Flightline Briefing 73 - February 26, 2026

🇮🇹 LY-BVM, a Boeing 737-7K5(WL), was delivered to Aeroitalia (XZ) on February 23.

🇺🇸 N260BZ, an Airbus A220-300, was delivered to Breeze Airways on February 21.

🇺🇸 N605DN, an Airbus A321neo, was delivered to Delta Air Lines (DL) on February 21.

🇺🇸 N606DN, an Airbus A321neo, was delivered to Delta Air Lines on February 25.

🇧🇷 PS-GRO, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to GOL (G3) on February 24.

🇵🇱 SP-RZX, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Buzz (RR) on February 23.

🇦🇺 VH-8VG, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Virgin Australia (VA) on February 23.

🇦🇺 VH-OGD, an Airbus A321-271neo XLR, was delivered to Qantas (QF) on February 21.

🇨🇭 HB-IJM, an Airbus A320-214 with Swiss International (LX), was withdrawn from use (wfu) and ferried on February 24 to Teruel, Spain (TEV) for part-out and scrap.

🇱🇺 LX-LGQ, a Boeing 737-7C9 with Luxair (LG), was wfu and ferried on February 23 to Enschede, Netherlands (ENS) for part-out and scrap.

UPDATE: The House of Representatives has adjourned until March 4, extending the current funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As a result, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees will remain on the job without pay until at least that date, absent passage of an appropriations measure.

The House of Representatives narrowly rejected the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act on February 24, 2026, marking a significant setback for aviation safety advocates. Despite the bill passing the Senate unanimously in December, it failed to reach the required two-thirds majority in the House under fast-track rules. The final tally was 264 in favor and 133 opposed, leaving supporters just a few votes shy of sending the legislation to the President's desk.

The bill was introduced following the tragic January 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River involving a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a PSA Airlines (OH) Bombardier CRJ-700, which resulted in 67 fatalities. The ROTOR Act sought to mandate ADS-B In and Out technology for aircraft operating in busy controlled airspace, a move the NTSB argued would have provided pilots nearly a minute of warning to avoid the fatal crash.

The NTSB and families of the victims have expressed devastation over the result, vowing to push for a second vote under standard rules that require only a simple majority for passage.

Flagstaff, Ariz. (FLG) reported $572,668 in parking revenue in 2025. That was up nearly 11 percent from 2024.

Arajet (DM) flew 175,000 passengers last month, its highest monthly figure in history. 90 percent of those passengers were point to point travelers. Arajet’s fleet currently stands at 13 Boeing 737 MAX 8 frames, with four more set to come on property later this year.

Mexico’s Viva (VB) flew 2,453,000 passengers in January, up nearly four percent from the first month in 2025. Viva filled 83.5 percent of its available revenue seats during the month. Viva flew just under 15,000 flights in January, with 88.4 percent of those arriving on-time.

Global airline alliance oneworld has named aviation veteran Ole Orvér as its new chief executive officer effective April 1, 2026, succeeding Nathaniel Pieper, bringing more than two decades of international airline leadership experience from roles including chief commercial officer at Finnair and senior positions at Qatar Airways and other carriers, and will lead the alliance’s strategy to strengthen member collaboration and customer offerings. 

Industry Intelligence Briefing

As we move into the first quarter of 2026, the global aviation landscape is characterized by a stark contrast in regional reliability. While the industry saw a 2.4 percent year-over-year increase in total flight volume (reaching over 746,000 flights in Europe alone), operational resilience was tested by severe weather and labor disruptions across the Northern Hemisphere.

This month’s dataset provides a granular look at 100 diverse carriers, benchmarking their ability to scale capacity while maintaining precision.

Nearly 2/3 of the global Boeing 767 fleet now operate as freighters. The 767’s first revenue flight was in September 1982.

Tunisair (TU) saw a five percent annual dip in passenger traffic in 2025, ending the year with 2,486,888 passengers.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) carried an all-time high of 19 million passengers in 2025, up 11 percent from 2024. This was divvied up as 15.2 million international passengers and 3.9 million domestic.

Singapore Airlines (SQ) reported a 69 percent decline in net profit to about US$399 million for its fiscal third quarter ended December 31, 2025, down from roughly US$1.29 billion a year earlier, primarily reflecting the absence of a prior-year one-time accounting gain tied to the Air India (AI) / Vistara merger and the inclusion of losses from its 25.1 percent stake in Air India. Despite the sharp drop in bottom-line profit, the carrier posted a record quarterly revenue of approximately US$4.36 billion and a 26 percent increase in operating profit to around US$627 million, driven by strong passenger demand, higher yields, and improved load factors across both Singapore Airlines and low-cost subsidiary Scoot (TR). Total passengers carried increased about 6.3 percent to 10.9 million, while operating costs edged higher on fuel, capacity growth, and handling volumes. Cargo revenue declined year over year on weaker yields and a slightly lower load factor. Management said travel demand remains resilient heading into the final quarter, even as competitive and cost pressures persist.

An account on the BlueSky app - ICE Flight Monitor - claims that from January 20, 2025 - January 20, 2026, at least 2, 253 deportation flights were flown to some 79 countries. “January 2026 alone saw 187 flights to 36 countries.”

Disregarding the pandemic, Las Vegas (LAS) saw its largest annual drop in passengers in 2025, down 7.5 percent from 2024. The loss in traffic is attributed to both current economic conditions and the steep drop (20 percent) in Canadian visitors to the U.S. over the past year.

Airlines For America in its most recent State of US Aviation publication, shows weakening load factors over the past 12 months. NOTES: DOM Domestic, CAN Canada, MEX Mexico, ATL Atlantic/Europe, LAT Latin America, PAC Pacific

Miami (MIA) reported its sixth consecutive year of air cargo growth, with 2025 shipments rising 13.6 percent year over year to nearly 3.5 million metric tons, extending a multi-year run of record-setting performance. Airport officials noted that imports are dominated by perishables, largely from South and Central America, while exports are led by high-value manufactured goods such as telecommunications equipment and computers. In December alone, the value of trade through Miami increased 8.7 percent year over year, with tonnage up marginally by 0.19 percent. More than 40 freighter airlines now operate scheduled or charter services at Miami, with Atlas Air (5Y) holding the largest cargo presence by volume, alongside major operators such as Avianca (AV), LATAM (LA), United Parcel Service (5X), and FedEx (FX), while 56 passenger airlines also contribute significant belly cargo capacity. Nine of MIiami’s top ten global trading partners by cargo volume are in Latin America and the Caribbean, underscoring the airport’s role as the leading US gateway for the region.

Heavy snow at Munich Airport (MUC) forced the cancellation of around 100 flights on February 19, and roughly 500 passengers on five Lufthansa (LH) and Air Dolomiti (EN) services ended up stranded onboard their aircraft overnight after departures were repeatedly delayed, airport operations shut for the night, and no ground buses were available to return them to the terminal; they were finally able to disembark early the next morning when ground transport resumed and were rebooked on later flights.

A UK court has sentenced AOG Technics director Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala to four years and eight months in prison for orchestrating a large-scale fraud that injected tens of thousands of falsely documented aircraft engine parts into global airline supply chains, triggering widespread inspections and groundings. UK authorities say Zamora sold more than 60,000 engine components with forged Authorized Release Certificates, generating roughly $52 million in illicit revenue, with most parts intended for CFM56 engines powering Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family aircraft. The scheme was uncovered in 2023 after a carrier asked Safran to verify a component’s authenticity, leading regulators in the UK, US, and EU to issue safety alerts covering all AOG Technics parts. Airlines including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines (WN), Ryanair (FR), TAP Air Portugal (TP), WestJet, and Virgin Australia were among those impacted as fleets were checked for suspect components, with investigators noting that most affected items were non-serialized hardware such as bolts, seals, and bushings rather than life-limited parts. The case underscores persistent vulnerabilities in the aviation aftermarket and the growing regulatory focus on traceability and parts-authentication controls.