Low-cost airline Breeze will add two new routes from Tampa, Florida, early next year.
Service from Tampa to Las Vegas will begin Jan. 5, 2027, while service to Islip, New York, will commence one day later, on Jan. 6, the carrier confirmed to AirlineGeeks.
Flights to Las Vegas will operate daily, while flights to Islip will run twice per week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Islip is served via Long Island MacArthur Airport.
Breeze already serves all three cities, and has a pilot base in Tampa.
Air Canada on Monday debuted a new shuttle service connecting downtown Montreal with Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.
Operated by the Landline motorcoach company, the shuttle will run from 4:45 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a total of 37 trips per day. Departures are scheduled every 15 minutes at peak times, the carrier said, specifically in the early morning, and every 30 minutes for the remainder of the day.
The route links the Palais des congrès de Montréal – a convention center near downtown – and Montreal-Trudeau, about 12 miles away. There is a dedicated waiting area at the Palais des congrès for shuttle passengers.
By using the highway’s high-occupancy vehicle lane and a private entrance at the airport, the service saves customers up to 25 minutes, officials said.
“The Air Canada City Shuttle gives our customers a faster, more predictable way to travel between downtown Montreal and the airport,” Ranbir Singh, director of regional airlines and markets at Air Canada, said in a news release. “Our customers can now bypass traffic and avoid waiting in taxi lines. By combining frequent downtown service and faster, more direct access to YUL, we are making it easier for them to connect to Air Canada’s global network.”
The bus service is $9 for one person one way, plus taxes. Children under 15 ride free with an accompanying adult.
Air Canada also offers Landline coach service between Toronto Pearson and several smaller airports in southern Ontario.
Another U.S.-based investment firm is making a play to acquire British low-cost airline EasyJet.
The carrier announced Friday that it has reached an “agreement in principle” with Apollo Global Management, which submitted a takeover offer of £7.15 per share in cash last week. That proposal beats an earlier bid from alternative investment manager Castlelake, which valued the airline at £6.90 per share.
EasyJet reached a similar agreement in principle with Castlelake on July 5, but it now appears that deal is off. The carrier’s board said Friday that it is “no longer minded to recommend the Castlelake proposal.”
Castlelake’s offer was not legally binding or conclusive – the company would have had until Aug. 3 to extend a final, firm bid. Similarly, Apollo will have until Aug. 7 to confirm its own offer.
“This is still just a possible offer, and there is no certainty that any firm offer will be made,” EasyJet advised. “Apollo has not officially committed to a final, binding bid yet, and there is no guarantee that a final deal will actually happen.”
Under the British law governing corporate acquisitions, companies have a defined period of time to extend proposals, make a deal, or walk away.
Perhaps anticipating some concern from customers, EasyJet said in a statement that it will continue to operate as normal if it is ultimately acquired by Apollo.
“Apollo attaches great importance to the strength of the EasyJet brand and intends that it will remain in use following the completion of the transaction,” the carrier said. “Apollo plans to keep the current brand license agreement between EasyJet and EasyGroup Ltd in place without any changes.”
Castlelake announced its interest in EasyJet last month, after the oil shock stemming from the war in Iran depressed the airline’s stock price. The carrier’s board rejected several early offers, insisting it had no interest in a sale, but said it would recommend Castlelake’s fifth proposal, which it considered a fair valuation.
Sun Country’s distinctive orange-and-blue livery – well recognized in Minnesota and beyond – could be a thing of the past by early 2028.
Kristen Schilling-Gonzales, Allegiant’s vice president of network, planning, and charters, told USA Today earlier this week that the merged company will use the Allegiant name exclusively after securing a single operating certificate from the FAA.
“After we start flying under a single operating certificate, it will be the Allegiant brand going forward,” she said. “We’re working on negotiating with working groups on single labor agreements.”
Allegiant acquired Sun Country earlier this year, and while it was always likely that the smaller airline would be folded into its new parent company, there was also a chance the Sun Country name could be maintained in some form, at least for flights in Minnesota and the broader Midwest. Allegiant executives have said the two carriers will continue to operate separately, with minimal impact on customers, for the time being.
Schilling-Gonzales told USA Today that it could be 18 to 24 months before the single operating certificate comes through.
Sun Country is based at Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport and serves destinations across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. It has been in business for 44 years.
Brazilian low-cost airline GOL Linhas Aéreas began nonstop flights between Rio de Janeiro and New York-JFK on Wednesday.
The service operates three times per week using Airbus A330 aircraft. Flights depart Rio on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and return from New York on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
GOL first announced the Rio-JFK route in March. It is the airline’s first ever long-haul international connection.
In the U.S., GOL also serves Miami and Orlando, Florida. Most of its route network is concentrated in South America.
The airline has said it plans to add more long-haul routes, including transatlantic flights, as it takes delivery of more A330s.
The Department of Homeland Security is putting together a fleet of government-owned aircraft to operate deportation flights for undocumented immigrants, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The department is currently looking for a company to operate the airplanes, the outlet said. The contractor would handle not only deportation flights but also emergency response missions and transportation for high-ranking government officials.
The nascent fleet reportedly includes two C-37Bs – the military’s name for converted Gulfstream 550s – and seven Boeing 737-700s. The C-37Bs are used only for executive transport, not deportation flights.
DHS currently charters deportation flights with independent operators, who use their own aircraft. Up until January, the department’s most visible partner was ultra-low-cost airline Avelo, which flew deportation flights from a base at Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona. The carrier ended its involvement amid criticism from immigration and human rights activists and some lawmakers, who argued that the company was profiting from the abuse of migrants.
Avelo said the deportation program “provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs.”
It is possible that DHS has elected to build its own fleet rather than continue to rely on outside companies that could be susceptible to public pressure.
Bloomberg reported that the new, government-owned fleet will be capable of flying “around the clock,” and on short notice.
International and domestic route rights held by Minnesota-based Sun Country will now also cover the airline’s parent company, Allegiant, the Department of Transportation ruled this week.
In a decision released Wednesday, department officials said the transfer will not harm competition or adversely affect the international trade position of the U.S. Going forward, Allegiant will be able to operate all Sun Country routes, though the two airlines will be barred from operating any route simultaneously.
The department found that Allegiant and Sun Country do not “meaningfully compete” at present and overlap on only one route – Appleton, Wisconsin, to Fort Myers, Florida.
The ruling could allow Allegiant to operate its first international flights. The carrier currently flies only within the U.S., while Sun Country offers flights to destinations in Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Allegiant completed its acquisition of Sun Country in May. The two airlines are continuing to operate as separate entities until a single operating certificate is obtained from the FAA.
Editor’s Note: AirlineGeeks is proud to present our ‘Livery of the Week’ series. Every Friday, a team member will share an airline livery, which can be from the past, present, or even a special scheme. Some airline liveries are works of art. The complexity associated with painting around critical flight components and the added weight requires outside-the-box thinking from designers. The average airliner can cost upwards of $200,000 to repaint, creating a separate aircraft repainting industry as a result.
Have an idea for a livery that we should highlight? Drop us a line.
RwandAir’s standard livery is centered on a multicolored sunburst design that stretches across the vertical stabilizer and rear fuselage. The pattern, rendered in shades of blue, yellow, and green, is inspired by the sun motif found on Rwanda’s national flag and has become the defining feature of the airline’s fleet identity.
The tail artwork radiates outward in a series of curved lines, creating the appearance of a rising sun. The design is paired with a predominantly white fuselage, allowing the vibrant colors to stand out while maintaining a clean and modern appearance.
Along the forward section of the aircraft, “RwandAir” titles appear in dark blue lettering, accompanied by the airline’s slogan, “Fly the Dream of Africa,” on certain aircraft. A thin blue cheatline runs beneath the cabin windows toward the rear of the aircraft, visually connecting the fuselage to the colorful tail.
The livery is applied consistently across RwandAir’s fleet, including Boeing 737s, Airbus A330s, and Bombardier CRJ-900 regional jets. While the proportions vary by aircraft type, the sunburst pattern remains the focal point of the design regardless of the size of the aircraft.
Unlike many modern airline liveries that rely on a single dominant color, RwandAir embraces a broader palette that reflects both its national identity and its position as one of Africa’s fastest-growing carriers. The result is a design that is both contemporary and unmistakably tied to its home country.
Today, the sunburst livery can be seen on flights across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, serving as a colorful ambassador for Rwanda and one of the more distinctive fleet identities in the region.
Looking for a new airplane model? Head over to our friends at the Midwest Model Store for a wide selection of airlines and liveries.
A passenger was nearly sucked out of a window opening on a Ryanair flight Friday morning after the windowpane near his seat detached in mid-air.
Other travelers on board the flight, which was heading from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, told media outlets that the man’s head and shoulders were briefly outside the aircraft fuselage. His seatbelt kept him in place, however, and other passengers nearby helped pull him fully back inside the cabin.
Their statements could not be independently verified as of Friday. Ryanair said only that the flight returned to Thessaloniki after a “passenger window detached.”
“The aircraft landed normally and the passengers returned to the terminal,” the carrier said in a statement.
Ryanair did not mention any injuries to passengers or the crew, though some outlets, including CBS News, reported that the man who was partially pulled out of the window was hospitalized in Greece for friction burns.
FlightAware shows that Ryanair uses a Boeing 737-800 on its Thessaloniki-Memmingen connection.
According to some Greek media sources, a piece of the aircraft’s engine broke off and smashed into the window, causing a cabin decompression event. Neither Ryanair nor authorities in Greece have confirmed this.
If the account of engine failure is accurate, it would closely mirror a 2018 episode in which a woman was partially sucked out of a Southwest flight. Fragments from an engine cowl burst a cabin window, resulting in explosive decompression. The woman was pulled back inside the aircraft by flight attendants and other passengers but died of blunt force trauma.
Palm Beach International Airport in Florida is now officially President Donald J. Trump International Airport, making it the first airport in the U.S. to be named after a sitting president.
The change, which had been in the works for months following state and federal efforts, took effect Thursday, according to the FAA. The airport’s FAA location identifier will be changed to “DJT,” and its ICAO identifier will be changed to “KDJT.”
Updates to signage, branding, and public‑facing materials will occur in phases, airport officials said this week. They also clarified that there has been no change in the airport’s ownership, and flight operations will continue as normal.
President Donald J. Trump International is located in Palm Beach County, not far from the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation to rename the airport in March, following a push by state Republicans. The FAA approved the change, and has been updating the airport’s name in its internal systems.
Separately, some Republicans in Congress have proposed renaming Washington Dulles after Trump, but this appears highly unlikely with his name now attached to the airport in Palm Beach.
There are now nine commercial airports and three general aviation airports in the country named after presidents.
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