Good Morning. Greg is taking some time off this week, so this edition of Flightline comes to you from my MacBook here in London. - Nigel

🇿🇦 2-MUSA, a Boeing 737-86N(WL), was delivered to FlySafair (FA) on September 12.

🇳🇬 5N-CRF, a Bombardier CRJ-900LR, was delivered to Cally Air (96) on September 14.

🇲🇹 9H-HFA, an Airbus A330-343, was delivered to Arkia - Israeli Airlines (IZ) on September 15.

🇲🇹 9H-XLG, an Airbus A321-271NY XLR, was delivered to Wizz Air Malta (W4) on September 14.

🇪🇹 ET-BCU, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines (ET) on September 15.

🇺🇸 N438GT, a Boeing 747-409F, was delivered to China Postal Airlines (CF) on September 14.

🇺🇸 N703DH, an Airbus A321-271neo, was delivered to Delta Air Lines (DL) on September 16. Used for National Basketball Association (NBA) charters.

🇺🇸 N837FD, a Boeing 777-F, was delivered to FedEx Express (FX) on September 14.

🇺🇸 N9028R, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was delivered to Southwest Airlines (WN) on September 15.

🇦🇹 OE-LPI, a Boeing 787-9, was delivered to Austrian Airlines (OS) on September 14.

🇦🇺 VH-AZ4, a Boeing 737-86N(BCF)(WL), was delivered to ASL Airlines Australia (3O) on September 14.

15,851,953 passengers were screened at nearly 430 U.S. airports for the week ending Saturday, September 12. Here are the busiest airports. Subscribers have access to the entire dataset. Click here to review it.

Now we’ve had some questions on these figures… it is worth noting that these are screened passengers - mostly originating people. That’s why Atlanta (ATL) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) aren’t higher - they are busy of course, but rely heavily as well on connections. Those passengers have already been screened at other airports in most cases.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it will begin rolling out its new Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories system, better known as SMART, in September 2026, with initial operations expected sometime in the fall. The idea is fairly straightforward: combine airline schedules with weather, airport capacity and airspace restrictions to spot congestion earlier, while there is still time for airlines and traffic managers to adjust flights before departure. The first use will be helping airlines rebuild schedules after severe weather, with more advanced planning tools coming later. Air Space Intelligence is developing SMART under a 12-year contract worth $875 million, and the system will eventually replace the FAA’s aging Traffic Flow Management System. Deployment is expected to take 12 to 24 months. Airlines are hopeful it will mean fewer weather-related delays and cancellations, but for now, that is still the promise. No measured results or nationwide demonstration have been released.

Flightline Intel’s new checked-baggage section tracks fees collected on domestic flights by U.S. airlines from 2007 through the first half of 2026. Readers can explore annual totals, select individual airlines, compare custom year ranges and filter results by quarter, making it easy to examine long-term trends and changes in baggage-fee revenue across the industry.

U.S. airlines carried 87.5 million scheduled passengers in June 2026, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That was down 1.4 percent from June 2025 and 2.5 percent below the record set in June 2024. The total included 75.5 million domestic passengers and 12 million international passengers. After seasonal adjustment, traffic fell 0.4 percent from May and 1.5 percent year over year to 80.1 million, another sign that demand remained soft heading into the peak summer travel period.

The financial picture was even weaker. The 22 scheduled U.S. passenger airlines reported a combined after-tax profit of just $16 million in the second quarter, down from $4 billion a year earlier. Operating profit fell from $5 billion to $3 billion on revenue of $75.6 billion, while expenses reached $72.6 billion. Domestic operations lost $484 million after taxes, almost entirely offsetting the $500 million earned internationally. The systemwide net margin essentially fell to zero from 6.1 percent, while the operating margin dropped from 7.6 percent to four percent. Fuel also consumed a larger share of expenses than it did a year ago, adding more pressure to an already thin quarter.

airBaltic (BT) filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York on Sept. 14 as it tries to cut its debt and put the airline on firmer financial footing. The Latvian carrier has lined up a €350 million, or roughly $405 million, debtor-in-possession financing commitment from Strategic Value Partners, Barclays, Hayfin Capital Management, Morgan Stanley and Oaktree Capital Management, although access to the funding remains subject to court approval. For passengers, at least for now, nothing changes. Flights will continue as scheduled, existing tickets and reservations remain valid, and customer service will operate normally while the airline works through the restructuring. The filing followed unsuccessful talks with creditors over short-term financing as airBaltic faced higher fuel costs, travel disruptions and mounting financial pressure.

UPDATE: Amazon Air has suspended its partnership with cargo carrier 21 Air (2I) following the Sept. 6 accident involving Flight 7598 at Miami. The Boeing 767 ran about 1,300 feet beyond the runway and struck a van carrying aircraft-cleaning workers. Five people in the van were killed, and five others were injured. Amazon said it paused operations with 21 Air after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the accident and supporting the investigation. The decision costs 21 Air one of its biggest customers: eight of the carrier’s 18 aircraft had been flying for Amazon, including the accident aircraft. The cause of the overrun remains under investigation.