Routes
Pearly Queen, the Virgin Atlantic 787-9 that flew me from London to Austin. (Photo: Mateen Kontoravdis)

Virgin Atlantic Cuts Flights to Austin

After nearly two years, Virgin Atlantic will be cutting its flight from London Heathrow to Austin. The airline confirmed the route cancellation in a statement to AirlineGeeks on Friday. “Following a network review, Virgin Atlantic plans to suspend services between London Heathrow and Austin from the beginning of 2024. The airline’s route to and from Austin has been proudly operating since May 2022, but following a persistent softening in corporate demand, specifically the tech sector, the airline has taken this…

Lufthansa Adds Another Subsidiary

When people think of Lufthansa, the first thing that comes to mind are the gleaming white airplanes with a crane on the tail taking passengers to places in Germany like Frankfurt and Munich. What many don’t realize, however, is how massive the airline is when considering all of its subsidiaries…

U.K. CAA Approves 26% Increase in Air Traffic Services Charges

The provider of enroute air traffic control services in the United Kingdom has been given approval by the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to raise prices over the period from 2023 to 2027. In an announcement on Thursday, the UK’s regulatory body ‘set out its Final Decision on new price…

United Targets Army Reservists, Students for Maintenance Job Training

Select U.S. Army reservists and students from three aviation maintenance schools have a new path to maintenance technician jobs at United Airlines. The airline is partnering with the U.S. Army Reserve Aviation Command, as well as the National Aviation Academy, Aviation Institute of Maintenance, and Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, to…

Southwest Adds New Routes in 2024, Trims Fort Lauderdale Schedule

With its schedule extension through early August 2024, Southwest is adding over 20 new routes across its network. The Dallas-based carrier’s expansion doesn’t come without some cuts, though. The airline confirmed that it would also be trimming its international operation from Fort Lauderdale. New Service from Orlando Southwest is bolstering…

Future Proofing the Regional Airline Sector

A lot has changed for regional airlines in just three years. But one small U.S. airline is thinking outside the box as constraints continue to pile on the regional sector. Far from immune to labor constraints, CommuteAir is broadening its horizons, adding a single Embraer E170 to its fleet. After…

Malaysian Government Investigates MYAirline Chaos

Malaysia’s MYAirline saga has no end in sight. The Transport Ministry is investigating the decision to grant the company an Air Service License (ASL) in 2022. But the chaos is far from over. Goh Hwan Hwa, the co-founder of the airline, was arrested and accused of money laundering. According to…

Wisk Conducts First Public eVTOL flight at Long Beach

Wisk became the first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi company to fly in the greater Los Angeles area with the launch of test flights at Long Beach Airport. The company produces fully autonomous vehicles that do require a pilot onboard. The test flights allowed Wisk to conduct…

JAL Set to Retire Last Remaining 777-200ER

Japan Airlines is planning to remove its last remaining 777-200ER aircraft from scheduled service later this year. One of the early adopters of Boeing’s 777, JAL has used the aircraft type for both short and long haul operations. The airline has phased out its 777-200ER fleet in recent years as…

JetBlue Adds New Long-Haul Routes

JetBlue is expanding its network portfolio in Europe, adding new destinations from both Boston and New York-JFK. The New York-based airline kicked off its European service in 2021 with flights to London, before eventually adding Paris and Amsterdam. In a press release Wednesday morning, the airline announced its plans to…