Flightline for June 23, 2025

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NEW AND PROPOSED ROUTES  

Air France (AF) will begin 3x weekly service from Paris de Gaulle (CDG) to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) on January 13. This route will be operated by Boeing 777-300/ER equipment.

China Eastern Airlines (MU) is launching a new fifth-freedom route between Auckland (AKL) and Buenos Aires (EZE), beginning in December 2025. The flight is part of a larger Shanghai (PVG) - Auckland - Buenos Aires service, covering a total of 12,229 miles. The journey from Auckland to Buenos Aires alone spans 6,421 miles and will be open to passengers traveling solely between those two cities. The route will be operated twice weekly using a Boeing 777‑300/ER featuring a three-class layout (six first class, 52 business, and 258 economy seats). Notably, it will become the world’s southernmost long-haul flight, surpassing current southern-latitude routes.

Nigeria’s Air Peace (P4) has received official approval to launch a direct four-times‑weekly service between Abuja (ABV) and London Heathrow (LHR), starting on October 26, 2025, in line with the IATA winter schedule. Previously, the airline had only serviced London via Lagos (LOS) and London Gatwick (LGW) since March 2024 due to Heathrow slot constraints. The route will be operated with its Boeing 777 fleet, offering a two‑class layout across 274–319 seats.

Canada’s Air Transat (TS) will begin twice weekly service from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to Istanbul (IST) on December 6.

Cathay Pacific Airways’ (CX) new service from Hong Kong (HKG) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) is evidently doing well, as the 4x weekly run will become a daily affair on October 26. This route, the longest in Cathay’s network, will see a mixture of Airbus A350-900s and A350-1000s.

United Airlines (UA) will go year-round on its Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Dublin, Ireland (DUB) service. This route was previously a summer seasonal service.

AeroMexico (AM) is tipped to begin 5x weekly service from Cancun (CUN) to Raleigh, N.C. (RDU) on December 8. AeroMexico will also add 4x weekly flights from its Mexico City (MEX) base to San Juan, P.R. (SJU) on October 26. Both routes will be operated by Boeing 737 MAX 8 equipment.

CHARTER ROUTES

Korean Air (KE) will operate daily public charter flights from Busan, S. Korea (PUS) to Guam (GUM) from August 1 through October 25. This route, last flown in 2018, will be operated by Airbus A321neo equipment.

SUSPENDED ROUTES

JetBlue Airways (B6) will suspend operations at Seattle (SEA) from late October through at least late April, with flights to Boston (BOS) and New York Kennedy (JFK) pulled from sale.

DROPPED ROUTES

It looks like Spirit will be closing shop in Seattle, as the carrier’s only route, to Las Vegas (LAS), is set to conclude on August 13.

JetBlue will be closing its Miami (MIA) station on September 2, with the sole route to Boston (BOS) removed from available inventory. Word in various circles is that JetBlue will soon be down to 50 flights a day, down from 100, at nearby Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Jet Blue is also ending flights from Manchester, N.H. (MHT) to New York Kennedy (JFK) on September 3. The cull continues, with JetBlue dropping three more routes by early September: Boston (BOS) to Grenada (GND), Buffalo, N.Y. (BUF) to Palm Beach, Fla. (PBI), and San Juan, P.R. to Cancun. Of course on that last one, you just read AeroMexico is jumping in on the sector.

Brazilian carrier Azul (AD) will end three routes to Fort Lauderdale in mid-August, as flights from Belo Horizonte (CNF), Manaus (MAO), and Willemstad (CUR) conclude.

Poor forward bookings have led Avelo Airlines (XP) to cancel service from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Concord, N.C. (USA) before flights even begin.

Delta Air Lines (DL) is ending service from Miami (MIA) to Orlando (MCO) on October 25. If this sounds familiar, its because the route has been dropped in 1985, 1996, 2008, 2012, and 2018. (Thanks to Enilria for that nugget.)

AVIATION INDUSTRY NEWS 🗞️ 

A recent National Academies of Sciences report highlights a sharp increase in overtime pay for FAA air traffic controllers, which surged more than 300 percent since 2013, reaching $200 million for 2.2 million hours in 2024. Despite a four percent rise in air traffic, controller staffing fell about 13 percent between 2013 and 2023. Many facilities remain under-staffed, forcing controllers into six-day weeks and mandatory overtime—raising fatigue and safety concerns. The report also cites outdated scheduling systems and a failure to implement efficiency tools acquired a decade ago as contributing factors. The FAA plans to hire at least 2,000 controllers in 2025 and urged modernization of staffing models, while the federal government is pushing for a $20 billion ATC modernization initiative.

Austin, Texas (AUS) is reportedly currently operating its air traffic control tower with less than half the required staffing, raising serious concerns about safety and efficiency. According to recent reports, the facility has only 54 percent of the FAA’s benchmark staffing level, making it one of the most critically understaffed towers in the U.S. This shortage has led to increased controller overtime, limited scheduling flexibility, and heightened risk of fatigue, especially amid record passenger volumes and rapid traffic growth in the Austin area.

The Cathay Group, comprised of Cathay Pacific and HK Express (UO), recently celebrated reaching 100 global passenger destinations. That milestone follows rapid expansion—adding 30 destinations in two years, including 18 just in 2025—enabled by Hong Kong’s new Three‑Runway System. In March 2025, the Cathay Group delivered standout performance across all divisions: Cathay Pacific saw a 19.8 percent increase in passengers carried and a 25.5 percent jump in available seat-kilometers compared to March 2024, while Cathay Cargo grew tonnage by 10.6 percent with an 8.5 percent increase in cargo capacity. HK Express also surged, carrying over 610,000 passengers—a 25.4 percent year‑on‑year increase—and expanding its seat capacity by 35.6 percent. Flight sectors climbed across the board, and although cargo load factors eased slightly, the group marked double-digit growth in passenger and freight traffic, underscoring strong travel and logistics demand.

MARCH 2025 U.S. AIRLINE PERFORMANCE METRICS 📊 

Major U.S. carriers have jointly challenged a new Department of Transportation (DOT) rule that would significantly enhance protections for passengers using wheelchairs. The rule mandates airlines to return mobility aids promptly and undamaged, provide loaners when necessary, and reimburse for repairs or replacement. Airlines for America, the industry trade group, argues parts of the regulation exceed federal authority and are instances of regulatory overreach.

Meanwhile, disturbing passenger experiences continue to highlight systemic issues: a recent incident at Atlanta‑based Delta saw a passenger with cerebral palsy stranded and ignored after landing, with staff treating her “like cargo” until she paid a tip just to obtain assistance. While Delta has since apologized and launched an investigation, this case underlines that accessibility problems persist—despite ongoing industry efforts and forthcoming regulatory mandates aimed at improving treatment of travelers with disabilities.

Below is a PDF containing April 2025 passenger traffic counts at over 350 airports.

🇨🇦 CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SEEKS MORE COMPETITION

The Competition Bureau of Canada has released a comprehensive market study—Cleared for Take-Off: Elevating Airline Competition—highlighting the country’s airline sector as highly concentrated, primarily dominated by Air Canada (AC) and WestJet (WS), which collectively hold 50–75 percent of domestic passenger traffic - maintaining their duopoly since the study began in July 2024 - and continue to be the main players across Canadian airports.

Despite recent entries by low‑cost carriers such as Flair and Porter, the report notes that new competition remains fragile, especially on major routes where overlap has only increased modestly (from ~11–13 percent in 2019 to ~16–21 percent today). The Bureau identifies key impediments, including stringent foreign‑ownership restrictions, geographical challenges, insufficient data transparency, and inadequate attention to remote and northern communities. To stimulate competition, the report proposes 10 targeted actions organized into three focus areas:

1. Policy alignment—including competition‑focused merger reviews.

2. Capital access—namely relaxing foreign‐ownership limits: raise the threshold for individual foreign investors to 49 percent (from 25 percent) and permit up to 100 percent foreign ownership for carriers operating solely domestic routes, akin to Australia’s model.

3. Support for remote markets—increasing connectivity to northern and underserved regions.

The Bureau emphasizes that modest new entrant competition can lower fares nine percent, enhancing consumer choice. While major airport bodies support the policy shifts, they caution that radical foreign-ownership reform—like full cabotage—may not strategically serve remote communities. The government has yet to comment, with the study due to inform policy decisions in the months ahead. The full report is below.

AIR CARGO 📦️ 

Bridges Air Cargo, a UK-based subsidiary of Bridges Worldwide and logistics partner to FedEx, DHL, and UPS, has been announced as the global launch customer for the newly developed Embraer E190F E‑Freighter — a passenger-to-freighter conversion model unveiled at the 2025 Paris Air Show. The first of two E190F conversions, leased through Regional One, is slated for delivery in the third quarter of 2025, making Bridges the inaugural operator. This converted E‑Jet offers around 40 percent more cargo volume, three times the range of large turboprops, and up to 30 percent lower operating costs compared to bigger narrowbody freighters, with a structural payload capacity of approximately 13,500 kg.

LATEST AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES 🛫 

C-FMXA, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to WestJet on June 21.

D-AIVE, an Airbus A350-941, was delivered to Lufthansa (LH) on June 21.

EC-OMB, a Boeing 787-9, was delivered to Air Europa (UX) on June 21.

F-HUVR, an Airbus A350-941, was delivered to Air France (AF) on June 19.

G-ZBLL, a Boeing 787-10, was delivered to British Airways (BA) on June 20.

N390UP, a Boeing 767-300/F, was delivered to United Parcel Service (5X) on June 20.

N677FR, an Airbus A321-271neo, was delivered to Frontier Airlines (F9) on June 18.

AIRCRAFT RETIREMENTS 🛬 

PH-HZD, a Boeing 737-8K2 with Transavia (HV), was withdrawn from use (wfu) and ferried on June 20 to Glamorgan, Wales (DGX) for part-out and scrap.

AIRLINE STOCKS 💰️ 

$AAL ( ▲ 4.31% )  $ALGT ( ▲ 4.75% )  $ALK ( ▲ 3.83% )  $BA ( ▼ 0.18% )  $DAL ( ▲ 2.72% )  $FLYY ( 0.0% )  $JBLU ( ▲ 4.15% )  $LUV ( ▼ 0.06% )  $MESA ( ▲ 2.84% )  $RJET ( 0.0% )  $SNCY ( ▲ 5.7% )  $UAL ( ▲ 2.66% )  $ULCC ( ▲ 7.56% )  

DAILY PASSENGER COUNTS AT U.S. AIRPORTS, 2024 vs. 2025