United Airlines joined Delta Air Lines in seeking additional service to Shanghai. The move puts American Airlines in a bind as that carrier hoped to squat on route authorities that are now in demand by the competition.
Airplanes and Airports
Icelandair gobbles up WOW
WOW Air is dead. Long live WOW Air. The Icelandic LCC is set to be purchased by hometown rival Icelandair at what can only be described as a fire sale price.
Ethiopian pushes Togo as a gateway to America
Ethiopian Airlines will soon connect Los Angeles with Lomé, Togo. The shift adds just over two hours to the trip between Los Angeles and Addis but also creates significant additional connecting opportunities for passengers and positions Lomé as the new African gateway to the USA.
Airport Status: Canceled – Pulling the plug in Mexico City
The new Mexico City airport is dead. Fulfilling a campaign promise, incoming President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that construction on the project would be halted once he takes office. The move came after the results of a national referendum on the project showed 70% of voters opposed to the new airport. That only one million people voted (of ~90mm registered) in the theoretically non-binding poll seems to not matter. The president intends to scrap the efforts.
A few firsts on Juneyao’s premier Dreamliner
Adding a new type to an airline’s fleet is interesting in its own right. China’s Juneyao Airlines added the 787-9 Dreamliner last week and it is more significant than most similar expansions, both for passengers and China’s aviation industry growth.
IATA ratchets up rhetoric on Brexit negotiations
IATA issued updated guidance on the potential impact of Brexit this morning and the news is not good. The lack of agreement on the future of the air travel market presents massive challenges and IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac predicts chaos if significant progress is not realized soon.
Delta to launch Minneapolis-Shanghai service in 2020
Delta Air Lines intends to serve Shanghai from its hub at Minneapolis-St. Paul, growing the connecting opportunities between the USA and China. The carrier applied for the necessary route authorities this morning, seeking to launch daily service in June 2020 on the A350-900. The new route would bring to three the number of Asia destinations served from MSP.
Delta’s first A220 flights now on sale
The first Delta Air Lines A220 flights are now loaded into the schedule and on sale for travelers. The carrier intends to base the fleet initially at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and serve routes focused on business travelers, with Boston and Dallas-Fort Worth the first two destinations starting 31 January 2019. Over the summer of 2019 as the fleet grows the A220 will also serve Houston, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul and JFK.
WestJet Dreams of Europe: Initial 787-9 routes announced
London, Paris and Dublin are the first destinations for WestJet’s new 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The aircraft will be based in the carrier’s Calgary hub and offer streamlined connecting opportunities for passengers headed to Europe as the carrier adjusts its connection banks to benefit the Transatlantic routes.
JetBlue confirms 2019 route changes
Building on yesterday’s report that JetBlue plans “aggressive” changes to its route network details the changes are now public. One new international destination joins the route map and several routes see increased frequencies. The carrier will also close three stations and shift one to seasonal service. A handful of routes will also be shuttered. This round of changes will begin to show in JetBlue’s schedule effective in January 2019.