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131
What’s Inside
- Fewer Passenger Perks: New federal rule could mean less assistance during flight disruptions.
- Norse Pauses New York: Winter suspensions from London and Rome, while PIA reportedly eyes two Norse 787s.
- Inside Saudia’s October Network: 162 routes, 16,891 passenger flights and 3.78 million available seats.
- European Airport Traffic: July 2026 passenger totals for approximately 400 airports.
- 🇪🇺 July 2026 passenger traffic totals for 400 airports across Europe.
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BUY THE COMPLETE PDF FOR $1Route Intelligence Report
New and Proposed Routes
For the first time since the early 1990s, American Airlines (AA) will operate mainline service on the Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Madison, Wis. (MSN) route. An Airbus A319 is rostered on one of the seven daily flights between the two cities from January 6 through February 10, 2027. The rest of the flights are operated by Envoy Air (MQ) Embraer E175s.
Riyadh Air (RX) opened reservations September 21 for its first route to Italy. Service between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (RUH) and Milan Malpensa (MXP) will begin December 16, 2026, with 4x weekly Boeing 787-9 flights.
Frontier Airlines (F9) will launch service between New York LaGuardia (LGA) and Detroit, Mich. (DTW) on November 20. Flights will initially operate daily with Airbus A320neos and A321neos before dropping to 3x weekly with A320neos on December 1.
Dropped and Suspended Routes
Norse Atlantic Airways (N0) will suspend its 3x weekly Rome Fiumicino (FCO) to New York Kennedy (JFK) service from October 25, 2026, through March 27, 2027.
Norse Atlantic UK (Z0) will suspend its 3x weekly London Gatwick (LGW) to New York Kennedy service for the same period.
Air Canada exits Vancouver to Singapore, Condor adds three European routes while trimming others, and AJet heads to Kazakhstan. Plus seasonal changes at Air France, Edelweiss, HiSky and more.
Get the complete route briefing →Fleet Intelligence
LATEST AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES
🇨🇳 B-32TC, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to China Eastern Airlines (MU) on September 22.
🇨🇳 B-32TY, an Airbus A320-251neo, was delivered to Loong Air (GJ) on September 22.
🇨🇦 C-FHFY, an Airbus A220-300, was delivered to Air Canada on September 22.
🇩🇪 D-AIKR, an Airbus A330-343, was delivered to Discover Airlines (4Y) on September 21.
🇪🇸 EC-OXL, an ATR 72-600, was delivered to Air Nostrum (YW) on September 22. Iberia regional livery.
🇬🇧 G-ZXIJ, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to easyJet (U2) on September 22.
🇹🇭 HS-TOH, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to Thai Airways (TG) on September 22.
🇸🇦 HZ-ASBE, an Airbus A321-253neo XLR, was delivered to Saudia (SV) on September 21.
🇯🇵 JA18JJ, an Airbus A320-232, was delivered to Jetstar Japan (GK) on September 21.
🇺🇸 N308NY, an Airbus A321-253neo XLR, was delivered to American Airlines on September 23.
🇺🇸 N352KR, an Embraer ERJ-175LR, was delivered t on September 21. American Eagle livery.
🇪🇬 SU-NMO, an Airbus A321-231, was delivered to Nesma Airlines (NE) on September 23.
🇻🇳 VN-A926, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to Sun PhuQuoc Airways (9G) on September 21.
🇮🇳 VT-NOU, an Airbus A321-251neo, was delivered to IndiGo (6E) on September 22.
LATEST AIRCRAFT RETIREMENTS
🇫🇷 F-GZCF, an Airbus A330-203 with Air France, was withdrawn from use (wfu) and ferried on September 21 to St. Athan, Wales (DGX) for part-out and scrap.
🇮🇳 VT-IVP, an Airbus A320-271neo with IndiGo Airlines, was wfu and ferried on September 21 to Lourdes, France (LDE) where it was returned to its lessor.
Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads
Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:
After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.
The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.
“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”
Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.
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Aviation Safety & Security
An FAA communications failure brought ground stops to five New York and Philadelphia area airports September 21. The primary line failed, and railroad construction workers accidentally cut a backup fiber-optic line serving the Philadelphia air traffic control facility. Newark, N.J. (EWR), New York Kennedy, LaGuardia, Philadelphia (PHL) and Teterboro, N.J. (TEB) were affected, with more than 600 flights canceled at Newark and more than 200 at Philadelphia. Repairs allowed flights to resume Monday evening, but the disruption carried into Tuesday morning.
NATS had another technical problem September 21, this time at its Prestwick control centre. A connectivity failure disrupted flights across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, including Edinburgh (EDI), Glasgow (GLA), Manchester (MAN) and Belfast (BFS). The fault was resolved around 10:30 a.m. BST and restrictions were lifted, although airlines continued working through delays and cancellations. Ryanair said more than 140 flights and 25,000 passengers were affected and again called for NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to resign. Jet2 and easyJet also criticized the system’s reliability. NATS said this failure was unrelated to the software defect that caused its September 8 outage at Swanwick.
Flightline’s servers remain fully operational.
Here are the 10 busiest airports in the U.S. for screened passengers for the week ending Saturday, September 19. Paid subscribers have access to the complete dataset which covers nearly 430 airports.
An Aer Lingus (EI) pilot reported a suspected drone passing about 20 meters from the aircraft during its approach to Dublin (DUB) on September 19. The crew saw a red object off the left side at roughly 3,200 feet over Dublin Bay, near Howth, shortly after 6:15 p.m. AirNav Ireland warned following aircraft and notified police. One crew took a different approach, while four others continued along the original route without spotting anything. Airport operations appeared to continue normally. Gardaí opened an investigation, and Aer Lingus acknowledged the incident. It was the second suspected drone sighting reported by a pilot approaching Dublin in less than two weeks.
Aviation Industry News
American Airlines has been selected as the anchor carrier for the planned West Terminal at Phoenix. It will be the airport’s first new terminal since Terminal 4 opened in 1990. Construction could begin in late 2029, with an opening targeted for late 2033, although those dates could change. American handles about 40 percent of Sky Harbor’s traffic, carrying more than 20 million passengers a year and operating over 300 daily departures on peak days to more than 100 destinations. The project is part of the airport’s Destination PHX 2050 development program.
A TRANSFER OF VALUE FROM CONSUMERS BACK TO AIR CARRIERS: Passengers could receive fewer meal vouchers, hotel stays and other assistance under a federal rule taking effect October 19. The rule puts 10 types of flight disruptions outside airlines’ control, including certain unscheduled maintenance, cybersecurity attacks, medical emergencies, unruly passenger removals and aircraft damage from extreme weather or sabotage. That distinction matters because airlines often tie assistance to whether they consider a delay or cancellation controllable. Federal refund requirements remain separate. The Department of Transportation (DOT) acknowledged that passengers would receive less assistance, describing the financial effect as a “transfer of value from consumers back to air carriers.”
All Nippon Airways (NH) put its Green Pokémon Jet into service September 18, sending Boeing 787-9 JA923A from Tokyo Haneda, Japan (HND), to Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL), on its first commercial flight in the new colors. The theme continues inside with Pokémon cabin decorations and entertainment. The aircraft is scheduled to fly selected routes from Haneda and Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Asia, North America and Australia through at least March 2027. It is ANA’s 13th Pokémon-liveried aircraft since 1998 and the second of three in its latest series. Red Pokémon Jet, Boeing 787-8 JA819A, began domestic service July 29. Blue Pokémon Jet, Boeing 737-800 JA56AN, is expected to join them on domestic routes later this year.
🇪🇺 July 2026 Passenger Traffic Totals at European Airports
If you were a paid subscriber, you would have complete access to this dataset which includes July 2026 passenger traffic totals at some 400 airports across Europe.
Police Blotter
Newly released police body-camera footage shows a Delta Air Lines passenger threatening to sue after she was removed from a flight in Atlanta in April 2023 for suspected intoxication. She said the Sky Club had served her three cocktails over three hours and blamed the airline for her condition. Employees told police she had been stumbling, smelled of alcohol and repeatedly refused to leave the aircraft. Officers offered to walk her back to the terminal without arrest, but the confrontation escalated and she was handcuffed. The video was posted September 20, 2026. The report did not say whether she ever filed a lawsuit.
Go deeper with Saudia’s October network, traffic data for approximately 400 European airports, and the additional stories below.
Subscribe for as little as $35 a year, or download the complete Pro issue as a PDF for just $1.
★ Inside Saudia’s Network
October’s 162 routes, 16,891 passenger flights and 3.78 million available seats. See the biggest sectors, leading international markets and aircraft mix.
★ European Airport Traffic
Access July 2026 passenger totals for approximately 400 airports across Europe.
★ The Complete U.S. Screening Dataset
Go beyond the top 10 with passenger screening figures covering nearly 430 airports.
★ More Aviation Safety & Security
An asylum request aboard Air Canada, a passenger’s complaint about GoJet’s handling of alleged sexual misconduct, and more than 400 flight delays following a drone attack on Moscow.
★ Fleet and Industry Developments
PIA reportedly plans to lease two Norse Dreamliners, Airbus converts its former A380 wing factory for A321 production, and Istanbul opens another runway. Plus the slowdown in global airport traffic and Mahan Air’s international suspensions.
★ Air Cargo
A potential Atlas Air deal could value the operator at $10 billion or more, while plans emerge for a new U.S. cargo airline based at Cincinnati.
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📈 Flightline Financials 🏦
| Airline & Airport Operator Stock Prices Most Recent Closing Price | |||
| AAL American $13.35 | AERO AeroMéxico $15.80 | ALGT Allegiant $77.26 | ALK Alaska $39.70 |
| BA Boeing $199.93 | CPA Copa $129.93 | DAL Delta $81.75 | EMBJ Embraer $75.43 |
| JBLU JetBlue $4.39 | LTM LATAM $52.46 | LUV Southwest $41.04 | RJET Republic $18.72 |
| RYAAY Ryanair $54.69 | SKYW SkyWest $99.27 | UAL United $110.72 | ULCC Frontier $5.84 |
| VLRS Volaris $6.73 | BRENT CRUDE Oil Per Barrel $103.70 | ||
| ASR Asur $239.49 | OMAB OMA $101.30 | PAC GAP $207.41 | CAAP Corp America $23.73 |
| Global Currency Exchange Rates $1 USD Equals: | |||
| EUR Euro 0.88 | GBP British Pound 0.76 | MXN Mexican Peso 17.51 | CAD Canadian Dollar 1.41 |
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Daily Passenger Counts at U.S. Airports, 2026 vs. 2025
