Aviation News

US-based legacy carrier Delta Air Lineshas announced that it will be expanding its partnership with American fast-food chain Shake Shack, as it will be offering first-class passengers the option to pre-select a Shake Shack cheeseburger meal on select flights out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). This new meal service will also be offered on flights out of Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA).

For obvious reasons, the Boeing 747is increasingly uncommon in passenger flight discussions. Yet changes to the quadjet's dwindling network continue to take place. The latest development is that Air Chinawill return the 747-8to Washington Dulles, having last used the type there—albeit infrequently—in 2020.

On March 3, Lockheed Martinand RTX’s Pratt & Whitneyannounced that the F-35Fighter Jet and the F135 afterbrning jet engine have reached a landmark 1,000,000 flight hours. For both firms, this is a major milestone in both program’s performance and persistence.

On March 4, 2025, a Qatar AirwaysBoeing 777 operating a flight from Doha to Chicago diverted to Oslo due to an onboard emergency. The aircraft remained in the Norwegian capital for nearly two hours but is back on its way to Chicago.

Welcome to my 159th weekly routes article! I have analyzed some subjectively exciting services that took off between February 25 and March 3 (unless stated). Click here to see my last jam-packed article!

Lufthansahas announced the expansion of its intermodal partnership with Deutsche Bahn (DB), Germany’s national railway company, enabling passengers to conveniently utilize public transportation.

One-stop routes are relatively uncommon, so imagine three brand-new links involving two carriers being announced on the same day. On March 3, Turkish Airlinesrevealed flights to Phnom Penh (via Bangkok), becoming the only European operator to fly to Cambodia (its hub is on the European side of the Bosphorus).

American Airlineshas filed an appeal with the United States Supreme Court to review the decision that forced American Airlines and JetBlue to end their Northeast Alliance (NEA), which focused on combining their networks in the region, including in Boston and New York.

Spirit Airlineshas disclosed its Q4 2024 and 2024 results as the airline continues its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process that should end soon.

Lufthansa Group’s long-haul leisure airline, Discover Airlineshas announced new intercontinental flights from Munich, Germany, adding connections to Orlando, the United States, Calgary, Canada, and Windhoek, Namibia. The Calgary flights are being replaced with itineraries to Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic, during the winter.

In what seems to be a growing problem, a United Airlines jet suffered a possible bird strike at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Sunday. The aircraft had just taken off and was climbing when the incident occurred, prompting the flight crew to immediately stop the climb and return to the airport, where it safely landed.

A Delta Air Linesemployee was struck by a catering truck on the tarmac at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airportlast Wednesday morning, leading to hospitalization and sparking an ongoing investigation by airport and airline officials, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Shortly after Donald Trump began his second term as the President of the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the US Secret Service activated temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) near his primary residence. Since 2019, President Trump has used his home known as the Mar-a-Lago Estate. This residence is approximately five miles east of Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) in West Palm Beach, Florida.

On February 28, Delta Air Lines revealed two more long-haul routes from its Atlanta hub: Accra and Marrakech. The African cities join two European routes this year: Brussels (returning) and Naples (new). The SkyTeam member plans to serve 24 European, African, and African destinations from Atlanta this year, although this is not a record.

In December and January, Brisbane Airport’s international terminal saw record-breaking passenger numbers, while both domestic and international traffic returned to pre-pandemic levels. Brisbane Airporthas seen a more significant recovery in domestic passengers compared to Australia's other big three airports.

Until March 2, 2025, Washington Reaganto San Antonio had never had nonstop flights due to Reagan's 1,250 statute mile perimeter rule (equivalent to 1,086 nautical miles/2,012 km). There are now flights thanks to the beyond-perimeter slot allocations from the Federal Aviation Administration's reauthorization bill.

Norwegianhas said that it is near closing a transaction to purchase ten of its leased Boeing 737-800 aircraft that are currently flying with the airline in a step to ensure its future fleet and reduce ownership costs.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published its final report on an incident involving two regional operators operating flights on behalf of American Airlines (American Eagle) and United Airlines (United Express) in Burbank, California, United States.

On Friday, International Airlines Group announced its 2024 financial results, which showed it had increased operating profit before exceptional items by 26.7% to €4.44 billion ($4.62b) in 2024 compared to €3.50 billion ($3.64b) in 2023. The Group earned total revenue before exceptional items of €32.1 billion ($33.4b) and a net profit after tax before exceptional items of €2.80 billion ($2.91b).

The British Airways Group consists of three subsidiaries: BA mainline (based at Heathrow), BA EuroFlyer (the lower-cost carrier; based at Gatwick), and BA CityFlyer (based at London City). When the units are combined, Cirium Diio data shows that the average stage length this year is 1,303 nautical miles (2,413 km), which hides enormous variation at both the airline and route levels. What about particularly short sectors?