Flightline 32 - September 22, 2025

Air Canada (AC) will add three new U.S. routes on May 1: Montreal Trudeau (YUL) to Cleveland (CLE) and Columbus, Ohio (CMH), both daily Embraer E175s, as well as a 3x weekly Airbus A220 sector from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to San Antonio (SAT).

For those of you who like a domestic widebody (who doesn’t?), Delta Air Lines (DL) is adding a Boeing 767-432/ER on a daily basis from Atlanta (ATL) to Miami (MIA) on November 9. The heavy should be on the sector until early March.

HiSky (H4) has opened reservations for twice-weekly flights from Bucharest, Romania (OTP) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD). Airbus A330 service is set to begin on June 4. How this bodes for the existing route from Bucharest to New York Kennedy (JFK) remains to be seen, as that route is not presently scheduled into next summer.

Flydubai (FZ) is adding 4x weekly service from Dubai (DXB) to Nairobi, Kenya (NBO) on October 15. This route will see a mixture of Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 equipment.

Etihad Airways (EY) will return to Syria on June 12 after a 14-year absence, when the carrier adds 4x weekly flights from its Abu Dhabi (AUH) base to Damascus (DAM). This route will be flown by Airbus A320 equipment.

China Airlines (CI) has adjusted its new route from Taipei (TPE) to Phoenix (PHX), with the route now set to go nonstop in both directions. Original plans for the sector, which begins on December 3, called for a short stop in Los Angeles (LAX).

SunExpress (XQ) will add twice-weekly Boeing 737-800 service from Izmir, Türkiye (ADB) to Porto, Portugal (OPO) on June 24.

Aegean Airlines (A3) is adding a twice-weekly run from Thessaloniki, Greece (SKG) to Prague (PRG). This route, set to begin on November 25, will see an Airbus A320 rostered.

Animawings (A2) will start a 3x weekly Bucharest, Romania (OTP) to Geneva (GVA) route on March 23. Airbus A220-300 equipment will handle this one.

Air Canada has dropped plans for a 3x weekly winter seasonal service from Vancouver (YVR) to Dubai. This route was previously marked to operate from November 22 through March 26.

Allegiant Air (G4) is pulling out of Los Angeles after 17 years of service, marking the end of an era for the ultra-low-cost carrier at one of the nation’s busiest hubs. The move reflects Allegiant’s long-term strategy of focusing on underserved secondary airports where costs are lower and competition is lighter. Passengers looking to fly Allegiant from Southern California will now need to use the airline’s nearby bases at regional airports such as Burbank (BUR) and Santa Ana (SNA).

Spirit Airlines (NK) will cut about 25 percent of its November 2025 schedule as part of a new Chapter 11 restructuring. The carrier is pulling back from weaker routes, grounding aircraft, and furloughing staff in an effort to conserve cash after soft leisure demand and rising costs squeezed margins. The move will reduce ultra-low-cost options in some markets and raises further questions about Spirit’s long-term viability.

Dallas Airports Hit by Major Outage: Flights at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Dallas Love Field (DAL) were disrupted on September 19 after severed telecom lines knocked out radar and radio communications at the area’s air traffic control facility. The outage forced the FAA to issue ground stops, halting departures and arrivals before shifting to delays once partial service was restored. At DFW, average delays reached about 68 minutes and roughly 20 percent of flights were canceled, including dozens operated by American Airlines. Love Field saw shorter delays averaging around 28 minutes, though operations were still significantly slowed. At one point, American Airlines managed just nine departures in a three-hour span compared with its usual volume of dozens more. Ground stops were lifted later in the evening, and airlines including American and Southwest waived change fees or offered refunds. The incident highlighted how reliant air traffic control remains on third-party communications and the need for stronger redundancy to prevent similar large-scale disruptions.

Cyber Attack: A coordinated cyberattack on the MUSE check-in and boarding software made by Collins Aerospace disrupted operations at several major European airports late Friday night. Brussels (BUR), Berlin (BER), Dublin (DUB), and London Heathrow (LHR) were among those affected. The attack disabled electronic check-in, baggage drop and boarding system support, forcing airports to shift to manual processing. At Brussels about ten flights were cancelled and another fifteen delayed by an hour or more by mid-morning. Berlin reported long queues and extended check-in wait times. Heathrow acknowledged delays for many passengers though some airlines at that airport avoided disruption thanks to backup systems. Though airlines and airport authorities say the problem is limited to electronic systems supplied by a third party and that essential air traffic control remains unaffected, the event highlights how vulnerable aviation operations can be to failures in shared digital infrastructure. Authorities and Collins Aerospace’s parent company, RTX, say they are working to restore full functionality.

A California federal jury has ordered American Airlines (AA) to pay $9.6 million in damages after finding the airline neglected a passenger who suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA), often described as a “mini-stroke,” on an international flight from Miami to Madrid (MAD). The passenger displayed symptoms at the gate (motor control loss and slurred speech) but the flight crew did not notify the pilot or follow American’s own medical policies before takeoff, according to trial evidence. The jury ruled that because medical staff were not informed in time, the passenger did not receive urgent care for eight hours. American Airlines responded by saying passenger safety is its top priority, though it disagrees with the verdict and is evaluating its next steps. Lawyers for the plaintiff argued the airline breached its duty under the Montreal Convention for international flights.

CANDOR: Frontier Airlines (F9) CEO Barry Biffle recently shared his thoughts on the airline's response to Southwest Airlines' (WN) free bag policy. In an effort to compete, Frontier launched a free checked bag promotion for certain fare classes, but it ultimately proved to be a short-lived success. According to Biffle, the promotion drove bookings for about a week, but interest quickly waned as customers didn't seem to care about the extra perk. Biffle believes Southwest should have started charging for bags 20 years ago, suggesting the change didn't significantly impact their bottom line. Moving forward, Frontier is shifting its focus to increasing passenger volume by expanding its route network to more markets.

In response to the U.S. government’s decision to end duty-free treatment for low-value international parcels (the “de minimis” exemption), FedEx (FX) has begun redeploying portions of its air fleet, cutting back on freighter flights from Asia to the U.S. by about 25 percent. The policy change has already reduced FedEx’s quarterly income by roughly $150 million, largely driven by fewer shipments from China and Hong Kong (HKG). Though domestic package volumes and some cost-cutting measures have helped cushion the blow, international export volumes are down, and FedEx expects the full financial impact to grow in coming quarters.

A Las Vegas resident was arrested Tuesday and made her initial court appearance today for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant and intimidating other flight attendants during a flight to Las Vegas, Nev. (LAS)

According to allegations contained in the criminal complaint and statements made in court, on September 16, 2025, Ketty J. Dilone was a passenger aboard an American Airlines flight from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ), to Las Vegas, connecting through Charlotte, N.C. (CLT). On the flight from Charlotte to Las Vegas, Dilone was walking down the aisle and yelling. She allegedly started to verbally threaten multiple flight attendants. Due to Dilone’s disruptive and threatening behavior, she had to be restrained in her seat with zip ties and duct tape. She allegedly kicked a flight attendant causing the flight attendant to fall. When the flight arrived at Las Vegas , Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers responded and took Dilone into custody.

Dilone is charged with one-count of interference with a flight crew and one-count of assault by striking, beating, or wounding. If convicted, the maximum statutory penalty is 20 years of imprisonment.

🇦🇪 A6-BNK, a Boeing 787-9, was delivered to Etihad Airways on September 18.

🇨🇳 B-227J, a Boeing 777/F, was delivered to China Eastern Airlines (MU) on September 17.

🇨🇳 B-32ME, an Airbus A321-252neo, was delivered to Air China (CA) on September 19.

🇨🇳 B-32P6, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to China Eastern Airlines on September 19.

🇩🇪 D-ANCL, an Airbus A320-271neo, was delivered to Condor (DE) on September 19.

🇬🇧 G-SUNV, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to Jet2 (LS) on September 19.

🇰🇷 HL8717, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Eastar Jet (ZE) on September 18.

🇺🇸 N248FE, a Boeing 767-300/F, was delivered to FedEx on September 19.

🇺🇸 N47412, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, was delivered to United Airlines (UA) on September 17.

🇺🇸 N439DX, an Airbus A330-941, was delivered to Delta Air Lines (DL) on September 20.

🇺🇸 N597DT, an Airbus A321-271neo, was delivered to Delta Air Lines on September 20.

🇹🇷 TC-RFU, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to Pegasus Airlines (PC) on September 18.

🇦🇺 VH-OIR, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to Jetstar Airways (JQ) on September 19.

🇪🇹 ET-AVP, a Boeing 737-752 with Asky (KP), was withdrawn from use (wfu) and ferried on September 19 to Toulouse Francazal, France (QYF) where it was returned to its lessor. This frame was XA-FAM and N852AM with AeroMexico (AM) from 2003-2013, N715SY with Sun Country Airlines (SY) from 2013-2018, before being taken up by Ethiopian Airlines (ET) and leased to a few carriers.

🇮🇳 VT-IUG, an Airbus A321-271neo with IndiGo (6E), was withdrawn from use (wfu) and ferried on September 18 to Castellon, Spain (CDT) where it was returned to its lessor.

$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% )

As many of you know, Flightline will transition to an ad-free subscription-based model in mid-October, beginning with the October 23 issue. We expect to begin taking paid subscriptions toward the end of this month or in early October.

So, what will the prices be? The monthly plan will be $7, which works out to about 88¢ per issue. Quarterly and annual plans will bring the cost down even further as you will see below. We may also introduce a limited “Lifetime” option that includes a signed paperback copy of my 300+ page book Commercial Aviation 101. (The Fifth Edition was published last week.)

We understand that some readers may decide not to continue, but we believe the cost -less than the price of a Starbucks coffee - is well worth it for the in-depth information we compile from dozens of sources and deliver every week. There are quite a few aviation newsletters out there, but we don’t think you will find one with our variety and depth of information.