Author: Andrew Bashuk

BA and Heathrow Drop Mask Requirement

British Airways and its home airport – London/Heathrow — will drop their mask requirements effective this Wednesday, March 16. Both the airline and airport plan to release full details in the next 24 hours, but the fact remains BA will become the first global airline to drop its mask requirement.

The change in policy does have some exceptions including still requiring masks on flights to or from the United States as long as the U.S. federal mask mandate remains in effect. The carrier is also willing to drop the mandate with summer around the corner with the expectation that the normally pasty, white Brits might get some sun this summer – while still bringing a mask mandate back for winter.

British media is speculating that Virgin Atlantic will make a similar announcement within the next 24 hours, following one step behind BA –keeping alive that tradition since 1984. British LCC Jet2 ended its mask mandate earlier this month, marking a rare instance when the carrier managed to complete something earlier than expected.

Frankfurt Braces for Tuesday Chaos

Airport security staff plan a 24-hour strike on Tuesday at Frankfurt International Airport to highlight their dispute with the airport over salary and working conditions. The strike will also extend to four other German airports: Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB).

Lufthansa, the dominant carrier at the airport will reduce flights to Frankfurt tomorrow as much as possible. The airport will not have any security lanes open for passengers originating in Frankfurt and hopes to have a limited amount available for connecting travelers.

LH advised passengers flying through Frankfurt today or tomorrow to travel with carry-on luggage only, if possible, which seeing the wardrobe of most German tourists is good advice regardless of the security situation. The union is demanding a pay raise of €1 per hour, while management countered with free admission to Wheneverfest 2023 – an offer the union turned down.

A New Dominican ULCC is Just What We Needed

Arajet announced its plans to be the DR’s newest airline, poised to become the first ULCC based in the Caribbean. It will connect North and South America via the Dominican and the Caribbean, starting service later this year from a base at Santo Domingo.

The new carrier will be led by founder and CEO Victor Pacheco and former Wizz Air CFO Mike Powell. Its financial backing comes from Bain Capital, the new majority owner of Virgin Australia. Whether we will see codesharing between VA and the new carrier or direct service between Santo Domingo and Melbourne remains anyone’s guess.

Arajet will exclusively operate a fleet of B737 MAX 8 aircraft, putting in an order for 40 new airplanes to be delivered of the next few years. Its first aircraft – a lease – arrived at SDQ last week. Now that it’s got a CEO and an airplane, all that’s left is to paint that plane bright yellow, find some passengers, slap some fees on them, and get this baby in the air.

• Air Zimbabwe is ready to sit at the grown-ups table again and rejoin IATA.
• Breeze opened a training center in Salt Lake City. Reports say it’s very nice.
• British Airways suspended its frequent flyer relationship with S7 Airlines. Up next to replace the carrier for BA presumably is S8 Airlines.
• Cargojet signed agreements to add six more freighters this year.
• Emirates and flydubai suspended service to Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus through at least May 8.
• Qantas reopened its international business lounges in Sydney and Melbourne today.
• Rano Air — the Nigerian carrier often confused with the dearly departed Reno Air — is adding four E145s.
• Ryanair was forced to cancel about 5,000 flights to Portugal this summer over a slot dispute with the Portuguese government. In the meantime, the carrier will spin the wheel at its office to see what government it will start a beef with next.
• Singapore will resume A380 service to India today.
• SkyWest‘s announcement that it is ending service to 29 cities was put on hold when the federal government cautioned the carrier to slow its roll.

I met a genie last week who said he could offer me one wish. I told him “I just want to be happy every day.” Now I live in a cottage with six other dwarves.

Politicians Raise an Eyebrow at Frontier/Spirit Merger

Congresspeople, Senators, the Attorney General of Colorado, and fee-lovers everywhere are encouraging the Justice Department to cast a weary eye when it begins its review of the proposed merger of Frontier and Spirit.

A letter to the DOJ and DOT from Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Mondaire Jones details the concerns of Congress with regards to competition concerns created by the merger. The lawmakers, along with the Attorney General of Colorado lay out why they think the mashup will reduce options for travelers and raise prices, especially on routes where the two overlap.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also takes both airlines’ customer service records to task, revealing that he likely got stuck paying a fee on Spirit that he didn’t know existed just like the rest of us. He says that after the proposed merger the two carriers will have few incentives to address complaints because of lessened competition. He also is concerned with the health effects for the animals on the tails of Frontier aircraft if they are subjected to Spirit’s yellow paint on a daily basis.

SkyWest Drops 29

SkyWest Airlines intends to end service to 29 cities, 28 of which would lose their only commercial air service if the carrier goes through with its plan. These are all routes the carrier operates on behalf of United as United Express, and are being affected by the current pilot shortage that is especially causing trouble for regional carriers.

The 29 destinations are in 15 states, mostly in the Midwest. The carrier submitted its 90-day notice to the DOT that it intends to terminate its Essential Air Service contract in these markets. It is offering grounds staff the opportunity to stay with the company and transfer to another airport, although its unlikely many will take them up on the offer if for some reason they are already pleased living in Scottsbluff, Nebraska or Lewisburg, West Virginia.

There is speculation that the DOT might require the carrier to continue to operate some – or all – of the routes while it looks for a new EAS carrier. Despite some reports in the media, the DOT denies that it reached out to ITA Airways to consider taking over the EAS routes for the interim.

Delta, Air France-KLM Haven’t Learned Their Lesson

SkyTeam carriers and JV Partners Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM are reportedly interested in acquiring a majority stake of Alitalia version 24.0, known to some as ITA Airways.

Lufthansa has repeatedly expressed interesting in the pyramid scheme airline, but only wants to go as far as a minority stake. Delta, Air France, and KLM’s interest appears to be for a majority, controlling stake, proving they have all suffered concerning head injuries that have deeply impaired judgment. The airlines supposedly have backing from an international fund that wants to remain anonymous, because, well, wouldn’t you want to remain anonymous in this case?

The carriers submitted their interest via a formal document to the Italian government which is the current majority owner of the airline. An Italian government representative reached out to Delta to make sure it wasn’t an early April Fools’ Joke which Delta confirmed that it was not. Delta would have the advantage of continuity within SkyTeam with ITA and its predecessors, making it more familiar with the carrier’s shenanigans that its Lufthansa and its bid.

• Air Astana is ending flights to Russia and over its airspace due to the inability to get insurance.
• American named Julie Rath its new VP for Customer Experience, Loyalty and Marketing. That means she’s the one in charge of devaluing AAdvantage.
• Emirates entered into a codeshare agreement with Garuda Indonesia.
• Flybondi is partnering with Argentina’s FLY CARGO to create its own cargo brand.
• Qantas permanently closed its lounge in Perth’s Terminal 1.
• TUI ended its on-board mask mandate.
• WestJet‘s purchase of Sunwing has hit a speedbump over the involvement of a Russian steel magnate.

Why is it whenever I tell my friends to embrace their mistakes they always give me a hug?

Federal Mask Mandate Extended by a Month

The TSA announced that the federal requirement for travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses, and in airports and train stations will be extended for one month to April 18.

The CDC says it will work with other government agencies to “help inform a revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor.” We assume a revised framework means they’ll just force people in Basic Economy and middle seats to wear masks as punishment.

The mandate was previously set to expire next week, on March 19. This extension of one month is the shortest extension since the mandate began.

The first mandate from the federal government, implemented last January when President Biden took office was first set to expire in September. It was then extended to January, until the most recent extension took us from March to April.

Frontier’s Newest Frontiers: Two New Destinations, 27 New Routes

Frontier Airlines is growing again, adding two international destinations to its route map in addition to 27 new nonstop routes across North America.

Two Mexican cities will join the Frontier family – Guadalajara (GDL) and Monterrey (MTY)  – with its domestic expansion highlighted by eight new routes from Raleigh-Durham. Both Mexican destinations will launch with service to Las Vegas – GDL will launch on May 20 with 2x-weekly service, while MTY will begin June 2 with 3x-weekly flights.

RDU’s eight new nonstops are:

• Islip (3x-weekly beginning April 28)
• Providence (4x-weekly, beginning April 28)
• Syracuse (3x-weekly, beginning April 28)
• Indianapolis (2x-weekly, beginning May 26)
• Cincinnati (3x-weekly, beginning May 26)
• New York/SWF (2x-weekly, beginning May 26)
• Detroit (3x-weekly, beginning May 27)
• New Orleans (3x-weekly, beginning May 27)

Philadelphia is adding five new nonstop destinations, Denver is adding four, Atlanta three, and Dallas is adding one. Houston/IAH and Tampa are both adding sub-daily service to Cancun beginning May 27, while Las Vegas adds 2x-weekly flights to Albuquerque in addition to its two Mexican additions. We expect most of these routes to operate for at least a short time before Frontier changes its minds and cancels them.

United to Allow Most Unvaccinated Staff to Return

United Airlines employees who are not vaccinated but received a religious or medical exemption from the airline will be permitted to return to work by the end of this month.

The change will apply to approximately 2,200 staff who were granted exemptions. United had less than 200 employees who refused the vaccine without an exemption and they have been fired by the carrier. United said all along it would allow its exempt, unavaccinated staff to return to work once cases dipped and transmission of the virus went down, and it’s making good on that promise.

Unvaccinated staff had been kept home from work for nearly five months since UA’s vaccinated deadline came last November. The carrier has reserved the right to transfer these employees to a non-customer facing role if there is another surge of the virus. It also says it considered transferring all 200 to be based at Newark as a punitive measure for being unvaccinated, but eventually held off – for now.

• Amerijet is adding six six B 757-200 freighters.
• Avelo is adding Spokane from Burbank.
• DHL Express placed an order for six B777 freighters.
• Fly Jinnah unveiled its new brand and livery.
• FlyBig is attempting to live up to its name as it explores leasing as many as 36 additional aircraft.
• Kenya Airways expects to have extra money to burn by 2025, so it designated then as its goal to begin eVTOL testing.
• SAS signed an agreement with Apollo for charter flights within Scandinavia this summer.
• Singapore will operated five B777 freighters on behalf of DHL.
• Star Air of Denmark is looking to start a new subsidiary.

These days, Taco Bell is the only place left where you can get gas for $1.29.

Southwest’s New Hobby: Airport Expansion

Southwest Airlines will begin a $250 million terminal expansion at Houston/Hobby airport that will add seven new gates in the airport’s west concourse.

Six of the new gates will be for the exclusive use of Southwest while the seventh will be available for other carriers – access to the gate will be determined by a feats of strength battle between senior leadership for all interested airlines.

The city is putting in $20 million for the project with Southwest contributing much of the rest of the funds up front. The city will eventually reimburse the airline through rent paid by tenants using the new, expanded west concourse.

Southwest has a lion’s share of the market at the airport, operating to 39 destinations. Delta and American each operate to one city from Hobby, Frontier will begin flying to three leisure-focused destinations later this year, and Allegiant does its thing that it does — operating to random places with seemingly no rhyme or reason.

Alaska Becomes Latest U.S. Carrier to Add Pilot School

Following in the footsteps of United, Alaska Airlines is getting its own pilot training school as it partners with Hillsboro Aero Academy to develop the next generation of pilots of its wholly-owned subsidiary Horizon Air.

The airline is partnering with the suburban Portland school to offer low-interest flight school loans, cover the cost of earning a commercial pilots license, and then will feed pilots into Horizon. Students enrolling in the program are eligible to receive low-interest loans to pay for the program, a $25k stipend to pay for the cost of obtaining their commercial license, and a conditional job offer from Horizon Air at the completion of the program.

The first class will begin on April 1, and Alaska is hopeful to have 250 new pilots flow through the academy on an annual basis, replenishing the ranks for pilots that have gone on to greener pastures.

United Revises Policy Throwing Shade at Passengers

United Airlines has tossed out its policy that requested passengers to raise their window shades for takeoff and landing. Despite the change, it remains the official policy of Cranky Daily that window shades should always be up during daytime flights.

The United States is a unique case (understatement of the century) in which it does not require windows to be up for takeoff and landing, something most other countries do insist upon.  The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents United’s FA’s, is a believer in window shades being open on takeoff and landing and is disappointed in United removing its policy to encourage the practice.

The carrier will continue to ask passengers to lower their window shades upon arrival during warm weather to try and keep the plane cool(er), while also asking they be shut upon all arrivals into Newark for obvious reasons.

• Air Astana announced a $36 million profit in 2021.
• Air Premia is planning to raise $47 million.
• Delta will debut vegetarian-friendly and plant-based meals in first class later this month to ensure premium class passengers are disappointed by their meal regardless of whether or not they eat meat. Most passengers will still be best-served by sticking to Biscoffs.
• Emirates will not reopen its lounges in Australia until late this year.
• Etihad will debut its A350 on March 31.
• Korean and Asiana are suspending flights to Moscow for at least the next two weeks.
• Porter completed its first Q400 sale-and-leasebacks.
• Qantas will resume Tokyo service — to Tokyo/Haneda — on April 27.
• SKY Express signed an interline agreement with Transavia France.
• Sun Country is primed to earn more than $90 million annually from Amazon.

My kids were on eBay when I left for work today, and unfortunately they were still on there when I got home. I guess I’ll have to reduce the price tomorrow.

Massive Expansion Blows Towards Breeze

Breeze Airways announced a large route expansion today that will add 35 routes to ten new cities this summer, bringing its total number of routes to 77.

The ten new airports Breeze will wind its way to are:

• Fort Myers
• Jacksonville
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Nashville
• San Bernardino
• San Francisco
• Sarasota
• Savannah
• Syracuse

Of the 35 new routes, only one will operate daily – San Francisco to San Bernadino. The other 34 routes will operate 2x, 3x, or 4x-weekly. Notable routes include cross-country flights from San Francisco to Richmond (2x-weekly beginning May 25), Charleston (3x-weekly beginning May 26) and Louisville (3x-weekly beginning May 27). It will fly from Los Angeles to Providence (2x-weekly beginning June 29), Norfolk (3x-weekly beginning June 30), and Savannah (2x-weekly beginning July 1).

Other long-haul (for Breeze) additions include Las Vegas to seven random cities east of the Mississippi that are presumably thrilled to be able to gamble away their savings without having to risk getting mugged during a Newark connection.

• Charleston
• Fort Myers
• Huntsville
• Jacksonville
• Norfolk
• Richmond
• Syracuse

ANA Announces Launch of Air Japan

ANA – Japan’s largest airline – announced plans to launch its international subsidiary named AirJapan that’s scheduled to begin flying at a vague point in the future. The name was picked to cause as much confusion as possible in the Japanese market and hopefully steal business of customers thinking they’re looking for Japan Airlines. Both Air China and China Airlines – which operate in different countries – had no comment at press time.

ANA claims the subsidiary will be its own brand offering customers “more of what they want” and “less of what they won’t.” So apparently ANA is offering less of what they don’t want today? It’s not clear. The new airline will allow customers the opportunity to tailor their travel experience to fit their needs and budget – that’s airline speak for “we’re gonna charge you for every freaking thing.”

ANA says initial routes and schedules are to be determined in the future, which likely means it hasn’t had its in-office dart-throwing at a map competition yet. AirJapan will operate a fleet exclusively of B787-8 Dreamliners in a two-class configuration. There’ll be a limited number of premium economy seats in the front with as many seats as the airline can jam into the back in as tight of a configuration as possible.

Avelo Adds Three More

Breeze is not the only new airline announcing new routes today as Avelo Airlines announced three new routes from its New Haven, CT (HVN) hub, beginning service to Baltimore, Chicago/Midway, and Raleigh-Durham.

For Avelo, these are three non-leisure destinations, its first of the kind from New Haven. With the addition of these three cities, it’ll give Avelo 13 nonstop destinations from HVN, the most nonstop destinations from Connecticut for any carrier. Service to all three cities will begin May 26 and operate 5x-weekly.

Chicago will be Avelo’s first destination in the Midwest, and the carrier expects to add a sixth weekly frequency in June to Midway. RDU will be the airline’s first foray into North Carolina and complements its three destinations in South Carolina while Baltimore is a place some people want to fly to sometimes because they have to.

• AirAsia lost an appeal to dismiss a case over the airline’s lack of payments to Malaysia Airports.
• Alaska is reducing its schedule for the rest of the first half of the year three to five percent.
• Avianca is purchasing 88 new A320neos with an option for 50 more. Delivery will take place between 2025 and 2031.
• Azerbaijan Airlines is suspending service to Russia.
• El Al is resuming service to Dubai today.
• Etihad is adding twice-weekly summer seasonal service to Nice beginning June 15.
• Emirates is doubling its service to Perth, now serving the city with 2x-daily flights.
• Ethiopian signed a partnership with the International Djibouti Industrial Park Operation. Do with that information what you please.
• GlobalX announced the lease of two A321 freighters.
• HOP! will end CRJ-1000 ops this DECEMBER!
• Porter will codeshare with Air Transat this summer.
• Wizz Air has moved its Chisinau, Moldova (KIV) base and operations to Iasi, Romania (IAS).

What do you call a factory that makes products that are just OK?

A satisfactory.

Airline Stocks Tumble as Oil Price Goes Up, Up, and Away

With fuel prices at their highest point in 13 years, airlines stocks took a sharp downturn on Monday, with the big three U.S. airlines all dropping double digits.

Fuel prices have increased more than 50% this year, presenting challenges to carriers who have generally not hedged on oil prices in several years. Analysts expect first quarter revenue and profit estimates to be revised downward as the price of oil continues to climb.  United’s stock dropped more than 15%, with American and Delta both down about 12%. Southwest, which does not fly overseas but is the largest domestic carrier in the country saw its stock drop about 9%.

Second quarter schedules are generally flat compared to 2019, and airlines are unlikely to cut capacity to save on fuel costs. Instead, they’re expected to cut costs in other ways, including seat belt fees, coin-operated toilets, and a donation box on the jetway.

United Challenges Delta for Cape Town Slots

United Airlines requested 3x-weekly service between Washington/Dulles and Cape Town, South Africa with the DOT on Friday, matching the request made by Delta for similar service from Atlanta. Both carriers would fly 3x-weekly service, but both cannot get what they want as only four weekly slots between the United States and South Africa remain.

United’s request asks for year-round authority, while Delta also asks for year-round service but notes it wants to reserve the right to reduce capacity or frequencies during off-peak periods. United’s Star Alliance partner South African Airways previously served both IAD and New York/JFK but has flown neither since going into the financial crapper last year.

In United’s filing it suggests the government split the difference and award two weekly slots to both carriers. It also says that by granting service to Cape Town to both airlines, it will allow United to offer competition to Delta and keep fares in check.

To earn the goodwill of the DOT, both airlines are wooing the government with treats – Delta sent a case of Biscoffs to the DOT’s headquarters in Washington, while United sent four “connect somewhere other than Newark” cards that would allow the holder to force a connection at another hub with 24 hours’ notice.

Boeing Strives to Double MAX Production by Next Year

Boeing plans to nearly double its production levels of the 737 MAX by the end of next year, hoping to push as many as 47 airplanes off the assembly line each month.

The manufacturer has a backlog of 335 MAX that it’s currently looking to clear, hoping to deliver everything on order by the end of 2023. It is currently finishing about 27 planes each month with a desire to push that monthly figure to 31. To finish more quickly, Boeing is near an agreement with airlines to leave the seats out of the back two rows of each plane, since basic economy passengers don’t deserve a seat anyway.

Boeing was producing about 42 MAX aircraft per month when production was shut down in 2019.

• Aeroflot will end all international flights, with the exception of service to Minsk — which hardly counts as international — by tomorrow, March 8.
• airBaltic said do svidaniya to Russian operations for the indefinite future.
• Airlink would like Madagascar to restore service between there and South Africa.
• Arajet added its first aircraft, a B737 MAX.
• Calafia Airlines will begin twice-weekly service between Tijuana and Puerto Peñasco (PPE) beginning April 29.
• Delta reduced its fee to bring a small pet in a pet carrier on a U.S. or Canadian flight from $125 to $95.
• El Al posted a 2021 loss of $413 million.
• Ethiopian will acquire five B777-8 freighters from Boeing.
• Express Air Cargo will add B737NG to its fleet.
• Finnair will operate once-weekly service to Shanghai beginning March 10, and 3x-weekly to Seoul/Incheon beginning March 12.
• flydubai posted a $229 million profit in 2021.
• Lufthansa Cargo posted a record €3.8 billion in revenue in 2021.
• PLAY is no longer playing around as it named Guðni Ingólfsson its new managing director of aviation operations.
• Qatar will operate a weekly cargo flight between Sau Paulo/GRU to Hong Kong.
• Virgin Australia will officially end its partnership with Delta on June 12.

What’s the difference between a hippo and a zippo?

One is very heavy and the other is a little lighter.

Seattle Debuts New International Arrivals Facility

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s new International Arrivals Facility is complete and ready to welcome the world to the United States with a firm body search courtesy of U.S. Border Patrol agents.

The facility will be put into use very soon, with a limited number of flights and passengers to serve as guinea pigs for the facility, with all arriving passengers transitioning to use the new facility in the coming weeks. The new facility is expected to reduce connection times by at least 15 minutes, which will make passengers feel better – now they’ll just miss their domestic connections, rather than miss them by 15 minutes or more.

The structure includes a walkway, 85 feet above the active taxiway that will bring passengers from their flight to the facility.  The bridge is tall enough to accommodate aircraft taxiing underneath it – or at least it’s supposed to – that’s what the test period is for.

American Fires Employee for Having a Side Hustle

Everyone is trying to get ahead in life, and American Airlines fired a contract worker who cleaned airplanes for the carrier for the minor violation of removing five life vests from an airplane and swapping them with five kilos of cocaine.

It’s a situation everyone’s experienced – you’ve got five kilos of cocaine and you need to get it to the United States – and quickly. Luis Ortiz, Jr. put the drugs on American Flight 2227 from St. Croix to Miami and hired two couriers to ride as passengers and bring the stash into Miami. The drugs had a street value of about $815,000, or about what American charges to get out of Basic Economy on a cross-country flight.

The incident took place on July of 2019 when Ortiz placed the drugs in rows 17 and 18 of the plane in the middle of the night. His two co-workers were booked on the early AM flight to Miami the next day and were instructed to find a way to pre-board the aircraft. The two were caught when they arrived in Miami and had no connection – no one flies from the Caribbean to Miami with a connection – which alarmed law enforcement.

Ortiz is facing 10 years in prison, where as part of his sentence he will only be fed meals from AA’s on-board catering for the duration of his sentence.

Ryanair Plans End to Onboard Masks

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary took a moment Friday in-between lawsuits to say that he expects passengers on his airline will not be required to wear masks this summer – and beyond.

O’Leary stated that the carrier is in consultation with cabin crew as it explores making a change to its mask policy. One option is expected to be the institution of an on-board mask and mask removal fee. Passengers boarding a Ryanair flight would be required to pay a €12 fee to fly without a mask to cover costs for those who want double masking because of the unmasked. Conversely, passengers who choose to wear a mask would be hit with a €12 mask fee as well.

• El Al pinky-swore that it wouldn’t use slots as collateral without prior approval from the Israeli goverment.
• Etihad will use Boeing’s Jeppesen FliteDeck Advisor for its B787 fleet.
• Firefly expects to resume B737-800 ops on April 11.
• Link PNG‘s codeshare agreement with its fellow Papua New Guinea domestic carrier PNG Air is on hold.
• Lufthansa plans to introduce new first and business class seats on its ten A350s next year.
• Lynx is adding 11 new B737 MAX 8 on lease from BOC Aviation.
• Nigeria Air is postponing its launch date until mid-2023.
• Philippine Airlines is negotiating an additional $100 million three-year loan.
• Qatar is adding two new cities in Nigeria — 4x-weekly service to Kano (KAN) began Wednesday and 3x-weekly service to Port Harcourt (PHC) began yesterday.
• Spirit is opening two new crew bases in Atlanta and Miami after getting a good deal on yellow paint in both cities.

If you see a crime at an Apple store, does that make you an iWitness?

Sabre Boots Aeroflot, Russian Government Considers Nationalizing Planes

In today’s aviation-related news from Russia, Global Distribution System (GDS) Sabre ended its distribution agreement with Russian’s national airline Aeroflot. Amadeus quickly followed. These systems are marketplaces used by travel agencies (like Cranky Concierge), travel websites, and airlines to book and access flight reservations.

This essentially means that the carrier can no longer sell tickets through third parties, which will surely be a blow for the millions of people interested in flocking to the motherland these days. Aeroflot can still take direct, in-house bookings even though that is also powered by Sabre… but under a different agreement. Aeroflot briefly thought this agreement had ended too, but that was just Sabre’s typical and random technology outage. Sabre has also not terminated its flight management agreement with Aeroflot as that would leave the airline unable to not only sell seats but operate flights.

In other news, the Russian government is considering nationalizing Aeroflot’s fleet, buying out the leases on planes operated by the flag carrier. To do so, the government would need to find access to hard cash in foreign currencies as the ruble is next to worthless right now and no leasing company in its right mind would agree to a financing deal with the Russian government.

Aeroflot operated 74% of its January traffic domestically, a number that will likely increase as the conflict escalates since it’s the only semi-healthy market it can currently operate in, provided it can hang on to its airplanes.

Even Going from JetBlue to American Requires a Layover in AAtlanta

Former Delta VP of Network Planning Scott Laurence will be joining American Airlines in a new role designed for him, leading a team to oversee oneworld partnerships (although presumably not with S7 Airlines), and NDC – new distribution capacity —  a fancy airline term for industry technology that helps airlines take your money.

Laurence left American’s Northeast Alliance partner JetBlue in January to become a Vice President at Delta, a role he lasted in for less than a month. His departure from Delta was a shock within the industry, and remains so – but at least his next move has been revealed.

He is expected to arrive at American with a trunk full of Biscoff cookies that he managed to sneak out of Delta’s HQ on his last day. His SkyTeam windbreaker is expected to be donated to charity while he is exploring a way to play for both teams at this year’s NEA Softball Classic between American and JetBlue.

JetBlue Pilot Has Nine or Ten Too Many, Gets Fired

James Clipton, a 52-year-old JetBlue captain was pulled from his aircraft Wednesday morning shortly before departure of JetBlue Flight 2465 from Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale after blowing a 0.174 BAC into a breathalyzer.

For context, the legal limit in New York state is 0.08 to operate a motor vehicle, while the legal limit for a pilot is half that at 0.04. Clipton’s BAC level would have earned him a DUI on the road and already earned him a trip to the unemployment line as JetBlue fired him. The captain checked a firearm at the TSA checkpoint, and both TSA agents and law enforcement brought to check the firearm said something was “off” about him.

Law enforcement officers followed the pilot to his gate and eventually boarded the plane before asking him to step off and questioned him about his drinking. The officers administered the breathalyzer and then detained Clipton. JetBlue eventually found a replacement pilot and the flight left Buffalo four hours late at 10:25 a.m., with the only tragedy luckily being that 133 passengers had to spend an extra four hours in Buffalo. The carrier considered comping an alcoholic beverage for each passenger during the delay but ultimately offered Dunkin’ coffee instead.

• Air Serbia is making a pretty penny filling the very niche void of flying people who still want to go to Russia.
• ANA and JAL canceled all flights to Europe today.
• Arkia Israeli Airlines will wet-lease two A320s.
• Delta‘s shareholders voted to require the company to report its climate lobbying activities despite the wishes of the carrier’s board of directors.
• DHL, FedEx, and UPS all suspended delivery to Russia and Belarus. So any Russians waiting on their new Airpods from Amazon Prime might want to sit tight for a while.
• easyJet completed a sale and leaseback for ten A319-100s.
• Finnair resumed flying to Tokyo/Narita today with what is now a 13-hour flight.
• German Airways announced an extension of its agreement with Embraer to provide parts for the carrier’s five E190 aircraft.
• Green Africa Airways secured some green via a new investment from Leadway Assurance.
• Lufthansa is expected to have a strong summer performance according to Lufthansa.
• Norwegian plans to bring back two B737 MAX 8 aircraft that have been in storage since the beginning of the pandemic. In order to prepare, the carrier purchased a lot of air freshener.
• SWISS is rolling out new first and business class meals, right on-time.

I walked into a library today and asked the librarian for a hamburger, fries and a coke. The librarian said to me, “sir, this is a library.”

At this point I apologized profusely and then whispered, “I’d like a hamburger, fries, and a coke.”

United States Institutes Russian Flight Ban

Those hoping Aeroflot would announce new service between Moscow and Albuquerque or Fort Wayne this week are in for a disappointment as President Biden announced a ban on all Russian aircraft during Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

The ban brings the United States in line with most of NATO and the European Union along with Canada, both of which announced bans over the last week. The ban includes not just flights with a destination in the United States but overflight rights as well. Aeroflot is down to two routes it can operate in the vicinity of the United States, to Cancun and Punta Cana, and the Cancun route is currently suspended.

The ban is in effect as of today, March 2, and applies to any plane owned, certified, operated, registered, chartered, leased, or controlled by, for, or for the benefit of a person who is a citizen of Russia. The prohibition applies to scheduled and charter passenger and cargo flights and any airline that has ever served caviar or Russian vodka in first class.

Luckily for Russians looking for a relaxing vacation, Iran Air’s seasonal service to Tehran is still operating.

WestJet Agrees to Purchase Sunwing

Canadian’s second-largest carrier WestJet announced a deal to purchase Sunwing Airlines on Wednesday. Sunwing shareholders will become equity holders in WestJet as part of the new airline, which will be led by WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech.

Under the deal, a new business unit will be created, with Sunwing Vacation and WestJet Vacations becoming one group, with current Sunwing CEO Stephen Hunter in charge. Hunter and his family are the majority shareholder in Sunwing, with German-based TUI Group the largest minority shareholder at just under 50%.

WestJet’s headquarters will remain in Calgary, while the new vacation unit will be based in Toronto. The new company will also maintain an office in Laval, Quebec for everyone in its customer base named Pierre.  The merger is expected to be completed late this year but remains subject to regulatory approval in Canada. The two companies will continue to operate as two separate and polite entities in the interim.

Spirit’s Newest Frontier: Monterrey

Spirit will operate into northeastern Mexico for the first time (on purpose) as the carrier announced new service to Monterrey, making the airport its 4^th destination in Mexico.

Spirit will launch daily service on Jun 22 from both Austin and Houston/Bush to Monterrey, with the Austin service being the only nonstop flight between the two cities. Spirit first entered the Mexican market in 2003 with flights to Cancun once it realized how much more it could charge for fees in Mexican pesos as opposed to American dollars.

Monterrey will be one of seven international destinations for Spirit at IAH to go with 17 domestic options.

• Air Canada is politely discussing a potential 10-20 plane A321neo order with Airbus.
• Air India incoming CEO Ilkey Ayci was so pumped to leave Turkish and start his new role this April that he resigned today, a month before his first day of work. The carrier will now turn to a Feats of Strength battle between Doug Parker and Gary Kelly. The first to pin the other will receive the job.
• American SVP of Flight Ops Kimball Stone is retiring. The carrier also suspended its interline agreements with both Aeroflot and S7.
• Blue Air is feeling less blue today after a Rome judge supported the deal it offered its creditors in an attempt to emerge from bankruptcy.
• British Airways and Philippine Airlines were one of three pairs of airlines to complete LHR slot swaps.
• Citrus suspended its launch plans as the market for start-up Russian LCCs is not at its peak right now.
• Mesa added a B737-400(SF).
• Norse Atlantic has assigned one of three people named Bjørn to acquire slots at London/Gatwick.
• Royal Jordanian repaid an $85 million debt to the Jordanian government.
• Thai Summer Airways is again trying to launch operations and took delivery of its first aircraft last month, during the winter.
• United is suspending its routes from San Francisco to Delhi and Newark to Mumbai while it sorts out the ban on Russia’s airspace.

Yesterday I had a co-worker tell me I often make my colleagues feel uncomfortable by violating their personal space.

I found the comment to be very hurtful and it completely ruined our bath.

Jet2 is First2 Makes Masks Optional

British ULCC Jet2 became the first airline to rescind its on-board mask requirement for flights departing both England and Northern Ireland. The airline will continue to strongly recommend masks, especially for flights leaving the north of Britain in order to avoid too much contact with the pasty-white complexion of the British people.

The carrier will require face masks when landing at international airports outside of England and Northern Ireland to remain compliant with laws and regulations of those countries. Additionally, the airline will also require masks on flights leaving Scotland as the Scottish government has not yet rescinded its mandate.

British Airways has the option of dropping mandatory face mask rules on its handful of domestic flights but has no plans to do so for now.  British carriers easyJet and TUI will also keep the mask mandates for now, likely waiting to see how Jet2’s experiment goes.

Denver’s Concourse B Project in Hot Water

Denver International Airport’s Concourse B extension project was supposed to open this month, but the project will be delayed until this fall after a hot-water pipe burst in December, causing more than $50 million worth of damage.

The revelation came out this week during a city council meeting, where airport officials detailed damaged flooring, fireproofing on steel beams, restrooms, and other equipment from the 180-degree water that poured out of the burst pipe. A contractor uninvolved in the project discovered the damage in the early morning, notifying others and saving the airport from potentially greater damage. The unnamed contractor was rewarded with a free appetizer voucher with a purchase of an entrée of $12 or more at the airport’s Chili’s To Go location.

The airport is still investigating the cause of the pipe break and declined to name the subcontractor it considers at fault. The 10-gate extension is to be used for United Express, and while the delay in the project will hinder UA’s operation at the airport, it will result in fewer flights a day to Newark, a victory for all travelers.

Frontier’s Newest Frontier: Crew Base in Phoenix

Frontier Airlines will open a new base this fall in Phoenix, with up to 180 pilots and 275 flight attendants collectively learning the phrase “but it’s a dry heat.”

Frontier is currently the third largest airline in Phoenix based on number of destinations served, which is a special kind of verbal gymnastics to puff up the carrier’s presence at the airport. Frontier currently operates to 14 destinations from Phoenix, while its future merger partner Spirit flies to just one year-round destination from the airport: Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Phoenix will be the 8^th crew base for Frontier, joining Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, Tampa, and Trenton… all of which were still crew bases this morning when we last checked, but with Frontier, you never know.

• aha! had a eureka! moment and chose to end service on March 31 from Reno to Eureka, CA (ACV).
• AirBaltic and Finnair suspended service to Russia through the end of May.
• Air Canada‘s Aeroplan now allows for lap infant award tickets to be booked online. Presumably the award must be booked by an adult and not the lap infant themselves.
• Allegiant is adding three new nonstop routes in May. Year-round service from Orange County to Idaho Falls begins May 18, and Newark to Des Moines begins May 20. Seasonal service between two of the carrier’s bases, from Las Vegas to Orlando/Sanford begins May 27. In the meantime, the people of Des Moines would like to know what they did to be punished so severely by Allegiant.
• American is retiring short-haul upgrade credits. In news that is most likely unrelated, incoming CEO Robert Isom got a raise.
• Brussels Airlines scooped up an extra aircraft to use this summer.
• China Southern plans to retire its A380 fleet by the end of the year. It has five left.
• CommutAir pilots ratified a new contract that includes a 25% salary bump for captains, 32% bump for first officers, an agreement from the airline to put those beaded seat cushions most NYC taxi drivers have in the cockpit of its aircraft, and an annual $5 Hudson News gift card to each pilot.
• Etihad will put its A350-1000 aircraft into the air this June.
• Flybondi retired a B737-800 and seems to be pretty upset about it.
• Lufthansa Cargo is cutting back on flights for March due to restricted cost in operating around Russian airspace.
• Mas Air has rebranded itself as just Mas, reminding us all that sometimes less is mas.
• Norwegian Air Shuttle came to an agreement with AerCap to lease 18 B737 aircraft.
• Qantas expects to order up to 12 A350-1000(ULR) later this year, and begin delivery in 2025.
• Rex‘s domestic jet service turns one today and somehow it’s still operating.
• Starlux plans to have a different business class seat on the A350 it will receive later this year compared to the A330neo its currently flying. The law of averages dictates this fact must matter to someone.

What’s the difference between a dollar and a ruble?

A dollar.