And we’re back! Hope you didn’t miss us too much while we were on vacation this week. We’re now back to the regular posting schedule.

Delta Posts Strong Q2 Earnings

Delta Air Lines posted a robust $2.1 billion profit in Q2 on $15.5 billion in revenue, because it seems charging $78 for a seat upgrade to Comfort+ — excuse us — Delta Comfort adds up. With a 13% operating margin and a 25% dividend boost to please investors, the airline reinstated its full-year guidance and casually flexed about how international demand, premium seats, and loyalty programs are carrying the load. Domestic flying? There must be some of that happening too, but we’re not completely sure. It seems as if Delta has figured out the trick to making money — lie flat seats to London, Paris, Rio, and Tokyo, and American Express buying all the SkyMiles.

And here’s where the plot thickens: while international and premium travel flourished — Pacific revenue jumped 11%, and premium cabin income rose 5% year‑over‑year — main cabin revenue slid 5% . To account for this, it plans to prune underperforming domestic flights by around 1% to push yields north of breakeven, so that can’t be good news for the people of Newark or Tucson.

Meanwhile, the airline’s debt has dropped by $1.7 billion, and it’s expecting $3–4 billion in free cash flow for 2025 .The airline credited its success to “strong execution” and “modernization,” which roughly translates to: “We didn’t screw up, and people still love paying more to not sit in the back, or at least not as far back as they’d otherwise be.” Keep climbing, Delta.

Keep Your Pants Shoes on – TSA Updates Policy

TSA quietly ended its decades-long rule requiring fliers to slip off their shoes at security –, even those unwashed masses without PreCheck can now glide through scanners without flaunting their sock game. This one was done without a lot of press or fanfare, probably because “We’re undoing a thing we made you do for two-and-a-half decades for no real reason” isn’t exactly a great PR pitch.

Did the threats change? Maybe. But also the scanners got smarter and someone realized they were still treating our feet like potential safety risks from 2001 . The only catch? If you flag for extra screening or forget your REAL ID, you might still end up shoeless. But for the rest the traveling public, it’s less awkward than waiting in line barefoot, wondering about foot fungus or that suspicious goo on the floor.

Transport Canada says it will take measures to match the new U.S. policy, proving that as much as they say they hate the US these days, they just can’t quit us completely.

Bryan Bedford Confirmed to Lead FAA — What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

After months of procedural delays, the U.S. Senate confirmed former Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford as the new FAA Administrator in a 53–43 vote this week. Bedford steps into the proverbial cockpit at a time when the FAA’s to-do list reads like a crisis bingo card: air traffic controller shortages, outdated systems, Boeing trust issues, and, oh right, near-misses that keep making headlines. Supporters say his decades in the airline industry make him uniquely qualified. Detractors say his decades in the airline industry are the problem and make him uniquely unqualified.

sBedford has promised to strengthen oversight, modernize operations, and, presumably, not do anything that rhymes with “shmroll back pilot training shmrules.” His past advocacy for loosening flight-hour requirements didn’t win many friends in the safety (theater)-first crowd, but senators ultimately decided that politics aviation experience mattered more than old headlines. So now the FAA is being led by someone who spent decades trying to make airlines more efficient—and is now in charge of making sure none of them cut corners. What could possibly go wrong?

Air Canada Expands South

Air Canada announced its latest network expansion and surprise — it’s not more flights to Yellowknife. Instead, it’s launching new service to Belize City, Puerto Escondido, and Tepic (which is either a charming town in Mexico or a typo that accidentally made it into a press release). Oh, and flights to Lima are back too. It’s all part of Air Canada’s “New Frontiers” strategy, which seems to be: “Take Canadians to warm places that sound exotic enough to brag about, but not so exotic that you need a malaria pill.”

With a 16% boost in Latin America capacity and 52 sun destinations on the map, Air Canada is going full send on its plan to become Canada’s official Department of Seasonal Denial. The message is clear: “Tired of shoveling your driveway in March? Here’s a flight to Tepic, and no, we won’t explain where that is.”

It’s a bold move that pairs network optimization with where influencers went last year on brand trips alongside Canada’s new national policy of “anywhere but the U.S.”

PIA is On the Market and There’s…Interest?

In a move that screams “Really?” Pakistan named four suckers finalists in the race to buy a majority stake in its long-beleaguered often-maligned denigrated disparaged flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines. The list includes Airblue, two industrial conglomerates that usually make things like cement and fertilizer (fitting, honestly), and a military-backed entity because…Pakistan.

Yes, someone is voluntarily trying to buy PIA, an airline best known in recent years for operational chaos, government bailouts, and a pilot scandal so wild it made global headlines — remember that time it casually admitted a third of its pilots weren’t actually pilots?

The sale is part of an IMF-driven privatization push, but let’s be clear — turning this clown show carrier into a functioning airline is as much a turnaround project as Boston’s Big Dig was a gardening exercise. Whoever wins the bidding will inherit aging aircraft, billions in debt, years of political meddling, some qualified pilots, and a brand reputation only slightly more trusted than the Howard Johnson motel just steps from Runway 11/29 at Newark.

Airblue, at least, has aviation experience, which puts it one step ahead of the cement guys. But the real mystery here isn’t who will buy PIA — it’s why anyone would.

• Air Arabia is expanding to Europe.
• Austrian is adding a Dreamliner.
• Azul is seeking to sue TAP over $200 million it says is owed over a loan repayment. The disagreement is leaving both carriers feeling blue.
• British Airways is making short-haul additions.
• Etihad is putting its fancier A321LRs on flights to Kolkata starting this fall.
• Flair named Maciej “Nature Boy” Wilk as its CEO. Wilk should be familiar with the role as he’s been serving as the carrier’s interim CEO for the last 12 months, which equals about 14 months Canadian.
• Israir thought better about its proposed purchase of Smartwings.
• Jet2 closed out its fiscal year on a high note.
• Korean cargo revenue dropped 4%.
• Malaysia Airlines is nearing a deal to add A330neos to its fleet.
• Norse Atlantic is adding flights from Manchester to Bangkok.
• Norwegian announced a Q2 profit of about $125 million, and it’s buying 3 B737-800s.
• Ryanair is having a strong summer.
• Singapore‘s codeshare with Malaysia received government sign off.
• SKY Airline in Chile is in talks with Abra Group about a majority stake.
• SkyWest elected to put engines in its airplanes.
• Spirit‘s maintenance team forgot to pay the fee to keep the foam guy happy.
• TAP is again for sale — well, 49.9% of it.
• Thai could be in the market for Dreamliners.
• Vietnam Airlines is the latest SkyTeam carrier to codeshare with Saudia.
• Virgin Atlantic is hopping on the Starlink train.
• WestJet‘s winter schedule is larger than ever.
• Wizz Air Abu Dhabi cut about a third of its network.

Remember, if you get cremated after you die, you can be put into an hourglass and still participate in family game nights.

Work smarter, not harder.