JetBlue Reduces at EWR, LGA, Grows FLL Again

JetBlue Airways with its significant presence at New York/JFK has been drawing back at NYC’s other two airports — New York/LGA and Newark — and instead focusing on warmer climes. The carrier, which is fighting a mountain of debt, is looking to put airplanes where they can actually make more money while also reducing costs.

As part of the drawdown, the carrier will close its flight attendant base at Newark and its maintenance bases at both airports. This comes after the carrier stopped flying Newark – Las Vegas last week and will axe its LAX service from Newark on January 4, at least seasonally. Both routes will continue to be served by B6’s BlueSky partner United during the off-season. No staff will lose their jobs with the closures as the carrier will offer transfers to all who want to follow their grandparents down to Florida.

Along with grandparents, those airplanes have been moving south where the news is better. The carrier will add to its growing flights from Fort Lauderdale by resuming service in November to San Diego. This minty-fresh equipped flight will operate 1x daily. It also plans to up its minty-fresh airplanes on flights from FLL to both Los Angeles and San Francisco, with as many as 8x daily on tap for FLL-LAX and 3x daily to SFO.

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow, Bet your Bottom Australian Dollar On It

After several announcements, press releases, delays, retractions, and general consternation, Qantas finally announced Project Sunrise will debut (unless it doesn’t) in October 2027. That’s a long time from now, and a lot could put the project off track in the next 16 months, but this is the most definitive step Qantas has taken towards launching Project Sunrise since the idea was first kicked around.

Non-stop service from Sydney to London/Heathrow begins in October ’27, with flights going on-sale in February. The 20+ hour flight will be operated by a premium-heavy A350-1000ULR. Both Airbus and Qantas will tell you the ULR stands for “ultra long-haul” while we know the truth, as it actually stands for “Unbelievably Long Ride.” The aircraft will feature six first class seats for the passengers who will arrive somewhat sane, 52 in biz for those who will survive the journey, 40 premium economy seats for those who are moderately sadistic, and 140 seats for the SICKOs in the back.

SYD-JFK service is expected to launch shortly after SYD-LHR does, with the carrier wanting to see what the carnage is in the economy section before expanding. SYD-LHR will overtake SIN-JFK for longest flight in the world when it flies. It’s unlikely to be overtaken anytime soon, especially with Spirit’s demise canceling its planned Perth-Myrtle Beach service that would have challenged for the title.

For more on Project Sunrise and how it’s going to really work, please visit Thursday’s post on crankyflier.com.

EU Strengthens Passenger Rights

The Council of the European Union and the EU Parliament reached an agreement to update air passenger rights after more than 10 years of negotiations. The negotiations could have been completed in less than a year, but when negotiators all took their smoke breaks which, combined with their annual 6-month sabbaticals, dragged negotiations out for more than a decade.

As part of the new agreement, passengers can still claim compensation if a flight arrives more than three hours late (that sound you hear is AA pulling back all its European flights) or is canceled less than 14 days before departure. Compensation remains roughly the same as it was under EU261, ranging between €250 and €600. Carriers are now also required to display fares that include carry-ons by default, and they can no longer deny boarding for a passenger who skipped the first leg of a trip, presumably to try to save money and not just for sport.

The new framework also makes the claims process far more clear cut. When a delay could potentially lead to passenger compensation, carriers are required to inform passengers via e-mail or text within 96 hours after arrival while explaining the passenger’s rights and provide clear instructions on how to submit a compensation request.

Airlines will also have to acknowledge claims immediately and respond within 30 days, either by paying compensation or giving a clear reason for refusal. Those that don’t comply will be forced to add service to Newark immediately.

Riyadh Air Receives DOT Permission for US Flights

Riyadh Air, the Saudi-based startup airline that just now started flying actual people won rights to operate to and from the U.S. from the DOT on Tuesday.

The carrier, which operated its first flights to London last week says it intends to operate to more than 100 international destinations by the end of the decade. Delta has already partnered with Riyadh Air, and it will begin Atlanta – Riyadh service this fall to provide feed for the carrier amongst other reasons. Riyadh Air is expected to have eight aircraft by the end of July which will give it the capacity to fly to 22 cities by next March.

This authorization doesn’t immediately allow it to launch U.S. services, it does take care of the primary legal hurdle and puts the new airline in a good position. This is because the DOT’s ruling recognizes Riyadh Air as eligible to operate flights between Saudi Arabia and the United States which is more than (spoiler alert) Venezuela’s Conviasa can say.

Conviasa Has Sanctions Lifted

Conviasa’s long path back to being off the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions list took a major step forward Thursday. The Office of Foreign Assets Control exempted the carrier from the 2019 executive order which banned transactions with the Venezuelan government and its subsidiaries, of which Conviasa is one. While it’s not yet fully cleared to operate to or from the U.S., the Treasury did sign off on the carrier updating its LinkedIn status to “looking to network.”

Most practically, it will allow the airline to receive airline parts and maintenance work from the U.S. to keep its fleet up-and-running. Specifically, the order allows the airline to participate in “processing of payments, supplying parts, inspections, maintenance and repair, delivering software and technology, and “other services related to the maintenance, repair, upgrade, refurbishment, improvement, safety, or airworthiness of aircraft.”

Conviasa currently possesses 25 aircraft, but only nine are currently active due to its inability to get its airplanes serviced. #AvGeeks and plane spotters across the world are ratcheting up the pressure on the government to remove all sanctions and open flights to the U.S. as they told the government in a petition, “It’s rare we can get regular A340 service to the U.S., and a little shadiness is a small price to pay.”

• Aerolineas Argentinas retired its leased B737-700 fleet.
• Air Baltic is entering into a codeshare with El Al as it prepares to return to Tel Aviv.
• Air India is getting basic.
• Air Oceania is suspending all ops.
• Air Serbia unveiled its new loyalty program on Tuesday which also marked the carrier’s 99th birthday.
• Air Vanuatu named Philippe Busson as its new CEO.
• Alaska broke ground on a new hangar in Portland. It also promoted Shane Tackett to president along with the CFO job.
• American‘s Steve Johnson, a long-time executive at AA and current Chief Strategy Officer, is retiring.
• Arkia is adding two A321-200s on lease from AerCap.
• El Al is joining the Starlink family.
• Emirates is diving into the travel insurance game.
• Etihad operated its first flights to Krakow and Mallorca.
• Gol finally figured out what passengers really want. Draft beer.
• Hawaiian‘s B717s could be replaced by Alaska’s B737s on interisland operations.
• Horizon Air FAs have voted to authorize a strike. Consider this a friendly reminder that that doesn’t mean nearly as much as it sounds like it does.
• Oman Air has an idea for a new worldwide hub in the Middle East. Spoiler: It’s in Oman.
• Porter began flying from Montréal/Metropolitan (YHU) this week.
• SKY Airline received approval from the Chilean government for ABRA’s takeover of the carrier.
• Southwest put out a stream of useless press releases this week.
• United pilots opted not to operate a flight when they were timed out but because two soccer commentators were onboard, the carrier and the pilots are being raked over the coals on social media.
• Virgin Australia resumed service to Doha.

The older I get, the more I realize my dad wasn’t “resting his eyes.” That man was taking elite-level tactical naps.