Author: Andrew Bashuk

TSA Screens 2 Million for First Time Since Pandemic Onset

For the first time since the pandemic began, the TSA screened more than 2 million passengers in one day, passing the threshold on Friday.

The total for the day was 2,028,961 people passing through security checkpoints, a figure that is 1.5 million more than TSA screened on the same day in 2020. The country reached a low of just 87,534 passengers on April 13, 2020, with the number slowly climbing upwards since. That sounds like blockbuster growth… until you look at 2019 numbers and realize we still have a way to go.

Prior to the pandemic, the TSA screened about 2.5 million passengers on a regular day, with Friday’s post-pandemic high representing about three-quarters of the volume from The Before Times. Of the 2 million passengers who flew on Friday, most of them were lucky enough to be traveling somewhere other than Newark. Most of the flights operated on-time and incident-free except outliers where passengers were insistent on receiving a cockpit tour during flight.

United Tells Frontline Staff Their Jobs are Safe

United Airlines told more than 40,000 employees over the weekend that their jobs are safe when funding from CARES Act 3.0 dries up this fall due to the increase in bookings and travel demand.

The message was delivered to UA’s flight attendants, ticket agents, and ramp workers, assuring them that there would be no furloughs this fall and that the airline actually expects to add new staff, beginning with pilots and mechanics. We’ll assume this is real and not just some nefarious corporate plot to raise hopes before crushing them with “surprise furloughs” this fall just to get a reaction. That would have been the old United’s plan.

U.S. Airlines received a combined $54 billion in federal aid despite lawsuits from Ryanair to halt the funding. The funds were offered in exchange for not cutting jobs or pay rates on staff – airlines still managed to cut payroll by offering early retirement buyouts and voluntary leave at reduced pay rates. United used most of its CARES Act funding to keep staff jobs, and before the last extension, it had threatened more than once that more furloughs would be necessary without more CARES funding.

Two Airlines Bite the Dust

The aviation world lost two airlines over the weekend, with both Air Antwerp and Stobart Air calling it quits.

Air Antwerp was a joint venture between CityJet and KLM which flew between London/City and Antwerp using a single Fokker 50 aircraft. The airline returned its plane to its lessor in Sweden last month and when a one-airplane airline loses its plane, it makes it exceedingly difficult for the airline to operate. The same fate befell Sandpiper Air of Nantucket in the early ’90s, as its plane often had mechanical issues despite its well-intentioned but seemingly inefficient mechanic. Sandpiper’s plane also had extra strain placed on it as the airline’s owners often flew the plane for last-minute leisure trips regardless of their posted schedule or other business considerations, something that did not seem to plague Air Antwerp.

Stobart Air was the operator of Aer Lingus’s regional service, and it announced that it would cancel its franchise agreement with Aer Lingus and liquidate its assets. The airline had been on the verge of a sale to Ettyl Limited, but the deal hit several roadblocks over the assets of its parent company which eventually scuttled the whole thing. Its parent, remember, was involved that ill-fated Virgin Atlantic-flybe-Connect Airways deal.

Before its collapse, the Dublin-based airline flew 12 ATR-72-600 aircraft and one ATR-42-600, utilizing eight aircraft during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aer Lingus is backfilling replacement flights on several of Stobart’s 11 routes. The airline will use a combination of both mainline aircraft and two planes usually flown for BA CityFlyer to fill in.

American Plans to Drop Award Chart

Despite telling AAdvantage members in 2020 that AAward charts aren’t going away, the airline now is planning to eliminate them in favor of opaque award redemptions in the near future.

American is following its rivals Delta and United in making the move; United eliminated its award charts in 2019, and Delta did it as far back as 2015 once it realized no one had enough SkyMiles for a redemption anyway.

American insists that a devaluation is not going to follow the removal of the award chart, but we all know where this is likely going. The airline will push the change as an enhancement designed to offer greater choice, which it might – but it will likely do so at a higher price. With American moving towards its two rivals with no award chart, several LCCs got together and laughed. “What’s an award chart?” asked Southwest, while Spirit thought the idea of letting customers purchase seats with points instead of cash made no sense – unless a hefty fee was attached to each purchase. It turns out Spirit is a big fan of British Airways.

European Airlines Seek to Overturn EU261

EU261 is coming under fire from Europe’s top airlines after they collectively paid out more than €10 billion in refunds from virus lockdowns and border closures over the past year.

The rule set baselines for reimbursement due to delays and cancellations long before the pandemic and is very passenger-friendly in its payouts. Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith called it “probably one of the most punitive protection-rights laws in the world,” which is CEO-speak for “I don’t like the rule because it costs us money and hurts my bonus, and I think it’s dumb.”

The rule has been in place since 2005 and requires compliance from all airlines on flights operating to or from the EU, regardless of where the airline is based. Most U.S. airlines require passengers to inquire themselves about potential payouts for delays on flights from Europe, but they are required to pay out if a legitimate claim is filed.

European airlines attempted to rebook as many passengers as they could during the pandemic but were forced to pay out compensation to those who requested it. The European Commission is said to be mulling changes to the rule but no change is considered imminent, because nothing in European bureaucracy is ever imminent.

• Air Belgium is adding an A330neo to its fleet.
• Air Canada Cargo announced new cargo routes from Toronto to Miami, Quito, Lima, Mexico City, and Guadalajara. Then in 2022, it will fly from Toronto to Halifax, St. John’s, Madrid, and Frankfurt.
• Air Century is going to wet-lease several A321 aircraft, but it is unclear in which century they will be delivered.
• Air Zimbabwe is set to exit business rescue on June 30, and the government just released funds for the airline to acquire a second EMB-145LR.
• Czech Airlines‘s restructuring plan was approved by a Czech court. Ryanair has not yet weighed in but will soon.
• Delta passengers in first class and Delta One on select cross-country routes will be able to complain about their meals once again as the airline brings back hot meal service beginning tomorrow.
• GOL ended its equity capital increase after pulling in a cool $83 million.
• Greater Bay Airlines of Hong Kong is now hoping to launch Q4 of this year. The airline will not operate to the San Francisco area due to its obvious rivalry with the region.
• Smartlynx Malta took delivery of a leased A321 freighter aircraft, the first A321F in Europe. The aircraft immediately started chain smoking and grew a goatee.
• WestJet is introducing new service from Calgary to Amsterdam. The twice-weekly service will begin August 5 and upgrade to 3x-weekly on September 9.
• Wizz Air is whizzing into domestic service within the UK as it operates twice-weekly service between Jersey (this one, not this one) and both Doncaster/Sheffield and Cardiff.

How do you spot a radical baker? They’re always going against the grain.

JetBlue Shut Out at Heathrow for the Winter – For Now

JetBlue Airways applied for 585 (2 daily roundtrip) slots to operate from London/Heathrow this winter season — which begins at the end of October — and the airline was shut out. JetBlue shouldn’t feel too bad as it was hardly alone – 23,370 new slots were requested by 55 individual airlines and the airport granted a grand total of 324 – or 1.4%.

This leaves JetBlue without access to London’s busiest and most popular airport just a couple months after it begins flying there. In addition to being shut out at LHR, the airline is not on the list for receiving winter slots at London/Stansted either. For the time being, this will limit JetBlue’s presence in London at London/Gatwick (LGW).

JetBlue spokesperson Philip Stewart said that this was “an expected outcome” since it is based on 2019 historic capacity levels. He added that the temporary pandemic-era plan which allows airlines to keep their slots long term without flying them during the pandemic is “under review and we believe both the U.S. and U.K. governments have an obligation to ensure that JetBlue is granted continued access at London’s main airport.”

As we understand it, Plan B is leading JetBlue officials to huddle together to see if they can build a new airport in London exclusively for themselves in a prime, downtown location and have it operational by this winter.

BA Furloughs Thousands

British Airways put thousands of staff on furlough once again, blaming the decision on the slow restart of international travel in the UK. The airline had begun to bring people back on May 17 in anticipation of an easing of travel restrictions, but the number of countries put on the UK’s green list was much smaller than expected.

It’s a risky game BA is playing, putting people on furlough to make a political statement to the government. BA and its parent, IAG, have been outspoken in their frustration with the UK government’s handling of the reopening and this action puts BA’s employees and their families in the middle of the fight.

Those furloughed include management and frontline staff not involved in safety/operations or critical below-the-wing roles. In the meantime for those furloughed, it’s back to tea and crumpets, binging of Downton Abbey, and laser-focus on the latest rift in the Royal Family until more countries are placed on the UK’s green list or until they find a company willing to provide more stability.

Virgin Atlantic Headfakes Towards Zero Emissions

Virgin Atlantic is partnering with Vertical Aerospace to make a lot of noise and write a lot of press releases about perhaps, maybe, possibly, one day operating as a zero-emissions air carrier.

The partnership features an option for VS to purchase up to 150 electric Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft and the exploration of a UK JV with Vertical Aerospace. The two key words in those sentences being “option,” and “exploration.” This deal doesn’t commit either side to actually do anything, but it sure sounds great.

Vertical Aerospace’s fully electric VA-X4 is a zero emission, nearly silent aircraft with a range of over 100 miles that can carry four passengers in addition to a pilot. With VS’s loads post-pandemic, it might be the perfect plane for the airline, matching its needs perfectly. The small aircraft isn’t yet ready for commercial service, but a prototype is currently in production and a test-flight could be ready by the end of this year. VS envisions using the aircraft to connect the 37 towns with 100,000 or more within 100 miles of Heathrow with the aircraft. Then again it also envisions turning a profit one day, so we’ll see.

American Way Goes Away

The final edition of The American Way is on AA planes right now, with the magazine announcing that its June 2021 issue will be its last.

American Way’s first issue was printed in 1966 and it has been a staple in the seatbacks on AA aircraft for 55 years. Before the onset of onboard wifi and IFE, the publication was one of the only ways to pass the time on the ground during an inevitable AA mechanical delay.

Both Delta and United suspended publication of their in-flight publications during the pandemic. Delta’s Sky remains on hiatus while United’s Hemispheres is back onboard UA aircraft giving passengers an opportunity to read feature stories on new hot neighborhoods in Newark.

London/City’s Ego Grows with Latest Slot Allocations

London/City Airport allocated its available slots for the period of October 2021 through March of 2022, with EGO Airways entering the fray at the airport for the first time.

EGO, the Italian startup that currently has one E190 aircraft with two more on order leased from German Airways, plans to operate to three destinations outside of Italy: Mykonos, Ibiza, and London. One of these is not like the other.

The airline plans to fly from London/City daily to Milan/Linate and 3x weekly to Forli, Parma, Trieste… and Deauville. Again, one of these is not like the other, and we’ll give you a hint. It’s the one in France.

• Air Berlin’s Insolvency administrator is suing Isavia, the national airport operator of Iceland for about $1 million.
• Delta’s Flight 1131 from LAX to JFK on Thursday was forced to divert to Detroit when a passenger created a threat to the aircraft after finding out how many SkyMiles the airline charged him for his seat on the flight. The passenger was met in Detroit by law enforcement and given a briefing on what a poor value SkyMiles usually are while the flight continued on to New York.
• Emirates is restarting service to Malta (MLA) via Larnaca (LCA) with 3x-weekly flights beginning July 14.
• Eurowings is opening a new base in Prague, placing staff and two A320 aircraft beginning October 31.
• Flair Airlines put its first B737 MAX 8 aircraft into operation this week.
• Jet2 has delayed its relaunch of operations to early in Q3 this year, after previously announcing July 1 as a targeted relaunch date.
• LATAM requested an additional $500 million from its DIP loan facility.
• Lufthansa is upgrading the aircraft operating to Palma de Mallorca (PMI) from both Frankfurt and Munich. LH will operate its B747-8 with 364 seats from Frankfurt for four consecutive Saturdays beginning July 17. Munich will see an A350 on the route on July 31.
• Swoop announced its Winter schedule with expanding service to the US, Mexico, and Caribbean. The airline also plans to restart its operating its entire fleet of nine 737-800 aircraft for domestic operations his summer.

What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire? Frost bite.

Everything is Bigger in Texas: AA AAdds to AAustin

As recently as two years ago, American only had service from Austin to its hubs. But today, the airline announced 14 new routes from Austin, taking the airline from 20 destinations from the capital of Texas to a whopping 34. The new destinations are:

• Cancun (4x weekly, begins Oct. 7)
• Cincinnati (2x daily, begins Sept 8)
• El Paso (3x daily, begins Sept 8)
• Indianapolis (2x daily, begins Sept 8)
• Jacksonville (1x daily, begins Sept 8)
• Kansas City (2x daily, begins Sept. 8)
• Liberia, CR (3x weekly, begins Nov. 2)
• Oklahoma City (1x daily, begins Oct. 7)
• Punta Cana (4x weekly, begins Nov. 2)
• Puerta Vallarta (3x weekly, begins Nov. 2)
• Reno (1x daily, begins Sept. 8)
• St. Louis (2x daily, begins Sept. 8)
• Tulsa (1x daily, begins Nov. 2)
• San Juan (1x daily, begins Oct. 7)

AA is also upgrading its seasonal service from Austin to Nassau and San Jose del Cabo to year-round. It’s adding frequencies from Austin to three cities in Florida: Orlando, Miami, and Tampa plus one more daily to New Orleans and two more dailies to its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub.

A challenge for American will be to find the gate space to operate these new flights from Austin. One AA exec, on the condition of anonymity, said that the airline was considering utilizing a codeshare concept, but for airports instead of airline. The new flights would be marketed as operating from Austin, but, would actually operate from AA’s DFW hub.

Alaska and Southwest Pile On

No to be outdone by American and its new routes, AA’s BFF Alaska Airlines and mild-acquaintance Southwest Airlines both announced new routes today.

For Alaska, four new seasonal, cross-country routes will launch this winter to warm weather destinations. Alaska’s hub in Portland (PDX) will receive two new flights starting December 16 to Tampa (4x-weekly) and New Orleans (1x-weekly) while San Francisco will gain a weekly flight to Cancun starting December 1. Palm Springs will get 5x-weekly service to the hot destination of the day, Austin, beginning November 18. This is the second time in a row that American and Alaska have announced new Austin routes at the same time. We thought they weren’t allowed to coordinate?

Southwest extended its schedule through Jan 5, adding service to Syracuse (SYR) from both Baltimore and Orlando, the airline’s 121^st airport and 18^th new airport since the pandemic, and rolling out initial Bellingham flights to Las Vegas and Oakland. The airline also returned service to all international destinations it served prior to suspending service in March of 2020.

See here for a full list of Southwest new and returning routes.

Canadian Government Prepares to Loosen Border Restrictions

The Canadian government announced its plan to begin to loosen pandemic-era travel restrictions as soon as early July. The federal government will allow fully vaccinated Canadians to be exempt from hotel quarantine and to permit them to opt out of quarantine altogether if they can produce a negative test and answer a 10-question quiz about NHL history upon arrival.

Additionally, mayors of Canadian border cities say the country is prepared to reopen the U.S.-Canada border as soon as June 22. The current extension of the border closure extends until June 21, but with Canadian vaccination rates trending upward, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair indicated change at the border could be afoot.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said that the country would need to reach the 75% threshold for at least one shot and 20% fully vaccinated before the border would reopen. Canada currently is at 64% of its population having received one shot and about 10% fully vaccinated, so while it hasn’t reached the thresholds yet, they are on their way.

UK Puts US-London Slots on the Open Market

Three slots between the United States and London for spring 2022 and beyond are being made available by the UK Competition and Markets Authority with carriers having until July 1 to declare their interest in the slots.

The slots were made available when the UK forced American and British Airways to divest themselves of three slots last summer. The slots are valid for two years, from late March 2022 through March 2024. There is one slot available from each of Boston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Miami. The slots can be used to operate to either Heathrow or Gatwick, which is like when you want to an ice cream store as a kid and were given the choice between receiving your ice cream in a cone or a used-cup that the kid behind the counter spit in.

If no other U.S. airline applies for the slots then AA/BA may be granted an extension. It seems likely that despite their new buddy-buddy relationship with American, JetBlue will be interested in the slot from Boston and who knows — with its newfound presence in Miami maybe Spirit will dip its toes in London. Ok, that won’t happen, but just imagine the fees it could charge unsuspecting British customers for having the audacity to pay in GB pounds instead of U.S. dollars.

Heathrow Moves Towards Reopening Terminals

London/Heathrow plans to reopen Terminal 4 later this month to serve exclusively for passengers arriving from “red” countries on the UK’s traffic light system.

Terminal 3 has been serving as a temporary “red zone” arrival terminal, but with that potentially moving to T4 on a more long-term basis, T3 will be in position to reopen for its main tenants — Delta and Virgin Atlantic.

The airport used T3 this week as a pilot program to test the dedicated red zone arrival area. Airport officials were pleased with how it worked and are prepared to scale up at T4 quickly. Heathrow will ensure that all arrivals from countries on the red list, as well as any passengers booked in Basic Economy will arrive at T4 where they can be looked after by Border Force, paraded through several levels of Duty-Free shopping, interrogated as to why they booked Basic Economy, and then taken onto hotel quarantine.

• Air New Zealand is establishing a crew base in Brisbane through the end of the pandemic for its Norfolk Island service.
• Air Transat expects to resume operating on July 30, attempting to reinvent itself as a hub and spoke airline. All it needs are hubs, spokes, and customers.
• American’s route expansion also includes three new destinations from Tampa: Los Angeles (1x daily, beginning Oct. 7 ), Nashville (2x daily, beginning Nov. 2), and Raleigh-Durham (2x daily, beginning Nov. 2).
• British Airways swapped 86 weekly London/Heathrow slots to the zombie airline that is flybe for winter 2021. The airline will use the slots to operate to Edinburgh (EDI) and Aberdeen (ABZ). On a busy day for BA, the airline also received slots back that it had been lending to Vueling.  
• Tarom is expected to receive a $200 million cash infusion from the Romanian government. Don’t worry, Ryanair is on it.
• United is in talks with both Airbus and Boeing for as many as 300 new aircraft. A hold up in the negotiations is United’s insistence that another airline ferry the planes when ready to be delivered so they have a chance of arriving on-time.

The swordfish is known to have no natural predators to fear.

Except the penfish, which is even mightier.

Spirit Taking Its Talents to South Beach

Spirit Airlines announced it will begin flying to Miami International Airport this fall, launching 30 routes, 20 of them domestic and ten international. The 30 destinations from Miami immediately make Spirit the second largest carrier at the airport behind American.

Spirit is moving into Miami despite its hub down the road in Fort Lauderdale, and the airline still plans to retain most of its current traffic at FLL, especially its connecting traffic to Latin America and the Caribbean.

It will operate nearly all 30 Miami routes daily. The exceptions will be New York/LGA which will operate 2x-daily and two pairs of international destinations that will split an aircraft each week. San Salvador (SAL) will see 3x-weekly service, with Guatemala City (GUA) getting a flight 4x-weekly on the off days for SAL. The same arrangement will be in place for San Jose, CR (SJO) and St. Thomas (STT), with SJO receiving 4x-weekly flights and STT 3x-weekly.

The change that finally got Spirit to move into Miami was the airport structurally lowering its costs. The airport also agreed to Spirit’s demand that all AA passengers traveling through MIA be levied a $9 fee for not flying Spirit. For more on Spirit’s move to Miami, visit today’s post on crankyflier.com.

Government Committee to Join Forces with Other Government Committees

The White House COVID Response Team is setting up working groups with COVID Response Teams from the governments of the UK, Canada, Mexico and several European countries in order to increase the number of meetings and discussions the groups can participate in… and also to better manage reopening plans.

The Biden administration would not commit to when the working groups would report back because doing so would show efficiency and forward-thinking. The announcement of the working groups does comes after the State Department upgraded several countries including Canada, France, and Germany to Level 3 “Reconsider Travel,” an upgrade from Level 4 “Do Not Travel.”

The groups will present their findings to the White House and other governments when they have studied the issue enough to make a recommendation. One government source said that any decision to lift travel restrictions will not be made until hearing results from this multi-national working group. In the meantime, countries will continue to haggle over who foots the bill for catering at the working group meetings.

JetBlue Updates TrueBlue

JetBlue Airways unveiled new ways to qualify for Mosaic elite status in its TrueBlue loyalty program. Beginning today, points and segments earned when booking through JetBlue Vacations plus hotel and other bookings made via Paisly by JetBlue will count toward Mosaic status. Members will receive 3x points on flights booked through JetBlue Vacations and 1x points on hotels, cars, and transfers booked through JetBlue Vacations as well as hotels and other activities booked through Paisly.

The airline is also introducing minty-fresh uses for miles, making its Mint Studio product available for point redemptions. The Mint studio is currently available on New York/JFK to Los Angeles and will be available when JetBlue launches service to London later this summer.

JetBlue is also offering extra benefits for elite members who exceeded the Mosaic qualification levels in 2021. Ten thousand extra qualifying points will earn an additional 10,000 bonus points. Those who exceed Mosaic qualifying by 20,000 points will be able to gift Mosaic status to one person. Thirty thousands extra points and above will qualify for a free roundtrip flight certificate, with passengers who earned 100,000 extra points or more in 2021 receiving a card for free Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee at Boston’s Logan Airport for life. (We feel compelled to note this is a joke, and there should be no rioting over this news.)

American Forced to Divert Flight Due to Unscreened Passenger

American Airlines Flight 881 from Charlotte to Cancun on Tuesday was forced to return to Charlotte shortly after takeoff when it was discovered that passenger sitting in first class had not been screened by TSA prior to boarding.

The offender was a former employee of AA subsidiary Piedmont Airlines and was seen using their badge to bypass the TSA checkpoint and enter the secure side of the airport. Another airport staff member saw the breach and alerted airport police and the TSA. The passenger was then “followed” on camera and seen boarding the flight to Cancun with a valid boarding pass.

The captain told the passengers that the plane was returning to Charlotte due to an issue with its flaps. No one on-board questioned the pilots as they were flying AA and figured there would be a mechanical issue at some point during the flight.

When landing in Charlotte the plane was met by airport police who took the offending passenger into custody. The plane was then thoroughly searched by police and dogs before being allowed to continue. The passenger is currently in custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. CMPD is now assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force as they assess what charges to file. It is expected that the former employee will receive some sort of jail time, will have to pay a sizable fine, and will be sentenced to fly American in Basic Economy at least once a month for 5 years.

GOL Beats Azul to the Punch, Acquires MAP

With rumors swirling that Azul is in the market to acquire LATAM Brazil, GOL struck first, beating its rival to the punch by purchasing Manaus-based MAP.

Before today, MAP was the 5^th largest airline in Brazil, operating most of its operation in the Amazon (this one, not this one). The airline has seven 70-seat ATRs that also operate from São Paulo/Congonhas (CGH), Brazil’s largest domestic airport.

For GOL, the real prize of the transaction isn’t the airplanes or the airline’s business – it’s the 26 slots that the airline has at CGH – the most congested airport in the country. In fact, GOL won’t even take control of MAP’s seven airplanes or its Amazon routes. It will only operate existing routes in the south of the country to and from CGH using its own B737-700 aircraft.

GOL CEO Paulo Kakinoff said that this merger at its final sale price of $5.6 million is the only rational merger in the domestic Brazilian market, and that the rumored tie up between Azul and LATAM should not take place. This is the kind of nuanced, unbiased analysis found in the Brazilian aviation market right now.

• Air Senegal received final approval to fly to the United States. It will operate through a wet-lease agreement with HiFly. Due to the wet-lease potential passengers are advised to bring raingear for the flight.
• Air Serbia is celebrating the Fourth of July by resuming twice-weekly flights between Belgrade and Barcelona.
• American will begin to reopen its Flagship Lounges this year, with Miami becoming the first to return this September.
• Cathay Pacific’s $1 billion loan will have a 12 month extension on its drawdown period thanks to a rare granting of mercy from the government.
• Jazeera Airways will begin weekly service from Kuwait to London/Heathrow on June 18.
• LATAM Colombia is beginning service from Medellín (MDE) to Cúcuta (CUC) and Bucaramanga (BGA). Service to CUC will begin July 1 and operate daily. BGA will begin in August and operate 4x-weekly.
• Lufthansa is outfitting the 10 A350-900 it is taking delivery of starting in July 2023 with first class.
• Qantas is eliminating the A$99 Qantas Club initiation fee for new members through the end of the month.
• Ryanair is waiting to pounce with a lawsuit the moment the Italian government announces its plans to fund ITA, its “startup” airline that’s replacing Alitalia.
• Silver Airways leased a new ATR72-600 aircraft.
• Thai will return to Europe on July 2 as it resumes service from Phuket to Zurich, Paris, Copenhagen, London/Heathrow, and Paris.
• Virgin Australia named Dave Emerson Chief Commercial Officer. The airline did not comment on what he would do after creating the one commercial.
• WestJet announced the retirement of its President and CEO Ed Sims, effective in December of this year.
• World2Fly a Spanish startup took delivery of its first A350-900 aircraft. The “airline” has no timeline to begin flying but has a plan to operate long-haul flights to destinations where its parent company has a lot of hotels. It’s really a flawless plan.

I just started a new documentary on how to fly an airplane. We are currently filming the pilot.

Southwest Increases 737 Order to the Max

Southwest Airlines revealed in an 8-K filing to the SEC today (this one, not this one) that it will exercise options to increase its firm order of the B737 MAX 7 by 34 planes, pushing the total to 234. The airline, which operates the Boeing 737 family of airplanes exclusively, also has orders on the books for 149 B737 MAX 8 aircraft to be delivered through 2031.

The planes, which will come pre-stocked with vats of Wild Turkey at the airline’s request, are needed as domestic travel continues to rebound. Southwest expects its June revenue to be 80% of what June 2019 was, with July pushing closer to 85%. Leisure fares have returned to pre-pandemic levels ahead of business travel which continues to lag.

Southwest expects its 2022 capital expenditures to total $1.5 billion, up more than 100% from its previous estimation of just $700 million. The bulk of the increase comes from the addition of new planes on order plus expected hazard pay bonuses to flight attendants having to deal with violent yokels at 30,000 feet every week.

Are You Ready for Some Football? Sun Country Adds Routes

Sun Country Airlines announced the resumption of routes from its Minneapolis hub, the extension of seasonal service to Raleigh-Durham, and new round trip travel between Minneapolis and Green Bay.

The one-off roundtrips between MSP and GRB will operate on November 21, leaving Green Bay in the morning and returning in the evening. The flight will operate again on the afternoon of Sunday, January 2^nd, returning to Green Bay the morning of the 3^rd.  The Green Bay Packers play in Minnesota on the afternoon of Sunday, November 21 and the Minnesota Vikings visit Green Bay on Sunday night, January 2^nd. Sun Country’s plan is flawless – provided neither game falls victim to the NFL’s flexible scheduling policies. **gulp**

Other additions to the schedule for Sun Country include a return to both Gulfport/Biloxi, MS (GPT) and New Orleans — twice-weekly seasonal service to both cities will begin on September 2 from Minneapolis/St. Paul and continue through November — plus twice-weekly seasonal service on September 2 from Williston, North Dakota (XWA) to Las Vegas. Williston, which is known as the gambling and partying capital of the Dakotas will be connected to the gambling and partying capital of the United States through November 28.

American Turns to Volunteers at DFW

American Airlines reached out to members of its corporate team to volunteer at its Dallas/Fort Worth hub this summer as the airline anticipates a significant travel surge as summer approaches.

The deal isn’t great – workers would have to volunteer outside of their normal work hours, and they wouldn’t be paid for their time. American says that they are only asking for volunteers, and no one is required to work. The airline doesn’t know, or is pretending it doesn’t know, about the “voluntold” concept of management.

Those who volunteer for tribute would work six hour shifts, helping customers find their way around the airport and assisting at gates and ticketing stations. Meaning their main role will be to help people who cannot read signs or understand basic boarding procedures. They’ll also help deflect questions about rolling delays while distracting passengers by showing them other flights that are delayed worse than their own.

Delta Allows for Same Day Changes in its App

Delta Air Lines updated its Fly Delta app last week and actually included a useful addition in the update, not just the standard “bug fixes and enhancements.”

The airline now allows passengers to search for new flights and standby or confirm the same-day change directly in the app. Prior to this upgrade, free-of-charge same-day upgrades were only offered through an agent – whether over the phone, through an online messaging app or in-person at the airport.

Same-day changes are free for Gold Medallion and above while the commoners are still on the hook for a $75 charge. Basic Economy itineraries are not eligible for same-day changes, and the airline will impose a $100 fee to any Basic Economy customers for even thinking about making a change.

Qantas Continues Its Role as Bad Boy of Commercial Aviation

A bad PR week for Qantas continued today as it came to light that the airline was secretly offered A$50 million to keep its headquarters in Sydney by the New South Wales government.

The airline announced last September it was considering moving its headquarters, an announcement that was very highly criticized. Australian federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham called it a “blatant appeal for corporate welfare,” while spokespeople for both Spirit and Ryanair applauded the move. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce declined to comment but was spotted leaving Qantas HQ wearing a leather jacket along with slicked back hair and sporting several new tattoos.

The government of New South Wales mobilized once it heard Qantas was considering a move out of town, offering the A$50 million over four years — provided the airline create 2,000 new jobs in Sydney, operate its ultra long-haul flights exclusively from Sydney for at least five years, and more. The NSW government and the airline had intended to keep the offer letter private, but that worked out as well as Qantas’s plan to keep drug mules out of its baggage handling staff.

• Air Seychelles will resume service to both Johannesburg and the Maldives beginning June 5.
• Azul is expected to present a purchase proposal to buy LATAM Brazil in as soon as three months.
• Emirates is returning both Lyon and Nice to its flight network. Dubai to Nice will begin July 2 with 4x-weekly flights. Lyon will also operate 4x-weekly beginning one week later. Both cities will be operated by a B777-300ER.
• EVA upgraded its 3x-weekly service to Los Angeles to daily, effective yesterday.
• FlyArmenia Airways is adding a B737NG to its fleet.
• flybe, which is relaunching after shutting down in March of 2020 will not have access to its previous incarnation’s slots at Heathrow, the British government confirmed.
• Korean and Asiana received an extension to 2024 from Korean regulators to complete their merger.
• Qatar has halted its A350 deliveries over complaints of the quality of the paint job. Airbus said that it used the same two painters it’s always used on its new aircraft and doesn’t see what the issue is.
• Singapore is resuming its service to Manchester with 3x-weekly flights beginning July 16.
• Volotea opened a new base in Lyon, France (LYS).

I used to own a stair-building company, but I eventually quit because my family couldn’t stand the ups and downs of the industry.

Today’s sponsor, TheAirchive.net, is doing things a bit differently today, taking over Cranky Daily with images and links that are related to each topic. You’ll find those below each of today’s five stories, and look for another four of these scattered throughout the next couple months.

Angry Rich Men Make Demands For a US-UK Travel Corridor

The CEOs of six airlines – American, British Airways, Delta, JetBlue, United, and Virgin Atlantic — came together prior to the G7 meeting in Cornwall, England to demand President Biden and UK PM Boris Johnson open a quarantine-free travel corridor between the countries. Unfortunately, despite their unified exuberance, these six have no authority to demand that the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom do anything.

The CEOs cited all sorts of statistics in their “demand,” such as British businesses losing £23 million every day the travel restrictions remain in force. The airlines also claim they have an unprecedented surplus of booze from the lounges on both side of the pond due to the lack or traffic – and that booze could make it way to the White House and Downing Street if the leaders were to acquiesce.

BA CEO Sean Doyle ripped the British government’s traffic light system saying that “no one pays attention to traffic lights when driving in London; why should we care about them now?” Both AA and UA said they were ready to add capacity on transatlantic routes as soon as the corridor is opened while Delta said was too busy looking at how it could further devalue its transatlantic SkyMiles redemption chart to be bothered to comment.

State of Hawaiʻi Details Reopening Plans

Hawaiʻi Governor David Ige detailed the plans for the removal of COVID-related restrictions on travel to the islands as well as on interisland travel within the state.

All interisland restrictions will end next Tuesday, June 15. This date is set to coincide with when the state reaches the 55% mark of vaccinated adults. This will eliminate the need for a 10-day quarantine, proof of negative test within 72-hours of arrival, or proof of vaccination when traveling between islands.

For travel between the U.S. mainland and Hawaiʻi, restrictions will be removed when the state reaches a 60% vaccination rate. As of today, the rate is at 52%, with the expectation of reaching 55% next week. Then, when the vaccination rate reaches 70% — a number that Ige admits could be lowered if infection rates continue to decline — all restrictions on travel will end from around the world. At that point, the state will allow non-vaccinated travelers to enter the state with no restriction other than a thorough mocking upon arrival for not getting the vaccine. To get compliance above 70%, the prizes have now been extended further. Once the rate hits 75%, everyone gets their very own free grain of sand. After that, the spam raffles will kick in.

For Labor Unions, Startup’s Hiring Program Isn’t a Breeze

Three labor unions — the Association of Flight Attendants – CWA, the Transportation Trades Department, and the Transport Workers Union of America — have requested the DOT review its prior approval for Breeze Airways to operate passenger service. The poorly-timed request coming just one week after Breeze launched operations.

The unions are peeved with what they describe as discriminatory hiring practices for flight attendants with regards to age, race, and other factors. Their complaints are centered on Breeze’s somewhat bizarre plan to hire flight attendants through a work-study program at Utah Valley University. Most work study jobs on a campus involve making copies for the history department or answering phones for the student theatre box office – not working as a flight attendant on a U.S. commercial airline.

The unions point out in their filing that Breeze’s hiring scheme violates the Age Discrimination Act of 1967, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and it puts UVU in violation of federal work study rules. Other than these three potential transgressions, the unions have no other beef with the airline.

Breeze is currently offering very low pay for its flight attendants – a max of $1,600 per month for 20 days worked. FA’s will also receive up to $6,000 in tuition reimbursement if they maintain a 3.0 GPA, which is something – but those funds are taxable so the net ends up being something less. Despite these concerns, it is highly unlikely the unions can force the DOT to revoke the airline’s operating certificate.

Qantas Employees Busted

An Australian federal investigation codenamed Project Brunello has revealed that a “significant” number of staff – as many as 150 – at Qantas, including the airline’s iconic kangaroo (it always looked liked it was up to something) are being linked to an organized crime group using the airline’s planes and ground operations to import narcotics and Vegemite into Australia. Qantas officials had no comment and deferred all questions to law enforcement.

Project Brunello found in its investigation that trusted staff members at the airline have been illegally running the narcotics ring for several years. The scheme was led by a Comanchero motorcycle gang affiliate who held a managerial position for Qantas at its Sydney hub, and he then hired fellow gang members to run the operation on the ground during the baggage operation.

Qantas is the only commercial airline that holds a Trusted Trader accreditation with the Australian Border Force, which is basically TSA Precheck for below-the-wing employees in Australia. The airline says it’s not been informed of any employees failing the test for the elevated access. When asked to comment, a Rex spokesperson simply couldn’t stop laughing but added nothing further.

Air Canada Senior Execs Return Pandemic Bonuses

Air Canada’s senior executives are returning $2 million worth of bonuses that were paid out after a public backlash due to the number of frontline staff the airline was forced to lay off.

A total of C$10 million in bonuses were paid out, and everyone at the Executive Vice-President level and above are returning their bonus while former CEO Calin Rovinescu who recently retired is donating his bonus to the Air Canada Foundation. Middle managers below the EVP level are not being asked to return their bonus payments.

Air Canada said in a statement that the bonuses were paid because the executives had agreed to C$11.5 million in pay cuts at the beginning of the pandemic. But the bonuses were announced after thousands of employees had been laid off and the airline took a C$8 billion rescue package from the government. The senior execs who paid their bonuses back won’t be totally out of luck – the airline is expected to offer them two tickets to the NHL game of their choice next year and a BOGO coupon for a medium coffee at any Tim Horton’s airport location in Canada.

• Air Do and Solaseed Air of Japan said “I do” to a merger that is expected to be completed by the second-half of 2022. In the meantime, the two airlines will study the do’s and don’ts of airline mergers.
• Air Serbia is beginning twice-weekly flights from its Belgrade hub to Rostov-on-Don, Russia (RVI).
• American’s partnership with Cadillac for tarmac transfers for its most elite customers has ended. The airline is now partnering with Avis, meaning Concierge Key members can expect an intermediate or midsize vehicle that comes with a half-empty gas tank and smells like it’s recently been smoked in.
• Aruba Airlines took delivery of its first A321 aircraft. The plane previously flew for Turkish, and Aruba officials were disappointed there wasn’t any leftover baklava onboard.
• Braatheens Regional Airlines is giving strong support to its Stockholm/Bromma (BMA) hub by linking it to Aarhus, Denmark (AAR) with new 6x-weekly flights beginning in September. The flight will be propped up by a stopover in Gothenburg (GOT).
• Delta is increasing its service to France as the country opens to vaccinated travelers. It will add 3x-weekly service from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Paris beginning July 7. Boston will operate to CDG daily beginning August 5, and New York/JFK will see 3x-weekly flights to Nice (NCE) beginning July 8. These flights are in addition to 2x-daily Paris service from Atlanta, 1x-daily from JFK, and 3x-weekly from Detroit.
• Flyr took delivry of its first B737.
• Frontier was mistaken about the location of the new terminal at Washington/National Friday night when its flight 538 mistook a pile of mud at the end of the runway for ar parking spot. Ok, not really. The A320 with 151 passengers and six crew skidded off the runway upon landing. No injuries were reported and most passengers said the bus that brought them to the terminal was nicer and had better pitch than the plane that flew them in from Denver.
• Hong Kong Airlines is reducing its fleet to just eight aircraft and plans to dramatically shift to a majority-freight operation.
• Jet Airways will not retain the slots its previous incarnation possessed when it ended operating in 2019.
• Lanmei Airlines of Cambodia received approval to operate fifth freedom routes in China.
• Qatar is resuming daily service to Sharjah, UAE (SHJ) beginning July 1.
• SKY Express is launching new service from its Athens hub to Paris/CDG today. The airline will also add new routes to London/Heathrow, Dortmund (DTM), and Hamburg this month.
• United has eliminated its pandemic-era program of allowing passengers free changes on “fuller flights.”

Did you know the boomerang is Australia’s largest export? It’s also its largest import.

Today’s takeover sponsored by:

American’s Project Oasis Moves Closer to Completion

American Airlines completed the retrofit of its B737-800 fleet, adding 12 seats to each plane. The new seats give each B737-800 a total of 172 seats, the same number the airline has on its B737 MAX fleet meaning all American 737 aircraft now have the same seat map.

Next for completion will be AA’s A321 which will see more seats added to bring its total to 190. The A321 fleet is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The retrofit began in 2019 and was accelerated during the pandemic when many of American’s planes were grounded. Originally, AA expected to complete the A321 retrofit by the end of 2022. AA officials are now discussing what to do – they’re not used to anything being completed on-time, much less early.

To increase the number of seats, AA is not increasing the size of its planes – that wouldn’t make any sense. Instead, it’s reducing pitch, reducing padding, and removing IFE screens. AA also “boasts” the smallest economy restrooms on any mainline jets – measuring just 24 inches from wall to wall. American considered seating some Basic Economy passengers in the lavs, but decided against it because the 24 inches seemed like too much personal space.

LATAM Brazil Absolutely, Definitely, Not Being Sold to Azul (Probably)

LATAM CEO Robert Alvo said that LATAM’s Brazilian subsidiary is not for sale – especially to its Brazilian LCC competitor, Azul.

LATAM is currently visiting the Chapter 11 bankruptcy spa in the United States and expects to emerge stronger, with no need to sell off parts to salvage cash. Azul may not wait for LATAM to sell, however, as the airline is reportedly evaluating LATAM’s bankruptcy exit plan, with an intention to make an acquisition overture to LATAM’s creditors, cutting out the middle man.

Azul previously proposed that LATAM mostly abandon its domestic network market in Brazil, leaving it to Azul and focusing on regional flights in South America through its Brazilian hubs. That was not met with eagerness by LATAM.

Delta and AirBaltic Propose Codeshare Agreement

Delta Air Lines and airBaltic requested permission from the DOT to launch a codeshare partnership in Europe. Under the proposed agreement, Delta would place its DL code on Air Baltic flights from its three hubs – Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius – to 16 European destinations.

It is noted in the filing that Latvia is not yet considered a Category 1 country by the FAA. Delta implies that a Category 1 rating is coming soon and says it won’t include any flights from Riga as part of the codeshare until Latvia receives the Category 1 rating.

The two airlines also requested a blanket waiver to extend the codeshare to any other markets where the country has an open-skies agreement with the United States in the future. There was no mention if DL-coded flights on Air Baltic would be eligible for earning SkyMiles. The two airlines were reportedly in negotiations on that matter, with Delta requiring a massive devaluation of Air Baltic’s frequent flier program ensuring no decent award itineraries are actually obtainable before Delta would even consider such an agreement.

United Offers Free Vacation for Flight Attendants Who Get Vaccinated

United Airlines is offering up to three extra days of paid vacation for flight attendants who receive the first shot of the COVID vaccine by June 9. Flight attendants who receive their first jab between June 10 and July 1 will receive two days of additional leave. Those waiting until after July 1 will not receive any bonus vacation and will be forced to move their crew base to Newark.

United CEO Scott Kirby considered making vaccination a requirement, but backed down saying that he would only go that route if other companies did so. That thinking has worked for him when it comes to customer policies for so long, might as well use it for internal policies too. United is offering pilots up to 13 hours of additional pay for vaccination; the airline says the programs are different because pilots are required to avoid work for at least 48 hours after each vaccine dose.

The airline considered making vaccination a requirement for being able to work on its new supersonic routes to London and Tokyo, expected to launch in 2029, but realized that the chances of its supersonic plans actually coming to fruition by then are even less than the chance of getting an anti-vaxxer to receive the vaccine.

Portuguese Government Throws Shade at Ryanair

Portugal’s Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Pedro Nuno Santos accused Ryanair of meddling in the country’s internal affairs for its own gain, as the ULCC recently won a challenge in court to stop Portuguese state aid to the airline.

Ryanair has been suing European governments for the last several months over aid paid out to airlines and has been winning more cases than it’s losing. Ryanair’s winning argument has been that the EU is one economic zone, and it’s illegal for member states to favor one airline over another. Portugal recently gave TAP $1.4 billion in aid, which Ryanair successfully squashed in EU General Court.

Portugal says its investment is a strategic investment in the airline and the Portuguese economy. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary essentially told Portugal and Santos to pound sand. Santos should “stop wasting taxpayers money on TAP and invest in infrastructure,” O’Leary said.

• Air Mauritius will receive $221 million in state aid, and thanks to its distant location, Ryanair probably won’t sue.
• Air Montenegro intends to start flying on June 10.
• Alliance Air refinanced much of its debt in order to raise $136 million to purchase additional E190 aircraft.
• easyJet has added an extra 1,000 seats from Portugal to the UK to help get travelers home after the UK moved Portugal from its green list to the amber list yesterday.
• Garuda Indonesia plans to cancel its A330neo orders, return leased A330s, and cut its B777 fleet in half as it prepares for a potential bankruptcy filing.
• Lufthansa ordered an additional B777-200 freighter aircraft for delivery this fall. It would be the carrier’s 15^th.
• Ryanair is looking to hire about 1,000 new cabin crew members this summer. Applicants should be interested in travel, generally unpleasant in demeanor, have no interest in being around people, and be willing to work nights, weekends, and holidays.
• Tasman Cargo Airlines began operating regular service to Singapore for the first time this week.
• SWISS named Stefan Vasic its new Head of Marketing. His first assignment will be to figure out why the airline’s name must always be stylized in ALL CAPS.
• United is banning alcohol on all flights less than 800 miles except for those between hubs. Because anyone flying to Newark needs a drink.
• Vietnam Airlines has put 11 of its A321ceo aircraft on sale. Interested buyers should call the airline or visit its Etsy page for more information.

What did the plumber say to the singer?

You’ve got great pipes.

United Goes Boom

United Airlines announced its order of at least 15 supersonic jets from Boom Technology, making the bold assumption the planes will actually be manufactured and will meet FAA specifications and certification requirements. We all know what happens when you assume, but United is taking the plunge anyway.

The deal makes United the first U.S. carrier to have an agreement with the manufacturer, although JAL does own options for potential deliveries in the unlikely event that an airplane is actually delivered.

United’s timeline is to have the planes in passenger service by the end of the decade, with 2029 as the target – meaning these planes will come online just as the airline is completing its rollout of Polaris business class and Polaris lounges across its network. The planes will seat 65-88 passengers — if they can find that many people to pay a significant price premium over business class — and operate exclusively on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The aircraft are expected to make the journey from New York to London in under four hours, and San Francisco to Tokyo in six. The flight time to Tokyo is complicated by the current iteration of the plane needing to make a stop in Anchorage for fuel. United was seen as the logical launch partner for the supersonic jets as passengers want to spend as little time as possible on its aircraft after experiencing UA’s onboard “hospitality,” making a three and a half hour flight to London very appealing.

Oneworld Plans Alliance-Wide Upgrade Program

Oneworld airline frequent fliers can expect to be able to upgrade on flights of any of the alliance’s 14 member airlines using points from any oneworld loyalty program by the end of this calendar year.

A similar program already exists for Star Alliance fliers but requires the upgrading customer to have purchased a full-fare economy ticket to upgrade. Oneworld has not yet said what fare types will be required to upgrade using another airline’s points, but it is expected to choose something that is complicated and makes little sense to phone agents, gate agents, and customers.

The third global alliance, Skyteam, has no plan in place for such a program and no plans to do so. Air France-KLM brought the idea up to joint-venture partner Delta but was quickly laughed out of the room – not only will Delta never institute any sort of customer-friendly Skymiles policy, but it won’t ever even consider one.

The number of miles needed to upgrade will depend on what the traveler’s “home” program is, as each carrier will set its own price to upgrade on other oneworld airlines. American, Qantas, and Cathay Pacific are close to making a decision on their upgrade costs, while IAG airlines British Airways and Iberia are still working on how they can fold significant cash surcharges into the points upgrades, making them practically worthless.

Maui to End Post-Arrival Virus Testing

Travelers arriving on Maui will no longer be required to take a COVID test upon arrival to the island, Maui County Mayor Mike Victorino announced.

The island has been testing passengers on arrival since May 4 and seems happy with the results showing only five positive cases all month – a rate of 0.054%. That is significantly lower than the predicted positivity rate of 1%. Travelers might disagree that these results are encouraging, because it means they were subject to lengthy, confusing lines and unnecessary testing that only delayed their arrival in paradise.

The testing program will officially end tomorrow, but the Maui government does reserve the right to bring it back if positive cases spike on the island or if it finds another large pot of money just needing to be burned. Since the beginning of the program, nearly 93,000 travelers received the post-arrival testing, with about 3,800 able to opt out with proof of full vaccination.

Alaska’s Growing Paines

Alaska Airlines plans to operate as many as 13 daily departures at Seattle/Paine Field (PAE) this fall, ramping up to its full schedule of 18 daily nonstops from the airport next spring… or sooner.

The airport, located just north of Seattle in Everett, should be popular for local traffic residing north of Seattle, but initial service has struggled. The biggest problem has been related to people trying to board Boeing widebodies at the airport — where the company manufactures large aircraft — and then balking when being pointed to a 76-seat jet instead.

Alaska is currently operating just five daily flights from the airport, but that will jump to 11 daily flights to seven destinations on September 8. Those are: Boise, Las Vegas, Orange County, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and Spokane. A winter seasonal flight to Palm Springs will return on October 7 with new Tucson service beginning November 19.

South African has Agreement to Potentially Relaunch Operations

The government of South Africa reached an agreement in principle with a mystery equity partner to infuse cash into South African Airways, putting the airline on-track towards operating for the first time since September. We have been unable to confirm whether this mystery partner is really ITA looking to have SAA buy Alitalia to skirt EU rules.

In addition to the funds from the mystery partner, the South Afircan government would spend $1 billion to clean up the airline’s outstanding debt. The airline would then be relanched as a smaller, more nimble operation (how many times has a bankrupt airline said that?), with the ability to grow as needed. The government is not willing to commit as to whether or not the “new” SAA would purchase its aircraft outright or lease them, as it likely prefers to see if there are any good deals on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace before going through the traditional airplane acquisition methods.

The airline exited bankruptcy protection in April and is hopeful to resume operations in August. Of the $1 billion being given to the airline from the government, one quarter of it will go to refunds that thousands of passengers are waiting on. Just over $200 million will go to former employee settlements, and the lawyers will come out just fine with about $16 million in fees.

• American is extend the block on expiring AAdvantage miles through December 2021. The airline also disclosed in an SEC filing that it generated a positive cash flow in May.
• ASL Airlines France retired its final passenger B737-800 aircraft.
• Belavia is likely to be formally sanctioned by the EU next week.
• Copa announced that, from today, its new Dreams Business Class flat bed product will be available on all flights to Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Montevideo, and Sao Paulo from its Panama hub.
• Emirates announced new 4x-weekly flights between Dubai and Miami that will begin July 22. You just didn’t make the cut, Fort Lauderdale.
• JetBlue received permission from the DOT to move its slots from Guayaquil, Ecuador (GYE) to New York. Eastern had opposed the move, but ultimately lost as the DOT couldn’t figure out which incarnation of Eastern had filed the objection.
• Nepal Airlines is going to be privatized and recapitalized.
• SmartLynx Airlines Malta added an A330 to its fleet, its first widebody.
• Vistara received tentative DOT approval to operate to the United States. Provided there are no further hiccups, the airline could begin service as soon as this September.

My friend asked me to pass her Chapstick. I passed her the glue stick on accident — she hasn’t spoken to me since.

Alaska and Emirates End Partnership

Alaska and Emirates will be ending their frequent flier partnership and codeshare agreements this summer, officially cutting ties on July 31.

The dissolution of this partnership has seemed inevitable since Alaska joined oneworld and began a relationship with fellow member Qatar. Emirates and Qatar have similar networks, connecting the world through their Middle East hubs, and it makes much more sense for Alaska to feed its oneworld partner the connecting traffic than a competitor with which it has a loose affiliation.

The two carriers have been partners for a decade, first joining together in 2012 when Emirates began flying from Dubai to Seattle and needed Alaska’s feed to help fill the flights. Now, Emirates will have to turn to the other hub carrier in Seattle, Delta, to fill that flight… except Emirates can’t make money on the middle fingers and not-so-veiled threats that Delta has repeatedly offered the airline.

For passengers, any travel booked through the partnership prior to today will be credited when travel takes place even if it occurs after July 31. For any travel booked today or later, travel must be completed by July 31 to credit Emirates miles to Mileage Plan – travel on August 1 or beyond will not retain any frequent flier credit.

Russia Reopens Airspace as Belarusian Alternative

The Russian government reopened its airspace to carriers looking to bypass Belarusian airspace following the May 23 incident where Belarus illegally grounded a Ryanair flight to take a journalist into custody. All it asks in return is for each airline’s flight crew to bow down to Lenin upon entering its airspace and give a sworn statement that Russia has not influenced any global elections.

The European Aviation Safety Agency issued a non-binding bulletin advising EU airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace last week and upgraded the directive to a mandate today. Despite the warning from EASA, most non-EU carriers continue to fly over Belarus with the exception of Singapore Airlines.

When the policy first went into effect last week, Russia declined to make its airspace available to carriers who were avoiding Belarus, forcing cancellations on several flights including Air France’s Paris-Moscow flight and Austrian’s flight to Moscow from Vienna. Those flights will operate without disruption going forward as the Russians backed down.

Bamboo Airways Applies to Fly to USA and Canada

Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways filed an application with the DOT to offer service to five cities in the United States using its own aircraft, with a plan to launch service as soon as this fall.

In its application, the airline is seeking permission to operate between Ho Chi Minh (SGN) and Los Angeles and San Francisco and beyond to Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The flights to the United States would stop on the way, likely in Taipei, Osaka, or Nagoya, even though it should have the range to fly nonstop. Bamboo does not hold local traffic rights for travel between Japan and the United States, making the stop likely to be technical to swap crew and refuel – not to pick up or drop off passengers, bamboo, or pandas who left China because they want to eat said bamboo.

Lastly, Bamboo also requested permission to serve up to 25 more markets in the country via a US codeshare partner. The airline did not name the potential carrier, but did say it would be a major carrier, eliminating Boutique Air from consideration. There are 25 cities to which the airline could codeshare as chosen by the Vietnamese government in 2005. The list includes 24 of the country’s busiest airports and destinations plus – curiously – Wichita.

KLM Restores North American Network to Pre-Pandemic Levels (Almost)

KLM is restoring most of its North American network for travel this summer as it returns service to Las Vegas and Minneapolis, giving it 16 destinations in North America assuming borders reopen, just one shy of what it operated in 2019. The only city missing from the map from two years ago is Salt Lake City, which it does serve via a codeshare on joint-venture partner Delta’s nonstop flight between AMS and SLC.

KLM will add two previously-announced destinations for the winter – Cancun and Orlando – that will operate from October 31 through March 26.

Despite the number of destinations reaching 16, the airline is still shy of 2019 in frequency and capacity, but it plans to increase both of those metrics as vaccination rates improve and the airline can locate its Delft Houses that have been in storage since the onset of the pandemic.

Rex Continues Spat with Rivals

Rex Airlines took out full-page newspaper ads on Tuesday in major markets across Australia, as it continued calling on its rivals – Qantas and Virgin Australia – to offer full refunds to passengers with travel disrupted by COVID outbreaks.

The ads highlighted social media complaints from passengers detailing their difficulties in obtaining refunds from Qantas for travel that was affected by the pandemic. Rex’s implication is that Qantas and Virgin Australia are standing in the way of economic recovery in Australia by not having a customer-friendly refund policy. Of course, Rex is conveniently here to save the day just like any good boy.

The airline also will add four more aircraft to its fleet by the start of the Australian spring this September as it increases its head-to-head battle with Qantas and Virgin Australia over Canberra. It had intended to have ten jets by the end of 2021 but will take delivery sooner to respond to the high load factors the airline has had – in direct opposition to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce assertion that Rex had “the worst launch of a new jet airline in Australia’s history,” with some flights flying empty.

• Aeroflot had a busy Wednesday as the airline took delivery of its first A321neo and secured a loan worth $320 million.
• American is extending systemwide upgrade validity through July 2022.
• Cabo Verde Airlines confirmed its plans to resume flying late in Q2 which presumably means sometime this month.
• Canada North and First Air took another step in their merger announcing they will operate under a single AOC from this point forward.
• easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou sold 1.3% of his stake in the airline, decreasing his share from 26.7 to 25.3%.
• Empire Airlines took delivery of its first new ATR72-600 freighter aircraft and hopes to have it in service by the end of June.
• JAL is adding a weekly flight between Tokyo/Narita and Seattle, operating the route 4x-weekly, beginning in July. It will also upgrade NRT to LAX and Manila to daily service during September.
• LATAM Brasil is adding one new destination – Comandatuba (UNA) – which will see a weekly flight from São Paulo/Congonhas (CGH). The airline is also adding ten new routes to existing destinations.
• Scoot took delivery of its first A321neo aircraft after the aircraft scooted its way from Hamburg to Singapore to begin service.
• SKY Airline of Chile plans to begin A321neo passenger operations this fall.
• Thai’s restructuring hearing in a Thai bankruptcy court was rescheduled for June 15. The judge told representatives from the airline that based on his experience flying the airline, they should be used to dealing with delays.
• Turkish resumed operating the B737 MAX 9 aircraft.

My mother-in-law has been staring through the window ever since the blizzard started. If it gets any worse, I’ll have to let her in.

U.S. Suspends Bilateral Air Services Agreement with Belarus         

It’s a tough day if you were hoping to spend your post-pandemic summer vacation in Minsk as the United States government intends to suspend its bilateral air services agreement with Belarus, an agreement that had been in place since 2019.

The agreement had removed all restrictions on the number of flights and routings between the two counties on flights operated by American or Belarusian carriers. Belarus’s government had been planning to develop Minsk (MSQ) into a fifth-freedom hub with flights to the United States from foreign carriers including AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines, Qatar, and Uzbekistan Airways. You might think that’s one of our jokes, but it’s not. It’s real, and it’s… a good thing that plan is now going to have to be put on hold.

Flag carrier Belavia is now barred from using the airspace of any of its neighbors with the exception of Russia over the Ryanair government hijacking incident. The government opted not to use the most logical defense of its actions last week – attempting to give the passengers a free stopover in Minsk, something that is not offered on Ryanair – but instead is sticking to its laughable story that there was a bomb threat called in by Hamas. In the meantime, the country and its airline will remain a pariah in the international aviation community as this story continues to unfold.

Stowaway Forces Air India Flight to Return to Delhi

Air India Flight 105 was 30 minutes into its journey from Delhi (DEL) to Newark when cabin crew members discovered an unticketed passenger in the business class section of the aircraft. The passenger, who was dead when discovered by staff, had its existence on the aircraft blamed on catering staff by Air India’s engineering team. Oh, and by the way, the unwanted passenger was a bat. A dead bat. At least the dead bat has good taste and chose to fly up front in business.

The Jersey-bound passenger bat was suspected to have made its way on-board from a catering truck, which seems more like Air India throwing a third party under the bus than taking responsibility for the bat carcass.

The flight left Delhi on-time at 2:20 am, which in hindsight feels like an ideal departure time for a bat looking for a flight to catch. After the pilot decided to return to Delhi, the plane circled briefly while dumping fuel and landed safely at 3:55 am. The human, ticketed passengers were then moved to another aircraft – presumably bat-free – which made it to Newark incident-free, arriving at 11:35 am.

EU and Italy Close to Deal on Alitalia ITA

The on-again, off-again relationship between the EU and Italy seems to be on-again as the European Commission said it reached a “common understanding” with the Italian government on the framework of a deal to allow Alitalia to transition into ITA.

Italy finally agreed to the EU’s insistence that the new airline have no economic continuity with the old airline, operating as an entirely new entity. After looking at Alitalia’s on-time record and their books, a clean break from the old airline can only serve to benefit ITA.

With the potential agreement between Brussels and Rome, Italy will now move “full speed ahead” to roll out the new airline, which likely means getting work done between 1:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. every third Tuesday. It hopes to have ITA fully-operational by September 1. Of what year, we aren’t sure.

The Italian government will permit ITA to participate in a tender for the Alitalia brand if it chooses, which would be amazing. After this entire process, ITA paying itself to keep the Alitalia brand is the perfect ending to this saga.

Qantas Hopeful for Early Reboot to U.S, U.K.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is indicating that Qantas could return to non-Tasman international service sooner than previously expected, thanks to the positive climb of vaccination rates in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Nothing is confirmed yet, and likely won’t be for several weeks or months – but that won’t stop us from speculating. The airline is optimistic that it could restart flying to two of its most important markets prior to the previously-expected timeframe of mid-2022.

When Qantas resumes flying to the United States and United Kingdom, it plans to do with Boeing 787-9 aircraft while its A380s remain in storage. It has no plans to resume flying the A380 until late 2023. In the meantime, the airline is slowly beginning to restock its reserves with ice-cold Budweiser and warm London Pride to prepare for an eventual return to both countries.

Wizz Ends its Norwegian Vacation

Wizz Air will end its domestic operation within Norway on June 14, just six months after it began. The airline moved into Norway to operate domestically last November, hoping to pick at the bankrupt carcass of Norwegian, but it ran into trouble with unions and local municipalities from the get-go.

The move comes just before Norwegian startup Flyr entrs the mrket, giving Wizz one more competitr in an already diluted marketplace. The airline will maintain its bases in Norway to operate regional service throughout Europe.

Wizz is currently involved in litigation with multiple local governments in Norway and the state-owned electricity generator, Statnett. It’s been so difficult to work with in the past six months that most Norwegians are begging for Ryanair to enter the domestic market.

• Aeroméxico took delivery of its first B737-9 aircraft over the weekend, with the plane expected to enter passenger service on Sunday.
• Air Astana is beginning new flights from Almaty to Samarkand, Uzbekistan (SKD). Flights will operate twice weekly, beginning June 9.
• AirAsia X received shareholder approval for a restructuring plan that will eliminate $15 billion in debt. Great deal if you can get it.
• Alaska removed its final middle seat blocking exception – in its Premium Class – today, June 1, marking the end of all middle seat blocking in the United States.
• ANA is operating one-time flights from Osaka to three new destinations in July: Chicago/O’Hare, Frankfurt, and San Francisco.
• Austrian flew its final Q400 turboprop flight on Sunday.
• DAT retired its last MD-82 but plans to keep dat MD-83 it’s got in service for the foreseeable future.
• Emirates is increasing it service to Italy, adding 3x-weekly flights from Dubai to Venice. Dubai to Milan/MXP will increase from eight to ten weekly flights in July.
• Frontier launched new service today between Miami and Montego Bay (MBJ). The flight will operate 3x-weekly and is expected to be on-time sometimes, but likely not on the day you’re flying the route.
• Garuda Indonesia is considering restructuring, bankruptcy, and liquidation, but that’s it. Nothing more.
• Lufthansa is reopening its First Class lounge in Frankfurt, but the only food and drink options will be to go. It plans to resume in-lounge dining once local regulations allow and it can find the key where the booze is locked up.
• Lufthansa Cargo has taken delivery of its 15^th aircraft – a B777 freighter.
• Neos began B737 MAX operations in Italy on Saturday.
• NingXia Cargo Airlines has revived its plans to launch as a new cargo operator in China. The world rejoices.
• Qantas is offering 10 grand prizes of free flights for a year for Australians who are fully vaccinated from COVID by the end of 2021. Rex is planning to challenge the contest in court, stating that it’s “flooding the market” with free flights and placing “unnecessary strain” on the country’s vaccine supply by encouraging so many Australians to receive the jab.
• Ryanair will reopen its base at Venice/Treviso today, two months later than originally planned.
• SKY express has added the 5^th A320neo to its fleet.
• Stobart Air’s sale is in doubt as the potential buyer – Ettyl Limited – appears to have more limited funds than once believed.

I saw an ad that said “new HDTV on sale for just $10; but beware, the volume is stuck on the highest level.” And I thought to myself “I can’t turn that down!”