Airline Weekly

09/09/2026

Supply chain woes have long blocked the uptake of SAF, but United Airlines’ Scott Kirby sees potential in corn and soy currently grown for biodiesel. He wants more government support to firm up the industry — but criticized Europe’s approach.

“Once you drive down the cost curve, you don’t have to have those incentives, but the incentives built the industry and we have to do the same thing for sustainable aviation fuel. It’s the only way it’s going to work.”

United Airlines’ CEO Scott Kirby first became aware of climate change when he was a cadet in the Air Force Academy. “And I can remember reading in the

09/08/2026

Flyadeal, the budget subsidiary of Saudi Arabian national carrier Saudia, is preparing to add connecting flights onto its existing point-to-point network, according to acting CEO Sanjiv Kapoor.

“Until now, the model for Flyadeal has been a point-to-point airline where connections were not part of our strategy,” he told Skift on Monday. “But in the coming weeks, we’re going to introduce connecting flights with origin and destination fares and seamless connections.”

Flyadeal is preparing to add connecting flights onto its existing point-to-point network, according to acting CEO Sanjiv Kapoor.

09/02/2026

Southwest Airlines is opening a slate of lounges in Austin, Baltimore, Nashville, and Honolulu, marking the latest step in the carrier’s transformation.

The carrier is partnering with JPMorganChase for the lounges, which will make their debut in 2027. Southwest is also launching a new credit card that will provide access to the premium spaces. .

Southwest said it has at least seven more lounges planned to open over the next several years across “high-demand business and leisure markets.”

Southwest will open lounges in Austin, Baltimore, Nashville, and Honolulu in 2027, partnering with JPMorganChase and launching a new credit card for access.

09/01/2026

JetBlue unveiled its new domestic first class seats in a bet that the product will become a major profit driver for the carrier that has already faced a string of losses for 6 straight years.

“I think we expect to take full advantage of all the ways to get into that cabin that our competitors have already demonstrated to be successful,” Company president Marty St. George said.

The carrier is banking on the seats to help it turn a profit.

JetBlue unveiled its new domestic first class seats Tuesday, betting that the product will become a major profit driver for the carrier.

09/01/2026

Kuwait's Jazeera Airways flew 44% fewer seats this Q2 than last, with its home airport shut for some of the quarter, and still grew revenue 46%.

The resulting 17% operating margin is the best of any airline to report so far this earnings season. We explore how a carrier with half its network suspended ended up outperforming its peers.

Kuwait's Jazeera Airways flew 44% fewer seats this Q2 than last, with its home airport shut for some of the quarter, and still grew revenue 46%.

08/28/2026

JetBlue announced Thursday that the two Carl Icahn picks on the carrier’s board of directors would resign after the activist investor decreased his stake. The resignations are effective immediately, JetBlue said.

“We appreciate the constructive partnership with JetBlue over the years as they have reshaped the airline and we look forward to seeing them continue to successfully execute the JetForward strategy,” Carl Icahn said in a statement.

JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said in a statement that the carrier would still work toward its goal of $1 earnings per share by 2028.

JetBlue announced Thursday that the two Carl Icahn picks on the carrier’s board of directors would resign.

08/27/2026

American just made its move to close the profit gap with Delta and United — new European routes, and a real premium overhaul.

Summer 2027 brings Philadelphia-Vienna (the only U.S. carrier on that route), a Reykjavik revival, Porto, Barcelona from Charlotte, Nice from JFK, plus more Heathrow capacity. It follows American's Chicago-Tokyo launch amid its O'Hare turf war with United.

The bigger signal is on product: seatback screens are coming back to narrowbodies, premium seats on narrowbodies are growing 40%, and Flagship Dining is expanding beyond First to Business Plus and Business travelers.

The context? American posted $71M in Q2 profit, versus Delta's $1.6B and United's $805M. This is the fix.

American is expanding its summer 2027 transatlantic schedule as it revamps its in-flight products to appeal to more high-spend travelers.

08/27/2026

UK airports set a Q2 passenger record (81M+), but growth was essentially flat at 0.15% as short-haul strength masked deep long-haul losses.

The Iran war and a UK travel advisory caused Gulf traffic to collapse—Emirates down 46%, Qatar Airways down 42%, and Dubai falling from the top 10 to 15th among international destinations.

Low-cost carriers (Ryanair and Jet2 each +9%, easyJet +2%) and booming Western Europe demand (Madrid +15%, Barcelona +11%) offset the roughly 1.5 million passengers lost across five Gulf markets.

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08/26/2026

United CEO Scott Kirby says fuel costs will "gradually decline" in 2027 — but fares won't follow. His words: "I think we're going to be able to pass all of that on."

Airfares are already up 20%+ this year. Kirby's bet: Spirit's collapse killed the ultra-cheap fare, and it's not coming back. "There are no more $9 fares from Houston to Central America... I don't think it's ever going to exist again."

The risk: United and American are both planning double-digit capacity growth. Analysts warn that without a capacity pullback, more seats could undercut the pricing power airlines are counting on.

Higher fares as the new floor, not a fuel-driven spike — that's the bet the industry is making for 2027.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said he expects fuel prices to gradually decline next year, however fares will stay up.

08/25/2026

United's new 2027 route map skips the obvious cities on purpose. 10 new destinations across Europe and Asia — Okinawa, Ibiza, Valencia, Luxembourg, Ljubljana, Sardinia, Sicily — and United will be the only U.S. carrier flying to 8 of them. Several routes fly on the new A321XLR, with United betting its lie-flat seats give it an edge no other XLR operator can match yet.

The bigger signal: this isn't really about new cities, it's about a shifting map. As transatlantic competition intensifies, United (and Delta, with its own Sardinia/Malta additions) are chasing secondary destinations and a stretched shoulder season — "the season is going into October or even November," per United's Patrick Quayle.

Premium seats, unique routes, longer seasons. That's the playbook now.

United Airlines is adding a slate of new, off-the-beaten path destinations to its network across Europe and Asia.