Delta is stripping snacks and drinks from some short flights, while expanding full service on others — the latest sign airlines are reworking what's included in a ticket.
Why it matters:Jet fuel — one of airlines' biggest expenses — has surged amid the Iran conflict, pushing up costs and forcing carriers to cut routes, raise fares and rethink service.
The downfall of Spirit Airlines is casting a spotlight on the future of its budget carrier rival, Frontier Airlines, which is facing many of the same challenges.
Why it matters: The jet fuel price spike was the last straw for Spirit — which ceased operations early Saturday — and it's posing a serious challenge to Frontier, as well.
A former Tesla executive leading Ford's secretive West Coast effort to design an affordable electric vehicle has a bigger, unspoken mission: help Ford reinvent the way it designs and builds cars around the world.
Why it matters: If vice president Alan Clarke's team gets it right in southern California, they will create a system Ford can replicate across the globe to stay competitive in a rapidly shifting market.
The gasoline price surge is reigniting political chatter about suspending the federal tax on the fuel to help consumers, thanks to a recent round of populist proposals from high-profile Democrats.
Why it matters: It's one of those go-to ideas that never actually happens, but often surfaces when prices climb.
Spirit Airlines is dead, but the finger-pointing is very much alive.
Trump administration officials spent the weekend blaming former President Biden, whose Justice Department successfully blocked JetBlue from buying Spirit for $3.8 billion.
Spirit told the White House to look in the mirror, saying its insolvency was sparked by an Iran war that's caused jet fuel prices to spike.
Why it matters: Around 17,000 people just lost their jobs, and thousands of passengers found themselves stranded.
A fully closed Strait of Hormuz was long seen as unthinkable — and unmanageable if it happened — based on past modeling and interviews with energy experts.
Why it matters: That conventional wisdom underscores just how unprecedented today's closure is — and how little playbook exists for what could come next.
