Skift Airline Weekly launched in 2004, dedicated to helping professionals follow the global airline industry’s most important trends and developments. In the decade and a half since, Jay Shabat, Seth Kaplan, and Jason Cottrell have grown the publication into a leading voice on industry affairs, read by a large majority of the sector’s most influential executives.

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.

In 2018, Airline Weekly became part of 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.

Editorial Team

Madhu Unnikrishnan, Editor, mu@skift.com

Madhu Unnikrishnan joined Skift Airline Weekly as its Editor in February 2019. Unnikrishnan has worked as a journalist for almost two decades, much of which was spent in numerous roles at Aviation Week. Beginning as a correspondent, he rose to the role of Editor-in-Chief of the publication’s Aviation Daily. As a writer and an editor, he led coverage of the global airline industry for an international audience of C-Suite airline and airport executives. He has also held key communication roles at both United Airlines and Virgin America. Unnikrishnan resides in San Francisco.

Jay Shabat, Senior Analyst, jayshabat@airlineweekly.com

Jay Shabat has been Skift Airline Weekly’s lead writer and analyst 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.

Sales Team

Skift Airline Weekly can create opportunities for and solve the problems of the aviation community in multiple ways. From advertisements in newsletters and emails to branded content that can live anywhere, our team can work with you to generate experiences that shape the opinion of the smartest people in travel. For more information about these opportunities, contact Daniel Calabrese (Enterprise Sales) or Alex Winkler (Customer Support Associate).

The Founders

With Skift Airline Weekly in great hands at Skift, two of its co-founders Seth Kaplan and Jason Cottrell have moved along to new challenges. However, if you would like to reach them personally, you may do so by clicking their names, above.