Flightline 28 - September 8, 2025

✈️ Flightline is going subscriber-only this October

Since launching Flightline, we’ve been committed to delivering clear, timely coverage of new airline routes, fleet updates, statistics, and aviation news twice a week. The response has been incredible, and I’m grateful to the more than 10,000 readers around the world who open each issue.

Starting in mid-October, Flightline will move to a subscriber-only model at $7/month - 88¢ an issue. (Transport Canada employees will remain on the Free tier.)

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Thank you for being part of this community and for supporting independent aviation journalism. We’ll have more information and updates in the coming weeks.

Austrian Airlines (OS) will begin 5x weekly service from Vienna (VIE) to Dubai (DXB) on December 1. This route, last flown in 2015, will be operated by Airbus A320neo equipment.

Hainan Airlines (HU) is adjusting its 3x weekly route from Haikou (HAK) to Auckland, New Zealnd (AKL), with two of the flights now beginning and ending in Chongqing (CKG) from September 13. This route is operated by Boeing 787-9 equipment.

LOT Polish Airlines (LO) will begin 4x weekly Boeing 737 flights from Warsaw (WAW) to Stavanger, Norway (SVG) on November 24.

Air France (AF) will move several long-haul routes from Paris Orly (ORY) to Paris deGaulle (CDG) next summer: Fort-de-France (FDF), Pointe-a-Pitre (PTP), and St. Denis de la Reunion (RUN).

Qatar Airways (QR) will add 3x weekly Airbus A320 flights from Doha (DOH) to Red Sea Project, Saudi Arabia (RSI) on October 21. Now if like me, you weren’t familiar with the Red Sea Project, here is a rundown: The project is a luxury tourism development on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, featuring sustainable resorts, islands, and cultural experiences. It is part of the country’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy and boost global tourism while preserving natural ecosystems.

Turkiye’s AJet (VF) is adding a 4x weekly sector from Istanbul Gokcen (SAW) to Prague, Czechia (PRG). This route will begin on December 15 and be operated by Boeing 737-800 equipment.

Now these next two may not be as exciting, but Southwest Airlines (WN) is adding a pair of domestic routes on April 11: weekly from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Panama City, Fla. (ECP), and twice weekly from Denver (DEN) to Knoxville, Tenn. (TYS). Both routes will see a Boeing 737-700 rostered.

THE VULTURES ARE CIRCLING: A new colleague told me recently about his safari in Africa, a trip he described with awe. It made me think: the laws of nature are brutal, but are they so different from the aviation industry? Picture vultures spiraling overhead, waiting for a gazelle with a broken leg to collapse so they can swoop in soon thereafter for a meal. Now ask yourself — is that scene all that different from the two stories that follow?

It’s no secret that Spirit Airlines (NK) is down, and rivals are ready to put the boots to it nonetheless. Frontier Airlines (F9) will add nearly two dozen routes on Spirit turf in Latin America. Most flights will operate once or twice a week:

United Airlines (UA) plans to add flights from Newark, N.J. (EWR) to Columbia, S.C. (CAE) and Chattanooga, Tenn. (CHA) in the months ahead. Officially, the carrier is pitching the move as altruism, claiming it is stepping in “to give Spirit customers other options if they want or need them” should Spirit collapse. Unofficially, it looks a lot like a buzzard circling overhead, ready to feast if Spirit drops. Both of these routes will be operated by GoJet (G7) Canadair CRJ-550s under the United Express banner.

Now, if Newark to Columbia sounds familiar… lets refresh your memory with a scandal from 2016 on this route. United agreed to pay $2.4 million dollars to settle civil charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after reinstating the unprofitable route between Newark and Columbia. The airline approved the flight, known informally as the “Chairman’s Flight,” at the request of David Samson, then chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who sought easier access to his vacation home in South Carolina. The SEC found that United bypassed its usual route‑approval process, obscured the financial rationale in its books, and issued the flight despite projections it would lose money. The service ultimately cost about $945,000 dollars before being cancelled, and its reinstatement coincided with United receiving approval for a hangar project from the Port Authority.

United is also adding over a dozen more winter seasonal flights that go after Spirit routes:

Elsewhere, United announced it will resume flights to Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV) from Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles (IAD) on November 1 and 2, respectively.

Alaska Airlines (AS) will begin daily seasonal flights from Seattle (SEA) to Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF) on May 28. A Boeing 737 MAX 8 is rostered on this 3,622 mile route, which is near the 737 MAX 8’s limits of around 3,850 miles. Flights will conclude on September 7. If you are curious, Icelandair’s (FI) Reykjavik to Vancouver (YVR) is 3,544 miles.

Malaysian low-cost-carrier Firefly (FY) will add three routes this winter from Kuala Lumpur (KUL): 5x weekly to Cebu, Philippines (CEB) from December 2, daily to Krabi, Thailand (KBV) from November 17, and 3x weekly to Siem Reap, Cambodia (REP). All routes will be operated by Boeing 737-800 equipment.

Delta Air Li

Spirit Airlines, presently in its second Ch. 11 bankruptcy filing in less than a year, will close the following stations next month:

Avelo Airlines (XP) will not resume flights at Portland, Maine (PWM) this year. Reports online claim Avelo operated several flights to/from Portland last year with 80 and 90 percent of revenue seats empty.

Air India (AI) has dropped plans to resume its Delhi (DEL) to Nairobi, Kenya (NBO) sector that was set to resume on October 26.

South Korean discounter Jeju Air (7C) will end flights from Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Guam (GUM) on October 13.

Finnair (AY) is adding a trio of summer seasonal routes from Helsinki (HEL) next year: 3x weekly to Catania, Italy (CTA) from March 31, twice weekly to Florence, Italy (FLR) from April 2, and twice weekly to Valencia, Spain (VLC) from April 11. Additionally, Finnair will upgrade a scheduled charter route to Kos, Greece (KGS) to a regular operation on May 2.

CATSA screeners at the largest 17 airports in Canada processed 6,560,842 passengers in August, essentially on par with August 2024. For the first eight months of the year, footfalls are up just under two percent, with 44,039,449 passengers. Our next issue will have a month-by-month comparison of Canadian airport traffic, just like the one you see below for the U.S.

JET FUEL: The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) on Tuesday released U.S. airlines’ July 2025 fuel cost and consumption numbers. These figures show that U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.76 billion gallons of fuel, 4.3 percent more than in June and 1.6 percent more than in July 2024. Airlines paid an average of $2.34 per gallon of fuel in July.

I read and follow dozens of aviation sites, for better or worse, and one of them is View From the Wing. On Thursday, they posted an article and opinion piece that heavily roasted former American Airlines CEO Doug Parker. You may recall that Parker infamously declared in 2017 that American would “never lose money again.” Please note that I am just sharing the link and not stating any opinions of my own.

China Southern Airlines (CZ) has relaunched its initiative to auction its entire fleet of ten Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft along with two spare GE Aerospace GEnx-1B engines. The auction is being conducted as a single, indivisible package via the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange, with online bidding handled through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange platform. Each aircraft is valued between $50-53 million apiece. The combined starting price for the batch of twelve assets is set at $545 million. Buyers must bid for the full package rather than individual units. This offering highlights China Southern’s broader fleet optimization strategy as the airline moves away from the smaller 787-8 variant in favor of the more modern 787-9. The auction is structured to be efficient and fully online, but comes with a key restriction since no physical inspections of the aircraft will be permitted before the sale. Delivery arrangements will take place in Guangzhou (CAN) or another location agreed upon by the parties involved.

Japan Airlines (JL) experienced major delays on three flights from Honolulu to Japan on August 28. A pilot scheduled to fly to Nagoya (NG) reported sick and later admitted to consuming alcohol the night before duty. The search for a replacement caused two of the flights to be delayed by approximately 18 hours, affecting around 630 passengers. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has launched an investigation at JAL’s Tokyo headquarters.  This marks at least the fourth occurrence of alcohol-related misconduct by JAL crew in recent months. In response to earlier incidents, including one in late 2024 that triggered a business improvement order, the airline had implemented stricter alcohol screening and awareness measures. Despite these efforts, the latest event reflects ongoing operational safety concerns that could prompt more stringent regulatory responses. JAL has issued a public apology and reaffirmed its commitment to preventing recurrence. The airline may face further scrutiny depending on the outcome of the governmental probe. Aviation professionals and stakeholders will be watching closely for signs of cultural or procedural change in cockpit discipline and oversight.

The Norwegian Group concluded a record-breaking summer in August, carrying 2,420,727 passengers on Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY), while sibling regional carrier Widerøe (WF) added 366,216, bringing the group total to 2,786,943 passengers. Norwegian’s capacity (available seat kilometers, ASK) rose two percent year on year to 3.979 million ASK, with actual traffic (RPK) also up two percent to 3.420 million. The load factor held steady at 86 percent. The airline averaged 91 aircraft in operation. Widerøe’s capacity declined slightly 193 million ASK, while its passenger traffic (RPK) reached 150 million, resulting in a higher load factor of 77.5 percent, up a point from last year.

Etihad Airways (EY) delivered its strongest‑ever first half in 2025, reporting a net profit after tax of approximately $306 million dollars, marking a 32 percent increase year‑on‑year. The airline carried 10.2 million passengers in that period, a 17 percent rise, propelled by a fourteen percent increase in available seat kilometres and an improved passenger load factor of 87 percent, which was up two percentage points. Operating fleet numbers surpassed 100aircraft, fueled by more than 20additions over the last 18 months. Etihad also expanded its reach to almost 90 destinations and announced or launched 27 new routes in 2025 alone, while maintaining solid total revenue growth of 16 percent (with passenger revenue up 16 percent and cargo revenue up nine percent) and a robust EBITDA margin of 20 percent.

Flightradar24, the Swedish flight tracking powerhouse, has sold a 35 percent stake to London-based Sprints Capital. The founders and CEO Fredrik Lindahl continue to retain control through their 65 percent majority ownership. The company, which evolved from a hobby into the world’s largest ADS-B receiver network and one of the most widely used real-time flight tracking platforms, reported a $23.1 million in profit for the financial year ending August 2024, a margin that is notable among Swedish tech firms. Partnering with Sprints Capital provides Flightradar24 with significant resources to scale its global reach while enabling the founders to realize sizable returns on their highly successful venture. EDITOR’S NOTE: Hopefully we can get a Roku TV app for FR24 in the future!

Allegiant Air (G4) flew 2,092,740 passengers in July, which as up over 10 percent from July 2024. The Las Vegas-based carrier flew 14,061 flights during the month an average stage length of 867 miles, while filling 86.6 percent of available revenue seats. For the first seven months of the year, Allegiant passenger traffic is up 10 percent annually.

Hungarian discounter Wizz Air (W6) saw its July passenger counts jump nearly seven percent from a year ago to 6,348,389. Wizz posted a system-wide load factor of 92.8 percent in the month.

Our cover image was a classic “three-hour” with a FedEx (FX) McDonnell Douglas MD-11/F. Why? One, it looks cool, and two, I was reminded recently that FedEx has pushed back the final retirement of its three-dozen strong MD-11/F fleet by four years to 2032.

🇨🇳 B-20DY, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Xiamen Airlines (MF) on September 6.

🇨🇳 B-32MN, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to China Southern Airlines (CZ) on September 5.

🇨🇳 B-32N6, an Airbus A320-251neo, was delivered to China Southern Airlines on September 4.

🇨🇳 B-659P, a COMAC ARJ21-700, was delivered to China Express Airlines (G5) on September 4.

🇩🇪 D-AERA, a Boeing 777/F, was delivered to AeroLogic (3S) on September 4. This frame is painted in DHL livery.

🇮🇪 EI-XLU, an Airbus A321-253neo, was delivered to Aer Lingus (EI) on September 5.

🇰🇷 HL8716, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Eastar Jet (ZE) on September 5.

🇯🇵 JA219P, an Airbus A320-251neo, was delivered to Peach (MM) on September 5.

🇺🇸 N14545, an Airbus A321-271neo, was delivered to United Airlines on September 6.

🇺🇸 N598DN, an Airbus A321-271neo, was delivered to Delta Air Lines (DL) on September 4.

🇺🇸 N782YX, an Embraer E175, was delivered to Republic Airlines (YX) on September 3. This frame is painted in the United Express livery.

🇹🇷 TC-OHC, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to AJet on September 5.

🇨🇮 TU-TRG, an Airbus A33-941neo, was delivered to Air Côte d'Ivoire (HF) on September 4.

🇦🇺 VH-8VB, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Virgin Australia (VA) on September 4.

🇮🇳 VT-NCV, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to IndiGo (6E) on September 4.

🇮🇳 VT-NHA, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to IndiGo on September 3.

As a side note, Breeze Airways (MX) has re-registered a former EgyptAir (MS) Airbus A220-300 (SU-GFE) to N181BZ. At this point I can’t say when it will enter revenue service.

🇨🇦 C-FYIY, an Airbus A319-114 with Air Canada (AC), was withdrawn from use (wfu) and ferried on Friday to Marana, Ariz. (MZJ) for part-out and scrap.

🇨🇦 C-GBHR, an Airbus A319-114 with Air Canada Rouge (RV), was wfu and ferried on September 3 to Marana, Ariz. for part-out and scrap.

🇵🇹 CS-TKK, an Airbus A320-214 with Azores Airlines (S4), was wfu and ferried on September 4 to Glamorgan, Wales (DGX) for part-out and scrap.

🇺🇸 N426UA, an Airbus A320-232 with United Ailines, was wfu and ferried on September 4 to Marana, Ariz. for part-out and scrap.

$AAL ( ▼ 1.44% ) $ALGT ( ▼ 2.82% ) $ALK ( ▲ 1.11% ) $BA ( ▲ 0.95% ) $CPA ( ▼ 0.36% ) $DAL ( ▼ 2.8% ) $FLYY ( ▼ 2.78% ) $JBLU ( ▼ 2.87% ) $LUV ( ▼ 0.58% ) $MESA ( 0.0% ) $RJET ( 0.0% ) $SNCY ( ▼ 1.99% ) $UAL ( ▼ 0.43% ) $ULCC ( ▼ 5.17% )