American Plans to Resume 737 MAX Flights in December
1 American Airlines intends to put its 737 MAX aircraft back into service this December, the first time the aircraft will fly passengers since its grounding in March of 2019. American will fly the 737 MAX between New York/LaGuardia and Miami once-daily between December 29 and January 4, with the possibility of extending the schedule as the dates approach.
When asked why it chose that Florida route to start, someone who is definitely not an American spokesperson said, “those people are all super old anyway, so if something goes wrong… no big deal.” If all goes well, West Palm Beach and Sarasota will obviously be next.
The airline removed more than 1,900 flights scheduled to operate with the MAX between December and March, and put those flights on different aircraft types due to uncertainty over the approval process. It will fill that back in when dates are more certain on the aircraft’s return.
The FAA is working through its process to certify the 737 MAX to fly again, but is moving more cautiously than European regulators who are expected to approve the plane to return to passenger service shortly.
Flybe Plans to Return in 2021
2 Flybe is planning to resume operating in 2021 after its administrators reached an agreement with investors and creditors to restart the bankrupt airline. Flybe had been sold to Thyme Opco, a Cyrus Capital affiliate, in an attempt by Virgin Atlantic to rescue the airline.
Flybe collapsed this spring, just as the pandemic began to unfold. Any movement towards reviving the airline was stopped before it started due to the lockdown in the UK. Early in the administration process, Loganair took control of 16 of Flybe’s routes and the UK government revoked its operating and route licenses.
The sale to Thyme Opco is an example of someone buying low — as low as can be — as it plans to restart the airline on a smaller scale with a regional focus. Flybe originally planned to operate to 24 regional airports in summer 2020. It now expects to operate on a scale of roughly half that when it returns to the sky in 2021, before ultimately going bankrupt and shutting down again.
Raleigh/Durham Airport Announces Incentive Program
3 Raleigh/Durham Airport is rolling out two incentive programs designed to lure new airlines and new routes to the airport along with reinstating previously shuttered routes that no longer operate.
The airport is offering a 12-month waiver of landing fees for airlines that launch new service or reinstate a previous route back to the airport. The program caps the savings a $1 million for new service and $700,000 for a returned route.
Now we know why JetBlue announced all those new routes from the airport. It was the first to accept the offer, inaugurating service between RDU and Cancun on November 19, the first day the landing fee waiver goes into effect.
The airport settled on the landing fee waiver after considering several other incentives. RDU had offered airlines one BOGO coupon (up to $5 value) at both Auntie Anne’s locations at the airport for every new route inaugurated during November in December, but balked when Auntie Anne’s wanted to charge the airport $3 for each coupon. Other options considered were 50% off economy parking for airline officials and a free 30-day trial of Clear (valid at RDU location only).
TSA Screenings Exceed One Million
4 For the first time since March 17, more than one million passengers were screened through TSA checkpoints on Sunday, with a total of 1.03 million marking the highest figure in more than seven months.
Screening numbers have been steadily increasing since bottoming out at just 87,534 travelers on April 14. The current figure represents about 40% of the total number screened on the matching Sunday from 2019, showing that we still have a long way to go before matching pre-pandemic numbers.
In addition to passing the one million threshold on Sunday, the TSA totaled 6.2 million screenings last week from Monday-Sunday, the highest one week total since the beginning of the pandemic.
EGO Airways Prepares to Launch Service
5 EGO Airways, the airline that always feels good about itself, is preparing to launch from its Milan/Malpensa base and has announced its plans for summer 2021.
The airline plans to serve cities throughout Italy along with neighboring Slovenia with its fleet of Embraer 190 and Embraer 195 aircraft, codesharing with other airlines to offer connections at Malpensa. It will launch with flights to eight destinations from MXP:
- Florence/Peretola (FLR)
- Forli (FRL)
- Ljubljana (LJU)
- Pescara (PSR)
- Pisa (PSA)
- Venice (VCE)
- Verona (VRN)
- Super Happy Magical Profitable Airport (LIE)
It’s that last one that’s expected to be the primary driver of profits.
EGO will ultimately have three focus cities beyond Milan: Florence, Forli, and Parma (PMF). In keeping with its name, flights for the airline will launch with a mirror at every seat and selfie stations located in all gate areas.
Airline Potpourri
- Afriqiyah has resumed daily service between Tripoli (TIP) and Benghazi (BEN). The US Congress has immediately launched an investigation.
- Air Asia X is out of money and needs to raise $120 million to restart operations.
- Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu announced his retirement, effective February 15. Deputy CEO and CFO Michael Rousseau will follow him in the CEO role.
- Allied Air took delivery of a B737-800SF Freighter.
- British Airways is moving its flights to the Maldives (MLE) and Barbados (BGI) from Gatwick to Heathrow.
- Caribbean Airlines is launching its first flight from Guyana to New York/JFK today, October 19.
- Eastar Jet is eliminating 605 jobs in an effort to be more attractive to potential investors. The decision comes after the airline was unable to successfully complete the Weight Watchers program for airlines.
- Jet Airways creditors have accepted a bid to revive the airline from Indian entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan and asset management firm Kalrock.
- Qantas has requested permission to operate a cargo-only operation between Australia and South Korea.
- Qatar does not expect to operate its A380 fleet for at least two years.
- Smartlynx Airlines has converted two A321 aircraft into freighters.
- Uganda Airlines unveiled its first A330neo that will enter operation by the end of 2020.
- Volaris Costa Rica will restart operations on November 23.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
I really wanted to go to the grand opening of the new LEGO store in town this past weekend, but never made it. I couldn’t believe that people were lined up for blocks.