A look back at U.S. airlines’ wild 2024, from door plugs to bankruptcy

It’s been another eventful year for U.S. air travel. Just five days into the year, a door panel blew off of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max, operated by Alaska Airlines, as it climbed out of Portland, Oregon, after sunset, plunging the airplane manufacturer back in crisis mode and delaying deliveries of new jets for months.

Two weeks later, a federal judge blocked JetBlue Airways‘ planned purchase of Spirit Airlines, leaving the smaller, battered budget carrier to fend for itself. Struggling Spirit ultimately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.

The drama-filled year also included an activist campaign at one of the country’s most cautious carriers, a tech meltdown that stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers during the height of summer travel and the first major U.S. airline merger since Barack Obama was president.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker announced he’ll step down on Jan. 20, about a year into a five-year term, and the day President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, leaving the critical agency that oversees everything from aircraft certification to the U.S. airspace yet again without a leader. Airline CEOs have been clamoring for more air traffic controllers and investment in air traffic technology.

Meanwhile, carriers duked it out for who could be the most “premium” and profitable, with cabins closer to the front of the plane becoming more popular purchases for travelers (sorry to those seeking free upgrades). The top two contenders — stalwart Delta and challenger United — brought most of the industry’s profits, and their stock prices hit records, while smaller airlines leaned into roomier seats and announced higher-end credit cards.

Airlines played chicken until the industry trimmed its glut of U.S. flights that were pushing down fares. But the international travel boom, well into the off-season, is showing no signs of slowing down. Through it all, demand for air travel overall smashed records, and CEOs are optimistic about next year, too.

Here’s how they each fared in 2024:

The most profitable of U.S. carriers struggled to recover from a July 19 CrowdStrike outage that took hundreds of Microsoft Windows machines offline. It cost Delta Air Lines more than $500 million and left thousands of stranded customers, with a cancellation tally that topped all of 2019. Still, the carrier’s stock price hit a record this month.

CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC last week that demand looks strong going into 2025. The airline has been stepping up its premium offerings for high-paying…