change is not unusual. Runway 33 is a shorter strip that faces Northwest and can handle a regional aircraft like the Bombardier CRJ700 the pilots were flying.

The switch-up required the plane to move from its north-facing heading toward the Potomac's east bank before swinging back over the river to land.

At approximately 8:43 p.m., flight 5342 was cleared to land.

At the same time as the crew of flight 5342 was prepping for the new runway, an Army Black Hawk helicopter was making its way south along the river's eastern shore, following a standard, published path known as "Route 4."

Several of these channels cut through the DC area, allowing military aircraft to coexist with commercial traffic in and out of airports.

At about 8:47 p.m., a controller asked the helicopter, call sign PAT25, if they had "the CRJ in sight" and to pass behind it. The CRJ refers to the regional CRJ700 aircraft operated by PSA.

The helicopter pilot confirmed that they had the "aircraft in sight" and requested "visual separation."

Just seconds later, gasps from controllers can be heard on the audio tapes. ATC began canceling flight landings and diverting planes from National.

DC fire chief John Donnelly said emergency vehicles were on the scene by 8:58 p.m. to begin rescue operations.

Human factors are just one consideration for investigators

At a briefing Thursday, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said teams will examine human factors as they piece together a complete picture of the crash.

"They will study the crew performance and all of the actions and factors that might be involved in human error, including fatigue, medication, medical histories, training, workload, equipment design, and work environment," NTSB member Todd Inman said. They'll also be combing through the wreckage and other evidence for clues as to what went wrong.

A preliminary FAA report obtained by the New York Times and others said staffing at National's ATC tower was "not normal" at the time of the crash. The outlet reported that the controller was handling the duties of two people, including directing helicopters in the area and passenger planes landing and taking off.

Inman said during a Friday press conference that an air traffic controller group will be conducting interviews over the next several days for the NTSB's investigation.

The NTSB official added that the black boxes from both aircraft, which will provide key insights into the moments leading up to the collision, were recovered.

Brian Alexander, a military helicopter pilot and a partner at aviation accident firm Kreindler & Kreindler, told BI that the nighttime conditions, many aircraft lights, and busy skies may have contributed to the catastrophe.

"There was another jet on final, a couple of other jets on final, and it's conceivable the helicopter pilot was watching the wrong aircraft," he said, emphasizing that was speculation at this point.

An airline pilot previously told BI that flying in and out of National was like "threading a needle" due to the highly restricted corridors and heavy traffic, including low-flying helicopters.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a former Black Hawk pilot, told reporters that military pilots generally wouldn't talk directly to PSA pilots on the radio, but "everyone's listening on the same frequency."

She said the PSA plane would know that the Black Hawk was in the area but would be relying on ATC as the intermediary.

"Did one of the aircraft stray away latitude, sideways in the airspace from the route that they were supposed to be on? Was the Black Hawk higher than the 200 feet?" Duckworth said. "These are all things that the accident investigators would be looking at."

The NTSB said its preliminary report is expected to be published within 30 days.

• An American Airlines flight collided with a helicopter, raising questions about air traffic control.
• Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a former Black Hawk pilot, said military and civilian pilots usually do not speak directly to each other.
• The FAA faces a shortage of controllers, impacting high-traffic areas like Washington DC.

The crash of an American Airlines flight in Washington, DC, has renewed anxiety about air-traffic control staffing and procedures at US airports, especially in crowded airspaces.

As investigators began to piece together how a military helicopter collided with the regional jet, questions swirled about communication between the pilots and Reagan National Airport's control tower.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an ex-Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot, told reporters that military aircraft usually do not talk directly to commercial pilots, as ATC is the responsible intermediary.

"Everybody's listening on the same frequency," she said, adding that the American flight that crashed would have been aware of the Black Hawk helicopter in the skies. "You are listening to instructions from ATC. ATC is telling you what to do."

Duckworth said an FAA briefing involving ATC tapes revealed the helicopter pilots were told about the passenger plane, and the crew confirmed "at least twice" that they had the jet in sight before the crash.

She added that the American flight was cleared to land and would have had the "right of way" and that the Black Hawk was told to pass behind. The flight was in visual flight conditions, meaning the helicopter would be visually searching for the plane.

"They would be looking up to try to find this aircraft, pick it out of the sky as it's coming in for a landing," she said.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, some military and civil aircraft, if equipped, can talk to each other using specific emergency frequencies. This is usually reserved for distress situations where immediate communication is necessary. It's unclear if the Black Hawk was equipped.

"[The Black Hawk's] flight path should have been hugging the east bank of the Potomac River, so they should not have been within the flight path of that landing aircraft," she said. "Did one of the aircraft stray away latitude, sideways in the airspace from the route that they were supposed to be on?"

National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said the DC area is a unique environment for helicopters and that the Black Hawk was transitioning zones at the time of the crash. ATC is one of the "human factors" the agency will examine as part of its investigation, he said.

Air traffic control is a complex system with many moving parts and no room for errors

The national air traffic system in the US is immense in both size and complexity, 14,000 air traffic controllers handle upwards of 45,000 flights a day across 29 million miles of airspace.

It's an intricate network that includes hundreds of regional and area control centers, each responsible for a specific piece of airspace.

A pilot flying from San Francisco to Washington, DC, for example, could interact with more than 20 different controllers during the flight.

The job is infamous for its high stress and heavy workload, which can involve managing upwards of a dozen flights at a time.

These stressors are amplified for airports like Ronald Reagan National. The airport has strict flight paths and altitude restrictions. It handles more than 25 million passengers a year and is located in highly trafficked and highly controlled airspace, as it is near the White House, Pentagon, and other government buildings.

The airport has seen multiple near misses recently, including a Southwest Airlines flight that was instructed to cross the same runway on which a JetBlue plane was starting its take-off.

A month later, an American Airlines flight was cleared for takeoff at the same time another plane was given the go-ahead to land on an intersecting runway.

Controllers working the airspace in and around Reagan National also have to handle an extraordinary amount of private and military aircraft that operate in the area.

The situation is exacerbated by a shortage of around 3,000 air traffic controllers, which the FAA has worked to address with plans to hire 1,800 controllers in 2024 and 2,000 this year.

• Aviation experts have warned about the risk of a passenger aircraft collision for years.
• They cite air traffic controller shortages and airspace congestion as safety risks.
• Wednesday's crash is the first complete-loss US airline accident since 2009.

Pilots and aviation workers have sounded alarm bells for years about the risks of midair collisions. Those fears became a reality on Wednesday when an American Airlines flight collided with a helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, DC, with 67 people presumed dead.

Brian Alexander, a military helicopter pilot and a partner at the aviation accident law firm Kreindler & Kreindler, told Business Insider that a shortage of air traffic controllers and increasing airspace congestion have affected safety.

"Our whole air traffic control system has been blinking red, screaming at us that we've we've got it overloaded," he said. "The intense inadequacy of the staffing and the overwork of the controllers is palpable."

He said the US should invest in more airport technology to help controllers and pilots.

Anthony Brickhouse, a professor at the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle, also cited increased flight congestion as a significant safety risk at airports nationwide. He said he wasn't surprised a crash like this one happened.

"We've had so many close calls with runway incursions and commercial flights almost colliding, and when something repeats over and over again, we call that a trend," he said. "We've been trending in this direction for two or three years now, and unfortunately, tonight, it happened."

He said that air traffic control actions and aircraft communications will be a significant focus of the investigation.

Washington National is among the busiest and most restricted airspaces in the US. A US pilot previously told BI that flying in the area is like "threading a needle."

Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who successfully landed a plane on the Hudson River in 2009 with no fatalities, told The New York Times on Wednesday that the DC airport has dated technology.

"It hasn't changed much since then," he said, referring to the airport's construction in the 1930s. "Of course, we've added technology to it. But a lot of the technology is old."

Despite the collision, experts say flying is still very safe, with thousands of planes taking off and landing safely every day.

President Donald Trump said in a Thursday press conference that he would not hesitate to fly.

"Flying is very safe," he added. "We have the safest flying anywhere in the world, and we'll keep it that way."

The US has been battling near misses for years

Wednesday's collision between a regional jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter comes after a string of near misses in recent years, including close calls in New York City and Austin in 2023.

These near misses prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to create a safety review committee to examine their causes and recommend solutions. In November 2023, the committee recommended increased staffing, added funding to enable continued FAA safety oversight, and investing in airport technology.

Several planes got too close for comfort at Washington National this past spring, followed by another near-miss in Nashville in September, all spurring investigations.

Brickhouse said that given the past few years of close calls, not enough changes have been made to prevent planes from colliding.

"If you continually have near misses and changes aren't made, eventually you will have a tragedy," he said. "For years, I've been saying to everyone who will listen that the next major accident will be something in the airport area involving a collision."

In October, the FAA launched an audit into runway incursion risks at the US's busiest airports to identify "potential gaps in procedures, equipment, and processes" and recommend safety actions. The audit was expected to be completed in early 2025.

The audit came shortly after the FAA said in September that it had exceeded its controller hiring goal for the 2024 fiscal year but was still short about 3,000 personnel.

The concept of "blood priority" is likely to emerge in the aftermath of Wednesday's crash. In aviation safety, this means that needed changes will not be implemented until after a major accident and deaths occur — despite US safety officials pushing to be a more proactive industry than a reactive one.

"We've had to learn important lessons literally with blood too often, and we had finally gotten beyond that, to where we could learn from incidents, and not accidents," Sullenberger told the Times.

First complete-loss crash of a US airliner since 2009

Wednesday's tragedy is the first time a US airline has experienced a fatal, total loss of aircraft since 2009 when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed into a house in Buffalo, New York. The 49 people on board and one person on the ground died.

A pilot's incorrect response to the plane's stall warning was eventually blamed for the crash, with fatigue cited as a contributing factor.

"After a 15-year unprecedented run of zero United States air carrier crashes, that streak has ended with this tragic crash, and the safety clock begins again a new run," Kathleen Bangs, an aviation safety analyst and a former pilot, told BI.

Another crash in 2013 on US soil resulted in fatalities when the South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines crashed while landing in San Francisco.

The American crash marks the third fatal accident globally since December. An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer plane crashed midflight on Christmas Day, likely the result of being inadvertently hit by a Russian air-defense system. Thirty-eight people died, including the two pilots, while 29 passengers survived.

A few days later, a Boeing 737 operated by South Korean carrier Jeju Airlines crashed during landing, killing 179 people. The investigation into that crash is ongoing.

• Trump suggested on Thursday that diversity initiatives at the FAA led to a plane crash near DC.
• The president said he was offering a series of "very strong opinions and ideas" on what happened.
• He also criticized former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Thursday offered heated criticism of diversity initiatives at the Federal Aviation Administration following a deadly plane crash near Washington, DC.

After calling for a moment of silence, Trump spent the bulk of his remarks in the White House briefing room laying out a series of diversity initiatives within the FAA that he suggested could have contributed to the crash, which happened Wednesday evening.

At the same time, Trump repeatedly acknowledged that he did not have direct evidence of a causal link between those initiatives and the crash.

"We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas," Trump told reporters.

During his remarks, Trump also criticized former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, suggesting that the department's policies under him contributed to the crash.

"You know how badly everything's run since he's run the Department of Transportation?" Trump said of Buttigieg.

Buttigieg later hit back via X: "As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying."

Pressed by a reporter on why he thought diversity initiatives might be behind the crash, Trump said: "Because I have common sense."

Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP, said in a statement that his organization was "disgusted by this display of unpresidential, divisive behavior."

"We're proud to see thousands of first responders in the DMV region unify to support the enormous recovery efforts taking place on the Potomac," Johnson said. "The President has made his decision to put politics over people abundantly clear as he uses the highest office in the land to sow hatred rooted in falsehoods instead of providing us with the leadership we need and deserve."

Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate commerce committee's Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation, pushed back strongly on Trump's comments in a call with reporters.

"I have seen zero evidence at this point that's to suggest that this collision had anything to do with DEI," Duckworth said. "Speculation at this time is highly irresponsible, and we need to get to the facts."

Vance also criticized diversity initiatives, saying: "If you go back to just some of the headlines over the past 10 years, you have many hundreds of people suing the government because they would like to be air traffic controllers, but they were turned away because of the color of their skin. That policy ends under Donald Trump's leadership."

Since Trump reassumed the presidency last week, he's taken a series of actions aimed at ending diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across the federal government, including one dealing specifically with the FAA. As a result, DEI-related offices in various agencies have shuttered.

Trump has directed agencies to compile lists of private companies to investigate over their DEI efforts, which could lead to a cascade effect in the private sector.

Many companies, including Meta, McDonald's, and Walmart, have decided in recent months to roll back or end their DEI programs.

"The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing," Meta wrote in a memo to employees. "The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI."

Target also recently said it was ending multiple DEI programs to stay "in step with the evolving external landscape."

Others, like Costco, have publicly supported DEI amid pressures from conservative activists. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently defended the bank's diversity initiatives in response to activist investors.

• An American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, DC.
• The nation's capital is home to some of the most congested and highly governed airspace.
• Reagan National Airport has the US's busiest runway, with over 800 flights a day, the MWAA says.

An American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided late Wednesday in one of the most congested and tightly controlled airspaces in the country.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just outside Washington, DC, is home to the country's busiest runway, with over 800 takeoffs and landings a day, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says. It's the closest of three area airports to the city, about 3 miles south of the White House.

Military helicopters also frequently fly low over the nearby Potomac River, transiting between military bases close by and the Pentagon, about 1 mile north of the airport.

Flying into and out of the airport, with short runways and such heavily restricted airspace nearby, is "like threading a needle," one pilot previously told Business Insider.

"It's a beehive of activity," Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines captain and spokesperson for its pilot union, told The Washington Post. "It's extremely compact, and it's a high volume of traffic."

Search efforts for the 64 people on board American Eagle Flight 5342 continued through the night. At a press conference Thursday morning, Washington, DC's fire chief said that no survivors were expected.

The Bombardier CRJ700 was operated by PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary of American Airlines. It collided with a military UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carrying three people.

Along with New York's LaGuardia Airport, Reagan is one of two in the country subject to a perimeter rule. At Reagan, this limits routes to a distance of 1,250 miles — though Congress has increasingly approved more slots to operate beyond this, which has made the airport busier.

Unions and regulators have raised concerns about the country's air traffic system after several near-misses in recent years.

"We've had so many close calls with runway incursions and commercial flights almost colliding, and when something repeats over and over again, we call that a trend," Anthony Brickhouse, a US aviation safety expert, told BI.

"We've been trending in this direction for two or three years now, and unfortunately, tonight, it happened," he added.

The National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, and the Pentagon have announced investigations.

The crash brings an end to a remarkable period of aviation safety in the US.

It is the first major fatal crash on US soil since 2013. Three people died in July that year when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed short of the runway at San Francisco International Airport.

Wednesday's collision was the first involving a US airline on US soil since February 2009, when a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 crashed into a house near Buffalo, New York.

Fifty people died after the aircraft entered a stall and the pilots failed to respond appropriately.

The Federal Aviation Administration consequently revised its pilot-fatigue rules and required that all airline pilots hold an airline pilot transport license — the highest level of certificate.

Since 2013, two flights on US soil had led to fatalities before Wednesday. One Southwest Airlines passenger died from her injuries in 2018 after she was partially ejected through a broken window.

And in 2019, a man died when PenAir Flight 3296 overshot the runway while landing in Alaska.

• A passenger jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport.
• Four crew members and 60 passengers were aboard the jet, and three were aboard the helicopter.
• President Donald Trump said there were no survivors.

Sixty-seven people are presumed dead after an American Airlines flight crashed into a military helicopter Wednesday night during the jet's final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

President Donald Trump confirmed there had been no survivors, calling the crash "a dark and excruciating night" for the country.

American Eagle Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines and flying from Wichita, Kansas, was on approach to land at the airport when it struck a UH-60 Black Hawk, officials said. Several federal agencies, including the National Transportation Safety Board, are investigating the crash.

A NTSB spokesperson told Business Insider in an email on Thursday evening that the "cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder," known as black boxes, were recovered from the Bombardier CRJ700 passenger jet.

"The recorders are at the NTSB labs for evaluation," the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, crews are still searching the waters as part of the investigation and recovery efforts, while boats remain on the scene for security and search operations, according to the DC Fire and EMS Department.

"Our divers have searched all areas that are accessible," a statement from the department read Thursday night. On Friday, the statement said, "divers will work with NTSB to conduct additional searches to locate aircraft components, to support the investigation, and begin operations to salvage the aircraft.

Three Army crewmembers were aboard the Black Hawk from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, whose identities will be withheld until their next of kin have been notified, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a Thursday morning video.

"It was a fairly experienced crew, and that was doing a required annual night evaluation," he said in the video. "They did have night vision goggles."

He said investigators deployed Wednesday night and that the 12th Aviation Battalion has an "operational pause on contingency missions" for 48 hours.

"We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the quarter at the right altitude at the time of the incident."

At the Thursday morning press conference, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that both aircraft had been flying in a "standard pattern" that was not unusual, with no breakdown in communication between them.

"The helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area," he said.

Duffy added that the fuselage of the American Airlines plane was inverted in the water.

"It's been located in three different sections," he said. "It's in about waist-deep water."

A livestream taken from the Kennedy Center by EarthCam showed an explosion as the helicopter collided with the passenger plane.

A spokesperson for US Figure Skating, the country's governing body for the sport, told BI that "several members" of the organization were aboard the flight.

"These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas," the spokesperson said.

She added: "We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts."

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said Russian nationals were aboard the flight, according to the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

At a press conference Thursday morning, Trump said he didn't know what caused the crash before laying out a series of diversity initiatives within the FAA that he suggested without evidence could have contributed to the crash.

In a video posted to the American Airlines website, CEO Robert Isom said the airline was "cooperating fully" with the NTSB's investigation of the crash.

"Anything we can do, we are doing, and right now, that means focusing on taking care of all passengers and crew involved, as well as their families," he said.

Isom said that the plane's pilot had six years of experience with PSA, and the first officer had almost two years.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was closed to all aircraft after the crash and reopened around 11 a.m.

United Airlines and Southwest Airlines said they were allowing passengers booked on flights to the airport to change their travel plans without fees.

Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation expert, told BI that the crash was tragic but that he was not surprised it happened.

"We've had so many close calls with runway incursions and commercial flights almost colliding, and when something repeats over and over again, we call that a trend," he said.

"We've been trending in this direction for two or three years now, and unfortunately, tonight, it happened," he added.

Several near misses have taken place in recent years, in cities such as Austin and New York.

But this marks the first major commercial plane crash in the US since 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed over Buffalo, New York, killing 49 on board and one person on the ground.

Kathleen Bangs, an aviation safety analyst and former pilot, told BI that she used to fly into Reagan Washington National Airport as a regional airline pilot and that the "extremely busy" airport had challenging flying conditions, including two runways of 5,000 feet and 5,200 feet, and proximity to water.

"The conversation now will be what safety steps need to be modified to ensure there's never another similar collision in the nation's capital," she said.

This was the third major plane crash worldwide since December.

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer plane crashed last month, with some blaming Russian air defenses. Thirty-eight people died.

A few days later, a Boeing 737 operated by the South Korean carrier Jeju Air crashed in South Korea, killing 179 people. Two people survived.

• Boom Supersonic's XB-1 test jet broke the sound barrier for the first time on Tuesday.
• The XB-1 is a subscale version of its planned passenger model.
• The company's CEO says the US aviation market is being held back by Boeing.

Boom Supersonic just became the first US commercial planemaker to break the sound barrier, a significant milestone in the industry's return to supersonic passenger flight.

CEO Blake Scholl told Business Insider that the company's planned Overture commercial jet is a critical technology for helping the US aviation industry stay ahead of the competition, especially as China's homegrown jetliners gain traction and Boeing continues to face delivery delays.

"Boeing hasn't built a new airplane in 20 years, and China now has a 737 competitor, and they're working on a 787 competitor, "he said. "Unless we innovate here, everyone outside the US will be flying around in Chinese planes, and that's not in the distant future — it's soon."

Overture, a larger and faster passenger-carrying version of the test jet, is planned to launch in 2029 with a top speed of Mach 1.7, Boom says. That's about twice the speed of current airliners. American Airlines, Japan Airlines, and United Airlines have already placed 130 pre-orders for the speedy jet.

Tuesday's flight was the prototype's 12th flight, hitting a top speed of Mach 1.1 over the Mojave Desert. One final test is planned for February before full production begins.

Boom wants the US to beat China to supersonic passenger flights

China's increasing interest in Mach-speed flight has caught the eye of Congress.

Trump's transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, has said he wants to establish rules that promote innovation and creativity in the faster-than-sound market and ensure companies like Boom have access to corridors to test their aircraft — something Scholl said will be an important aid in getting Overture off the ground.

"I am thrilled with the pro-innovation, pro-progress, let's go faster mindset that that we have with Secretary Duffy, he said. "I think that's important because we can't let China win this."

Chinese startup Space Transportation has been developing a Mach 4 aircraft — more than twice the speed of Overture — that it plans to develop into a full-scale passenger airliner capable of hypersonic travel, or Mach 5, by 2030.

Despite the competition, Scholl said China is about a decade behind the US in the supersonic space — but that doesn't mean it can be counted out.

"China is about 10 years behind, and what that means is in 10 years, they're caught up," he said, referring to China as a "freight train coming" in aviation. "In 11 years, they're ahead."

Scholl said Boeing is holding the US back

Scholl said Boeing's ongoing production and quality problems have stalled the introduction of new US-made aircraft types.

The last time the American planemaker built a new airliner was in 2009 when it flew its 787 Dreamliner for the first time. Its yet-to-be-certified 777X is at least six years behind schedule.

"We've watched what used to be a great company at Boeing really struggle," he said. "I think it's really important that we not just leave all of our eggs in the Boeing basket."

He said China's Comac planes, including the C909 and C919, and the under-development C929, could puncture the Airbus-Boeing duopoly.

Comac's fleet rivals Western options but has yet to fly outside of China and Indonesia. Reuters reported that China aims to expand its C919 presence into Southeast Asia by 2026 and obtain European certification as soon as 2025.

Scholl said this expansion could threaten the US's place in the global aviation market, emphasizing Boom's importance to stay ahead.

"If we don't invent and build the next generation of commercial airplanes here in America, it's a problem for jobs, it's a problem for economics, and it's a problem for national security," he said.

Overture could be less costly than the Concorde

Overture could revive the Concorde era and connect places like New York and London in less than four hours, and Seattle and Tokyo in less than five.

Scholl said Overture will be more economical than Concorde, which last flew in 2003, thanks to its 20% more aerodynamic design, lighter carbon-fiber airframe, and 20% more fuel-efficient engines.

Boom's biggest challenge is the engine. The startup chose to build its own engine, Symphony, to power the plane.

"People called us crazy for building our own engines, but what I've come to believe is we were crazy to think of doing it any other way," Scholl said. "It would be really efficient at high speed, not require a lot of maintenance, and be friendly to airport communities."

Symphony is expected to decrease takeoff and landing noise while flying subsonic over land. Scholl said future Overture versions are planned to fly Mach-speed over land by eliminating the sonic boom.

He said another significant change from the Concorde will be ticket price, which will be more affordable due to the 64-80 possible seats and Overture's fuel-saving engines and airframe.

Scholl said business fares will hover around $5,000 roundtrip instead of the Concorde's up to $20,000.

"It's not yet for everybody, but the top 20% of flyers are already at that price point today," he said. "That's tens of millions of people, so for the same price point, you'd be able to get there in half the time."

• Breeze Airways reported its first quarterly profit since launching flights in May 2021.
• Breeze contrasts with budget competitors Spirit and Frontier, which are both struggling post-COVID.
• Breeze's niche routes and premium offerings give it an edge over its larger low-cost rivals.

Some budget airlines in the US are struggling, but not Breeze Airways.

The startup carrier on Thursday announced its first quarterly profit since launching in May 2021, a feat its CEO attributed to lucrative first-class seats, a flexible Airbus A220 fleet, and a niche route structure nothing like those used by competing Spirit or Frontier Airlines.

The privately held company said it earned more than $200 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, with an operating margin of over 4%. It said the full-year earnings of more than $680 million represent a 78% increase year over year.

Because Breeze is not publicly traded, only some financials — like those self-reported or those published by the government — are available to compare against competitors. This makes the full scope of the reported profit unclear. Some public figures suggest it's a significant improvement over its third-quarter margin of -21%.

"I think, just overall, there's a stronger environment in the industry," Breeze CEO David Neeleman told Business Insider. "You've seen that from the earnings by other airlines, that, for the most part, they are doing better than they did last year."

Breeze's profitability comes as many budget rivals have failed to turn a full-year profit since the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel and sent shockwaves through the industry. That's a 180-degree shift from before, when some low-cost airlines were growing faster than many mainline competitors.

Now, they face significant headwinds as travelers opt for more premium options offered by mainline carriers and grapple with continued high costs.

Niche routes allow Breeze to avoid tough competition

Neeleman, known for launching five airlines including JetBlue, said Breeze is the sole operator on nearly 90% of its 220 nonstop routes. It avoids major airports to focus on underserved communities, such as Vero Beach, Florida, Mobile, Alabama, and New Haven, Connecticut.

"If you live in Islip [New York] and now you can fly into Vero Beach, you don't have to fly to Orlando and drive two hours, or West Palm and drive two hours," he said. "It makes things easier."

He said Spirit and Frontier can't operate in the same markets as Breeze because they cannot sustain their larger Airbus A320 family airplanes. Breeze's fleet of 33 smaller A220 and 13 regional Embraer aircraft are easier to fill.

Neeleman said the A220 is particularly efficient for short and medium-haul flying, providing Breeze with more flexibility and customers with more route choices.

"I went to our yield management team the other day and asked, what markets do you need more of, and which ones do you need less of," Neeleman said. "They said we just need more planes."

He said that the carrier is phasing out its Embraer fleet, noting that consolidating maintenance and crew members into one aircraft type will simplify the business and lower costs.

Spirit and Frontier, on the other hand, have tried to lure customers away from mainline American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines by offering cheap tickets at major airports in places like New York, California, and the Southeast.

In its earnings call this month, United CEO Scott Kirby said he doesn't "see how it's possible" for low-cost carriers to profitably fly to larger airports because governments have "priced low-cost carriers out of the market."

The fees to fly into large cities are high, but budget carriers are also impacted by congestion, which leads to longer taxi times. This makes turning planes around quickly — one of the keystones of a budget business model — much more difficult.

Struggling to stay afloat in these expensive, oversaturated airports, Spirit and Frontier have adjusted their networks, cut dozens of routes, slashed capacity by flying fewer planes, and withdrawn from some markets.

Breeze has offered premium amenities since its inception

Low-cost carriers have traditionally equipped their planes with no-frills cabins, which have minimal legroom, no recline, and offer no freebies like snacks and WiFi. Even water costs extra.

Breeze, however, launched the business with a different mindset. From day one, it installed extra legroom seats and regular coach ones that recline as part of its strategy to be a "Seriously Nice" airline.

In mid-2022, it introduced first-class loungers.

All of its fleet's economy seats offer more legroom than Spirit and Frontier's basic seats, and free amenities like movies on a personal device. Customers can bundle their fares to include perks like food and bags.

Neeleman said he recognized the evolution of premium preference and approached it like a math equation.

"When you add first class on an A220, you only lose one seat per row, so we need about 50% more for the average fare for first class," he said, noting A220s only have five seats across in coach whereas A320s have six. "If we can get 60 or 70%, great, anything more than 50 it's a net positive for us."

Spirit and Frontier have had to play catchup there, too.

Mainline carriers' cheaper basic economy fares, which often come with perks like a free carry-on, WiFi, drinks and snacks, and in-flight entertainment, have further poached business.

Budget carriers have added some similar amenities to remain competitive, like adding new business-class-like seats, offering new bundling options, and waiving most change and cancel fees.

• I get unlimited Priority Pass airport lounge access through my credit card for $550 a year.
• I worry about overcrowding as people look to banks for more easily accessible lounge access.
• Chase is still the best bang for my buck, as chasing airline status is too difficult and expensive.

As a frequent flyer who isn't loyal to any one airline — I typically just book the cheapest economy ticket — I've focused on making my airport experience as enjoyable as possible.

The best investment I've made to that end is getting Priority Pass airport lounge access through my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.

The card costs me $550 a year and gives me unlimited visits to more than 1,700 airport lounges worldwide. American Express and Capital One also offer access to the network through their respective credit cards.

I've used the pass dozens of times a year in more than 20 countries since 2018. I always enjoy free food and drinks — alcohol included — and many have access to showers and private spaces to work or relax away from the busy airport terminal.

Some even have sleep pods and spas, like the airport transit lounge at Singapore's Changi Airport. The one in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, has a pool.

Priority Pass has some downsides

Some lounges have lackluster amenities, others are restricted due to crowds, and a handful of major US airports don't have Priority Pass options at all.

Christopher Evans, the CEO of Collinson International, which owns Priority Pass, told Business Insider that many people don't want to give up the perk, and the company is constantly investing in the customer experience to make it worthwhile.

"We've surveyed people asking if you lost your lounge access benefit, what would happen?" he said. "94% of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region said they were likely to change card provider. That was 62% in the Americas."

While my biggest worry is capacity and lounges cutting some access, I think Priority Pass — even with the crowds — is easily worth the hefty annual fee for frequent travelers.

Waitlists and reserved spots to tackle overcrowding

I've been increasingly concerned about Priority Pass crowds — especially as airlines make it more difficult to access their own lounges.

In 2023, Delta Air Lines changed who could access their SkyClubs and made earning status based on dollars spent instead of miles flown. British Airways recently followed suit with its own sweep of changes.

As a result, Evans said people who can no longer reach the upper echelons of airline loyalty are looking at memberships like Priority Pass as an alternative.

I've noticed the increased crowds in the US and some European airports, which were already on the rise amid the post-COVID travel boom. I've found myself on waitlists that reach up to an hour or fighting for a seat with a power outlet available.

Meanwhile, airline lounges like Lufthansa and Air France at New York-JFK, both of which are in the Priority Pass network, limit access to those using Priority Pass due to capacity.

Evans said Priority Pass has seen a spike in the number of people accessing its network and is working to address the demand by establishing waitlists, adding new lounges, creating a "pre-book" reservation system, and other app improvements.

"We have millions of visits a month in our program, two visits a second now, I think, or we're getting close," he said.

Pre-book guarantees access for a fee, with another 110 lounges soon getting the option, a spokesperson told BI.

"We'll be starting to roll out the ability to highlight to customers which lounges are likely to be busier and at which times a day," he said. "So, pre-warning people by enhancing a digital journey to then improve the physical experience when you get there."

New and improved lounges will further increase Priority Pass' value

Evans said Priority Pass has added about 200 lounges to its network in 2024 to provide more choice and a better overall experience.

I personally hope places like Newark, Denver, and Philadelphia airports see future options, as none have a proper Priority Pass lounge.

I actually try to avoid flying out of New Jersey's Newark airport — the alternative to my local New York City airports — for this reason.

Philadelphia, however, is soon getting a Chase-branded lounge as the bank expands its airport network. Reserve card members have access.

New York-JFK, LaGuardia, San Diego, Boston, Hong Kong, and Phoenix airports each also have one, and more are coming to airports like Las Vegas.

Chase is taking on competitors American Express and Capital One as banks race to take advantage of the growing interest in credit card-branded airport lounges. Amex's Centurion network is the largest of the three.

I have considered adding the Amex Platinum card to have Centurion in places without Priority Pass, like Denver (and Newark, come 2026).

But the card would add another $695 a year (at the time of publication), and I am happy with the value I get from my Chase Reserve card for now.

It's hands-down easier and more affordable than chasing expensive airline status.

• United and Delta are expanding flights to Europe to capitalize on strong travel demand.
• United and Delta are running 23% and 13% more flights to Europe compared to 2019, respectively.
• Both airlines are upping their European presence with new transatlantic routes.

Airlines say Europe remains among the biggest money-makers going into 2025 as people eagerly flock to more international destinations.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines said in recent earnings calls that they are deploying more seats than ever to Europe to take advantage of the booming travel demand, which has remained strong since the COVID-19 pandemic halted overseas vacations.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, United's passenger revenue to Europe increased 9.5% compared to 2023, with just a 2.3% increase in seat capacity.

Delta saw a 4% increase in transatlantic passenger revenue during the same period, despite a 2% reduction in capacity. (Delta's figures include Europe as well as half a dozen destinations in Africa and the Middle East.)

Both airlines have increased their planned transatlantic presence further into 2025, operating more than 100,000 flights total between the two, well above prior years according to data from Cirium.

Europe is no longer just a seasonal hot spot

Andrew Nocella, United's executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said during Wednesday's earnings call that Europe is becoming a "year-round destination" after being a less valuable revenue stream during off-peak months in previous years, like between January and March.

"Now we're seeing a totally different result, where people are willing to go on a Southern European vacation," he said. "And that really helps de-seasonalize Europe."

Nocella later said United expects quarter one to boast the best transatlantic financial performance in its first-quarter history.

He added that stronger hub connectivity with Star Alliance partner Lufthansa in Germany and money-making business traffic returning to London Heathrow are also helping United across the Atlantic.

Delta expressed a similar sentiment about Europe's desirability as a year-round destination for US travelers, specifically noting the strong dollar's additional buying power and the smaller crowd sizes compared to peak holiday periods.

"You go to a restaurant in New York and then go to a restaurant in Europe, you'll see a vast difference in the bill," Delta president Glen Hauenstein said in the airline's January 10 earnings call. "This is a great time to travel to Europe. People are seeing that."

The Atlanta-based carrier also said it does not believe strong off-peak season demand for transatlantic flights this winter will eat into consumers' appetite for summer travel.

Bernstein analyst David Vernon maintained a buy rating for United following its earnings report, saying international flying and premium services are particularly driving revenue.

CFRA Research analyst Ana Garcia said the firm expects United to see continued profitability. She said earnings are "buoyed by network optimization and operational improvements."

United's stock is up about 13% year-to-date, while Delta's is up about 9%.

New routes to Europe from United and Delta in 2025

United has become so bullish on Europe that it plans to launch new routes to off-the-beaten-path destinations in 2025 that aren't offered by competitors.

For example, this summer, the carrier will fly nonstop to Palermo, Italy, Faro, Portugal, and Nuuk, Greenland. These flights will complement United's already extensive transatlantic network, which includes flights to more than 30 European cities from the US.

Expected deliveries of the long-haul single-aisle Airbus A321XLR — the first expected in January 2026 — will help United push further into Europe as the jet can fly routes previously unprofitable with a widebody or unreachable with older narrowbodies. It will replace the airline's aging Boeing 757s.

Still, United said widebody supply constraints, including for airframes and engines, will impact its long-haul operations through at least the end of the decade.

The carrier has placed orders for 150 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and expects to receive 11 in 2025. That is down from the 18 expected in February 2024 .

Delta has not purchased the A321XLR, and it flies only a handful of Boeing 757 aircraft across the Atlantic.

The airline instead relies on a large fleet of older Boeing 767 and newer Airbus A330 and A350 widebodies to run more than 700 flights a week to 33 European destinations.

This summer, Delta will add new routes to locales in southern Europe, such as Barcelona and Catania and Naples in southern Italy.

• Fight attendant salaries vary widely depending on seniority and number of hours worked.
• American Airlines pays the highest hourly rates for flight attendants, though pay at the Big 3 is fairly similar.
• United Airlines' flight attendant pay has been the same since 2021 as they negotiate a new contract.

Flight attendants at American, Delta, and United don't make nearly as much as their pilot colleagues, but the highest-paid cabin crew can take home a base salary of more than $70,000 a year — with some making six figures.

But the job is a far cry from your typical 9-5. It takes years of working grueling schedules and meeting high customer service and safety standards to reach the upper echelons of seniority at the US' Big 3 airlines.

Flight attendants are paid a base hourly rate, plus a per diem bonus if they are away from the airport where they are based. Some are paid for boarding. They can also earn more money by working holidays, flying at night, or holding a specialized position. Airlines also typically pay profit-sharing bonuses.

Pay increases with each year of service up to the 13th year.

Most flight attendants are guaranteed a monthly minimum, which varies by airline — meaning they will be paid for at least a certain number of hours each month whether or not they fly it, minus certain circumstances. Many work more than the guarantee.

Pay scales obtained and verified by Business Insider show American offers the highest hourly rates, followed closely by Delta. United's pay rates have been frozen since 2021 as the airline and union negotiate a new contract.

American Airlines

• First-year: $35.82
• 13th-year: $82.24

American offers the highest hourly rates thanks to a new contract ratified in September with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants.

The deal, which took five years of negotiations partly due to the pandemic, increased pay by up to 20.5% at the date of signing. First-years start at about $36 an hour, while 13-year flight attendants make about $82 an hour.

American guarantees 71 hours of pay a month for those with a pre-planned "line" schedule. "Reserve" crew, or those on call, have a minimum of 75 hours.

This translates to at least $30,500 for first-year crew and $70,000 for thirteen-year veterans before taxes and other earnings.

As part of the new contract, pay will increase in October 2025 and again each year through 2029. By then, hourly rates will increase to a starting base pay of about $40 per hour

American added boarding pay to its latest contract at 50% of a flight attendant's hourly rate, which is expected to go into effect in March. This will further up the cabin crew's annual salary. Historically, crew were not paid for boarding time.

American has historically not paid a high profit-sharing bonus. In 2023, it was just 1.1%. The new contract increased that profit-sharing formula to match Delta's, but the final amount will depend on American's year-end earnings. For 2023, the airline was the least profitable of the Big 3.

Delta Air Lines

• First-year: $35.50
• 13th-year: $79.80

Delta's flight attendants are not unionized. Their most recent pay bump was in June, which increased cabin crew salaries by about 5%.

First-year Delta flight attendants earn a base pay of $35.50 an hour, while 13-year crew members earn about $80 an hour.

Like American, Delta cabin crew get boarding pay equal to half of their hourly rate. In 2022, Delta became the first major US airline to offer the extra pay.

Flight attendant salaries at Delta vary based on hours worked a month and there is no contractual minimum.

Some Delta flight attendants who are trying to unionize say the lack of guaranteed hours could lead to lower pay than competitors.

A Delta spokesperson said flight attendants typically get 80 hours a month. This means first-year and 13-year flight attendants earn about $34,000 and $76,600 annually, before taxes and other earnings.

He added cabin crew can earn up to $1,200 extra annually for meeting monthly operating metrics.

Delta also consistently distributes the highest annual profit-sharing. It paid $1.4 billion to employees in 2023, which amounted to a bonus of 10.4% of employees' eligible earnings.

United Airlines

• First-year: $28.88
• 13th-year: $67.11

United has the lowest first-year base pay at about $29 an hour. Thirteen-year flight attendants make about $67 an hour.

United guarantees 71 hours of pay a month for those with a line schedule, while a reserve crew member gets a minimum of 78 hours. United does not currently offer boarding pay.

That amounts to United first-years making at least $24,600 a year and 13-year flight attendants making at least $57,000 annually before taxes and other earnings.

Failed negotiations between United and its labor union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, have prevented pay increases, which is why the airline's wages are comparatively lower. Mediation of a new contract has been paused until at least early this year, so United cabin crew are still being paid 2021 rates.

A United spokesperson told BI half of the airline's cabin crew are at the top of the seniority pay scale, with average annual pay in that group hitting nearly $80,000.

That likely accounts for hours worked above the guarantee, as United said the crews have flexible schedules and can work when they want, or other ways to earn extra pay.

United said it has proposed a 22.5% raise and new boarding pay, among other offerings, as part of its contract negotiations.

The union told BI it wants industry-leading pay and better work rules and scheduling.

Despite lower comparative base pay, United flight attendants have earned high profit-sharing bonuses. In 2023, that was about 9.2% of their eligible annual salary.

Other ways flight attendants earn money

Extra pay opportunities can add tens of thousands of dollars to flight attendants' base rates and put the most senior crew members well into the six figures.

This includes working overtime, flying on holidays or during nighttime, or if they hold a skilled position. Airlines also offer flight attendants free flights for personal use as part of their employment benefits.

Skilled positions can include being the in-charge "lead" or purser, working in the galley, or speaking a second language. The premium pay ranges from $1 to $7.50 extra per hour, depending on the aircraft and whether the flight is domestic or international.

Flight attendants also get per diem pay, typically $2 to $4 for each hour on duty away from home, to cover work-related expenses like meals, laundry, and transportation.

Senior flight attendants can gross $100,000 or more annually, depending on how many hours they work. Premium and special skills pay help boost that. They can fly more hours by bidding for more than their monthly minimum or picking up trips dropped by other crew members.

• Delta Air Lines unveiled new tech features coming over the next two years.
• Improvements include Bluetooth connectivity for all cabins, new AI tools, and enhanced inflight systems.
• Delta aims to maintain its premium status amid competition from United Airlines.

Delta Air Lines revealed a slew of new customer features coming to its planes soon, from AI support to improved seatback entertainment.

CEO Ed Bastian made the announcement during a splashy keynote address at CES in Las Vegas.

The announcements come as Delta continues to vie for the title of the US' most luxurious airline.

Bluetooth connectivity for every seat

Bluetooth connectivity will be available to premium and economy flyers on select aircraft deliveries from 2026. The amenity was previously only installed in first class on Delta's Airbus A321neo planes.

It joins a handful of other airlines offering Bluetooth to economy cabin flyers, like United Airlines, Spanish flag carrier Iberia, and German leisure carrier Condor.

Also coming new to the cabin in 2026 are enhanced inflight systems with better streaming performance, a "do not disturb" feature, and a seatback translation service. The new screens feature 4K HDR QLED displays, Delta said.

Delta said the new tools will offer better convenience and control. The translation service allows flight attendants to send tailored messages in the flyer's preferred language to their seatback screen.

AI tools

The airline is also adding new AI tools, known as "Delta Concierge," to help travelers ahead of their flight.

Starting in 2025, the app will notify customers when their passports are nearing expiration or if they have specific visa requirements for the destinations they're flying to.

Customers can also see packing guidance based on their destination's weather, and get airport directions to its gates, lounges, and bag drop. The app can also notify customers when a touchless expedited TSA PreCheck lane is available.

The news comes a year after Delta announced at CES 2024 that it would begin offering free WiFi on its aircraft.

Since then, the airline has equipped most of its domestic fleet with complimentary internet. This service is available to SkyMiles members, Delta's free-to-sign-up loyalty program.

Delta's new tech could make it more competitive with United

Delta's new tech is part of its effort to maintain its self-proclaimed "premium" title. The airline boasts luxe DeltaOne Lounges and sliding doors in business class, among other high-class perks.

It has also announced new cabins for its Boeing 757 and Airbus A350 planes, including an upgraded Delta One Suite.

The airline has been capitalizing on the trend of people being willing to pay more for luxury at the front of the aircraft.

But rival United Airlines, whose stock skyrocketed nearly 150% in 2024 and well outperformed its peers, has been a thorn in Delta's side.

As part of its 2021 "United Next" plan, United began installing seatback screens on most of its planes to be more competitive with Delta. This reversed its plan to ditch inflight TVs in the years before.

United also announced that year that all cabins, including economy, on its Boeing 737 Max and some Airbus planes would have Bluetooth.

More recently, in November, United became the first US airline to allow customers to track their luggage AirTag via its app. Delta followed in December.

• United Airlines will roll out free Starlink WiFi on regional aircraft this spring.
• Its entire fleet of 1,000 Boeing and Airbus planes will eventually get the upgrade too.
• More than half a dozen carriers worldwide have inked deals for Starlink WiFi.

United Airlines is one step closer to bringing free WiFi to its planes.

The Chicago-based carrier announced plans in January to test Elon Musk's high-speed Starlink internet on an Embraer 175 regional jet in February.

By year-end, United's entire two-cabin regional fleet, meaning its smaller planes with first and economy class, will get the upgrade. Its first mainline aircraft will also take off by the end of 2025, with the entire fleet getting the upgrade at some point.

Members of United's MileagePlus loyalty program will be able to access Starlink for free, including for browsing and streaming.

Members currently pay $8 for internet on domestic and short-haul international flights, while non-members by $10. International WiFi pricing depends on destination and flight length.

United's new free internet access will join Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways, both of which already provide complimentary WiFi through other providers like ViaSat and Gogo

American Airlines has free ad-sponsored internet on certain narrow-body planes, but it's limited to 20 or 30 minutes.

Starlink is growing its list of airline customers

Starlink, an arm of SpaceX, provides WiFi via low-orbit satellites. Its reliability is particularly useful in remote areas and on cruise ships, and its popularity has grown on commercial airplanes.

Viasat, by comparison, has only a few satellites and is slower by comparison.

In 2022, semi-private air carrier JSX was the first company to ink a deal for Starlink. The company has since deployed the service on its entire fleet of Embraer jets.

Hawaiian Airlines, now merged with Alaska Airlines, has retrofitted its Airbus A330 and A321neo planes with free Starlink and has plans to add its Boeing 787s, too.

Alaska has since acquired Hawaiian's Starlink-equipped jets. Starting this year, it plans to fly the widebody Airbus aircraft from Seattle to Japan and South Korea.

AirBaltic, Air France, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways, and Japan's Zipair have also selected Starlink for their fleets.

Qatar rolled out free Starlink on its first Boeing 777 in October. It plans to install the service on the entire 777 fleet by the end of 2025 and start the upgrades on its Airbus A350s this summer.

Business Insider tested Qatar's new WiFi at 36,000 feet and found a download speed of up to 215 megabits per second, though it dipped over certain areas.

The service could easily manage high-speed streaming and video calling with little to no buffering.

• Emirates wants to hire airline pilots from the US to fly its widebody jets from Dubai.
• The pay and benefits are good, but Emirates pilots must be ready for mostly long-haul flying.
• Emirates pilots can get unique perks like company-provided housing and chauffeur transfers to work.

It can be difficult for US airline pilots to jump into a foreign flight deck, but Emirates has programs to entice potential hires to make the leap.

Flying for the UAE-based carrier has significant differences compared to US counterparts, including a unique scheduling system and other benefits.

But the work-life balance, pay, and benefits are nothing to balk at.

In an interview, six-year Emirates Boeing 777 pilot Richard Vellinga explained how pay, benefits, visas, and training at the state-owned carrier.

High pay and company-provided housing

Vellinga said new first officers can make between $7,000 and $9,000 per month, tax-free, based on experience.

Captains make between $11,000 and $13,000 a month. On the lower end, those paychecks equal a minimum of $84,000 for first officers and $132,000 for captains annually.

First officers and captains can earn more money as they gain more years of flight experience. Pay is the same regardless of aircraft type.

For every "block" hour above their monthly minimum flying target, they earn about $145 and $200, respectively. A block hour is the time between when an aircraft leaves the departure gate and arrives at the destination gate.

For example, if an Emirates captain hits their minimum and picks up an eight-hour block trip, that will equal around $1,600 in extra pay.

Emirates also offers other allowances to complement pilot basic salaries, including profit-sharing, company-provided housing allowance, flight benefits, education allowance for dependents, and medical coverage.

"We also enjoy chauffeur-driven transport to and from work, and laundry services," Vellinga said.

Pilot salaries are calculated differently than at US airlines

In the US, pilot pay is dependent on aircraft type.

The lowest-paid first officers of narrow-body planes at Delta, United, and American make about $111,000 a year, while the highest-paid widebody captains make more than $400,000 a year.

Similar to Emirates, US pilots can make more from additional monthly flying and any potential profit-sharing — with many making over half a million annually.

US pilots typically don't receive housing benefits or car service from their homes to work.

Emirates mostly flies long-haul

Vellinga said Emirates pilot schedules differ from the US. He is on a "reserve" period every 10 months — meaning he doesn't know his trips ahead of time.

Otherwise, he holds a "line", meaning he has preplanned flights. He said the schedule is based on rotating seniority, so lower-year pilots can get their preferred schedule during certain months.

In the US, new pilots have to work their way up the ladder to earn enough seniority to get the trips and time off they want. Some are on reserve for years before they hold a line.

Vellinga said the long-haul flying at Emirates, which can range from one to five days of consecutive flying, can be difficult given the time changes.

"Work-life balance can be atypical given frequent time-zone changes and being away from family," Vellinga said, adding Emirates pilots need to be flexible and adaptable, but he prefers ultra-long-haul flying.

He said the company offers 42 days of leave a year, with at least eight days off a month. The latter is not uncommon in the US. Vellinga said he spends his time off with family and enjoys the expat community and sporting events in Dubai.

Vellinga said he also uses his flight benefits, which include access to free or discounted flight tickets for pilots and their friends and family. When available, their family can access business or first class.

"Our most recent vacation with benefits was to Tenerife in the Canary Islands," he said. "We spent a week exploring the islands and had a wonderful time."

Training and qualifications

Emirates training will be similarly long and vigorous to what US airline pilots experience, but Emirates pilots are trained according to the standards of the UAE's aviation authority rather than the Federal Aviation Administration.

Vellinga said new-hire training takes between three and four months, including ground and simulator work. Line training, meaning operating actual flights, takes another six weeks.

"I started training in the first week of August [2018] and had my first flight by mid-November," he said, adding Emirates took care of his visas and licenses to fly in the UAE.

First officers and captains must have specific minimum flight hours to be hired, and making it into an Emirates cockpit is dependent on passing training checks.

Direct-entry captains — or those who are already captains in the US and want to captain an Emirates plane — need at least 7,000 multi-crew flying hours, with nearly half of that on widebody planes like the Airbus A330 or Airbus A350.

Reaching 7,000 hours for a US airline pilot can take a decade or more.

Pilots without captain experience or enough hours of experience can be hired at Emirates as long as they meet minimum hourly flight requirements and have operated heavy enough aircraft.

Vellinga said captains flying narrow-body planes like the Airbus A320 or the Boeing 737 with 6,000 total hours and 2,000 in command can be hired as first officers at Emirates. They can become a captain after about a year and a half.

Otherwise, pilots upgrading from a first officer to a captain takes between two and four years, depending on how quickly a pilot earns enough qualifying hours.

• Delta Air Lines remains the most on-time US airline despite a massive disruption.
• Delta was also the third-most punctual global airline, but United Airlines was on its heels.
• With a rate of at least 90%, some foreign carriers achieved a better on-time performance than Delta.

Despite a chaotic CrowdStrike outage that forced Delta Air Lines to cancel some 7,000 flights over five days this summer, the Atlanta-based carrier retained its title as the US' most on-time airline.

Delta was the third-most on-time global airline in 2024, Cirium said in its annual release of airline punctuality, behind Aeromexico and Saudia, with rates of 86.70% and 86.35%, respectively. It also won Cirium's "Platinum Award" for operational excellence for the fourth consecutive year.

To be "on time," an airline must arrive within 14 minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled arrival time.

Delta's on-time performance was 83.46%, down from 84.60% in 2023. The summer disruptions cost Delta some $330 million.

"That is a phenomenal number," Cirium's chief marketing officer, Mike Malik, told reporters, adding that Delta operates 1.6 million flights a year and to have such a high punctuality rate is an "incredible feat."

The award considers factors like network and hub complexity to determine how difficult it is for an airline to operate.

Where US airlines stand in on-time performance

United Airlines was on Delta's heels with an on-time rate of 80.93% — up about one percentage point from 2023. It also jumped from fourth place the prior year and ranked 10th globally.

Alaska Airlines dropped to third place in 2024 with a 79.25% on-time rate. Its 2023 punctuality was 82.25%.

American Airlines' on-time performance fell from 80.61% last year to 77.78% in 2024. Due to a technical issue, the carrier experienced a brief ground stop on Christmas Eve, delaying flights during one of the year's busiest travel days.

Southwest Airlines increased its on-time performance to 77.77% from 76.26% in 2023, finishing right behind American.

Industry data provider OAG says anything about 80% is generally "pretty good," while rates above 90% are excellent. Those airlines "remain the exception, rather than the rule," it says.

How foreign carriers compare to US airlines

The top-performing European airlines were Spanish low-cost airline Iberia Express at 84.69%, its parent airline Iberia at 81.58%, and Scandinavian Airlines at 81.40%.

In Asia, Japan Airlines came in first at 80.90%. Japan's All Nippon Airways and Singapore Airlines followed at 80.62% and 78.67%, respectively.

In Latin America, Panama's Copa Airlines beat the global winner, Aeromexico, with an 88.22% on-time rate. This is Copa's 10th year in the top spot.

Malik said Copa does not win globally because it does not have a high enough international presence to quality as a "global" airline.

Aeromexico was second, while Caribbean Airlines, jointly state-owned by Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, was third at 85.47%.

In the Middle East and Africa, South African low-cost carrier Safair took first place at 93.82% — achieving the highest on-time rate worldwide. Oman Air came in second with a punctuality rate of 90.27%, and Royal Jordanian Airlines was third at 87.02%.

All three Middle Eastern and African airlines achieved a higher punctuality rate than any global carrier — including Delta. Still, none qualify as "global."

Safair, for example, has a simpler, more regional operation. It only flies within South Africa and to neighboring countries and has few overwater routes.

Royal Jordanian is the only one that competes in the US. It is part of the Oneworld Alliance with America and Alaska. Oman is expected to join Oneworld soon.

• British Airways is overhauling its loyalty program to reward spending instead of miles flown.
• It will offer more chances to get points while making status harder to achieve for leisure travelers.
• Customers took to social media to express their frustration with the new earning system.

British Airways is overhauling its loyalty program, shifting earning potential to be based on customer spending instead of miles flown.

Starting in April 2025, customers will earn one "Tier Point" for every eligible $1.25 (£1) spent. Eligible spending includes the fare and other carrier-imposed charges but excludes money spent on taxes and fees.

Also new in 2025, customers can earn points via spending on their cobranded credit card, British Airways' vacation packages, and seat and bag charges.

This will mark the launch of the airline's rebranded British Airways Club, where members can access their rewards.

The thresholds for Tier Points are 3,500 for bronze, 7,500 for silver, and 20,000 for gold, with points accrued between April 1 and March 31 of each year.

British Airways Chief Commercial Officer Colm Lacy said in a press release the airline believes the new setup "better rewards [members'] loyalty and reflects their changing travel needs," adding that the adjustments were made based on member feedback.

This replaces the existing loyalty system, which lets customers earn points based on miles flown.

Currently, bronze requires 300 points plus two flights or 25 paid flights, silver requires 600 points plus four flights or 50 paid flights, and gold requires 1,500 points plus four flights.

The gap between the new silver and gold tiers will effectively make it much more difficult for leisure travelers — who typically fly economy — to earn high status and the perks that come with it, like first and business lounge access and upgrade vouchers.

Previously, more price-sensitive travelers who wanted to participate in British Airways' loyalty program could secure cheaper tickets and still earn well for flights.

The move to rewarding spending instead of miles is not new.

In 2023, Delta Air Lines received backlash when it adjusted its loyalty program to depend on cash spent, making earning status — and the lounge access and other perks that come with it — more expensive.

Customers are unhappy with the changes

Many customers took to social media to express their frustration with the new program.

Many said the spending requirements will make it more difficult to earn British Airways loyalty status, and they will spend their money elsewhere.

"As a loyal flyer and long time Gold Card holder it's safe to say I'll be voting with my feet and taking my loyalty to somewhere it will be more appreciated," one said on X.

Another said he was a first-year "Gold Guest List" member — a special level within the gold tier for very frequent flyers — and that he will be "status-matching and moving on."

Britsh Airways' Gold Guest members receive more exclusive perks, but under the new system, the tier will require at least 65,000 points a year (with at least 52,000 earned via holiday packages or eligible British Airways flights and add-ons).

Previously, it required 5,000 points.

Tom Boon, managing editor at aviation website Simple Flying, told Business Insider that the new program is "basically unattainable for normal travelers" now.

He said that based on his last booking fare, which BI viewed, he would need to take 87.5 roundtrip flights on his regular London to Frankfurt route to earn bronze under the new system.

Previously, he could fly the roundtrip route about once a month, or about three and a half times less, to secure bronze.

British Airways told BI that the new and old systems aren't comparable because the new earning system is calculated differently with more ways to earn.

• FBI identified Shamsud-Din Jabbar as the suspect in the New Orleans truck attack.
• Jabbar, now deceased, was a US citizen from Texas and had a criminal record.
• At least 15 people were confirmed dead, and dozens more were injured.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified the suspect in Wednesday's deadly attack in New Orleans as Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

The agency said Jabbar, who was confirmed dead after a shootout with police, was a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas. His actions are being investigated as a terrorist attack.

At least 15 people are confirmed dead, and dozens more were injured, after the suspect drove a truck into crowds on Bourbon Street at about 3:15 a.m. on New Year's Day. Two police officers were shot but are in stable condition.

The FBI said an ISIS flag, as well as weapons and a "potential" improvised explosive device, were found in the Ford F-150 pick-up truck Jabbar used.

It added other IEDs were found in the French Quarter, and the agency is investigating Jabbar's potential connection to terrorist organizations.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told NBC News that "multiple individuals" were involved, and that they had rented a house from Airbnb.

"There was a house fire in New Orleans this morning that was connected to this event where we believe the IEDs were being made," she added.

President Joe Biden said in a press conference that, hours before the attack, Jabbar had posted videos "inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill."

Jabbar's criminal record, obtained from the Texas Department of Public Safety and viewed by Business Insider, shows two prior arrests in 2002 and 2005.

The first was for theft of $50-$500. The other was for driving with an invalid license. Both were classified as misdemeanors.

FBI Assistant Special Agent Alethea Duncan said in a press conference that the FBI does not believe Jabbar acted alone. She did not specify how many additional suspects the agency is investigating.

"We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates," Duncan said. "We're asking anyone who has information, video, or pictures to provide it to the FBI."

She later added that Jabbar was an Army veteran, and the FBI believes he was honorably discharged.

US military spokespersons told media on Wednesday evening that Jabbar had served in the Army from 2007 to 2015, during which he was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.

He filled information technology and human resource roles at the time and was later an information technology specialist in the Army Reserve from 2016 until 2020. He left the military as a staff sergeant.

Jabbar also graduated from Georgia State University in 2017 after studying information technology, per an online résumé reviewed by CNN.

Sean Keenan, a freelance journalist for The New York Times, reported that he had interviewed Jabbar in 2015 for Georgia State University's newspaper. Jabbar told Keenan that he had difficulty adjusting back to civilian life — particularly with getting used to non-military speech.

"You may have a lot of skills and training from the Army," Jabbar was quoted as saying in the article. "But you may not be able to speak the language to really translate it and be understood when you apply for a civilian job."

Jabbar had also complained that bureaucracy in the Department of Veteran Affairs meant he might not receive his benefits if he made small mistakes on his paperwork.

Based on Jabbar's resume, CNN reported that he worked at Deloitte and Accenture, two of the biggest consultancies. A Deloitte spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement that he worked in a "staff-level role" since his 2021 hiring.

"We are shocked to learn of reports today that the individual identified as a suspect had any association with our firm," the Deloitte statement said. "Like everyone, we are outraged by this shameful and senseless act of violence and are doing all we can to assist authorities in their investigation."

Accenture did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Jabbar also held a real estate license in Texas from 2019 to 2023. He took classes in real estate from 2018 to 2021, per the Texas Real Estate Commission.

Citing court documents, CNN reported he had been divorced twice, although The New York Times reported him as having only separated from his second wife.

His second wife had a temporary restraining order against him granted in 2020, per CNN.

According to the Times, Jabbar was divorced from his first wife in 2012, who has forbidden their two daughters from seeing him. Dwayne Marsh, her new husband, said that in recent months he had started acting strangely.

Jabbar's brother, Abdur, told the outlet that Jabbar had grown up as a Christian but converted to Islam many years ago.

"What he did does not represent Islam," the brother said. "This is more some type of radicalization, not religion."

Chris Pousson, a retired Air Force veteran who went to school with Jabbar and reconnected with him in 2015, told the outlet that he remembered Jabbar as "quiet, reserved, and really, really smart."

Jabbar was always polite and well-dressed, he said, and although he noticed Jabbar writing increasingly religious posts on Facebook around 2015, the latest news is "a complete 180 from the quiet, reserved person I knew."

Turo, a carsharing company, confirmed to BI that Jabbar used a truck rented through its app to carry out the attack and that it is "actively partnering with the FBI."

"We are not currently aware of anything in this guest's background that would have identified him as a trust and safety threat to us at the time of the reservation," a Turo spokesperson said.

The attack comes ahead of three major events in New Orleans, including the college football Sugar Bowl game, which was scheduled for January 1. Officials said it has been postponed 24 hours.

The city also has its annual Mardi Gras festivities starting on January 6 and the 59th Super Bowl scheduled for February 9.

• Authorities say a driver deliberately plowed into a crowd of people in New Orleans early Wednesday.
• 15 people were killed, and at least 35 more were injured.
• The suspect is a 42-year-old named Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, the FBI now says.

The man accused of plowing into a crowd in the heart of New Orleans in an ISIS-inspired attack that killed 15 people acted alone, an FBI official said Thursday.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect in the attack as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a 42-year-old US Army veteran, and have described it as a premeditated act of terrorism.

Officials say he killed 14 people and injured at least 35 more others after driving into the crowd with a rented truck early on New Year's Day and started shooting before being killed in a shootout with police.

At a press conference Thursday, Christopher Raia, an FBI counterterrorism official involved in the investigation, walked back earlier claims that other people may have assisted Jabbar with the attack.

He said officials have since reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance footage and other records, and believe Jabbar acted alone.

"We do not assess, at this point, that anyone else has been involved in this attack except for Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar," Raia said at the New Orleans press conference.

Raia also said investigators have not found any links between the New Orleans attack and a Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas outside a Trump hotel, while cautioning the investigations into each event were still in their early stages. Both trucks were rented through the vehicle-sharing app Turo, and officials say the perpetrator in the Las Vegas attack was an active-duty Army soldier.

"At this point, there's is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas," Raia said.

The truck slammed through Bourbon Street

New Orleans was still reeling Thursday after the driver, later identified as Jabbar, drove a rented Ford pickup truck through the crowd on Bourbon Street at about 3:15 a.m. on New Year's Day.

Several improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, were also found near the scene of the attack. An ISIS flag was found in the vehicle's trunk, according to Raia.

Raia said that authorities initially believed other people may have been involved in the attack because of witnesses who said they saw people setting down coolers containing the IEDs.

But surveillance footage showed that Jabbar set down coolers containing two IEDs himself, Raia said. According to Raia, footage showed other people later "checking out" the coolers, but they did not seem to have any role in the attack. Reports of additional IEDs could not be substantiated, Raia said.

Officials had also earlier said that a fire in a New Orleans house, which was rented from Airbnb, may have been where the IEDs were assembled. But authorities said at Thursday's press conference that they now believe the fire is likely unrelated to the attack.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said "information changes" as the investigation continues.

"No one dumps a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle and solves it in five seconds," he said at the press conference Thursday.

Jabbar's criminal record, obtained from the Texas Department of Public Safety and viewed by Business Insider, shows two prior arrests in 2002 and 2005. The first was for theft, while the other was for driving with an invalid license. Both were classified as misdemeanors.

Support for ISIS posted on Facebook

At Thursday's press conference, Raia said Jabbar rented the Ford truck in Houston on December 30 and headed to New Orleans on December 31.

He said Jabbar made a series of Facebook posts during his journey expressing support for ISIS and posting a last will and testament.

Raia also said that investigators believe Jabbar joined ISIS before this past summer.

In a statement to Business Insider, the car-sharing app Turo said Jabbar used its service to rent the truck.

"We are heartbroken to learn that one of our host's vehicles was involved in this awful incident," the statement reads. "We are actively partnering with the FBI. We are not currently aware of anything in this guest's background that would have identified him as a trust and safety threat to us at the time of the reservation."

Starting Wednesday evening, Texas authorities performed a search of a location in Houston believed to be linked to Jabbar, the FBI said.

At Thursday's press conference, officials said they had obtained two laptops and three phones connected to Jabbar, which they have been examining.

The agency said it's made no arrests but had deployed specialized personnel, including a SWAT team, crisis negotiators, and a bomb squad, to the Houston location.

The search finished early Thursday, with the agency saying that it could not release more information, but that "there is no threat to residents in that area."

Superintendent Anne E. Kirkpatrick of the New Orleans Police Department said during an earlier press conference that a man drove a pickup truck down Bourbon Street "at a very fast pace." Kirkpatrick said the man drove into the crowd intentionally.

She also said the driver shot two police officers, who she said were in stable condition.

Kirkpatrick said it appeared that most of those injured were locals rather than tourists.

Eyewitness accounts

NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness campaign, had initially said there was "a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street."

Kevin Garcia, a 22-year-old who was present at the time, told CNN, "All I seen was a truck slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk."

He said that "a body came flying at me," and that he heard gunshots.

One witness told CBS that a driver plowed into the crowd on Bourbon Street at high speed and that the driver got out and started firing a weapon, with the police firing back.

Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana said on X on Wednesday that a "horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning."

"Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene," he wrote, referring to his wife. "I urge all near the scene to avoid the area."

Bourbon Street, in the city's French Quarter, is a famous party destination.

Some streets in and around the French Quarter were due to be closed for New Year's celebrations, with Canal Street expected to stay open unless traffic got too bad, the local outlet Fox 8 WVUE-TV reported.

As a result of the attack, the Sugar Bowl football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame was postponed from Wednesday night to Thursday afternoon.

Local officials tried to assure the public that the city was now safe, with additional law enforcement deployed everywhere.

"The city of New Orleans is not only ready for game day today but also to host large-scale events," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Thursday.

• Jonathan Mutch is a helicopter pilot in Antarctica with the tour company Quark Expeditions.
• Flightseeing is included in select Antarctic itineraries, which cost up to $26,000 per person.
• Only highly experienced pilots are hired, and a team of at least 13 people is needed to run flights.

Quark Expeditions helicopter pilot Jonathan Mutch is working his third season in Antarctica, flying high-paying tourists to some of the planet's remotest places.

Mutch told Business Insider that flying helicopters across the seventh continent is no easy feat.

It takes a team of pilots, flight engineers, mountain guides, and expedition leaders to run the operation safely. Quark says it has strict environmental parameters to avoid affecting wildlife.

"It's a lot more complicated than it looks," Mutch said. "We'll start with a study of our maps and charts and previous experience with the weather, and we'll brief over the preceding days."

He said that because Antarctic weather can be harsh and unpredictable, guests must have realistic and flexible expectations.

Helicopter flightseeing excursions are included in all Antarctic itineraries on the Ultramarine, the luxury vessel where Quark guests live during their voyage and where the helicopters take off and land.

Mutch said Quark prioritizes getting everybody a 15-minute flightseeing trip, followed by potential landings.

Pricing for the 2025-2026 season starts at about $14,000 per person and includes flightseeing, meals, housing, and other activities. Helicopter landings are $530 extra.

Deep-pocketed tourists can also pay $26,000 or more per person for a more helicopter-focused tour that includes landing near an Emperor penguin colony.

Helicopter travel is different in Antarctica

Mutch said Quark has two Airbus-made H145 helicopters, which are fitted with safety technology to operate in the polar south, such as a redundant two engines and advanced autopilot.

The helicopters are stored and maintained in hangars on top of the ship. Here, guests board and disembark, the aircraft are refueled between trips, and the crew plans flights.

Mutch said both helicopters are needed to prep the landing sites before taking passengers. Pilots and engineers ensure things like lighting and recirculating snow won't impact safety or vision.

Veteran expedition leader Jake Morrison told BI that a flightseeing operation requires at least 13 employees, or 20 or more for ice landings.

Experienced mountain guides test the landing ice thickness and ensure the sites are safe for walking and void of crevasses.

"We won't get airborne if the experience is going to be lackluster or if there's any risk of leaving anybody out there," Mutch said. He added that Quark operates to the same standards as airlines, and the ships' crew will always follow the helicopter's location.

Mutch said Quark pilots are trained beyond minimum standards, including twice a year in a flight simulator, and have a background in complicated flying.

"We'll put the aircraft into white-out conditions and test the pilots' decision-making," Mutch said, speaking about the simulator training. "We want guys who are not going to be too proud [that causes them] to push on and make mistakes."

Environmental considerations

Antarctic conservation is a hot topic as a record-breaking number of tourists visit the continent. Ice levels are decreasing, and wildlife is at risk for pollutants from ships, aircraft, and humans.

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators tries to curb environmental risks by limiting the number of people on the continent at once, governing what tourists can and cannot bring on the ice, and more.

Flying carbon-emitting helicopters across Antarctica will impact the environment, but Quark said it does what it can to minimize its footprint.

Morisson said the H145 helicopters are more fuel-efficient and quieter than similar aircraft in its category.

Mutch said flightseeing tours are intended to show the landscape, so pilots will not fly within a mile of wildlife. The flight-following crew on the ship helps maintain distance.

For Emperor penguin landings, he said there is typically an iceberg between the birds and humans — so Quark guests are "virtually inaudible and invisible."

"The last thing we want to do is change the behavior of any wildlife or interact in any way with the wildlife down here, whether it be penguins, seals, sea birds, or whales," Mutch said. "We explain this to passengers when we board."

Guests should have realistic expectations

Weather will determine if a flight can safely operate, so there are some days when a tour is scheduled but cannot fly — meaning guests must prepare for uncertainty and possible disappointment.

It's easy to get frustrated considering the high cost of the tour, but that's the reality of flying in the polar south.

"We're quite conservative about when we fly, but we'd ideally want a blue-sky day," he said, adding the company completes an average of 200 flights per season. "We'd like to fly three or perhaps four times per trip, but it's really what the weather will allow us."

Most people do get the chance to fly over Antarctica, thanks to the long itineraries and various options of places to fly.

The single-pilot flightseeing tours carry up to six passengers, with everyone getting a window seat. To optimize capacity, landings will carry up to nine, as prime seating is unnecessary.

"There's Fournier Bay on Anvers Island, an amphitheater of steep ice cliffs … and if we can get above the ridge, you can see up to 100 miles of the Antarctic Peninsula on a clear day," Mutch said, speaking about his favorite sites. "It's not unusual to have guests welling up, overwhelmed with emotion."

• Sunday's Jeju Air crash has again raised concerns about flight safety.
• Boeing's 737-800 model is used by nearly 200 airlines and has a strong safety record.
• The 737-800 is different from Boeing's 737 Max family, which has faced significant issues.

The Boeing plane that crashed in South Korea on Sunday, killing 179, has a remarkable safety record.

The 737-800 model is among the world's most widely used passenger planes, with some 4,400 in service for nearly 200 airlines, according to data from Cirium.

In its nearly 30 years of service, the 737 variant — much older than the problematic Max models —  has seen 1,100 fatalities from 17 accidents, according to data compiled by the Aviation Safety Network, a nonprofit research organization.

That's a relatively low crash rate, given the thousands of plane units produced and the millions of passenger flights completed. The model remains a backbone of global aviation.

"The 737-800 is a great airplane, the workhorse of the world, if you like," Airline News editor and aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas told Business Insider. "It is the most reliable aircraft out there."

Human error has contributed to most of the fatal 737-800 accidents.

Boeing 737-800 crashes

The first fatal crash involving the 737-800 was Brazil's Gol Airlines in 2006. The plane experienced a midair collision with a private jet and broke up, killing all 154 passengers and crew.

Investigators said errors by an air traffic controller and the private pilots were to blame.

Pilot error was a factor in several other 737-800 crashes, such as a 2007 Kenya Air flight, two Air India Express accidents in 2010 and 2020, and a 2016 Flydubai crash.

No US airline has experienced a fatal 737-800 crash, though some have been damaged due to things like mechanical issues, weather, bird strikes, and pilot error.

Some 737-800 accidents were due to other factors. In 2020, 176 people died after a Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down by Iran.

In 2022, a China Eastern Airlines 737-800 nose-dived, killing 132, but the investigation is ongoing. A Wall Street Journal report that year said US officials had pointed to someone in the cockpit intentionally crashing the jet.

A China Airlines plane that crashed but suffered no fatalities in 2007 pointed to airline mechanic error and inadequate maintenance guidance from Boeing, Japanese investigators found.

Following the crash, the US Federal Aviation Administration instructed 737 operators in the US to ensure the maintenance component that caused the accident was properly installed.

Which airlines fly the 737-800?

The 737-800 is part of Boeing's "next generation" or "NG" line of planes, which also includes the smaller 737-600 and 737-700 and the larger 737-900.

The 737-800 first flew in 1998, and the model competes with the Airbus A320 narrowbody jetliner.

The NG planes were an upgrade to the classic 737 models with more range and fuel efficiency. The 737-800 can fly about 3,400 miles and carry up to 189 passengers, making it popular for short and medium-haul flying.

Cirium data shows commercial airlines operated the 737-800 on nearly 5.9 million flights in 2024. More than 6.2 million are scheduled through November 2025.

American Airlines is the biggest operator of the 737-800, with 303 in service, per Cirium. Irish budget carrier Ryanair and Southwest Airlines follow with 205 and 204, respectively.

US airlines Alaska Airlines, Avelo Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Sun Country Airlines, and United Airlines also operate the 737-800, but operators reach virtually every corner of the globe.

The Boeing 737-800 is not the same as the 737 Max

The 737-800 model does not have the same system that caused its successor, the 737 Max, to crash in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.

That system, known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, was blamed for the crashes.

Thanks to their more powerful and fuel-efficient engines, the Max 8 and Max 9 planes in service can fly about 500 miles further than the 737-800. The Max jets can also hold more passengers compared.

Boeing stopped producing the 737-800 in late 2019 when it replaced the NG family with the Max.

There are about 4,800 Max jets on backorder. Production resumed in December following a worker strike at its Washington factories.