Starting May 1, Emirates will introduce a second daily flight to Narita. The additional flight will depart Dubai at 10:30 p.m. and arrive at Tokyo Narita at 1:30 p.m. the following day. The return service will depart Narita at 9:30 p.m. and arrive in Dubai at 03:50 a.m. the following morning.
The additional service will provide travelers with greater choice and more opportunities for multi-destination itineraries, including the possibility of a stopover in Dubai, airline officials said.
The new service will also enable shorter connection times to Japan (from key European and Middle Eastern destinations) as well as improved connectivity to major destinations across Africa, Europe, and South America when traveling from Japan.
The flights will be operated with a retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with a four-class cabin. The cabin features upgraded interiors with new design elements, including modern color palettes, specially designed Ghaf Tree motifs, and wood finishes.
Lorne is a South Africa-based aviation journalist. He was captivated and fascinated by flying from the day he took his first airline flight. With a passion for aviation in his blood, he has flown to destinations in all corners of the globe. Lorne has traveled extensively and lived in various countries. Drawing on his travels and passion for aviation, Lorne enjoys writing about airlines, routes, networks, and new developments.
Delta Resumes Boeing 757 Route
The service will relaunch after a seven-year pause.
A Delta Boeing 757-200. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Delta will relaunch a previously suspended transcontinental route in 2026 as part of an expansion of its premium long-haul domestic network from New York.
The carrier will resume nonstop service between its New York-JFK hub and Orange County, California, beginning May 7, 2026. Flights will operate daily except on Saturdays.
Service will be operated with a Boeing 757-200, featuring Delta One seating. The carrier last served the market in January 2019, marking a seven-year gap before the route’s return.
According to a Delta spokesperson, the relaunch is intended to expand premium transcontinental offerings from New York, with the 2026 return introducing Delta One service on the route.
Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com back in February 2013 and has amassed considerable experience in the aviation sector. His work has been featured in several publications and news outlets, including CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. During his time in the industry, he's worked in roles pertaining to airport/airline operations while holding a B.S. in Air Transportation Management from Arizona State University along with an MBA. Ryan has experience in several facets of the industry from behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 to interviewing airline industry executives. Ryan works for AirlineGeeks' owner FLYING Media, spearheading coverage in the commercial aviation space.
A Saudia Boeing 787 aircraft (Photo: Shutterstock | ZuhdiMus)
Saudi Arabian flag carrier Saudia is in talks with Boeing and Airbus for what could be its largest aircraft order ever.
Bloomberg reported Thursday that the airline is looking to purchase at least 150 jets. Saudia is still considering its options and hasn’t settled on types or quantities, people with knowledge of the matter told the outlet.
The aircraft would replace some of the carrier’s existing fleet, while also supporting expansion efforts.
Saudia currently operates a mix of Boeing and Airbus jets, including the A320, A330, 777-300ER, and 787 Dreamliner.
News of the potential order comes as the Saudi government makes new investments in Saudia, including installation of Starlink satellite internet service on some of its aircraft. According to Bloomberg, the airline is being repositioned to focus mainly on religious pilgrimages, while Riyadh Air, the country’s second flag carrier, is being geared toward tourists.
Saudia has an extensive network within the Middle East and also serves destinations in Europe, Africa, North America, India, and East Asia. In North America, it serves New York-JFK, Washington Dulles, Toronto, and 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.
Livery of the Week: ITA Airways Celebrates Winter Olympics
ITA Airways has created a special snow-themed livery for the 2026 Milano/Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
ITA Airways Airbus A320 in a special Milano/Cortina 2026 livery (Photo: X | @ITAAirways)
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.
As the world turns its eyes to Italy for the opening of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games of Milano-Cortina, Italian flag carrier ITA Airways is celebrating its role as official sponsor of he event with a special livery where the iconic ITA Airways’ blue “becomes the sky and a symbol of connection between people, places, and emotions”, the airline explains on its website.
ITA Airways Airbus A320-216 tailfin in a special Milano/Cortina 2026 livery (Photo: X | @ITAAirways)
The design, ideated by the Italian visual artist Emiliano Ponzi, includes mountains, snow, ice, and “captures the athlete’s decisive moment, a few seconds encompassing years of dreams, sacrifice and passion.”
ITA Airways and Sports
ITA Airways dedicates every single aircraft of its fleet to an important Italian sports personality, “as a recognition of their accomplishment and to how they have honored the Italian flag around the world through their work ethic, determination, strength, passion and grit,” the airline states in a note.
ITA Airways Airbus A320-216 in a special Milano/Cortina 2026 livery (Photo: X | @ITAAirways)
A number of these athletes are world-renowned champions of winter sports, such as Olympic gold medals in alpine skiing, Gustav Thoeni, Alberto Tomba, Deborah Compagnoni, and speed skater Enrico Fabris.
Former Air One Aircraft
The aircraft repainted in this Olympic-themed livery is an Airbus A320, registered as EI-DSY, that was originally part of former low-cost airline Air One, founded in 1983 and subsequently integrated into Alitalia in 2014. The aircraft was delivered on Jan 5, 2009, and was therefore part of the initial ITA Airways fleet when the airline was created from the ashes of Alitalia in October 2021.
The aircraft configuration is a one-class all-economy layout with 174 seats, just six fewer seats than the standard configuration of low-cost airlines Wizz Air and easyJet for this aircraft type.
Looking for a new airplane model? Head over to our friends at the Midwest Model Store for a wide selection of airlines and liveries.
Vanni fell in love with commercial aviation during his undergraduate studies in Statistics at the University of Bologna, when he prepared his thesis on the effects of deregulation on the U.S. and European aviation markets. Then he pursued his passion further by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Air Transport Management at Cranfield University in the U.K. followed by holding several management positions at various start-up carriers in Europe (Jet2, SkyEurope, Silverjet). After moving to Canada, he was Business Development Manager for IATA for nine years before turning to his other passion: sports writing.
Venezuelan Airline Seeks Clearance for U.S. Flights
The carrier named two cities as potential destinations.
An Avior 737-400. (Photo: JTOcchialini [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)])
Venezuelan airline Avior is asking regulators for permission to resume nonstop service to the U.S.
In a recent filing with the Transportation Department, the carrier noted President Donald Trump’s Jan. 29 announcement that he will soon open Venezuelan airspace to U.S. carriers. The department has prohibited commercial and cargo flights to and from the country since 2019.
Avior is looking to restart one route it already has authorization for, between Barcelona, Venezuela, and Miami, and to launch three new ones: Caracas to Miami; Maracaibo, Venezuela, to Miami; and Barcelona to Houston.
“For administrative convenience and to ensure Avior’s economic authority is up to date in preparation for the resumption of U.S. service, Avior respectfully requests that the department, in a single Notice of Action Taken in a new docket, approve this application and contemporaneously renew Avior’s current exemption authority which has long been pending under Part 377,” the airline wrote. “Avior requests that its exemption authority be granted for a period of two years.”
Avior flies mainly within Venezuela but also has routes to neighboring Colombia. Its main hub is at General José Antonio Anzoátegui International Airport in Barcelona.
Several international airlines – some of which stopped flying to Venezuela nearly a decade ago – are rushing to reconnect the country following Trump’s pronouncement.
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.
“Porto is exactly the type of new market the Airbus A321XLR enables us to serve,” Brian Znotins, Americans’ senior vice president of network and schedule planning, said in a statement. “While we’ll have even more new routes to share later this year for summer 2027, we’re eager to continue growing our long-haul network that features service to new destinations, including Budapest, Hungary, and Prague, that will start this summer.”
Each flight will have 20 Flagship Suite seats, American’s most premium offering.
No firm start or end dates for the route were announced.
American took delivery of its first A321XLR in December. Airline leaders have made the aircraft a key part of their network expansion strategy, with plans to use the longer-range jet on certain transatlantic and transcontinental routes.
Next month, American will start service between New York-JFK and Edinburgh, Scotland, using the A321XLR. The aircraft will also be used on flights from JFK to Los Angeles and San Francisco and from Boston to Los Angeles this summer.
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.
An Avianca Airbus A320. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Colombia’s largest airline announced Thursday that it will resume service between Bogotá and the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.
In a statement, Avianca said nonstop flights between the two cities will operate daily from Feb. 12.
“The decision follows a comprehensive assessment of operational and aviation safety conditions conducted in coordination with the appropriate authorities,” the carrier said.
According to the Associated Press, Avianca halted flights to Caracas in 2017, citing concerns about the safety of its crews and passengers, and Venezuela’s worsening airport infrastructure.
At the time, the country was wracked by protests against President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro and his wife were captured and transported to New York by U.S. military and law enforcement personnel in a raid on Caracas last month. Since then, the commercial aviation industry in Venezuela has begun to normalize, with President Donald Trump announcing that he will soon open Venezuelan airspace to U.S. carriers.
The U.S. has prohibited passenger and cargo flights to the country since 2019.
American Airlines was the first U.S. carrier to announce a return to Venezuela. The carrier said it is working to resume daily nonstop flights to the country, though it did not set a start date or disclose any planned routes.
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.
FAA Investigating Suspected Laser Event
An American crew reported seeing an out-of-place blue light.
An American A321 in Charlotte. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
An investigation is underway after American Airlines pilots reported seeing a blue light, possibly a laser, while preparing to land in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week.
According to the FAA, the crew of American Flight 3114 “reported being illuminated by a blue laser” about five miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The incident took place around 7 a.m. local time last Thursday.
The flight landed safely and there were no injuries.
In a statement to FOX News, American said the blue light was reported as a laser event “out of an abundance of caution.”
The FAA alerted local authorities and is beginning its own investigation.
There were almost 11,000 suspected laser strikes on aircraft in the U.S. in 2025, according to FAA statistics. High-powered lasers can “incapacitate” pilots, the agency warned, putting passengers and crew at extreme risk.
Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime, with civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation.
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.
Union Slams American Leadership After Earnings Report
The union is reportedly considering holding a vote of no confidence.
An American Airlines Airbus A320 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Backlash over a lackluster earnings report from American Airlines continued to grow this week as the labor union that represents the carrier’s pilots slammed executives for their performance.
In a message released ahead of the Allied Pilots Association’s winter board of directors meeting, President Nick Silva criticized American leaders for failing to make up ground with competitors United and Delta.
“Last week’s financial results fell short of already modest company guidance, underscoring a deeper problem: The company under this management team appears to lack the tools, creativity, leadership, and willpower to return American to prominence among its peers,” he wrote.
Past strategies have not meaningfully improved American’s operations or financial health, Silva argued, and management’s relationship with the pilot group is now seriously frayed. He also said that poor financial performance has a direct effect on pilot compensation, and noted that Delta will pay more than $500 million in profit sharing to its pilots this year, which is more than American’s full-year earnings.
“Even into 2026, the gap will remain, with Delta projecting earnings three times greater than ours,” the statement read. “This pattern is not new, but it is now impossible to ignore. The problems extend beyond finances to the very culture and capability of management.”
An American A321neo. (Photo: Shutterstock | Robin Guess)
The APA’s board is expected to discuss American’s weakened position and the ability of senior officers, including CEO Robert Isom, to address workers’ concerns.
“Over the next five days, we face difficult decisions at this table,” Silva continued. “The membership’s feedback is clear: They do not believe that, under the current leadership, this company can realize its full potential. APA pilots are the best in the industry… We deserve management that treats us as an asset, not a cost unit.”
The message does not mention a no-confidence vote in America’s leadership, but Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the union is considering holding one.
American last week reported fourth-quarter net income of $99 million, down from $590 million in the year-ago period, and full-year net income of $111 million, down from $846 million in 2024. The airline lost about $325 million in revenue in the fourth quarter due to the federal government shutdown, officials said.
Executives acknowledged the difficult quarter but said American is well positioned going into 2026, with years-long investments in aircraft, network, and premium offerings beginning to bear fruit. Projections call for nearly $2 of improvement in adjusted earnings per diluted share compared to 2025.
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.
Spirit Looks to Sell Two Gates at Chicago O’Hare
A proposed deal with a major airline could earn the budget carrier $30.2 million.
A Spirit Airbus A321 aircraft. (Photo: Shutterstock | Felipe I Santiago)
Spirit is seeking permission to sell two gates at Chicago O’Hare to United for a total of $30.2 million.
Reuters reported Wednesday that Spirit filed a request to transfer the gates with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The court is overseeing the carrier during its second stint in bankruptcy protection, which began in August.
According to court documents cited by The Engine Cowl, Spirit is looking to sell two preferential use gates, G12 and G14, along with their associated infrastructure. The ultra-low-cost carrier would use the proceeds from the sale to repay loans, the site reported.
Spirit will continue to operate from Chicago O’Hare, airline officials said in the filing.
Currently, Spirit connects Chicago with markets such as New York-LaGuardia, Newark, New Jersey, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, among others.
United is battling American Airlines for capacity at Chicago O’Hare. Both airlines are building up their schedules there, but because the airport is already tightly scheduled, available gates are a rarity.
Late last year, United was awarded five more gates by the City of Chicago. The move was challenged by American in court.
Spirit sold two gates at Chicago O’Hare to American in December for $30 million.
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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