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JetBlue Shrinks Route Map… Again

JetBlue Airways will see several unprofitable routes say goodbye, including a complete market exit from San Jose (CA) and an end to minty-fresh flights to Seattle.

On its way out is service between Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville alongside New York/JFK to Austin, Houston/IAH, Miami, and Milwaukee. In the biggest news of all — to rich Westchesterites who have a deep affinity for South Carolina — Westchester to Charleston will go away too. The carrier will end its seasonal flight from Boston to San Jose (CA), pulling out of SJC entirely, consolidating its flying to the San Francisco Bay Area at San Francisco International Airport which is one of the two closest airports in the region to San Francisco Bay.

Two flights from Boston (Grenada and Phoenix) and New York/JFK to Tulum will operate in the winter only, while Seattle to both BOS and JFK will no longer fly on aircraft with Mint on-board. Instead, JetBlue will use that nasty bubble gum-flavored option which nobody in their right mind prefers.

Across the pond, the summer-only flight between JFK and London/Gatwick and the second daily service between JFK and Paris/CDG are out, but Paris will continue to be served once daily to both BOS and JFK on a year-round basis.

Frontier’s Newest Frontier: First Class

Frontier Airlines continues to reinvent itself on the fly as the carrier announced this week it plans to introduce a first class cabin and an enhanced loyalty program that will include upgrades to said new first class cabins and free travel for companions of elite members.

Frontier says it will have eight first class seats on each plane, two rows in a 2-2 layout. The image released by the airline shows what appears to be a pretty standard domestic first class seat, with slight recline and an ability to open a trap door in the flooring once per flight to send a deserving economy passenger to the cargo hold.

Beginning early next year, it plans to offer free upgrades to Frontier Miles Gold members and above when available, which may very well be “never.” Then later next year it will introduce unlimited free companion travel (except for government taxes and fees) for Platinum and Diamond members of Frontier Miles provided the companion is a member of the program (at any level) and is willing to endure a flight on Frontier.

For more on Frontier’s bougie revolution, please check out Thursday’s post on crankyflier.com.

Avelo Adds in the Tar Heel State

Avelo Airlines announced 10 new routes and two new bases with the bulk of the additions in North Carolina. The carrier will add new bases in both Wilmington (ILM, the airline’s second Wilmington base) and Concord (USA, the airline’s 10th base in the USA) in the state, while also adding its first two international routes outside of its home in Connecticut.

Concord — a secondary airport located about 25 miles from the last city that needs a secondary airport, Charlotte — will see two B737s based at the airport beginning in the spring, while Wilmington — still leaning on its reputation as the number one destination for Dawson’s Creek fans — will see three aircraft based there later in the year. Raleigh-Durham, where the carrier already has a base, will receive new service in February to both Montego Bay and Punta Cana.

Other new service includes Wilmington to Manchester (NH), Nashville, and Rochester, Concord to Daytona Beach and Nashville, Nashville to Rochester and Wilmington (DE), and Manchester to Myrtle Beach.

US – Thai Flights to Return

Flights between the United States and Thailand are expected to resume in February after the FAA returns Thailand’s aviation safety from the lawless and chaotic Category 2 back to the calm and demure environs of Category 1.

Thailand was downgraded to Category 2 late in 2015 after the U.S. government found several issues in the country including non-compliance with ICAO standards, insufficient personnel inspections, leniency in issuing air transport licenses, and being a “little too interested” in having flights operate to both Newark and Tucson.

Thai previously operated to both Los Angeles and New York/JFK, with service ending early in 2015 — months before the downgrade of Thailand’s safety rating to Category 2. The carrier is expected to resume both assuming it can get enough aircraft that aren’t thai’d up flying other routes.

Air Canada to Further Restrict Basic Economy Passengers

Air Canada will prohibit Basic Economy passengers from carrying on anything larger than a personal item beginning January 3, instead requiring larger carry-ons be checked at a price of C$35 for the first checked bag and C$50 for the second.

It’s not stopping there as it will also require Basic Economy passengers to pay to change the seat assigned at check-in. This policy will begin January 21, and is its second crack at this — AC implemented this fee earlier in 2024 but rolled it back after two days due to public outcry. The carrier considered taking it a step further and requiring Basic Economy passengers to stand the entire flight unless they wanted to pay a per-minute sitting fee, but decided to hold off at the last minute.

The new policies more closely align it with its main domestic competitor – WestJet – which has an “UltraBasic” fare that doesn’t include a carry-on, seat assignment, or in-flight oxygen without paying an additional fee.

• Aerolíneas Argentinas is going to codeshare with LATAM on more than 140 destinations.
• Air Canada is bulking up its transborder offerings from Vancouver next summer.
• Air New Zealand expects its B787 Dreamliners with its new cabin interior to begin flying in February.
• AirBaltic‘s IPO is on hold until at least the summer.
• Airlink CEO Rodger Foster is retiring after 33 years in the role.
• Alaska had a brief tech outage on Monday.
• Allegiant pilots tried to find the least consequential place to picket this week and it appears they succeeded.
• American is committing to Citi and dumping Barclays.
• Asiana‘s merger with Korean is expected to be approved by the U.S. DOJ later this month.
• BARK Air is expanding with… Air Wisconsin? Woof.
• Bees Airlines is buzzing to fewer destinations than it was previously.
• Cathay Pacific is adding new service to Munich and returning to Brussels next summer. These additions come as CEO Ronald “on the run” Lam is apologizing for the carrier offering an episode of Family Guy which included a scene satirizing the Tiananmen Square incident which apparently the Chinese government frowns upon.
• easyJet will add bases in both Rome/FCO and Milan/LIN next year.
• Finnair canceled flights Monday due to a controversial labor action.
• GOL met its goal of settling its debt.
• Icelandair is the newest member of the Airbus family.
• Korean will rebrand all of its LCC subsidiaries as Jin Air once its merger with Asiana is complete.
• LATAM entered into a $300 million sustainability-linked loan.
• LEVEL is now operating on the level, with its own AOC.
• Malaysia Airlines received its first A330 neo.
• Norse Atlantic is leasing six of its seven Dreamliners to a mystery airline for much of 2025.\
• Norwegian Air Shuttle is adding 17 new routes next summer.
• Pakistan International Airlines is back, baby!
• Porter is now flying the lone non-stop route between Montréal and Fort Myers.
• Qantas‘ first A321XLR entered final assembly.
• Southwest began this week its new policy of ending cabin service at about 18,000 feet during descent.
• SWISS is adding five more A350-900s beginning in 2027.
• TAP Air Portugal is tapping into three new U.S. routes including its first foray into Los Angeles.
• TUI is adding 14 B737-8s on lease from BOC Aviation.
• United wants to add service between Los Angeles and Beijing.
• Virgin Australia‘s codeshare agreement with Qatar received interim authorization from the Australian government. Air New Zealand too.
• Wizz Air was told by the UK government it’s not as green as it might claim to be.