Flightline 33 - September 25, 2025

Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) will begin 5x weekly service from Hong Kong (HKG) to Seattle (SEA) on March 30. This route will be operated by Airbus A350-900 equipment. Cathay last flew this route in March 2020.

EastarJet (ZE) will add 4x weekly flights from Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Manado, Indonesia (MDC) on October 26. This Boeing 737-800 route will increase to a daily service on December 19.

Jetstar Airways (JQ) is set to add daily service from Christchurch (CHC) to Hamilton (HLZ) on December 1. This route will see an Airbus A320 rostered.

Air Canada (AC) has added a trio of domestic flights to its network, with service set to begin in December. December 2 sees a new 3x weekly route from Vancouver (YVR) to Fort McMurray (YMM), while daily flights from Ottawa (YOW) to Fredericton, N.B. (YFC) and Ottawa start on December 15. All three routes will be operated by Air Canada Express Q400 turboprops.

China’s Sichuan Airlines (3U) will resume twice weekly flights from Chengdu Tianfu (TFU) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) on December 7. This route is operated by Airbus A350-900 equipment.

Scandinavian Airlines (SK) will launch twice weekly flights from Copenhagen (CPH) to Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV) on October 26. This route, last flown in early 2016, will be operated by Airbus A320neo equipment.

Turkiye’s AJet (VF) is adding twice weekly service from Ankara (ESB) to Erbil, Iraq (EBL) on October 26. A Boeing 737-800 is rostered on the route.

Vietnam Airlines (VN) is adding a 3x weekly sector from Hanoi (HAN) to Cebu, Philippines (CEB) on December 2. Airbus A321 equipment will handle the workload.

Jetstar Airways will add a short summer seasonal service from Brisbane (BNE) to Queenstown (ZQN), with 3x weekly Airbus A320 flights from June 15 through July 30.

Viva (VB) will add Sunday Airbus A320 flights from Merida, Mexico (MID) to Los Angeles (LAX) from December 14 through January 11.

Air Canada (AC) will convert its winter seasonal service from Ottawa to London Heathrow (LHR) into a year-round operation, as the 3x weekly Boeing 787-8 flight now continues on from late October through to next summer.

Asiana Airlines (OZ) is adding a handful of charter rotations from Seoul Incheon to Cairns, Australia (CNS) between November 16 and December 2. The Airbus A350-900 flights will operate every four days during this period.

After losing over $16 million on the Papeete (PPT) to Seattle route, Air Tahiti Nui (TN) has finally had enough. The Tahitian airline is pulling the plug on the route as of January 28.

Uzbekistan’s Centrum Air (C6) will not begin a planned twice weekly sector from Tashkent (TAS) to Copenhagen that was planned to launch on October 2.

Volaris (Y4) is ending its twice weekly service from Cancun (CUN) to McAllen, Texas (MFE), with the final flight set for October 23.

It looks like Delta Air Lines (DL) is pulling up stakes in Geneva (GVA, with the last flights scheduled for October 20.

Avelo Airlines (XP) is closing its Burbank, Calif. (BUR) station six weeks earlier than originally planned, with all flights set to end by October 20 instead of December 2.

Icelandair (FI) will end flights from Reykjavik (KEF) to Detroit (DTW) on January 3. This route originally was set for a shorter seasonal suspension, now it has been removed from all available inventory.

In a rare and alarming incident Sunday morning, a 13-year-old boy from Kunduz, Afghanistan, survived hiding in the landing gear (rear central wheel well) of a Kam Air (RQ) from Kabul (KBL) to New Delhi, India (DEL). Upon arriving in Delhi, airport staff discovered the boy wandering on the tarmac. Authorities believe he snuck into the airport in Kabul and hid inside the gear area. 

He reportedly said he did it “out of curiosity,” and carried only a small red speaker with him. After medical checks, security interviews, and an anti-sabotage inspection of the aircraft, he was repatriated to Afghanistan later that same day. 

Wheel-well stowaway cases are extremely dangerous. Most such attempts result in death due to the freezing cold, lack of oxygen, and the mechanical dangers of landing gear operation. This case, thankfully, did not end in tragedy, but it raises questions about Kabul’s airport security measures.

In August 2025, Airbus delivered 61 aircraft to 39 customers, bringing its year-to-date total to 434. The month’s deliveries included seven A220s, 47 aircraft from the A320neo family, two A330s, and five A350s. Boeing, meanwhile, had its strongest August since 2018 with 57 deliveries, surpassing its entire total from 2024 by the end of the month. Of those, 42 were 737 MAX jets, complemented by nine 787 Dreamliners, four 777s, and one 767. Through August, Boeing has delivered 385 aircraft compared to Airbus’s 434. While Airbus maintains a lead in overall deliveries, Boeing’s performance highlights a notable recovery in output, particularly on the narrowbody line. Production constraints, including the FAA’s cap on 737 MAX output, remain a challenge for Boeing, while Airbus will need to accelerate in the final months of the year to stay on track toward its full-year target of around 820 aircraft.

San Francisco International Airport’s planned renovations for Terminal 3 West have seen their cost balloon from about $627 million in 2017 to roughly $2.8 billion in 2025.   The increase is due to a mix of post-pandemic labor and materials price hikes and expanded project scope.   Originally, features included standard upgrades, but the current plan now includes larger passenger lounges, expanded security checkpoints, updated facades, swing gates, and even a 30,000-square-foot lounge in a courtyard connector to the International Terminal. A multistory connector that was supposed to come later has been folded into the project ahead of schedule because of concurrent construction around the area.  The project was delayed by the pandemic; though originally scheduled to start in 2020, construction didn’t begin until August 2024.   The latest budget increase (just over $76 million) was approved by the city’s Budget and Finance Committee, and the terminal is now slated to open by the end of 2030.

Recent Russian rocket launches have led to temporary Pacific airspace closures, forcing U.S. airlines to reroute transpacific flights. Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) are issued during booster reentry, adding flight time, fuel burn, and costs for carriers crossing between Asia and North America. In some cases, polar routes have been pushed southward, eroding efficiency and stretching block times. With rocket activity increasing worldwide, airlines warn that such spaceflight-related airspace closures may become a recurring operational challenge.

Following the White House’s announcement of a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions, chaos broke out onboard an Emirates (EK) flight departing San Francisco (SFO) on September 19. Indian passengers - many of them tech workers or students -had already boarded when news of the visa policy change spread. Dozens reportedly pleaded to deplane, citing fear they might be unable to return to the U.S. once the new fee rule kicks in. The flight was delayed more than three hours as airline and airport staff handled the disruption. Though the order applies only to new visa petitions and not renewals, confusion and panic remain widespread.

Spirit Airlines (NK) is set to furlough roughly 1,800 flight attendants — about one-third of its crew — beginning December 1, 2025, as part of sweeping cost-cutting measures tied to its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing this year. The move reflects reduced flight operations (a planned 25 percent drop in capacity year-over-year in November), rising losses, and the need to align staffing with the airline’s shrunken network. Before involuntary furloughs take effect, Spirit will offer voluntary furloughs (six-month or one-year leaves) starting November 1. The Association of Flight Attendants union is working to help those affected find interviews with other airlines, and says the reductions are unavoidable given the sizable decrease in aircraft and flying hours.

Uzbekistan Airways (HY) has made headlines with its largest-ever aircraft purchase, signing a deal with Boeing for up to 22 787 Dreamliners, comprising 14 firm orders for 787-9s and options for eight more. Valued at $8.5 billion, this agreement marks a significant milestone in the airline's history and solidifies its position as a leading aviation hub in Central Asia. The new aircraft will enable Uzbekistan Airways to expand its international routes to the US and other long-haul destinations, boosting capacity and range while supporting nearly 35,000 US jobs. Deliveries of the 787-9 Dreamliners are scheduled to begin in 2031, further enhancing the airline's fleet modernization program and long-haul capacity. With its existing fleet of seven 787-8s, Uzbekistan Airways will leverage the larger 787-9's capabilities to strengthen its network.

Ryanair (FR) will switch to 100 percent digital boarding passes on November 12. After that, passenger will no longer be able to print paper boarding passes and must use the boarding pass in the myRyanair app. Ryanair says 80 percent of its 200 plus million annual passengers already use digital boarding passes.

Cathay Pacific Airways flew 2,682,071 passengers in August, which was up nearly 30 percent from one year ago. Cathay filled 86.7 percent of its available revenue seats on 10,534 total flights during the month.

Cathay subsidiary HK Express (UO) enjoyed a 36 percent annual increase in August passenger traffic, with 802,091 passengers flown on 4,309 flights. System-wide load factor for the month was 85.4 percent.

Near Miss at Nice: Nouvelair & easyJet Flights Almost Collide: Late Sunday night, Nice, France (NCE) saw a serious safety incident when a Nouvelair (BJ) Airbus A320, inbound from Tunis (TUN), nearly landed on the wrong parallel runway already occupied by an easyJet (U2) A320 that was lining up for departure. The Nouvelair aircraft had been cleared to land on Runway 04L but instead aligned with 04R — the same runway the easyJet aircraft was preparing to take off from. ADS-B data shows the Nouvelair jet passed over the runway threshold just 50 feet above the easyJet plane, then initiated a go-around. The Nouvelair A320 landed safely about 15 minutes later on the correct runway; the easyJet flight was cancelled after returning to the gate.   

Weather was a factor: thunderstorms were reported in the area at the time of the incident, which may have contributed to confusion or visual misidentification of runways under diminished visibility. Authorities, including France’s BEA (Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses), have classified this as a “serious incident” and opened an investigation. Both aircraft are grounded pending review, and investigators are interviewing pilots, assessing air traffic controller communications, and examining all available flight data.  

Recently there were two separate in-flight medical emergencies recently leading to passenger deaths. On an EasyJet flight from Nantes, France (NTE) to Lanzarote, Spain (ACE), a passenger fell ill during the approach to the Canary Islands. Despite crew efforts to revive them, the individual was pronounced dead after the aircraft made a routine landing. Similarly, a Brussels Airlines (SN) flight from Brussels (BRU) to Málaga, Spain (AGP), was diverted to Toulouse, France (TLS) after a passenger became seriously ill mid-air. Emergency services met the plane on arrival, but all efforts to save the person failed. Deaths during flights are rare. Studies suggest the mortality rate from in-flight medical emergencies is about 0.21 deaths per million passengers globally. That translates to roughly one death every 200,000 flights in certain data sets, underscoring how unusual these incidents are.

Sergei I. Sikorsky, son of helicopter pioneer Igor Sikorsky, passed away on September 18 at the age of 100, Lockheed Martin confirmed. He had a distinguished 41-year career at Sikorsky, starting in 1951 in international marketing and sales and ultimately serving in leadership roles including division vice president. During World War II Sergei was with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Helicopter Development Unit and later played a key role in expanding Sikorsky’s global presence. Though he retired in 1992, he remained a symbolic and active figure in the company, especially after the naming in 2019 of the Sergei I. Sikorsky Flight Center in Stratford. His contributions helped bridge aviation’s early experimental days with the modern era of vertical lift.

Freighter operators are raising alarms that air cargo growth over the next few years may be constrained by both an aging fleet and slow delivery of new aircraft. Despite surging demand driven by e-commerce and global trade, there are few new large freighters coming online, and many existing wide-body freighters are approaching retirement age. Adding to the concern, production delays at OEMs and bottlenecks in conversion programs are slowing the replacement of older freighters. As demand pressures mount, capacity tightness is expected to raise rates, strain operational flexibility, and possibly lead to spot shortages for critical routes. For cargo airlines and integrators, this means tighter planning, potential capital investment in conversions or leasing, and fewer margin buffers as they face maintenance, fuel, and regulatory cost inflation.

UPDATE: A British Airways (BA) flight attendant has been sentenced after being found naked and under the influence of drugs during a transatlantic service from San Francisco (SFO) to London Heathrow. Haden Pentecost, 41, admitted performing an aviation function while impaired by drugs, with tests later showing methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system. The incident, which left him disoriented and unable to assist during the 10-hour flight, forced colleagues to manage without his support. Although no passengers were aware, the captain described his behavior as a significant distraction. Isleworth Crown Court handed Pentecost a six-month suspended prison sentence, 80 hours of community service, and court costs. He has since been dismissed by British Airways.

🇦🇪 A6-LRC, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to Etihad Airways (EY) on September 23.

🇨🇳 B-20DP, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Shenzhen Airlines (ZH) on September 21.

🇨🇳 B-227S, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Donghai Airlines (DZ) on September 23.

🇩🇪 D-AERB, a Boeing 777/F, was delivered to AeroLogic (3S) on September 22.

🇮🇪 EI-ILH and EI-ILJ, both Boeing 737 MAX 8s, were delivered to Ryanair on September 22.

🇨🇭 HB-IHB, an Airbus A350-941, was delivered to Edelweiss Air (WK) on September 22.

🇳🇱 PH-NXX, an Embraer E195/E2, was delivered to KLM Cityhopper (WA) on September 20.

🇨🇳 B-18301, an Airbus A330-302 with China Airlines (CI), was withdrawn from use (wfu) and ferried on September 24 to Knock, Ireland (NOC) 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% )