Flightline 20 for August 11, 2025

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American Airlines (AA) will begin Boeing 787-8 service from Miami (MIA) to Milan Malpensa (MSP) on March 29.

Air Transat (AT) will begin twice weekly flights from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and weekly service from Montreal Trudeau (YUL) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) on February 4, and 5, respectively. Both routes will be flown by Airbus A330 equipment.

UPDATE: Shenzhen Airlines (ZH) will begin its 3x weekly run from Shenzhen (SZX) to Melbourne (MEL) on December 22. This route will feature an Airbus A330-300.

China Eastern Airlines (MU) will begin twice weekly service from Beijing Daxing (PKX) to Muscat, Oman (MCT) on November 30. An Airbus A330-300 has been rostered for this sector.

UPDATE: Pakistan Int’l Airlines (PK) has pushed back its resumption of flights from Islamabad (ISB) to Manchester (MAN) by two weeks to August 29. This 4x weekly route will be flown by Boeing 777-200 equipment.

Ryanair (FR) is adding three winter seasonal routes this November from Warsaw Modlin (WMI): 4x weekly to Athens (ATH) and daily to Sofia, Bulgaria (SOF) from November 14. Additionally, a 5x weekly sector to Palermo, Italy (PMO) starts on November 20. Look for Boeing 737-800s on the trio.

Argentina’s Flybondi (FO) is adding a pair or twice weekly routes to Buenos Aires (EZE) in mid-December to Brazil: Maceio (MCZ) on December 15 and Salvador de Bahia (SSA) on December 17. Boeing 737-800s are rostered for both.

American Airlines will begin several seasonal routes on May 21, with all but one being resumptions of prior service: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Athens and Zurich (ZRH). Philadelphia (PHL) to Budapest (BUD) and Prague (PRG). With the exception of Dallas/Fort Worth to Zurich, which will be flown by a Boeing 777-223/ER, the other routes will be operated by Boeing 787-8s. End dates for these routes and frequencies have not yet been announced.

Mexico’s Viva (VB) will add twice weekly winter seasonal flights from Monterrey (MTY) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) on October 30. This route will see an Airbus A320 putting in work.

Avianca (AV) will start 4x weekly service from Bogota, Colombia (BOG) to Monterrey on October 26. This route will be operated by AIrbus A320neo equipment.

Swiss (LX) will run a daily Airbus A330 on the 143-mile Zurich to Geneva (GVA) route from September 1 through 24.

Asiana Airlines (OZ) will suspend service on two Central Asia routes this winter, both which have been flown by Airbus A330-300 aircraft: Almaty, Kazakhstan (ALA) and Tashkent, Uzbekistan (TAS). Flights will go dark from Otober 26 and November 1, respectively, until March 28.

Thai AirAsia X (XJ) will suspend flights from Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) to Shanghai Pudong (PVG) from March 4 through August 24.

Avianca is ending 9x weekly service from Medellin, Colombia (MDE) to Panama City, Panama (PTY) at the end of the month.

Romania’s Dan Air (DN) has ended two routes from Bucharest (OTP): Berlin (BER) and London Luton (LTN).

Play (OG) will end six European routes from Reykjavik (KEF) at the end of the month or first week of September: Berlin, Billund, Norway (BLL), Brussels (BRU), Copenhagen (CPH), Vilnius, Lithuania (VNO) and Warsaw (WAW).

Air Asia (AK) will conclude service on the Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Ningbo, China (NGB) sector on August 16.

Dominican airline Arajet (DM) has dropped flights from Santo Domingo (SDQ) to San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL), with the last service operating this past Friday.

Allegiant Air (G4) is ending a handful of routes in the coming months:

• Austin, Texas (AUS) to Asheville, N.C. (AVL), September 8

• Boston (BOS) to Savannah, Ga. (SAV), not returning

• Myrtle Beach, S.C. (MYR) to Plattsburgh, N.Y. (PBG), ends this month

• Newark, N.J. (EWR) to Flint, Michigan. (FNT), September 1

• Phoenix Mesa (AZA) to Toledo, Ohio (TOL), not returning

On Wednesday, a TUI Fly Nordic (6B) flight from Gran Canaria (LPA) to Gothenburg, Sweden (GOT) was forced to make an emergency landing in Santiago de Compostela, Spain (SCQ) after a female passenger became violently aggressive mid-flight. Witnesses reported she was likely intoxicated before boarding; once airborne, she screamed, assaulted a fellow passenger by pulling her hair, and attacked a flight attendant. One victim described the ordeal as “terribly traumatic” and required medical attention. Spanish police took the woman into custody on landing, and the remaining passengers were accommodated overnight in a hotel.

In July 2025, Airbus recorded seven new commercial aircraft orders, including three A321neo jets for an undisclosed customer and four A330‑900 aircraft for Condor (DE). Meanwhile, the company delivered 67 aircraft to 41 different customers: 35 A321neos, 19 A320neos, five A220-300s, four A350-900s, and two each of A330-900s and A350-1000s. Year-to-date deliveries through July have reached 373 airplanes across 72 airline clients.

Finnair (FI) carried 1,137,800 passengers in July 2025, marking a two percent decline compared to the same month a year earlier, with load factor slipping 0.6 percentage points to 82.9 percent.

Turkish Airlines (TK) flew 8.2 million passengers in June, which was up nearly five percent from the year prior. Turkish enjoyed an 82.2 percent system-wide load factor for the month, and also carried over 180 thousand tons of cargo and mail in June.

European airports saw a 4.5 percent increase in passenger traffic during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. This growth was driven primarily by international travel, which rose by 5.7 percent, while domestic traffic remained flat. Compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, passenger volumes are now 5.1 percent higher. Airports in Italy and Spain led the growth with 5.7 percent and 4.5 percent increases, respectively. In contrast, airports in France, the UK, and Germany recorded more modest growth rates of 3.6 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. The strongest growth was observed in Eastern European airports, such as Moldova (+49 percent), Bosnia & Herzegovina (+31 percent), and Israel (+27 percent).

Norwegian Group set a new post-pandemic record for the number of passengers in a month, with 2.9 million travelers in July. Specifically, Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) carried 2,566,235 passengers, while Widerøe (WF), its regional carrier, transported 362,337 passengers - the highest July figure ever recorded. This achievement marks a strong summer for the airline, with solid booking momentum heading into autumn. The airline's operational performance remained robust despite high traffic volumes and European air traffic control disruptions, with a punctuality rate of 73.2 percent for Norwegian and 89.3 percent for Widerøe.

Allegiant Air flew 2,005,932 passengers in June, a healthy 9.6 percent annual increase. The Las Vegas-based carrier flew 13,872 missions an average stage length of 861 miles during the month. 84.6 percent of available revenue seats were filled in June.

United Airlines (UA) recently experienced a significant IT outage that grounded hundreds of flights across the U.S. on Wednesday. The issue stemmed from a system-wide technical failure, specifically a glitch in ta system which handles flight tracking and weight-and-balance calculations. This failure impacted United's ability to dispatch aircraft, leading to a ground stop for all domestic flights while the team worked to resolve the issue. The disruption caused over 870 delays and cancellations. United's teams managed to restore operations within hours, but residual delays lingered into the next day.

Hungarian discounter Wizz Air (W6) flew 6,348,389 passengers last month, which was nearly seven percent yearly increase. Wizz filled 92.8 percent of its available revenue seats in July.

Air Canada (AC) flight attendants are threatening to strike as early as August 16, 2025, due to stalled contract negotiations with the airline. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing over 10,000 flight attendants, cites low wages and unpaid work as key issues. Entry-level flight attendants earn approximately CAD $1,951.30 per month, which the union argues is unsustainable, particularly in high-cost cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Flight attendants also perform around 35 hours of unpaid work monthly, including pre-flight safety checks, boarding, and deplaning. CUPE has voted 99.7 percent in favor of strike action, and both sides are set to return to bargaining. Air Canada maintains there's enough time to reach a deal and avoid disruptions, but a strike could impact thousands of passengers and cause significant travel disruptions.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has firmly denied reports that it plans to enter a wet-lease arrangement with a Russian airline, which would have allowed Russian carriers to circumvent Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The alleged deal, reportedly discussed between Russian officials and Ethiopia's Civil Aviation Authority, would have enabled Russian airlines to operate Boeing or Airbus equipment under Ethiopian registration. Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO stated that the airline has no agreement in place to lease planes or spare parts to Russian operators and is actually in need of more aircraft for its own growth. Compliance with international aviation laws, including US and EU sanctions, is cited as another key reason for rejecting any potential partnership with Russian entities.

Nearly 61.2 million passengers have taken domestic or foreign trips to/from Mexico in the first half of 2025. Domestic travel is up over 20 percent since before the pandemic, while international flights have seen a 24 percent increase. American Airlines and United Airlines (UA) flew the most passengers between Mexico and the U.S., with the two combining for 6.8 million travelers.

Frontier Airlines (F9) reported a challenging second quarterwith a net loss of $70 million, compared to a net income of $31 million one year ago. The airline's revenue declined five percent year-over-year to $929 million, despite a two percent reduction in capacity, due to softer pricing trends and weather-related disruptions.

Air Astana (KC) has reported a profit of $10.7 million in the first half of 2025, a significant increase of over 130 percent compared to the same period last year. The airline's strong performance is attributed to a 12.1 percent rise in total revenue, reaching $658.2 million, and a growth in passenger numbers to 4.5 million. Air Astana has also expanded its global network by adding 20 new international routes, focusing on deeper connections in Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Caucasus. The airline's fleet has been simplified to consist of only Airbus A320 family aircraft and Boeing 767s, with plans to grow its fleet to 63 aircraft by the end of 2025 and 84 by 2029.

Emirates (EK) will become the latest airline to ban the use of portable chargers (power banks) during flights. The ban comes into effect on October 1.

Air Cargo 📦️ 

Cargojet (W8) and DHL Express have renewed their strategic partnership, which began in 2005, extending their agreement until March 31, 2033, with potential revenue targets of up to $2.3 billion. This long-term deal solidifies Cargojet's position as a key logistics enabler for DHL, providing air transportation services including ACMI, CMI, charter, and aircraft dry lease services. Cargojet will utilize its fleet of Boeing 767 and 757 freighters to support DHL's global logistics network, with DHL committing to a minimum monthly block hours guarantee.

🇨🇳 B-658J, a Comac C919-100/ER, was delivered to Air China (CA) on August 6.

🇵🇦 HP-9807CMP, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Copa Airlines (CM) on August 7.

🇹🇭 HS-TEX, an Airbus A330-343, was delivered to Thai Airways (TG) on August 4. This frame was previously G-VINE and named “Champagne Belle” with Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS), 2011-2025.

🇯🇴 JY-RAB, an Airbus A320-271neo, was delivered to Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ) on August 5.

🇺🇸 N14544, an Airbus A321-271neo, was delivered to United AIrlines on August 7.

🇺🇸 N825NV, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Allegiant Air on August 7.

🇺🇸 N844MC, a Boeing 787-9, was delivered to American Airlines (AA) on August 7.

🇸🇪 SE-RZB, an Airbus A320-251neo, was delivered to Scandinavian (SK) on August 8.

🇵🇱 SP-RZR, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Buzz (RR) on August 7.

🇹🇷 TC-OHA, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to A Jet (VF) on August 7.

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