An American Eagle Embraer jet. (Photo: Ryan Ewing)
A small, mostly GA-focused airport in North Carolina will get $4.5 million to help attract a new airline.
WCTI-TV reported Wednesday that the money was allocated to Pitt-Greenville Airport in a state budget recently signed into law by Governor Josh Stein. The funding will support a revenue guarantee for carriers that opt to connect Greenville.
Many small airports use revenue guarantees to help reduce the financial risk for potential partner airlines.
Currently, only American Airlines serves Greenville, with American Eagle commuter flights to Charlotte.
Airport Executive Director Brandon Craft told WCTI that the addition of another airline could help grow Greenville into a travel hub for eastern North Carolina. He also said that the airport is pursuing grants to help expand and improve its facilities.
Greenville is located about 80 miles east of Raleigh.
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.
JetBlue Launches Eight New Routes, Plans Six More
The carrier is adding a new destination in South America.
A JetBlue Airbus A321. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
JetBlue this week launched eight new routes from its hub in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and said six more connections are in the works for later this year.
On Wednesday, the carrier added daily service between Fort Lauderdale and Cleveland, Ohio, followed by connections to Baltimore (three times daily), Charlotte, North Carolina (three times daily), Nashville, Tennessee (three times daily), Detroit (twice daily), Houston (three times daily), Chicago O’Hare (twice daily), and Ponce, Puerto Rico (daily), on Thursday. All eight of the routes were previously announced in May.
JetBlue officials have said they are building up Fort Lauderdale to capture market share once held by Spirit Airlines, which went out of business May 2. The carrier has also hired former Spirit employees in South Florida.
Another six routes from Fort Lauderdale will come online this fall; they are Indianapolis (Nov. 2), Columbus, Ohio (Nov. 2), San Diego (Nov. 19), Barranquilla (Oct. 1) and Cali (Oct. 15) in Colombia, and Caracas, Venezuela (date to be confirmed).
JetBlue has never served Caracas before, but signaled it would in a statement in May. The Department of Transportation canceled a 2019 ban on passenger and cargo flights between the U.S. and Venezuela in January following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
American Airlines was the first U.S. airline to return to the country; its Miami-Caracas service started April 30. United has said it will reconnect Houston and Caracas in early August.
“We are very excited about this next phase of growth and look forward to delivering great value to the people of South Florida,” JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said in a news release. “We’re building on our already strong foundation by adding more destinations, creating more connections, and giving customers even more reasons to choose JetBlue.”
With the new routes factored in, JetBlue will operate more than 125 daily departures to more than 55 nonstop destinations from Fort Lauderdale.
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.
Searchers Find Wreckage From Crashed 737 Freighter
The K2 Airways aircraft disappeared from radar Tuesday night.
None of the flight’s five crew have been found. K2 Airways, which operated the 737, said Tuesday that the crew consisted of two pilots, two engineers, and one support staffer.
“We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues,” the carrier said in a statement.
ABC News of Australia reported that rough seas are complicating the search and recovery effort.
The airplane departed Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and was en route to Karachi when the pilots reported a problem with the navigation system. According to Flightradar24, preliminary ADS-B data shows the 737 experienced a loss of altitude, climbed, and then suddenly descended again from around 34,350 feet. The aircraft was 1,100 feet above sea level when signals were lost.
Pakistani investigators said it is unclear what caused the aircraft to dive so sharply.
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.
Delta Extends ‘Basic’ Fare Option to Premium Offerings
Starting Wednesday, customers can select a lower-priced, no-frills rate for Delta First, Delta Premium Select, and Delta One.
The airline said the new rate will help more customers access its premium offerings at a lower price point.
While there is no difference in the flight experience compared to Delta’s Classic and Extra fares, Basic-tier customers are excluded from some of the airline’s standard premium benefits, with seats assigned at check-in, a reduced checked bag allowance, fewer earned miles, and no complimentary or free upgrades. They are also not able to access Delta Sky Clubs unless they have eligibility through a means beyond their fare, such a Delta Sky Club membership or a qualifying credit card.
“This expansion gives customers more ways to choose the Delta experience that best fits their trip, and a new way to access our premium tier products,” Joe Esposito, Delta’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a news release.
Delta First Basic is available and flying in select domestic and Latin American markets starting Wednesday.
Delta Premium Select Basic and Basic Business – Delta’s name for the Basic tier of Delta One – are available for purchase starting Wednesday for flights scheduled for September and after.
Delta introduced its Basic-Classic-Extra system for main cabin seats last year. It extended the Basic option to its Delta Comfort product in November.
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.
Icelandair to Keep Dash 8-200
The airline has changed its fleet and network plans after securing a new air service agreement.
An Icelandair Dash 8-200. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
Last summer, AirlineGeeks reported that Icelandair was planning on retiring its Dash 8-200s in the summer of 2026, but it looks like this plan will be changing, and with it, the airline will also keep one of its most vital links.
With airports in Greenland opening newer, longer runways, the need for the smaller Dash 8 diminished, as the carrier could fly its slightly larger Dash 8-400s, more commonly known as the Q400, to its four destinations in Greenland. However, there was still one destination in Icelandair’s network that couldn’t handle anything larger than the small -200: Ísafjörður.
With the retirement of the Dash 8-200, Icelandair was going to end flights to Ísafjörður, as it didn’t make sense to keep a small fleet type just for one route. But the plan has changed, as the airline has been selected for an air service agreement to serve Ísafjörður for the next four years.
We had the chance to speak with Icelandair’s communications manager, Guðni Sigurðsson, about the change.
AirlineGeeks (AG): Will Ísafjörður keep its current service levels, or will it be altered in any noticeable way?
Guðni Sigurðsson (GS): Under the four-year agreement, service to Ísafjörður will remain year-round, but with lower frequency than the historical operation. Nine weekly flights in September-October and March-April, 7-weekly flights during the winter period (November-February), and 10-weekly flights during the peak summer season (May-August). This represents a reduction from the current double-daily summer schedule and from the current 11x weekly winter schedule, while still maintaining a consistent year-round service pattern with more flights in the peak summer months. The result is a more seasonally adjusted schedule that preserves key travel options for residents and visitors while aligning capacity more closely with expected demand.
AG: Icelandair had planned on ending Ísafjörður in conjunction with the last Dash 8-200 flights at the end of the 2026 summer season. Why did Icelandair bid for the contract if it was planning on retiring the aircraft type?
GS: When Icelandair announced plans to retire the Dash 8-200 fleet, the business case for continuing to operate the aircraft had largely disappeared. The aircraft had primarily been used on routes to Greenland and Ísafjörður, but new airport infrastructure in Greenland has allowed larger and more efficient aircraft to take over much of that flying. At the time, operating the Dash 8-200 fleet solely for Ísafjörður was not considered economically sustainable.
The possibility of government-supported services to both Höfn and Ísafjörður created operational synergies and a stronger revenue base than relying on Ísafjörður alone. That was one of the reasons Icelandair participated in the Höfn tender and later bid for the Ísafjörður contract as well.
The terminal in Nuuk, which was demolished in the summer of 2024. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
AG: Icelandair was supposed to retire the Dash 8-200 as part of a fleet simplification. Does this mean the aircraft will now remain in service?
GS: Yes, since the recent awarding of public service contracts for both Höfn and Ísafjörður, the outlook for the Dash 8-200 fleet has changed and created a sufficient operating platform to continue flying the aircraft type alongside our fleet of the larger Dash 8-Q400. Therefore, the previously announced retirement plan is no longer proceeding as originally adjusted.
AG: What is the long-term plan for Ísafjörður going forward?
GS: The newly signed agreement secures service through 31 August 2030, providing a stable framework for continued operations over the next four years. Icelandair sees the route as strategically important both for residents of the Westfjords and for maintaining visibility and access to the region through Icelandair’s international sales and distribution network in Europe and North America.
A thank-you to Guðni Sigurðsson of Icelandair for answering our questions about the Dash 8-200 and the flights to Ísafjörður. Air service is vital for a community such as Ísafjörður, a community of less than 3,000 people, which sits up in Iceland’s secluded Westfjords region and has limited public bus options outside of the region, with options to the capital of Reykjavík taking around eight or nine hours and requiring multiple transfers.
Reykjavík Domestic Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | 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.
Air Canada Names New CEO
Anko Van der Werff will succeed outgoing chief executive Michael Rousseau.
According to Air Canada, Van der Werff has held leadership positions at Scandinavian, Avianca Group, and Aeroméxico. He also previously worked at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Qatar Airways.
Vagn Sørensen, chair of the board of directors of Air Canada, praised Van der Werff’s “exceptional breadth of international aviation experience.”
“We are confident he will drive further value-creating growth and transformation while maintaining our commitment to disciplined capital allocation,” Sørensen said in a news release.
Anko Van der Werff. (Photo: Air Canada)
Rousseau’s retirement will take effect Aug. 31. The outgoing CEO faced intense criticism earlier this year after speaking almost entirely in English in a video statement on the collision of an Air Canada regional jet and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport, which killed two pilots.
The near exclusion of French – one of the country’s two official languages, spoken by around 8 million Canadians – was slammed on social media, and by elected officials, including Prime Minister Mark Carney and lawmakers from Quebec.
Rousseau had been knocked for his lack of French on other, earlier occasions, but the furor over the video statement was widely seen as the last straw and the likely end to his roughly five-year tenure as chief executive.
Van der Werff, a native of the Netherlands, speaks Dutch and can communicate in French, Air Canada said Wednesday. To underscore the point, the carrier released two videos of Van der Werff introducing himself, one in English, the other in French.
“Air Canada is a globally recognized airline leader,” Van der Werff said in a statement. “It is an honor to be chosen to lead this iconic Canadian company as it advances its ambitions and strategy, builds on its award-winning employee culture and customer value proposition, and prepares for an even brighter future.”
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.
Southwest Signs Interline Deal With Air Premia
Tickets for interline itineraries are now available for purchase.
A Southwest Boeing 737-800. (Photo: Shutterstock | Markus Mainka)
Southwest this week inked a new interline deal with Seoul-based Air Premia that will allow customers to book connecting flights with a single ticket.
The carriers said Wednesday that they will use Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu as gateways.
The agreement will allow passengers from South Korea to more easily reach U.S. cities with limited or no nonstop service to the country, such as Las Vegas, Houston, Phoenix, and Nashville, Tennessee, officials said. American travelers, meanwhile, will get more convenient connections to South Korea and East Asia generally.
Tickets for the new interline itineraries became available for purchase on Wednesday.
“Similar to Southwest, Air Premia works to pair value and comfort with high-quality service for everyone onboard,” Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s chief operating officer, said in a news release. “Air Premia becomes our latest partner in a portfolio that not only provides more potential global travel options for Southwest customers, it also exposes more marketplaces overseas to our unmatched network in the United States and our world-famous hospitality.”
In Asia, Air Premia serves Tokyo Narita, Hong Kong, Da Nang, Vietnam, and Bangkok. The airline also serves Newark, New Jersey, and Washington Dulles.
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.
737 Cargo Aircraft Vanishes Over Arabian Sea
Search and rescue operations are now underway, officials said.
A K2 Airways aircraft. (Photo: Shutterstock - InsectWorld)
A Boeing 737-400 cargo airplane with five crew on board lost all contact with air traffic controllers and disappeared from flight tracking systems Tuesday night over the Arabian Sea.
The aircraft, operated by K2 Airways of Pakistan, departed Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and was en route to Karachi when the crew reported a problem with the navigation system, Pakistani aviation authorities said Wednesday. According to Flightradar24, preliminary ADS-B data shows the 737 experienced a loss of altitude, climbed, and then suddenly descended again, likely plunging into the sea.
The data indicates that the airplane was off the coast of Pakistan when it vanished.
Search and rescue operations are now underway. The Pakistan Navy and Air Force are leading the effort.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday that he ordered rescuers to speed up and intensify operations in the area where the airplane disappeared. He made no statement about the condition of the crew but extended “heartfelt condolences” to their families.
K2 said the crew consisted of two pilots, two engineers, and one support staffer. The carrier said it is cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.
According to some accounts, the missing 737 is K2’s only aircraft.
Boeing had not commented on the incident as of Wednesday morning.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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.
DOT Denies Western NY County’s Request to Rejoin EAS
Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport has not had scheduled commercial air service since 2018.
In May 2025, Chautauqua County and Southern Airways Express submitted a joint proposal for the restoration of EAS-subsidized service at Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport, located in Jamestown, New York. The county and the airline proposed adding 12 or 17 weekly round trip flights to Washington Dulles, using nine-seat Cessna C-208B Grand Caravan EX single-engine turboprop aircraft.
Southern Airways Express previously served Jamestown until 2018, when the DOT formally ended EAS support after determining that the airport no longer qualified for the program. Critically, the airport failed to maintain an average of 10 enplanements per service day, dipping to 5.3 in fiscal year 2015.
The 10-enplanement standard is waived for certain communities, including those located more than 175 driving miles from the nearest large or medium hub airport. Jamestown, however, is less than 175 miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
In its final decision, the DOT said there is no evidence that local demand has grown since air service was terminated eight years ago. Chautauqua County and Southern Airways’ proposal forecasts annual passenger volumes not seen at Jamestown since 2013 and, prior to that, 2006, the department said.
It is also doubtful that Southern Airways could grow demand once operations are up and running, officials added.
“Southern was the air carrier that was serving the Jamestown community at the time when it had load factors of only 20%,” the DOT’s ruling states. “Therefore, the department cannot find that the joint proposal is likely to result in the significant enplanement increase needed to generate 10 enplanements per service day at Jamestown.”
Southern Airways Express operates mostly EAS-subsidized routes. Prior to 2018, it connected Jamestown with Pittsburgh.
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.
Report: Philippine Airlines to Place First Order With Boeing Since 2007
The carrier is considering a mix of 787s and A350s.
A Philippine Airlines Boeing 777-300ER. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Philippine Airlines is preparing to place its first order with Boeing in almost 20 years, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Citing unnamed officials with knowledge of the matter, the financial news outlet said PAL will likely order 10 Boeing 787s and 10 Airbus A350s as it seeks to grow and modernize its fleet.
The airline has not yet announced any new orders, and a top official, Chief Operating Officer Carlu Fernandez, told Insider PH that plans have not been finalized.
Bloomberg reported that PAL and Boeing will likely announce the order during the Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K., which starts July 20.
PAL’s current fleet consists mostly of Airbus aircraft, including A321s, A330s, and A350s. It also operates the 777-300ER.
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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