Southwest Sued, Frontier Fined for Flight Delays

The Department of Transportation has announced a lawsuit against Southwest and has fined Frontier for illegally operating multiple chronically delayed flights.

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 04:35 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Frontier Airbus A320neo (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced a lawsuit against Southwest and has fined Frontier for illegally operating multiple ‘chronically’ delayed flights.

According to a Wednesday DOT news release, an investigation by the agency found that Southwest operated two chronically delayed flights – one between Chicago Midway International Airport and Oakland, California, and another between Baltimore, Maryland, and Cleveland, Ohio.

These flights, DOT stated, resulted in 180 chronic flight disruptions for passengers between April and August 2022. The department’s lawsuit against Southwest seeks “maximum civil penalties.”

The DOT news release stated federal regulations bar airlines from promising flight schedules that do not reflect actual departure and arrival times. The department classifies flights as chronically delayed if it is flown at least 10 times a month and arrive over 30 minutes late more than half of the time. Cancellations and diversions are counted as delays.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges Southwest failed to remedy the chronically delayed flights after the DOT provided the carrier time to fix their schedule.

A Southwest Airlines 737 on final approach to Los Angeles International Airport.
(Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

“As part of our commitment to supporting passenger rights and fairness in the market for airline travel, we are suing Southwest Airlines for disrupting passengers’ travel with unlawful chronic flight delays,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in the release. “Airlines have a legal obligation to ensure that their flight schedules provide travelers with realistic departure and arrival times. Today’s action sends a message to all airlines that the Department is prepared to go to court in order to enforce passenger protections.”

A Southwest spokesperson told AirlineGeeks in an emailed statement that the carrier was “disappointed” by the DOT’s decision to file the lawsuit.

“Southwest is disappointed that DOT chose to file a lawsuit over two flights that occurred more than two years ago,” the spokesperson said. “Since DOT issued its Chronically Delayed Flight (CDF) policy in 2009, Southwest has operated more than 20 million flights with no other CDF violations. Any claim that these two flights represent an unrealistic schedule is simply not credible when compared with our performance over the past 15 years. In 2024, Southwest led the industry by completing more than 99% of its flights without cancellation.”

Frontier Fined

Additionally, the DOT also fined Frontier on Wednesday for operating multiple chronically delayed flights. Frontier was fined $650,000 in civil penalties with $325,000 to be paid to the U.S. Treasury and the remaining $325,000 to be suspended if the carrier does not operate any chronically delayed flights over the next three years.

The consent order stated that from April to August 2022, Frontier operated a chronically delayed flight between St. Thomas and Orlando. Frontier also operated two additional chronically delayed flights from Dec. 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023: One between Atlanta and Phoenix, and another between Orlando and Houston.

“Frontier held out these chronically delayed flights to the public at least 63 times in violation of [federal law],” the DOT’s consent order stated. “Holding out these chronically delayed flights disregarded consumers’ need to have reliable information about the real arrival time of a flight and harmed thousands of passengers, including those with connections. The civil penalty in this matter is intended, in part, to reflect that harm.”

The DOT also stated that Frontier had “ample opportunity” of over four months to correct the chronic delays and avoid civil penalties.

Wednesday’s announcements come after NewYork-based carrier JetBlue was fined $2 million for 145 delayed flights it operated between June 2022 and November 2023.

Frontier told AirlineGeeks that it is not giving a statement on its fine.

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

AirlineGeeks.com was founded in February 2013 as a one-person blog in Washington D.C. Since then, we’ve grown to have 25+ active team members scattered across the globe. We are all here for the same reason: we love deep-diving into the fascinating realm of the airline industry.

JetBlue Adds Five New Destinations

JetBlue announced Wednesday that it would be adding five brand-new destinations to its North American East Coast network.

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 11:51 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A JetBlue A321 in the airline's new all-blue livery (Photo: JetBlue)

JetBlue announced Wednesday that it would be adding five new destinations to its network this year.

The New York-based carrier will now serve its first-ever flights to Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada, on June 26 and San Pedro Sula, Honduras on June 12. Additionally, it will add flights to Norfolk, Virginia and Wilmington, North Carolina on April 30; and Traverse City, Michigan June 5.

According to a news release from JetBlue, San Pedro Sula will be served from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The four other new destinations will be flown from Boston Logan International Airport.

JetBlue stated that these additions mean it will offer 77 nonstop destinations from Boston, more than any other airline.

“We continue to focus on growing our leisure network in Boston by introducing more incredible new summer seasonal markets,” said Daniel Shurz, JetBlue’s head of revenue, network and enterprise planning, in the release. “We know customers across New England love taking advantage of JetBlue’s great service and competitive fares for their summer vacations, and we think each of these will be extremely popular for our loyal customers in the region.”

“With these new destinations and routes, JetBlue is introducing even more travelers to our industry-leading service, strengthening our position in New York and as the East Coast’s leisure airline,” Shurz continued. “We’re excited to build on our momentum, offering customers across the Northeast and beyond even more travel opportunities.”

Other New Routes

In addition, JetBlue will add 13 routes including:

ISP to Boston on April 30.
JFK to Hartford on April 30.
JFK to Pittsburgh on April 30.
JFK to Providence on April 30.
JFK to Burbank on April 30.
JFK to Detroit on April 30.
LGA to Tampa on April 30.
EWR to Los Angeles on April 30.
EWR to Santo Domingo on June 12.

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

New United Route Is E175’s Longest

United’s Washington to Bozeman flight previously held the No. 1 spot. This summer, though, the nearly 1,800-mile route will be operated by Airbus A319s.

Ryan Ewing

Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 11:15 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A United Express Embraer E175 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

United plans to stretch the Embraer E175’s legs later this year. One of the airline’s newest routes will also be the world’s longest scheduled nonstop flight operated by an Embraer E170 or E175 aircraft.

Starting on June 28, the airline will add a new service between Houston and Portland, Maine. Flights will operate on Saturdays only.

At 1,667 miles, the new route will be the world’s longest currently scheduled E170 or E175 flight. Mesa Airlines is slated to operate the new service with an E175. It will also become the regional carrier’s longest-scheduled service. The route is planned at three hours and 10 minutes.

Houston to Portland is just 1 mile longer than the current titleholder: S7’s route from Novosibirsk to Volgograd in Russia, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium.

In the U.S., the second-place spot for longest E170 or E175 flight goes to Alaska Airlines’ recently announced service from Portland, Oregon, to Fairbanks, Alaska. This route is planned at 1,640 miles.

United’s Washington Dulles to Bozeman, Montana, flight previously held the No. 1 spot. This summer, though, the nearly 1,800-mile route will be operated by mainline Airbus A319 aircraft.

Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com in February 2013 and has spent more than a decade covering the airline business. His work has been featured by CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. His aviation experience spans airport operations, Part 135 regulatory compliance, and airline crew workforce planning, along with time behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 and interviews with airline executives. Ryan now serves as Group President of Firecrown Media’s Aviation Group. He holds a B.S. in Air Transportation Management and an MBA from Arizona State University and teaches Airline Management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Southwest Suspends Corporate Hiring, Scales Back Internships

The airline will suspend nonunion hiring and promotions. Most summer internship offers will also be paused, he said in the memo on Monday.

Ryan Ewing

Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 10:04 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Southwest 737 MAX 8 aircraft. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Southwest is scaling back corporate hiring and most internships, CEO Bob Jordan announced in an internal memo seen by CNBC. “Every single dollar matters,” Jordan said.

The airline will suspend nonunion hiring and promotions. Most summer internship offers will also be paused, he said in the memo on Monday.

“You’ll begin to see and feel efforts related to our cost initiative in the coming weeks, including some hard decisions I’ve had to make,” Jordan added.

These moves, he said, are part of a broader cost-cutting initiative to help the airline become a more “lean, efficient and agile company.”

Another cut will be the suspension of the Dallas-based airline’s employee “rallies,” a tradition dating back 40 years. The 2025 events were to take place in Dallas and Phoenix.

During these events, employees hear directly from leadership on company goals for the year.

Last week, two high-ranking Southwest executives outlined plans to retire later this year, including CFO Tammy Romo and Linda Rutherford, the airline’s administrative chief. Both leaders had over three decades of experience at the airline.

Ryan Ewing

Delta Ends Service to Two Alaska Cities

Delta's much-welcomed competition to the two small Alaskan airports will be coming to an end, with the airline not returning next season.

Joey Gerardi

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 04:07 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Delta Connection Embraer E175. (Photo: Shutterstock | Wenjie Zheng)

During the upcoming summer season, Delta plans on increasing flights to leisure destinations in Alaska and even announced bolstering of its services to Anchorage with upgraded service from Atlanta, along with new flights from Salt Lake City to Fairbanks. But, that doesn’t mean the entire state is going in that positive direction, with the airline actually ending two of the five cities it serves in the state.

Delta used to be a partner with Alaska Airlines and fed much of its network into and out of Seattle with the small “hub” it acquired from Northwest in 2008. Then the carrier started adding flights from Seattle to leisure destinations including the state capital of Juneau in the summer of 2014, and Alaska Airlines started adding more flights in key Delta hubs.

In the winter of 2014, Delta announced a long list of new flights from what they then officially called a hub in Seattle. Three of these cities were in Alaska: Fairbanks, Ketchikan, and Sitka, and the airline now served the five most populated cities in the state. By the summer of 2015, Delta flew to at least 30 destinations from its new hub in Seattle.

DL_Delta_738_SkyTeam_N3761R_737_800_SEA_katie_bailey — A Delta 737-800 in Seattle. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

Eventually, Alaska and Delta ended their partnership and are now tough competitors in the now very congested Seattle Tacoma airport. The Anchorage and Fairbanks service with Delta has continued to be year-round.

The airline’s service to the state capital of Juneau has constantly been altered and adjusted with flights going from seasonal on a Boeing 757 when it first began in 2014, to year-round with winter flights being onboard the Embraer E175, and then going back to seasonal, this time with the Boeing 737-800.

Up until this point, the seasonal flights that Delta has operated to Sitka and Ketchikan, have held on and continued to operate, except for a brief hiatus during the pandemic, but it looks like that will be changing and the cities will be disappearing from the airline’s route map.

Ketchikan Airport (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

Delta has removed both Sitka and Ketchikan from its booking platform and published Cirium Diio schedule as of Saturday. The seasonal service to both cities from Seattle was supposed to resume in June 2025, with it continuing until September. Delta flights to Sitka and Ketchikan originally started on the SkyWest CRJ-700s when they began in 2015, and then eventually switched to the Embraer E175 still being operated by the regional airline.

Strong Competition

When Delta started service to the cities, residents were rejoicing that the new airline would bring a very welcome dose of competition to the airport. In an article from 2014, the community used Juneau as an example as it started a summer before Delta’s Ketchikan and Sitka service, where they saw round-trip airfare from Juneau to Seattle dropping from $574 with only Alaska Airlines service, to just $250 on Delta during the times of the year when they serviced the airport.

According to a Delta news release from 2014 that was quoted in the article by Anchorage Daily News, “While fares were not announced [for Ketchikan and Sitka], it’s pretty obvious there’s nowhere for them to go but down,” and refers to the cost of flights to the cities, as they had not yet been put on sale when that article came out.

Alaska Airlines has once again become the only major carrier operating flights to both Sitka and Ketchikan and will return to its year-round monopoly it had prior to 2015 as the only airline providing service from either city to the lower 48 states, as the other airlines that service the airports are small carriers and only fly within Alaska’s southeast panhandle. Both cities see nonstop flights to Seattle, with northbound service to Anchorage being part of the airline’s famous Milk Run, which makes stops in other cities in the state.

Joey Gerardi

Joey has always been interested in planes for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Central New York during the early 2000s when US Airways Express turboprops ruled the skies. Being from a non-aviation family made it harder for him to be around planes and would only spend about three hours a month at the airport. He was so excited when he could drive by himself, the first thing he did with his driver's license was get ice cream and go plane spotting for the entire day. He graduated from Western Michigan University in 2022 with a B.S. in Aviation Management & Operations and a Minor in Business, and currently works for a major airline in his hometown.

Qantas Delays Flights Over Falling Space Debris

Qantas has not yet provided information on how long the carrier expects these flight disruptions to continue into the future.

Ryan Ewing

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 04:02 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Qantas Airbus A380. (Photo: Shutterstock | Merrillie Redden)

Falling rockets have prompted Qantas to delay flights between Australia and South Africa. Elon Musk’s SpaceX uses the Southern Indian Ocean as a splashdown zone for returning space equipment, including rockets and satellites.

While this region is largely remote, Qantas’ nearly 7,000-mile flight from Sydney to Johannesburg traverses this stretch six times per week. The route is operated by its Airbus A380.

Ben Holland, who heads the airline’s operations center, told The Australian that this debris can return within an “extensive area.” The move to delay some flights comes after advice from the U.S. government, he added.

Some of the affected flights can be delayed just prior to departure with little notice given to the airline from SpaceX.

“We’re in contact with SpaceX to see if they can refine the areas and time windows for the rocket re-entries to minimize future disruption to our passengers on the route,” Holland shared.

South African Airways has faced similar issues on its Johannesburg to Perth service.

Qantas has not provided information on how long the carrier expects these disruptions to continue.

Ryan Ewing

Kenya Airways Donates Boeing 737 to Local High School

Kenya Airways donated an older Boeing 737-700NG to Mang’u High School, located just outside the nation’s capital of Nairobi.

Sam Jakobi

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 01:02 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Boeing 737 is donated to a Kenyan high school. (Photo: Kenya Airways)

Kenya’s flag carrier has donated an aircraft to a local high school.

Kenya Airways donated an older Boeing 737-700NG to Mang’u High School, located just outside the nation’s capital of Nairobi. Its location resulted in the fuselage having to be taken by truck on an hour-long journey from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, being met with a ceremony on arrival.

The school’s headteacher, John Kuria, told The Star that the aircraft would be used to teach students all about the world of aviation, with students also getting lessons analyzing the Kenyan and global aviation markets.

Kuria continued that it had been a long process, taking almost three years for the school to acquire the aircraft. The move was granted over a year ago by the nation’s Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary.

Murkomen said that he wished “to thank Kenya Airways for this commendable act of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that will inspire hope in the students of Mang’u High School, assist in the modeling of their skills and transform abstract theories into practicable concepts.”

While the aircraft was donated in honor of the school’s 100th anniversary, Murkomen also said that the new aircraft would help to model practical issues and visualize scenarios for students looking to pursue a career in aviation.

The move is part of a wider program by Kenya Airways, called #WingsOfInnovation, in order to boost the amount of people coming into the industry in Kenya. It’s part of the reason why the airline’s Chief Strategy and Innovation officer, Hellen Mathuka, was in the spotlight at the hand-over event.

Sam Jakobi

Sam Jakobi is a young aviation journalist based in London, U.K. A lifelong Airbus fan, he has adored aviation for as long as he can remember. Sam writes articles and conducts interviews with members of the aviation community.

American Moves to Two-Class-Only Service From Chicago

On the heels of its breakup with CRJ-200 operator Air Wisconsin, American is also detailing plans to end all 50-seat service from Chicago this summer.

Ryan Ewing

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 10:19 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

An American Eagle CRJ-700. (Photo: AirlineGeeks)

On the heels of its breakup with CRJ-200 operator Air Wisconsin, American is also detailing plans to end all 50-seat service from Chicago this summer. This shake-up includes a pivot away from Piedmont’s Embraer E145 aircraft.

In June, the airline will wind down 50-seat service from its O’Hare hub. According to Cirium Diio schedule data, the last batch of E145 flights will operate on June 4.

Piedmont exclusively operates the E145 aircraft and is a wholly owned subsidiary of American. The airline began serving regional routes from Chicago in 2020.

A spokesperson from American confirmed the shift away from single-class jets to AirlineGeeks on Monday. All flights operated by the carrier or its regional partners from Chicago will operate on dual-class regional aircraft featuring premium cabins beginning in June, they said.

Backfilling the CRJ-200

Last week, American and Air Wisconsin announced plans to end their regional capacity agreement in April. Air Wisconsin primarily serves Midwest cities from Chicago, along with a few routes from Philadelphia.

An American Eagle CRJ-200 (Photo: Air Wisconsin)

To backfill this CRJ-200 flying, Envoy, Piedmont, and SkyWest will increase their footprint from Chicago. In addition, the carrier’s other subsidiary, PSA, will start flying CRJ-700s from O’Hare later this year.

Piedmont’s ramp-up in Chicago flying will be short-lived, though, as more two-class aircraft enter the market between April and June.

The spokesperson added that no routes will be canceled following Air Wisconsin’s exit, with plans to “increase flights” from Chicago on other regional carriers.

Following the change, only American’s Charlotte, North Carolina, and Philadelphia hubs will offer flights with 50-seat E145 aircraft. By February, Piedmont plans to have 70 E145s in service as aircraft return from long-term storage programs.

Ryan Ewing

Alaska Adds New Oregon Routes

Alaska is set to add three more routes from both Portland and Medford, Oregon, later this year, two of which are new to the airline's network.

Ryan Ewing

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 09:31 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Horizon Air E175 in Seattle (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

Alaska is set to add three more routes from both Portland and Medford, Oregon, later this year. The Seattle-based carrier plans to expand its Portland hub following the merger with Hawaiian.

On May 15, the airline will begin service from Portland to Houston’s Bush Airport. The new year-round service will operate daily with a Boeing 737 aircraft.

The carrier currently connects Houston with its Seattle hub.

Also on May 15, Alaska will resume an intrastate route from Portland to Eugene, Oregon. Flights will operate twice daily year-round. The service will be operated by an Embraer E175.

Alaska last served the Portland to Eugene market in 2020.

From Medford, Oregon, Alaska plans to begin a new route to San Diego. Year-round flights will operate daily with an Embraer E175 aircraft.

Service Increases

The airline will also bolster existing routes within Oregon this summer. Beginning May 15, its Portland-Medford route will be served four times a day instead of once.

In addition, service between Portland and Redmond, Oregon, will start flying year-round three times a day.

Ryan Ewing

U.S. Tariffs Could Harm Boeing’s Bottom Line

CEO of Ireland-based global aircraft lessor AerCap said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s planned tariffs could hurt Boeing’s efforts to raise funds.

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

Monday, January 13, 2025 at 04:58 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

737 aircraft at Boeing's Renton facility. (Photo: Shutterstock | Thiago B Trevisan)

The CEO of Ireland-based global aircraft lessor AerCap said on Monday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s planned tariffs could hurt Boeing’s efforts to raise funds this year.

According to a Reuters report, AerCap CEO Aengus Kelly said during Dublin’s Airline Economics conference that a lot of parts needed to make Boeing’s aircraft are manufactured around the world. He asked if it was counterproductive to tariff those parts.

Trump has said he will enact tariffs of up to 10% on global imports and 60% on Chinese imports, according to another Reuters report. He also plans to add a 25% surcharge to Canadian and Mexican products imported.

Boeing deliveries suffered during a tumultuous year in 2024 following government-led safety inquiries and devastating labor strikes. Despite setbacks, the company is looking to boost production of its 737 and 787 aircraft this year.

Kelly told Reuters he thought Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg was doing a good job, and he hoped Ortberg could spearhead positive change in the company.

AirlineGeeks reached out to Boeing for comment.

AirlineGeeks.com Staff