Summary: Aircraft engines are causing more than their share of issues these days. Failures on the ground and in the air are raising lots of questions.<br> <br> <br> <br> Also in this episode:<br> <br> * <a href="http://www.startribune.com/sun-country-passengers-abandoned-in-mexico-due-to-snow/479814983/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sun Country Stranded Passengers</a> (<a href="http://crankyflier.com/2018/04/17/sun-country-earns-the-cranky-jackass-award-for-giving-no-options-to-stranded-customers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interlining with AS still place</a>)<br> * We now some some bits about the new <a href="http://prf.hn/click/camref:1011l4Zx/creativeref:1011l1310" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marriott</a> loyalty program. Who got screwed?<br> * Some links for the engine issues stories, including the <a href="https://blog.wandr.me/2018/04/faa-rolls-royce-787-avianca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">787s</a>, <a href="https://jonostrower.com/2018/04/the-collateral-damage-failed-cfm56-engine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">737s</a>, and <a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article209224309.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">private jets</a>.<br> * United just took delivery of its first 737 MAX 9<br> * A question came in from listener Jonathan about AAdvantage routing rules and we've got the easy answer as well as a more involved discussion about choosing programs and optimizing efforts. Including some thoughts on when over-optimizing is a bad plan.<br> * United seems to finally be hitting its stride in Polaris retrofits. It will still take a couple years to complete the rollout and Premium Plus is now part of the work, too.<br> https://twitter.com/LAflyr/status/984874494761189376<br> * Aviation relations between the US and Russia appear strained, including overflight rights and <a href="https://www.ruaviation.com/news/2018/4/20/11253/?h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visas for Russian crews</a><br> * <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/04/20/king-mswati-iii-of-swaziland-proclaims-his-nation-will-be-henceforth-known-as-eswatini" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Swaziland gets a new name</a><br> * <a href="https://blog.wandr.me/2018/04/cal-jet-halts-operations-carlsbad-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cal Jet Shutting Down to Grow</a><br> * <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-airlines-flight-2446-unruly-passenger-tased-removed-today-2018-04-23/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miami passenger tasered, taunts cops</a><br> <br> [wandrad adid=2]<br> <br> Also, <a href="http://badice.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephan</a> really likes this GIF:<br> <br> <br> <br>
