Delta Worries, U.S. Arrivals Drop, and Other Airline News This Week

In this week’s roundup of airline news from the past 7 days that did not get their own story, we go from North America to Europe, taking stock of rapidly changing conditions in the world of air travel.

Let’s dive in.

Delta Air Lines Still Profitable, but Worried

The most profitable U.S. airline isn’t issuing guidance to investors for the second half of the year, because the economic environment is too uncertain. It also doesn’t expect to add capacity in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Delta Air Lines, which made a $3.46 billion profit last year, was the first legacy U.S. carrier to report its financial results from the first quarter of 2025. Earnings per share grew 2% from last year, above analysts’ expectations, and adjusted revenue came in at $12.98 billion, up 3% from last year and in line with Wall Street expectations. Those are positive numbers, but CEO Ed Bastian said on CNBC he is worried about the future.

“We’re acting as if we’re going to a recession,” he said. Bastian didn’t mention directly the tariffs imposed by President Trump or the massive cuts to government agencies, but did say that “we’re in uncharted, unprecedented uncertainty” and referred to a “self-inflicted situation” that “has created chaos in terms of being able to make plans.”

While Delta is seeing weaker demand right now compared to a year ago, Bastian said that premium cabins are still doing relatively well compared to economy class, particularly in international flying, and “summer bookings are in line with a year ago.” Behind that resilience, according to Bastian, is a literal need to escape. “U.S. consumers are looking to go somewhere,” said the Delta CEO, “particularly to try to get a reprieve from all the craziness we’re going through.”

Arrivals to the U.S. From Top Visitor Countries Drop

Data from the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) of the International Trade Administration shows that the number of international visitors arriving in the U.S. from countries that typically send many is dropping.

The new U.S. administration’s hostility to Europe and other allies and belligerent rhetoric on trade are clearly having an effect. Data from Canada and Mexico for March is not available yet, but what we can already see about other countries is worrying.

Looking at NTTO data for visitors — people who enter the U.S. for tourism, business, and reasons not related to immigration — we compared arrivals in March 2025 to the same month a year before, and these are some of the highlights:

By the International Trade Administration’s own count, 40 international arrivals support 1 U.S. job, so the drop from Western Europe alone signifies a loss of 4,700 jobs.

U.S. and Russia Talk About Resuming Direct Flights

Direct flights between Russia and the United States ended in March 2022, when the U.S. government banned all Russian aircraft and airlines from its airspace, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So did Canada and the 27 countries of the European Union, plus other European countries not in the Union, like Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Russia did the same.

Now, American and Russian diplomats are talking about ending those reciprocal bans. A U.S. and a Russian delegation met at the Russian consulate in Istanbul this week to discuss several bilateral issues, among which was the possible resumption of direct flights. The delegations had already met in February, also in Istanbul.

Russian news agency TASS, as reported by Reuters, quoted the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Alexander Darchiev, as saying that “both sides (…) stressed the importance of resuming direct flights between Russia and the United States in expanding business ties and contacts.”

A major consequence would be that, if U.S. aircraft could overfly Russia again, flight times to Asian destinations would be cut drastically.

There is no timeframe for that possible resumption, however, nor is it certain that it will happen. It’s also far from a given that Europe or Canada would follow, which would make it difficult for Russian aircraft to reach the U.S. without overflying European or Canadian airspace.

American Expands in Mexico, Does Fancy Flagship Food

American Airlines is consolidating its position as the dominant U.S. airline to Mexico, with a new service to its 30th destination in the country.

American announced that starting December 3, it will operate a twice-weekly year-round service between Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Puerto Escondido (PXM) on the Pacific coast. The new flight will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays with an Embraer 175, a 76-seat regional jet with a first class section.

In the U.S., American is opening a new Flagship Lounge at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) this summer, its sixth Flagship Lounge. The existing 5 lounges — American’s top offering, a notch above Admirals Clubs — are getting new culinary options for summer, which American highlighted in a press release. While American’s frequent flyers usually do not rave about the culinary offerings at the Admirals Clubs, Flagship First lounges are a different story.

Take, for example, the coconut chicken curry with carrots, onions, potatoes, and peas served by Dallas celebrity chef and restaurateur Tiffany Derry at the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) lounge, or the marinated lentil salad with smoked salmon, jammy eggs, and chicories by James Beard Award-winning chef Sarah Gruenberg at Chicago-O’Hare (ORD).

American provided images of the dishes, but you don’t need to see them to know they’ll be much better than the Admirals Club buffet.

Qatar Airways Has Fast, Free Internet on Almost All 777s

Last year, Qatar Airways began installing fast, free Starlink Wi-Fi on its Boeing 777s. Now, the airline reports that installation is complete on 80% of the 777 fleet and that Airbus A350s are next.

Qatar had promised that all of the airline’s 777s would have Starlink installed by the second quarter of 2025, and it’s close to delivering on that promise. The Airbus A350 fleet will begin Starlink installation this month, sooner than Qatar had previously announced.

This matters to U.S. flyers because all of Qatar’s destinations in the country are served with either a 777 or A350. Starlink is faster than previous generations of inflight Internet and is free for all passengers.

Air Canada’s A220 Get a New Cabin

Air Canada has been flying the Airbus A220 — including to several U.S. destinations — only since 2019, but it’s already time for a refurbishment. That’s because Airbus has made available on the A220, its smallest plane, a cabin concept called Airspace that it introduced in 2015 on the bigger A350.

Air Canada announced that it will be the launch customer for the Airspace cabin on the A220, which gives customers more overhead storage space as well as enhancements like improved LED lighting. The first aircraft to receive the new bins are scheduled to be delivered in early 2026. Air Canada will add its own touches like an updated seat-back entertainment system. The Canadian airline had already refurbished its Airbus A320s and A321s with Airspace, giving those older jets an entirely new appearance.

According to Airbus, the new bins can accommodate up to 19 more passenger bags and reduce aircraft weight by 300 lbs. Over the lifetime of an entire fleet of A220s, the lower weight will save millions of dollars in fuel.

Final Thoughts

A lot is in flux these days in air travel, with geopolitical changes affecting the way we move around the world. As airlines and governments respond to these new conditions, follow us to learn how you, as a traveler, may be affected.