An Air India Boeing 777 taking off from San Francisco International Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fangzhong Guo)
Air India will suspend three U.S. routes and cut back flying on others as it battles regional airspace closures and high jet fuel prices.
The carrier said Wednesday that it will temporarily suspend service between Delhi and Chicago, Delhi and Newark, New Jersey, and Mumbai and New York-JFK starting in June.
Flights between Delhi and San Francisco will be reduced from 10 times weekly to seven times weekly through August.
Air India will continue to offer seven weekly flights between Delhi and New York-JFK, and service between Mumbai and Newark will increase, from three times weekly to seven times weekly, to accommodate some of the displaced traffic.
In Canada, the airline will cut Delhi-Vancouver service from seven times weekly to five times weekly. Flights between Delhi and Toronto will drop from 10 weekly to five weekly through July, then increase to daily service in August.
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
Sun Country Debuts ’90s Retro Livery
The aircraft is expected to touch down in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
The red, orange, and white color scheme was applied to a Boeing 737-800. The Sun Country name appears at an angle on both sides of the fuselage, while the carrier’s modern compass logo adorns the tail, a nod to the brand’s future, officials said.
The paint job was inspired by the aircraft livery Sun Country used in 1994.
In a statement, Sun Country President and CEO Jude Bricker said the design pays tribute to the airline’s Minnesota roots, its “scrappy” origins, and its ups and downs over 43 years in business.
“Sun Country survived and thrived,” he said. “That grittiness, pride, and entrepreneurial spirit continued for decades because our team members have been passionate about the uniqueness of this airline.”
Sun Country’s new retro livery. (Credit: Sun Country)
The livery is dedicated to Sun Country co-founder and first president Jim Olsen, who died in April.
The aircraft is expected to enter service on Wednesday.
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
Denver Runway Strike Victim Identified, Cause of Death Released
Police, the NTSB, and the FAA are continuing to investigate.
At a press conference Tuesday, Denver Chief Medical Examiner Sterling McLaren said the person was identified as Michael Mott, 41.
He died of “multiple blunt- and sharp-force injuries,” she said, and his manner of death was ruled a suicide.
It was not immediately clear where Mott was from. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said Mott has “had some law enforcement contact in the metro area,” but did not go into detail.
Asked by a reporter if investigators recovered a suicide note, McLaren said no note was found at the scene of the strike.
Mott is believed to have scaled an eight-foot fence topped with barbed wire on the airport’s perimeter, then walked to Runway 17L, where he was hit.
Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington said ground detection sensors set off an alarm around 11:10 p.m. Friday in the general area where Mott is believed to have jumped the fence. The operator on duty reviewed the alarm and identified a herd of deer nearby just outside the fence; they did not initially see the trespasser.
Washington said the airport takes a “layered” approach to perimeter security, with cameras, security patrols, and other measures in place. Officials are now reviewing those procedures to identify potential gaps, and ways to remedy them.
The Frontier flight aborted its takeoff for Los Angeles after reporting an engine fire and smoke in the cabin. All passengers and crew were evacuated using inflatable slides, and five people were hospitalized with minor injuries.
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
United Flight Attendants Approve Contract With 31% Raises
The agreement also secures boarding pay, retro pay, and other benefits, union officials said.
The agreement provides a 31% average wage increase for flight attendants, plus boarding pay and $741 million in retroactive pay. The AFA said boarding pay represents an additional 7-8% of total compensation on average.
Eighty-two percent of the union’s United chapter voted in favor of the contract. A mediator from the National Mediation Board assisted, union officials said.
“The contract will immediately change the lives of United flight attendants, especially our thousands of new hires who have been hired since the pandemic,” AFA United President Ken Diaz said in a news release. “Our solidarity delivered the goods.”
According to the AFA, the new contract will improve job security by limiting Express flying, codesharing, and revenue sharing.
Other benefits include sit pay for scheduled and rescheduled sits of over 2.5 hours; per diem and 401(k) contribution increases; 10 weeks of paid maternity leave and two weeks of paid parental and adoption leave; and restrictions on red-eye flying.
United and the AFA announced the new contract in March, about eight months after flight attendants rejected a previous offer that would have raised wages by at least 26%.
United’s flight attendants have not had a contractual pay increase in almost six years.
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
Beloved DFW ‘Employee Store’ Set to Close – At Least For Now
The shop has been a mainstay for airline and airport workers and aviation enthusiasts.
The shop, tucked away in Terminal C, Gate C2, is stocked to the rafters with shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, hats, beanies, coffee mugs, coasters, aircraft models, and almost every other conceivable form of merchandise, most bearing the licensed insignia of airlines that serve or have served Dallas/Fort Worth. American Airlines, the exclusive operator at Terminal C, tends to predominate, but other carriers, past and present, are mixed in, including Pan Am, TWA, and Braniff, giving some products a decidedly retro flavor.
The store also sells essentials aimed at airport and airline employees, including badgeholders, socks, hosiery, and shoes. The store’s hours of operation – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., every day, including holidays – gel with workers’ sometimes chaotic schedules, and picking up necessities there has become a ritual for veterans and a rite of passage for trainees.
Cosgrove said some crew will fly into DFW specifically to shop at his store, and the pride in his voice is unmistakable when he describes selling socks to a ramp worker doused by heavy, cold rain, and hosiery to a gate agent who needed a quick replacement after her own were ripped.
American-branded shirts at the Employee Store. (Photo: Steve Cosgrove)
In its 14 years in business, the store has only been closed twice – once when Cosgrove was away on a trip and didn’t realize his employees were out sick, and again last Christmas, due to family commitments. So it’s coming as a shock to many loyal customers and friends that, by the end of the month, the Employee Store will be gone, possibly for good.
Nowhere Left to Go
Terminal C is set to undergo renovations starting this summer, and businesses there must be closed and out by June 1.
Cosgrove said he was talking with American about a new location, but the airline “went quiet.” He said he was told by an American official that space at the airport is too expensive for a store like his, and for that reason it “wouldn’t be moved anywhere.”
There are other areas in the airport where the store could potentially land, but so far nothing has been solidified.
Aircraft models for sale. (Photo: Steve Cosgrove)
“I don’t need prime real estate, I can take something under an escalator, the employees will find me,” Cosgrove said. “I need low rent so I can keep the prices low for the airport and airline employees.”
American did not respond to AirlineGeeks’ inquiry about the Employee Store before press time. The airport referred questions to the store’s owner.
Cosgrove noted that, due to the recent shutdown of Spirit, there is now free space in Terminal E, but he is not sure how that property will be handled during the former carrier’s liquidation.
The Employee Store sells branded merchandise from a variety of airlines, past and present. (Photo: Steve Cosgrove)
Looking Forward, Looking Back
While the Employee Store will lose its physical footprint later this month, shoppers will still be able to buy merchandise online through the business’ website. Customers can have their order shipped, or pick it up at the store’s warehouse in Grapevine, Texas.
But something significant will still be lost, he noted. The store currently employs six part-time workers, all retirees from American. And the thousands of routine in-person connections, from a simple sale to long conversations with visitors and aviation enthusiasts, will come to an end.
“I enjoy working out there, I enjoy talking to people,” Cosgrove said. “I like hearing their stories. I’ve heard some fascinating ones.”
At least some of the Employee Store’s supporters are not dropping the issue quietly. The shop raised money for TSA workers during the partial government shutdown earlier this year, and in gratitude, staff are writing letters asking to keep the outlet at DFW. Cosgrove said he’s touched by the campaign and appreciates the support, even if the Employee Store ultimately fails to find a new permanent home.
Hats for sale at the Employee Store. (Photo: Steve Cosgrove)
Cosgrove formerly worked for the original Frontier Airlines, first as a flight attendant, then in crew scheduling, and later in public relations. He loved the work, he said, but “couldn’t deal with the management.”
“I can relate to a lot of the customers,” he said. “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.”
He worries that when the store shuts down, airline and airport employees will be left without an important and comforting support system.
“The ability to do all that, be of help to the employees, is going to go away,” Cosgrove said. “I don’t think American is looking at the value of that.”
A display at the Employee Store. (Photo: Steve Cosgrove)
According to a recent post on the Employee Store’s Facebook page, the store will remain open with extended hours, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., up to May 26, its “final” day in business.
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
A United 737 MAX 8. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Noah Escobar)
After a nine-year pause, United announced Tuesday that it will resume nonstop service to Venezuela.
Starting Aug. 11, the carrier will reconnect Houston Bush and Caracas with daily flights. United will use a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on the route.
Tickets are now available for purchase.
“After nearly a decade, United welcomes the opportunity to resume service between Houston and Venezuela thanks to the leadership and support of the Department of Transportation and the U.S. government,” Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, said in a news release. “This flight will help strengthen cultural and economic ties across the Americas and further reinforces United’s Houston hub as a leading gateway to the region.”
United suspended flights to Venezuela in June 2017, two years before the Department of Homeland Security and the DOT banned all U.S. passenger and cargo flights to the country. The agencies cited safety concerns and the possible degradation of airport facilities.
The ban was lifted earlier this year after U.S. military and law enforcement personnel captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Relations between the two countries have normalized somewhat in the months since, and in March, regulators approved American Airlines’ planned service between Miami and Caracas.
That connection – the first nonstop air link between the U.S. and Venezuela in about seven years – launched April 30.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Houston-Caracas flights “will be critical to ferrying oil sector workers into the country as the U.S. and Venezuela work together to expand production and generate new economic opportunities.”
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
FedEx Resumes MD-11 Flights
The FAA recently lifted a flight ban imposed following a fatal crash in Louisville, Kentucky.
A FedEx MD-11 aircraft. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fabian Behr)
FedEx’sMD-11s are gradually reentering service six months after a crash involving the type killed 15 people near Louisville, Kentucky.
The cargo airline operated an MD-11 test flight in and out of Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday, followed by two commercial flights on Sunday. One aircraft flew from Memphis to Los Angeles, while the other departed Memphis for Miami.
The FAA recently approved a protocol developed by Boeing to reinforce a support structure on the MD-11’s engine pylons. FedEx implemented that fix for the aircraft that returned to service over the weekend, and plans to perform the same work on its remaining MD-11s, which are parked across the country.
In a statement, FedEx said it worked closely with regulators, Boeing, and its own experts to inspect and repair the airplanes.
UPS Flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4, 2025. The trijet slammed into an industrial area near the airport, killing all three crew and 12 people on the ground.
The NTSB found that the aircraft’s left engine and pylon separated from the wing during takeoff. Investigators identified metal fatigue in the pylon structure, but a final ruling on the accident’s cause could still be months away.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed in connection with the crash; several target UPS, Boeing – which took over production of the MD-11 following its acquisition of McDonnell Douglas – and GE, which built the engines used by the accident aircraft.
UPS retired its MD-11 fleet in January.
FedEx has said it will continue to operate the MD-11 until 2032, when the type will be replaced by newer, more efficient aircraft.
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
Some Ex-Spirit Pilots Retained for Ferry Flights
The former carrier’s aircraft are being returned to leasing companies.
Spirit aircraft in Dallas/Fort Worth (Photo: Shutterstock | EQRoy)
Some former Spiritpilots are temporarily back to work ferrying the now-defunct carrier’s aircraft back to lessors.
In an interview with CBS News, Bob Allen, managing partner of Nomadic Aviation Group, said the company has retained former Spirit pilots to fly the aircraft to storage facilities.
Nomadic operates ferry flights for the aircraft leasing industry.
“The airline shuts down, they leave airplanes stranded all over the country, and then my company comes in and we get pilots and we get them to the airports where these airplanes are,” Allen said.
The effort involves coordinating with airports, leasing companies, and the FAA, which ultimately grants permission for the company to fly the aircraft back to their owners.
Allen said Nomadic is using all former Spirit pilots to relocate the failed carrier’s fleet.
“It helps a lot, not only putting some money in their pocket, but when you have this situation, some people need the closure,” he said. “They need to feel, ‘OK, I’m on this last flight, I’m putting this airplane away, then I’m going to continue on to some other part of this career.’”
Spirit folded May 2, leaving over 17,000 people out of work. Attorneys for the airline placed the blame squarely on the recent surge in the price of jet fuel, brought about by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A potential last-minute bailout from the Trump administration, reported to be worth up to $500 million, ultimately failed to materialize.
Allen said he’s seen several airline shutdowns, and noted that the process can be extremely disorienting for laid off workers.
“It’s a huge impact on the people at the airlines,” he said. “Everybody who works at Spirit has a lot of pride in where they work, they’re attached to this place, and when something like this happens, it feels like it’s a death in the family.”
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
Investigation Begins After Frontier Aircraft Hits, Kills Person on Runway
The individual, who has not been identified, jumped a perimeter fence, authorities said.
A Frontier A321neo (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
The FAA, NTSB, and local police are investigating after a Frontier aircraft hit and killed a pedestrian who apparently jumped a fence and walked onto Runway 17L at Denver International Airport.
The incident took place around 11:20 p.m. local time Friday. Frontier Flight 4345, operating with an Airbus A321neo, was taking off for Los Angeles when a pilot reported striking a person who had crossed onto the runway.
The takeoff was aborted, and a pilot told an air traffic controller that an engine had caught fire and there was smoke in the cabin. All 231 people on board – 224 passengers and seven crew – evacuated the aircraft using inflatable slides.
The pedestrian jumped the airport’s perimeter fence and was hit just two minutes later while walking on the runway, airport officials said Saturday. The individual has not been identified.
Twelve people on board the flight reported minor injuries, and five were hospitalized.
“We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved,” the airport said in a statement.
Videos recorded by passengers and shared with national media outlets showed the engine catching fire after the apparent strike, and the panic in the cabin that followed.
Authorities said the fenceline around the airport was found to be intact. Footage shot by NBC News over the weekend shows the fence is high and topped with barbed wire.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy highlighted the strike on X over the weekend.
“No one should EVER trespass on an airport,” he wrote.
Several agencies are now investigating the incident, including the FAA, Denver police, and TSA.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that the NTSB is collecting information about the evacuation, possibly over concerns that some passengers disregarded instructions from the crew and evacuated with their bags. The FAA requires that airlines instruct passengers to leave their bags behind in an emergency, but videos of recent evacuations have shown some passengers taking their luggage with them. The same could be seen in videos of Friday’s evacuation.
Most of the passengers on Flight 4345 were given seats on another Frontier flight to Los Angeles.
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
Royal Jordanian Starts New Route to U.S.
Flights will operate four times weekly going forward.
A Royal Jordanian Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Royal Jordanian added its fifth nonstop destination in the U.S. this week.
The carrier on Sunday operated its first revenue flight between Amman, Jordan, and Dallas/Fort Worth. Flights will operate four times weekly going forward, using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Airline officials said the new route will improve connectivity between Jordan and North America, strengthen trade ties, and position the company to benefit from travel connected to the FIFA World Cup this summer. Dallas is one of 11 U.S. cities selected to host matches for the tournament.
In the U.S., Royal Jordanian also serves New York-JFK, Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare, and Detroit. Most of its route network is concentrated in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa.
Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
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