Icelandair is slated to expand its North American route network in 2026 with its new Airbus A321LR jet. Between late 2025 and early 2026, the newest member of the Icelandic airline’s fleet will begin flying to Newark, New Jersey, New York-JFK, Orlando, Florida, and Portland, Oregon.
Per Aeroroutes, the jet will also serve a new route. Starting on Jan. 6, 2026, the airline will connect Reykjavik and Miami.
Flights are currently planned to operate three times per week. The service is scheduled to depart Iceland at 5:15 p.m. local time, arriving in Miami at 8:55 p.m. Return flights leave Miami at 5:15 p.m., arriving in Reykjavik at 5:55 a.m. the following day.
Icelandair took delivery of its first-ever Airbus aircraft last month. While the aircraft currently only operates within Europe, it will start flying long-haul services to Seattle in the spring.
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.
A JetBlue Airbus A320 preparing for departure. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Two bodies were located inside the wheel well of a JetBlue Airbus A320 on Monday night. According to NBC 6 South Florida, the aircraft had just arrived in Fort Lauderdale after a flight from New York-JFK.
Flightradar24 data indicates that flight 1801 arrived just after 11 p.m. local time. An A320 operated the flight with registration N644JB, which remains out of service at the time of writing.
The bodies were discovered during a post-flight maintenance inspection, JetBlue said.
“At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation,” a spokesperson told NBC 6. The airline added that it will work with authorities to investigate the incident.
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.
Alaska plans to add two new routes and one returning service this summer. The Seattle-based airline will expand route offerings from its namesake state.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900 in San Francisco. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Alaska plans to add two new routes and one returning service this summer. The Seattle-based airline will expand route offerings from its namesake state.
The carrier is slated to connect Anchorage to Sacramento, California, and Detroit, Michigan, beginning on June 14, 2025. Both routes will be operated by a Boeing 737 series aircraft.
These seasonal routes will continue through Aug. 16 with Saturday-only service. Between Detroit and Anchorage, Alaska will compete directly with Delta.
“Our new routes provide guests with more options than ever to vacation this summer in the great state of Alaska,” said Kirsten Amrine, vice president of network planning and revenue management at Alaska Airlines, in a news release. “The nonstop flights from Detroit and Sacramento will put travelers right in the heart of Alaska by skipping a layover, and Portlanders can enjoy nonstop service to Fairbanks.”
Returning Route
In addition, Alaska will again connect Fairbanks, Alaska, and Portland, Oregon. This market was last served in 2014.
This route will operate from May 15 to Aug. 19 on a daily basis. The airline plans to deploy an Embraer E175 between Fairbanks and Portland.
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.
A former American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is potentially getting a new lease on life after sitting in the New Mexico desert for around five years.
American MD-80 aircraft in Roswell, New Mexico (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
A former American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is potentially getting a new lease on life. For the first time since its final flight in 2019, the 25-year-old aircraft took to the skies again.
The MD-83 — registered as N984TW — departed from Roswell, New Mexico, for Saltillo, Mexico, on Monday. CAVU Aerospace performed the work to return the jet from long-term storage, which took about a month.
N984TW returns to the skies on Jan. 6 (Photo: CAVU Aerospace)
N984TW (line number 2287) was the final MD-80 ever produced, having been delivered to TWA in December 1999. Later, the jet joined American’s fleet after the two airlines merged.
American’s last MD-80 flight in 2019 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Ryan Ewing)
According to Cirium Fleet Analyzer data, N984TW was acquired by Jetran in 2023. World Aviation Services, LLC then purchased the aircraft in October 2024.
After its ferry flight to Mexico, the future of the aircraft remains uncertain.
Other Former American MD-80s
Affectionately called the “Super 80,” American’s MD-80 fleet was one of the largest in the world before its 2019 retirement. Many of the aircraft still fly for other carriers today.
18 former American MD-80s remain in service with the oldest being 38 years old. Several were converted to freighters, largely operating for Saltillo-based Aeronaves TSM.
Over 200 have since been officially retired, many of which still await their fate in the New Mexico desert.
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.
A Mexicana Boeing 737-800 (Photo: Government of Quintana Roo)
Mexico’s military-run airline – Mexicana de Aviación – is scaling back its route network following a $50 million loss. The reincarnated airline began operations in December 2023.
According to Mexican newspaper El Financiero, the carrier will suspend service to eight destinations in the country. These routes were operated under wet lease by TAR Aerolineas.
The routes include flights to Acapulco, Campeche, Guadalajara, Nuevo Laredo, Puerto Vallarta, Uruapan, and Villahermosa. These cuts represent roughly half of the airline’s overall network.
TAR operated a fleet of Embraer regional jets on behalf of Mexicana. With TAR now “dropping out” of Mexicana’s network, the 1-year-old airline is left with just two ex-military Boeing 737 aircraft.
Run by the country’s military, the Mexicana brand was purchased by the Mexican government several years ago. The previous Mexicana airline went belly-up in 2010.
A rendering of Mexican’s E2 aircraft (Photo: Embraer)
2024 Losses
During the first three quarters of 2024, Mexicana reported losses of over 932 million pesos (roughly $50 million). Its total revenues of nearly $12 million covered 20% of the carrier’s operating expenses, per Mexico Business News.
Some estimates indicate that the airline carries an average of 53 passengers per flight.
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.
American Airlines aircraft in Pittsburgh. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
U.S. airlines reported lackluster on-time performance during the peak holiday travel rush. In December, major carriers and their regional counterparts canceled nearly 6,000 flights, roughly double the 3,000 in December 2023.
Between Dec. 19 and Jan. 2, the Transportation Security Administration said it screened a record 39 million individuals. This marks the busiest-ever end-of-year travel season.
BREAKING NEWS: TSA screened nearly 39M individuals from Dec 19 through Jan 2, 2025, during our busiest end of year holiday travel period ever. For the entire year of 2024, TSA officers screened a record 904M individuals at airport checkpoints around the country. Go #TeamTSA!
Battered by weather and a brief IT glitch at one carrier, many airlines struggled to keep flights operating as scheduled.
American, Delta, and United
Of the three major U.S. carriers, Delta had the best on-time figures in December. According to OAG data, the Atlanta-based airline canceled 0.35% of its planned flights.
United canceled 0.86% while American topped the list at 1.02% or 1,861 scrubbed flights. These figures measure all flights marketed by these carriers, including regional service.
In terms of overall on-time performance, Delta again leads with a score of nearly 80%. OAG defines on-time performance as “the percentage of flights that have arrived on schedule. A flight is considered on-time if it has arrived within 15 minutes of the schedule.” This also includes cancellations, the firm says.
United took the No. 2 spot at 79.27%. American fell to 76.9%, far below its 2023 figure of 84%.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, several of American’s flights were grounded due to an IT issue. While the outage lasted only a few hours, disruptions compounded throughout the day.
In addition, the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline faced numerous days of thunderstorms at its Dallas/Fort Worth hub.
Low-Cost Carriers
Southwest – also hit with weather in the DFW Metroplex – saw a slight improvement in its year-over-year cancellation rate. The airline canceled 0.48% of its planned flights in December 2024, an increase from 0.61% during the same period in 2023.
Both Spirit and Southwest had some of the better on-time percentage rates at 77.48% and 79.26%, respectively.
On-time performance for marketing U.S. carriers in December 2024 (Data: OAG)
Allegiant and Sun Country had some of the lowest on-time percentage rates at 72.64% and 64.27%, respectively. Out of all the marketing U.S. carriers, Breeze had the worst on-time performance score at 57.35%.
On-Time Leaders
The average cancellation rate for U.S. carriers was nearly 1% in December 2024, which was 0.15% more than in 2023. But some airlines stuck out with better-than-average performance.
Avelo was the only airline to cancel zero flights in the U.S. Sun Country canceled just two.
Finally, Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance figure at 84.52%.
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.
A Delta A330-300 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Delta plans to expand its European network during the summer. In 2025, the airline plans to operate its largest-ever trans-Atlantic schedule, with 33 destinations in Europe.
Starting on June 8, 2025, the airline will boost this route to 13 weekly flights. According to Aeroroutes, the service increase will continue through Sept. 7. The route will be operated by an Airbus A330-900neo.
Atlanta to Edinburgh – which began in 2023 – will also see more service. Between July 1 and Sept. 6, Delta will offer 10 weekly flights between the two cities, an increase over the seven originally scheduled frequencies.
A Boeing 767-300ER will operate the route.
Service Reduction
In addition, the airline will slightly reduce the number of seats between Atlanta and Barcelona, Spain. According to Cirium Diio schedule data, Delta will fly Boeing 767-300s on select days during the summer.
The route will operate with a mix of 767 and Airbus A330 aircraft, cutting the number of total seats by nearly 200 per week.
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.
The opening ceremony of the flydubai business lounge at the Dubai International Airport Terminal 2 (Photo: flydubai)
Flydubai has unveiled its new Business Class lounge at Terminal 2 of Dubai International Airport, reaffirming its commitment to enhancing the travel experience for passengers. Opened on December 16, 2024, the lounge marks a significant milestone in the airline’s journey as it celebrates 15 years of operations.
A Modern Space for Premium Travelers
Spanning 900 square meters, the lounge can accommodate over 200 passengers. Located beyond passport control and security checks in Terminal 2’s departure area, the lounge features a dedicated boarding gate for Business Class passengers. From this gate, travellers can board exclusive Business Class buses to their flights.
The lounge’s design draws inspiration from Dubai’s desert dunes, with warm tones and minimalist aesthetics complemented by natural light streaming through a glass facade. Iconic skylines of Dubai add a touch of familiarity, making the space both stylish and inviting.
Mohamed Hassan, senior vice president of airport services and cargo at flydubai, said: “Lounges are a key component for the seamless and comfortable travel experience we aim to provide to our customers. The new flydubai Business Class Lounge and boarding gate provide added convenience to our passengers who are looking for a more personalised and efficient travel experience, whether they are travelling for business or leisure. We are looking forward to welcoming many of our passengers just in time for the busy holiday travel period.”
The flydubai business class lounge at Terminal 2 (Photo: flydubai)
Thoughtful Features and Amenities
The new lounge offers a variety of spaces catering to the needs of travelers:
Seating Areas: Configurations for dining, lounging, and quiet relaxation.
Culinary Options: Guests can enjoy an international buffet or select dishes from an à la carte menu.
Prayer Room: A dedicated space for spiritual needs.
At the 2023 Dubai Airshow, the carrier announced a firm order for 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Its current fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft already feature lie-flat seating in business class, making the airline a compelling proposition to fly comfortably on a budget.
A passionate aviation enthusiast that started off his career as an aerospace engineer, but found his true calling on the commercial side of the airline business. Now as a finance guy among avgeeks and an avgeek among finance guys, he has experience working in the Revenue Divisions of three airlines. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, but admittedly sometimes is more about the journey than the destination.
Last U.K.-Based Passenger 757 Retires
The aircraft’s last flight was scheduled to depart Geneva at 11 a.m. local time but ended up doing so almost four hours later.
A Jet2 Boeing 757-200. (Photo: Shutterstock | Bradley Caslin)
British airline Jet2 has officially retired its fleet of Boeing 757 aircraft.
The aircraft’s last flight was scheduled to depart Geneva at 11 a.m. local time but ended up doing so almost four hours later, according to Flightradar24. This is because of a snowstorm that swept the U.K. this weekend, causing airports to close runways and divert aircraft.
The flight marks the retirement of Jet2’s 757 fleet, being removed in favor of more efficient Airbus A321neos. Not only is it significant for the airline, which has been operating the type for over 20 years, but it is also notable for the U.K. which has lost its last British-operated passenger 757 service.
The U.K. has seen regular 757 operations since the first of the type was delivered to British Airways in 1983.
Most of Jet2’s 757s also had lived with other British airlines, including TUI and Air Scotland to name a few. The former chose to go with Boeing’s updated engine option to replace the mid-range jet, introducing the 737 MAX to its fleet in 2018.
Despite the British low-cost carrier retiring the 757, its aging 737-300s continue to fly. They can be found operating the occasional route from Leeds Bradford Airport.
Per Jonathan Hinkles, former CEO of Loganair, the U.K.’s 757s have amassed over 8.1 million flight hours across 3.1 million flights.
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.
Qatar Airways Returns to Syria
Following significant change in the Syrian political standing, Qatar Airways schedules a return to the country's capital.
A Qatar Airways Boeing 777 (A7-BEG) receives a water cannon salute as it arrives in Seattle. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)
Following the unraveling of political issues in Syria, Qatar Airways announced a return to the troubled country.
Spearheading the Connectivity
The Qatar Airways resumption flight will take place on January 7, 2025. Following that, the airline will operate three times weekly service with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
The carrier claims to be committed to providing connectivity for the local market, connecting Syria through its network to more than 170 destinations globally.
Qatar Airways Damascus schedule after the resumption of the service (Photo: Filip Kopec)
There are still concerns over Syrian political stability, but in the recent past, the Gulf countries were a main gateway for the sizable Syrian diaspora.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said in a news release: “We are pleased to resume flights to Damascus, a destination of great historical and cultural importance. This announcement underscores our dedication to fostering connectivity and facilitating travel for our passengers.”
Airspace over Syria at the beginning of 2025 (Photo: flightradar24.com)
Syria’s Isolation
Since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the country was mostly isolated and Damascus International Airport experienced intermittent closures. Big network carriers like Emirates or Egyptair suspended flights to Syria shortly after the first incidents during the war. For some, it meant no services to the country for the past 10 years.
Some select airlines, like Pakistan International Airlines or the country’s flag airline Syrian Air, kept limited or irregular schedules.
A passionate aviation enthusiast that started off his career as an aerospace engineer, but found his true calling on the commercial side of the airline business. Now as a finance guy among avgeeks and an avgeek among finance guys, he has experience working in the Revenue Divisions of three airlines. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, but admittedly sometimes is more about the journey than the destination.
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