Skift Airline Weekly is a subscriber-supported publication, paid for by readers who want a more interesting, more valuable read about the airline business. Each Monday, Skift Airline Weekly reports who’s flying where, new marketing approaches, fleet, finance and key airline and airport data. And most importantly, Skift Airline Weekly readers enjoy insightful analysis and new ideas found nowhere else.

Skift Airline Weekly is produced by Skift, the largest travel industry intelligence platform providing media, insights and marketing to key sectors of travel. The Skift Airline Weekly team consists of journalists and airline industry professionals with a passion — some might call it an obsession — with commercial passenger aviation worldwide.

Our Executive Team

Jay Shabat, Publisher, jayshabat@airlineweekly.com

Jay Shabat has been Airline Weekly’s publisher ever since he co-founded the company in 2004. Prior to that, Shabat earned a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), with concentrations in international finance and economic policy and a regional focus on Europe. At the George Washington University, he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in international business. Other airline experience includes three years as a senior revenue management analyst for US Airways in Virginia and two years as a corporate pricing analyst for Air France in New York City. He has taught numerous airline management courses and consulted for airlines around the world, providing instruction and expertise in airline industry economics, revenue and cost management, network planning and marketing/distribution. Shabat currently lives in Fort Myers, Florida.

Jason Cottrell, Vice President, jcottrell@airlineweekly.com

As Vice President of Airline Weekly, Jason Cottrell’s responsibilities bridge two very different realms – editorial content and business strategy. Fortunately, his background in journalism and business enable him to swing comfortably from writing, editing and contributing to Airline Weekly’s unique brand of insightful airline coverage to steering the company’s rapid sales and revenue growth since 2005. Cottrell holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism. After working as a newspaper reporter, Cottrell became an account manager at First Marketing Company, a Fort Lauderdale-based publisher of customer communications for major companies worldwide. Cottrell’s area of emphasis was the travel industry with clients such as Best Western, Westin, Swissotel and Korean Air. From there, Cottrell completely switched gears, setting aside his journalism and marketing skills to try his hand as a project manager for a Miami construction firm. As luck would have it, these three very different pursuits (journalism, marketing, project management) prepared him for his role at Airline Weekly, which he joined in 2005. Cottrell also is considered the aviation environmental expert among the staff at Airline Weekly.

Seth Kaplan, Managing Partner, skaplan@airlineweekly.com

Seth Kaplan’s role as managing partner of Airline Weekly is an extension of a career in journalism, government and transportation. Kaplan holds a Master of Public Administration from Florida International University and a Bachelor of Arts (journalism major) from the George Washington University. He worked as a newspaper and television reporter, covering aviation/transportation as well as other issues, before switching to the public sector with Miami-Dade County government, where he served in various executive roles. In 2005 he left to become managing partner of Airline Weekly, where he saw an opportunity to combine his love of both aviation and journalism in an enterprise that would educate key airline industry stakeholders about the global industry. Since then, he has become a globally recognized airline expert. He is frequently asked by print and broadcast media to provide perspectives. Within the industry, he speaks frequently at industry events and has taught numerous airline economics courses to executives and staff at airlines around the world, providing them with insight about factors that drive airline profitability. Kaplan lives in Washington, D.C.