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Delta Airlines is switching its frequent flyer program entirely to spending on its American Express Card. No miles for flights. Delta gets an astounding $7 billion from American Express from sales of miles, ancillary fees and brand fees. Its goal is $10 billion which would be what it made from tickets for flights in 2022. Delta's CEO says it may have gone too far with these changes which are unpopular with its flyer base except for the high end flyers who disliked crowded lounges. Were there other ways to tackle that problem? Delta appears to have shifted attention to a small fraction of its customers.

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Trade between Russia and Germany was about $100 billion in 2013, or about 3.3% of German exports. About 300,000 jobs depend on exports to Russia, according to Germany's DIHK Chambers of Commerce. A poll released by Der Spiegel on July 27, 2014, shows 52% of Germans now support tough sanctions on Russia, with the mood shifting following the death of 193 Dutch residents on Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. Finance minister Schauble told the Bild newspaper- "Damaging pece and stability would be the biggest risk for the economy."

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Many airports have seen new construction during the lockdowns. This means newer airports and terminals. Cleaning at airports has improved and higher standards set at terminals. Newer technologies are being added to reduce contact and maintain social distancing. Airline travel may be better than before as travelers return to airport terminals.

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The severe impact of sanctions on availability of car parts in Russia is shown here in this Guardian report. Few industries are impacted by Russia's total isolation as the car industry says this report. Car sales in Russia have dropped by 84% according to the Association for European Business and car prices are up 50%. Import substitution is not working for the car industry say experts. The owner of a car repair firm in Moscow says speculation for car parts is rampant with parts cost up by 800% and original oil up 1000%. Reports show counterfeit or stolen parts flooding the market. The airline industry is also impacted by the severe shortage of aircraft parts. One Russian pilot says there are enough aircraft wheels and pads for one month maximum. A manager of Sukhoi Superjet says he gives the Russian airline industry one year if nothing changes. Safety concerns of pilots are being ignored says one pilot. Parts are being cannibalized from older planes for new ones to keep them running. With the nation's automobile and airline industries affected in this way the quality of living is affected in Russia only 3 months into this war. Having a large inflow of revenues from oil and gas for the 6-12 month period that it takes Europe to respond, and a large reserve fund of about $610 billion is not a real reflection of the strength of a country. In today's interconnected system of supply chain no degree of industrial strength would allow a nation to wage war through invasion with impunity without finding itself in severe difficulties for the quality of life in the country as the world community responds. The response is to prevent the wrong lessons being drawn by one nation using full scale war to occupy another nation and getting away with it.    ...

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Scott McCartney retires from the WSJ after 29 years. Since 2001 he writes the Middle Seat column in the WSJ to give readers better ideas on how to travel. Looking back he says things have not become that much better these days, even a bit worse with crowded planes and costly flights.

International business class is one of the things that are better with lie flat seats. Planes are safer today. Trusted traveller has taken the tedious aspect of security checks and made it less burdensome. Some of the credit and our thanks for the positive changes, letting airlines and airports know when they needed to listen, that credit goes to Scott McCartney's column. 

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A You.gov poll shows Europeans by 64% consider reclining seats fully "unacceptable" compared to 46% in the US. The seats squeezed into a tight space make it more difficult for passengers making airline decisions on seat arrangement an issue. Delta tried limiting reclining to 2 inches to improve passenger comfort on 20% of its planes in 2019, but has not moved ahead to do this with the rest of the planes.

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Massive tax relief of about $650 billion according to the Joint Committee on Taxation- in the U.S. economic package of $2 trillion -will help companies in the oil, aerospace, automobile,  airline and other industries ride out this coronavirus economic slump. They are designed to generate cash quickly for companies in this crisis.

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Problems facing the Dreamliner to meet the schedule for delivery of the new airplane to airlines. This is reminiscent of problems Airbus has with its large airliners wiring systems some months back.

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Corner Office, is a new Sunday Business feature in the NYT. This interview with Greg Brenneman of the turnaround at Continental Airlines, was done by Adam Bryant. Corner Office will cover leadership and Management. This is a wide ranging interview with Brenneman sharing not only his philosophy on work and business, but also his philosophy of life. He describes his approach to a company based on asking what are the two or three most important things you do, levers that you pull, that will make a difference in this company. It should all fit in one page. If its not simple and easy to tell a colleague, then its not right or its too complicated with buzzwords. Another approach is ask what are the 2 or 3 things you don't do which are bleeding the the business. Can you put these things down on a mental page, just one page, just 2 or 3 things that stick out, you absolutely don't want to do. That helps you put down the plan of attack. Brenneman sees too many executives focussed on economic gains and not having a rounded life, a balance that helps them lead happy, productive lives. In his view the balanced person is better at work because he finds fulfillment from all aspects of life. What leaders consider important is a shadow that they cast on the whole organization, in Brenneman's view, making it very important that the leaders actions convey the right message that they care about people....

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 About 350,000 direct and indirect employees work for Air France-KLM. The French government will give a loan of 7 billion euros to the airline. Of this 4 billion euros are in bank loans guaranteed by the state and 3 billion euros of loans directly from the state. Separately Renault will get a 5 billion euro loan.

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The weather around Thanksgiving in Amsterdam is wet and cold. The plane is full - for $522 from Phoenix to Amsterdam on Delta Airlines. The lounges are not full and the airport is manageable. 

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Embraer 190 aircraft flying fo Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku to Grozny crases in Kazakh airspace after possibly being hit by Russian air defense systems. Russia was facing Ukrainian drone attacks in recent months.