Southwest Boarding Changes, More BA First Class Avios Seats, New Lounges, and Other Airline News

We’ve got a mixed bag of new topics for you this week: United’s CEO thinks the fuel crisis is here to stay, Southwest updated its boarding process yet again, Air Canada took delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR, Cathay Pacific unveiled its stunning new first-class lounge in Hong Kong, and more airline-focused news.

Let’s take a look.

United CEO Doubts Airfare Will Drop Anytime Soon

United was one of the first airlines to protect the fuel-cost-sized holes in its pockets by increasing the fees it charges passengers to check in a bag. That hasn’t been enough to knock out the Persian-Gulf-shaped dent in the airline’s finances, since United confirmed has also increased airfares 5 times since the crisis began.

During the airline’s first-quarter earnings call this week, United CEO Scott Kirby said he expects higher fuel prices to persist for a while longer. Even if some kind of peace was found and prices returned to normal, it’s highly unlikely United — or any other airline — would lower checked bag fees back to where they were before the crisis.

Southwest Updates Boarding Process … Again

Southwest continues to iron out some wrinkles in its radical new boarding process, introduced at the start of the year. This time, the changes are positive for Southwest A-List passengers who will aways be able to board in Group 1 from April 30, no matter their assigned seat. Until the update comes in, A-List elite members board in groups 3 to 5 if they haven’t purchased extra legroom seats or Upgraded Boarding.

Air Canada One Step Closer to Flying Airbus A321XLR

Air Canada has taken delivery of its first shiny new Airbus A321XLR in Hamburg (HAM). Like American, JetBlue, and United, its version of the game-changing narrow-body aircraft boasts lie-flat seats in business class.

The jets will carry passengers for the first time in June on the new route from Montréal (YUL) to Palma de Mallorca, Spain (PMI).

British Airways Adds First Class to Tampa, Switches to Heathrow

For the longest time, British Airways‘ Tampa (TPA) service has operated from London Gatwick (LGW) — the airline’s secondary London airport. The airport is a hub for BA’s more leisure-focussed routes, which Tampa certainly fits into. However, from October 25, 2026, BA will switch the departure airport to Heathrow and upgrade the plane that flies the route.

The aging Boeing 777-200s will be swapped out for state-of-the-art Boeing 787-10s, which feature its newest version of business class and boast a first class cabin as an added bonus. This should hopefully mean more first class award availability from the U.S. to London.

Nashville Will Get a New Admirals Club

The next airport on American’s lounge investment list is Nashville, Tennessee (BNA). At 17,400 square feet, the new Admirals Club will be 3 times the size of the current space and the largest airline lounge in the airport. American plans to start work on the new Nashville Admirals Club in Concourse A sometime in 2027. We can expect a potential opening of some time in late 2028 or early 2029.

Cathay Unveils New First Class ‘The Wing’ Lounge in Hong Kong

Once The Pier‘s less glamorous older sibling, The Wing has been transformed into Cathay Pacific‘s flagship first-class lounge offering. After being shuttered for almost a year, the completely renovated The Wing, First, opened its doors to passengers on April 22. From à la carte dining to hotel-style shower rooms, you’ll want to arrive early at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) if you’re flying out in first class.

For the time being, only Cathay Pacific first-class passengers and Diamond (or above) status holders are eligible to access the lounge. Oneworld Emerald status holders are not.

Qatar Allows Foreign Airlines Back in Airspace

After almost 2 whole months of restrictions, foreign airlines are once again permitted to operate flights to Doha’s Hammad International Airport (DOH). As the only U.S. airline with scheduled service to Doha, American Airlines is the only U.S.-based carrier to be affected by the changes.

Final Thoughts

Another week has brought yet another batch of interesting updates from the airline world. We’re most excited to try out Air Canada’s Airbus A321XLR and Cathay Pacific’s The Wing, First, lounge for ourselves. Here’s hoping BA’s Tampa update indeed brings more first-class award availability.