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What’s Inside
Flightline returns for our 121st issue, covering nearly 50 airlines and over 100 airports around the world. The industry's most comprehensive briefing keeps you updated with the latest news and information.- ✈︎ American reverses course and brings 4K seatback screens back to its narrowbody fleet
- ✈︎ Qatar Airways passengers at JFK can now skip the international baggage recheck
- ✈︎ Google wants Spirit Airlines’ massive trove of operational data for AI development
- ✈︎ Flightline analyzes flynas’ 1.54 million-seat September network
- ✈︎ United Kingdom airport traffic totals for June 2026
For as little as 34¢ an issue, you can access the full datasets, global fleet movements, and expert context relied on by industry leaders. This issue contains over a dozen additional subscriber-only stories, the complete route intelligence report, and the full aviation security briefing.
Route Intelligence Report
New and Proposed Routes
Aeromexico (AM) plans to launch Mexico City (MEX)-Milan Malpensa (MXP) service in March 2027 using Boeing 787 aircraft. The carrier has not yet announced an exact launch date or frequency, with final details expected following government approvals.
United Airlines (UA) has again pushed back its planned Houston Intercontinental (IAH)-Caracas (CCS) resumption. Reservations now show the first bookable Houston departure currently scheduled for Jan. 12.
Turkish Airlines (TK) plans to resume nonstop Istanbul (IST)-Havana (HAV) service Oct. 25 at the earliest. The route is currently scheduled to operate 3x weekly with Boeing 787-9 aircraft. If you are wondering where Turkish plans to get the fuel to operate the 6,222-mile return leg, you are not alone.
Turkish will also add 3x weekly flights from Istanbul to Chengdu, China on Nov. 11. A Boeing 787-9 is rostered on that one.
Allegiant Air (G4) is adding seven routes, including Cincinnati (CVG)-Orlando (MCO); Boston (BOS)-Punta Gorda, Fla. (PGD), Orlando Sanford (SFB) and St. Petersburg, Fla. (PIE); Providence, R.I. (PVD)-Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando Sanford; and Portsmouth, N.H. (PSM)-Fort Lauderdale.
Dropped and Suspended Routes
easyJet (U2) will withdraw from Leeds Bradford (LBA), ending all service at the Yorkshire airport by Jan. 4. The carrier will operate its final Málaga (AGP) and Palma de Mallorca (PMI) flights Nov. 1, followed by Paris de Gaulle on Jan. 1 and Barcelona (BCN) on Jan. 2. Belfast International (BFS), the last remaining route, will operate for the final time Jan. 4. Geneva (GVA) has already been removed from sale.
🔒 The Route Intelligence Report continues for Flightline Pro subscribers
Still ahead in this issue:
★ S7 Airlines launching a new Novosibirsk-Chengdu route.
★ Air Arabia adding daily Sharjah-Frankfurt service.
★ Air Canada adding a new international route from Toronto to Guatemala City.
★ JetSMART adding three international routes from Buenos Aires Ezeiza.
★ SkyUp Airlines planning a major Chișinău expansion for summer 2027.
★ Wizz Air adding three new routes to Sarajevo.
★ Brussels Airlines launching three winter seasonal routes to northern Europe.
★ Juneyao Airlines, Starlux and Air Busan adding new international service across Asia.
Plus additional updates from Viva, Avianca, Contour Airlines, Sky Airline, World2Fly, TAP Air Portugal and Korean Air.
Flightline Pro delivers more than 20 global network changes in every issue, including launch dates, frequencies, aircraft assignments, suspensions and cancellations.
Flightline Pro starts at just 34¢ per issue.
Fleet Intelligence
LATEST AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES
🇳🇬 5N-CGP, a Boeing 737-8LC(WL), was delivered to Air Peace (P4) on August 19.
🇨🇦 C-FSOC, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Air Canada on August 17.
🇵🇹 CS-TGI, an Airbus A330-323, was delivered to EuroAtlantic Airways (YU) on August 17.
🇩🇪 D-ABKE, an Embraer ERJ-190LR, was delivered to Condor (DE) on August 18.
🇪🇸 EC-NFK, an Airbus A320-271neo, was delivered to Iberia (IB) on August 18.
🇰🇷 HL8762, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Eastar Jet (ZE) on August 17.
🇹🇭 HS-VZQ, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to VietJetAir Thailand (VZ) on August 17.
🇺🇸 N37472, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, was delivered to United Airlines on August 18.
🇺🇸 N583GJ, a Bombardier CRJ-550, was delivered to GoJet Airlines (G7) on August 18. Wears United Express livery.
🇺🇸 N9021F, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Southwest Airlines (WN) on August 18.
🇮🇩 PK-GUM, a Boeing 737-8H6(WL), was delivered to Garuda Indonesia (GA) on August 19.
🇧🇩 S2-STE, an ATR 72-600 (72-212A), was delivered to Air Astra (2A) on August 17.
🇮🇳 VT-TNN, an Airbus A320-251neo, was delivered to Air India Express (IX) on August 17.
🇲🇽 XA-TVI, an Airbus A320-271neo, was delivered to Volaris (Y4) on August 18.
LATEST AIRCRAFT RETIREMENTS
🇨🇦 C-FDCA, an Airbus A320-211 with Air Canada, was withdrawn from use (wfu) and ferried on Aug. 16 to Marana, Ariz. (MZJ) for part-out and scrap.
🇺🇸 N375DA, a Boeing 737-832 with Delta Air Lines (DL), was wfu and ferried on August 13 to Birmingham, Ala. (BHM) for part-out and scrap. This frame, delivered new to Delta on Nov.30, 1998, had 82,387 hours and 34,042 cycles as of March 12.
🇸🇦 VP-CQL, an Airbus A320-214 with Flynas (XY), was wfu and ferried on Aug. 15 to Šiauliai, Lithuania (SQQ) where it was returned to its lessor.
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Aviation Safety & Security
A Delaware court has dismissed a shareholder lawsuit accusing Boeing executives and directors of failing to respond to safety and quality-control warning signs before the January 2024 door-plug blowout aboard Alaska Airlines (AS) Flight 1282. The pension funds behind the lawsuit argued Boeing leadership ignored red flags following the earlier 737 MAX crisis, but Delaware Chancery Court Judge Morgan Zurn found that management regularly received safety information, established oversight mechanisms and took steps intended to improve the company’s safety culture. Importantly, the ruling does not dispute the manufacturing failures behind the accident. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that four bolts intended to secure the 737 MAX 9’s door plug had not been installed before the aircraft was delivered. Instead, the decision centers on whether Boeing’s directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to adequately oversee safety, with the court finding the plaintiffs had not sufficiently established that case.
A Lufthansa (LH) Airbus A380-800 landed short of the runway threshold at Munich (MUC) on Monday, striking and damaging several approach lights before continuing to a normal landing. Flight LH459 had arrived from San Francisco with 351 passengers aboard, and no injuries were reported. The incident occurred just 48 hours after a Vietnam Airlines (VN) Boeing 787-9 struck approach lighting at the opposite end of the same Munich runway during takeoff, although investigators have not established any connection between the two events. Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation has opened an investigation into the Lufthansa incident, with the cause of the premature touchdown not yet determined. Rough week for 08R/26L at Munich.
Here are the ten busiest airports in the U.S. for screened passengers for the week ending Saturday, August 15. Paid subscribers get the full dataset which includes over 430 airports.
Aviation Industry News
American Airlines is reversing one of its most visible cabin strategies, announcing plans to install 4K seatback entertainment screens at every seat across its mainline narrow-body fleet. American spent much of the past decade removing screens and betting that passengers would instead stream entertainment to their own devices, but will now retrofit more than 800 aircraft as it moves closer to the onboard products offered by Delta and United. The new systems will feature large 4K displays, Bluetooth audio connectivity and USB-C fast charging, while working alongside American’s planned Starlink Wi-Fi rollout. New Airbus and Boeing aircraft will begin arriving factory-equipped with the screens in the second half of 2028, with retrofits also beginning that year and fleet-wide completion expected in the early 2030s. The move is part of a broader cabin overhaul that will also increase premium and extra-legroom seating from about 25 percent to roughly 40 percent of narrow-body capacity.
Palm Beach, Fla., officially changed its IATA airport code from PBI to DJT on Tuesday, completing another step in the airport’s transition to President Donald J. Trump International Airport. The airport was renamed in July under legislation signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, while the IATA code change took effect Aug. 18. Travelers should now use DJT when booking flights, checking schedules and tracking baggage.
UPDATE: Air France (AF) has pushed back the retirement of its Airbus A318 fleet, with the type now being scheduled through late March. The airline had originally intended to conclude A318 flights in early November.
🇬🇧 June 2026 Passenger Traffic Totals at United Kingdom Airports
Here are the June 2026 passenger totals at commercial airports across the United Kingdom. If you were a paid subscriber, you wouldn’t see the blurry version of the dataset!
🔒 The Flightline 121 briefing continues for Pro subscribers
Still ahead in this issue:
★ Qatar Airways & U.S. Customs are changing the international connection experience at New York Kennedy, allowing eligible passengers arriving from Doha to skip the traditional baggage reclaim and recheck process. Flightline takes a deeper look at how International Remote Baggage Screening works and what it could mean for U.S. connecting hubs.
★ TSA passenger screening data showing the 10 busiest U.S. airports for the week ending Aug. 15, with Pro subscribers receiving the complete downloadable dataset covering more than 430 airports.
★ Russia's new Ilyushin Il-114-300 entering service as Moscow pushes ahead with a domestically produced replacement for aging Soviet-era regional aircraft and foreign-built equipment.
★ Flybondi facing increasingly serious questions about its future after going nearly two weeks without operating a flight while its website remains unavailable or under maintenance.
★ Google & Spirit Airlines in one of the most unusual airline bankruptcy developments yet: Google has bid $10 million for Spirit's enormous archive of emails, Teams messages, software code, pricing data, passenger transactions and operational records. Flightline examines why that data could be exceptionally valuable for artificial intelligence development.
★ U.K. airport traffic data covering June 2026 passenger totals across commercial airports throughout the United Kingdom.
★ National Airlines receiving U.S. DOT authority to operate scheduled passenger and cargo service between the United States and Venezuela, opening the door to a notable expansion of U.S.-Venezuela air service.
★ Fleet Intelligence tracking the latest aircraft deliveries and retirements, including new Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A320neo and regional aircraft deliveries, along with aircraft being withdrawn, returned to lessors or sent for part-out and scrap.
★ Network Overview: flynas with Flightline's complete analysis of the Saudi carrier's September operation: 9,027 flights, 1.54 million seats, 124 nonstop city pairs and 70 airports, including its domestic/international split, largest stations and routes, international footprint and fleet deployment.
Flightline Pro delivers the complete aviation briefing, including proprietary network analysis, airline and airport data, fleet intelligence, safety and security developments, cargo coverage and deeper industry reporting.
Flightline Pro starts at just 34¢ per issue.
📈 Flightline Financials 🏦
| Airline & Airport Operator Stock Prices Most Recent Closing Price | |||
| AAL American $13.86 | AERO AeroMéxico $14.33 | ALGT Allegiant $78.07 | ALK Alaska $41.23 |
| BA Boeing $222.20 | CPA Copa $129.78 | DAL Delta $83.29 | EMBJ Embraer $77.75 |
| JBLU JetBlue $4.90 | LTM LATAM $51.39 | LUV Southwest $41.42 | RJET Republic $19.13 |
| RYAAY Ryanair $54.79 | SKYW SkyWest $102.42 | UAL United $115.78 | ULCC Frontier $5.99 |
| VLRS Volaris $7.14 | BRENT CRUDE Oil Per Barrel $91.65 | ||
| ASR Asur $259.44 | OMAB OMA $102.02 | PAC GAP $206.35 | CAAP Corp America $23.31 |
| Global Currency Exchange Rates $1 USD Equals: | |||
| EUR Euro 0.86 | GBP British Pound 0.74 | MXN Mexican Peso 16.95 | CAD Canadian Dollar 1.38 |
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Daily Passenger Counts at U.S. Airports, 2026 vs. 2025
GREG’S NOTE: Happy 117th Birthday Grandma, who’s been celebrating on the other side of this existence since 2005. Wherever she is, I hope there’s cake.
