Aviation News

Chicago O'Hare remains the world's busiest airport by flights. Due to the massive use of regional jets and being the hub of American Airlines and United Airlines, O'Hare has 2,442 daily passenger aircraft movements in June. American and United are so dominant that they provide around 85 out of every 100 services.

The United States has suspended some sales of critical US technologies to China, including those related to CFM LEAP-1C engines, which power China’s Comac C919 jets. The move comes exactly two years after the aircraft entered commercial service.

Delta Air Lines is preparing for its largest-ever transatlantic summer schedule to date. The carrier is set to operate nearly 700 weekly flights between the United States and 33 destinations across Europe, utilizing its long-haul widebody fleet of Airbus A330s, A350s, and Boeing 767s.

On July 6, 2020, American Airlines and JetBlue issued a joint statement announcing that they would form a strategic partnership focused on the Northeast of the United States and the primary airports serving the region in Boston and New York. While the two airlines touted that the alliance, later dubbed the Northeast Alliance (NEA), would provide customers with more choices, loyalty benefits, and a seamless experience, antitrust regulators had a different view.

A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 narrowbody aircraft was forced to delay its landing at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) amid the initiated maintenance-related holding pattern, according to a report by San Francisco Chronicle.

The Boeing 787 will operate approximately 2,200 daily flights in June. One in four widebody services will be on one of the three variants: the original and lowest-capacity 787-8, the most popular 787-9, or the largest-capacity, lowest-range, and least popular 787-10. Over half of all long-haul services are on the Dreamliner. Yet, the type operates some very short sectors, including from Brazzaville to Kinshasa, covering just 14 nautical miles (26 km).

It's no secret thatLondon Heathrow Airport (LHR) is a key hub for Airbus A380 operations, with many of the type's major operators using it to serve the West London facility. While the 'superjumbo' has largely fallen out of favor in recent years, it remains a good fit for the UK's largest and busiest airport, as its slot controls mean that airlines need higher-capacity aircraft there in order to serve demand.

Passenger carriers have up to 36 daily flights from North America to Australia/New Zealand. This high frequency will exist at times during the upcoming northern aviation winter, which is, of course, the summer Down Under. Based on IATA slots seasons, northern airlines' winter schedules will exist between October 26 and March 28.

A Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit to Los Angeles on Monday had to divert to Minneapolis due to a medical emergency involving a pet in the cabin. A dog that was traveling with a passenger became sick, and after a veterinarian aboard the aircraft had tended to it, the decision was made to divert the fight. Medical personnel were on the ground awaiting the plane’s arrival, and met the dog and its owner after they disembarked.

Brazilian airline Azul Linhas Aereas, a long-haul low-cost carrier that has pioneered a demand-stimulating business model, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. This unique carrier was founded by David Neeleman, the industry titan behind JetBlue, Breeze Airways, and multiple other carriers.

Today marks the end of Sunwing Airlines' 20-year run as an independent Canadian leisure carrier. WestJet Group announced that the airline has now been fully integrated into its mainline operations. Sunwing will operate its final commercial flight under its own brand today (May 28), after which it will no longer exist as a separate entity.

A Delta Air Lines flight was recently delayed after two pigeons were found onboard before takeoff. The pigeons were safely removed from the flight, which proceeded as scheduled. However, it arrived at its destination nearly an hour late.

In 2024, Chicago O'Hare andChicago Midway welcomed 101.5 million passengers. The US Department of Transportation data show that approximately 85.1 million were domestic. Figures included traffic by Avelo, which has switched from Midway to O'Hare. When the two airports are combined, 15 markets had one million or more round-trip local Chicago passengers. While Rockford is prefixed by 'Chicago,' it is not included in this analysis.

flydubai has announced the expansion of its European network, launching four new routes to Moldova, Romania, Latvia, and Lithuania. The airline will become the first UAE carrier to operate nonstop flights from Dubai to the Latvian and Lithuanian capitals.

It has been almost seven years since the CSeries program, now known as the A220 aircraft family, joined Airbus’ commercial aircraft portfolio, when on July 1, 2018, the European plane maker closed the acquisition of an initial 50.1% stake in the C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP), which was jointly controlled by Bombardier and the Government of Québec.

Royal Jordanian Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo from the aircraft leasing company Avolon. The plane was handed over to the Jordanian flag carrier andoneworld member at a ceremony in the French city of Toulouse, and, at the time of writing, it is currently being flown to the airline's base in Amman. The type will be used to bolster Royal Jordanian's connectivity on short-haul routes.

For obvious reasons, the focus on Aer Lingus' widebody aircraft—A330-200s and A330-300s—usually concerns its long-haul operations. According to ch-aviation, the carrier has 13 A330s out of a 59-strong fleet, excluding its ATR regional flights operated by Emerald.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is only continuing to grow, and the airport's status as a major hub for global travel continues to be proven. This past weekend was one of the busiest that the airport has seen, with a four-day holiday kicking off what will likely be one of the airport's busiest summer travel seasons on record.

Southwest Airlines today announced that it will start charging $35 for a first checked bag and $45 for a second on all tickets booked from May 28. This change, announced first in March, ends the airline's long-standing "bags fly free" policy, which allows two free checked bags per passenger.

Air Canada's highest-capacity equipment is its 450-seat Boeing 777-300ERs.According to ch-aviation, the Star Alliance member has seven aircraft with that many seats, out of its 19-strong 777-300ER subfleet. Cirium Diio data for June to September shows they'll be used on nine routes, of which three have just one flight.