The Airline News You May Have Missed in December 2024

It’s been an eventful year for air transport, and December was no exception.

Let’s have a look at the most interesting news in air travel that we did not cover in an individual article.

JetBlue Downsizes at New York-JFK

The airline that calls itself New York’s hometown carrier is cutting flights from New York-JFK airport, as it seeks to return to profit for the first time since 2020.

Simple Flying reported that the cuts will take effect next year and include one of JetBlue’s flagship transatlantic routes, from JFK to London Gatwick (LGW). It’s also dropping 1 of its 2 daily flights from JFK to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG). The daily JFK to London Heathrow (LHR) flight remains, and so does the daily Boston (BOS) to Gatwick summer-only service. Paris will continue to be served with a daily flight from New York and Boston.

Domestically, JetBlue is ending service from JFK to Miami (MIA), Austin (AUS), Houston-Bush (IAH), and Milwaukee (MKE). JetBlue had made other cuts earlier this year, including many flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

The airline said that passengers who booked a seat on a canceled flight will be rebooked on alternate routes or refunded. As for the planes that were going to serve the now-canceled flights, they will be redeployed on routes that JetBlue hasn’t announced yet.

Southwest Adds New Flights

Southwest Airlines announced that it’s starting flights from its base at Chicago’s Midway airport (MDW) to Indianapolis (IND) and Nashville (BNA) next year.

Simple Flying also reported that the biggest U.S. airline by domestic passengers carried will add more flights from fast-growing Austin (AUS). Next year, Southwest will begin service from there to San Francisco (SFO).

All of those will be flown with Boeing 737s — the only jets in Southwest’s fleet.

Pittsburgh Gets a Transcon From American

The Points Guy reported that Pittsburgh (PIT) will get a new transcontinental flight next year, going to Los Angeles (LAX). The American Airlines service will be flown with a Boeing 737-800. The route is also served by Breeze Airways, which uses one of its new Airbus A220-300s.

Next June, American is also adding a new flight from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Spokane, Washington (GEG) using an Embraer E175 regional jet.

Delta, United Now Use AirTags

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said they are the first 2 big carriers in the U.S. to integrate Apple’s new Share Item Location feature for AirTag into their mobile apps.

Up to now, users could put an AirTag in their luggage, track it, and know where it was, but they didn’t have a way to easily share that info with an airline to help them locate a missing suitcase.

Now, Delta and United customers can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. They can then send the link to the airline’s customer service, where a staffer will be able to view the item’s location on an interactive map using a website.

Share Item Location is available now in most regions worldwide. On your iPhone, you will need iOS 18.2 or later for the feature to work.

More international airlines will follow.

Hawaiian Has a New Lounge in Kahului

Hawaiian Airlines said it has opened a second lounge at Kahului Airport (OGG) on the island of Maui. The 1,175-square-foot space is open to Premier Club, Pualani Gold, and Platinum members of the HawaiianMiles frequent-flyer program, as well as first-class passengers.

The lounge is located across from gate 15 and is open from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. It offers complimentary Wi-Fi.

The best thing about the new lounge may be that it will be open to Priority Pass members, although Hawaiian specified that access for Priority Pass is not available at the moment.  

Priority Pass cardholders do currently have access to the other Hawaiian longe at the airport, located across from gate 17 and open from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily.

Los Angeles to London on Air New Zealand?

The CEO of Air New Zealand, Greg Foran, told a local news site that his airline might return to serving London in 2026, and that it might do so via Los Angeles (New Zealand and the U.K. are too far apart for nonstop flights.)

Air New Zealand already flies nonstop from Auckland (AKL) to New York-JFK, but the new flight would go via LAX instead of being an extension of the JFK service, Foran said. New Zealand’s flag carrier flew to London Heathrow (LHR) until 2020 but suspended the service. If it returns, it will be at Gatwick airport (LGW) this time around.

If the LAX to London flight does happen, you can expect it to be on Boeing 787s with Air New Zealand’s new business class, a vast improvement from the airline’s current, mediocre product.

Nonstop to the Heel of Italy

Italy’s Puglia region, the heel of the Italian peninsula’s boot — also often referred to as Apulia — is becoming a popular vacation destination. Next year, it will have its first nonstop flight from the U.S.

Italian leisure-focused airline Neos will start a once-weekly flight from New York-JFK to Bari (BRI) in June 2025, running until October, as reported by several Italian media outlets. The flight continues a trend of new, nonstop connections from the U.S. to smaller destinations in Southern Italy, where many Italian-Americans fly to visit family, along with increasing numbers of tourists.

Neos flies Boeing 787-9s with economy and premium classes, but note that the latter features recliners, not lie-flat seats. There are many one-stop options to Bari via European gateways on airlines that do offer a true long-haul business class.

United Goes Big on Ireland

United’s huge international expansion planned for the summer of 2025 doesn’t just include new destinations. In some cases, it means adding flights to existing ones. That’s what’s happening in Dublin (DUB), where United said that it would increase capacity by more than 40% next summer.

The carrier said that it would add a second daily service between Dublin (DUB) and Washington Dulles (IAD) from March 29 and introduce the Boeing 787 on flights to Chicago O’Hare (ORD). Those flights will add to the daily Dublin to Newark (EWR) flight and the seasonal summer flights from Shannon (SNN) to Newark and Chicago.

On the other side of the world, United is starting a flight from Guam (GUM) in the Pacific, where it has a hub, to Taipei (TPE) in Taiwan. The twice-weekly service, beginning in April, will use a Boeing 737-800.

Avianca Expands in the U.S.

Colombia-based Avianca has announced 5 new routes to the United States, focusing on Florida.

In a post on Facebook, Avianca said it would launch flights from Bogotá (BOG) to Tampa (TPA); from Medellín (MDE) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL); from Managua (MGA) to Fort Lauderdale; from San José (SJO) to Miami (MIA); and from Guatemala City (GUA) to Miami.

The airline didn’t say when the new routes would begin.

More Phoenix to Paris on Air France

Air France began flying from Paris (CDG) to Phoenix (PHX) in May this year, serving the route 3 times a week. It likes the route’s results so much that it’s boosting it to 5 times a week with the 2025 summer schedule.

According to Airways magazine, the increased flights will be operated with the Airbus A350-900. That’s the airplane featuring the latest iteration of Air France’s business class, which is among our favorite ways to cross the Atlantic.

Etihad and Air Seychelles Start a Codeshare

Passengers flying to the Seychelles on Etihad Airways will have an easier time connecting to vacation destinations in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Etihad and Air Seychelles have entered into a codeshare agreement starting next May, allowing customers to travel seamlessly on a single booking between all of Etihad’s destinations (including several in the U.S.) via Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Mahé, Seychelles (SEZ) and beyond, for example to Praslin Island or Mauritius (MRU).

Kuwait Airways on the Rise

Kuwait’s flag carrier Kuwait Airways has introduced a new business class with pods featuring a door. The new product has debuted with the arrival of the airline’s first Airbus A330-900, delivered in December.

Kuwait Airways is growing its fleet and turns up in flight searches for U.S.-based flyers looking to fly to the Middle East or connecting onwards, since it flies between Kuwait City (KWI) and New York-JFK 4 times a week. Those flights are with the Boeing 777-300ER, which features an older business class without direct aisle access for all seats (but a first class with enclosed suites).

However, Kuwait Airways’ attractiveness for U.S. flyers is limited by its lack of partners. You can’t earn or spend points or miles from any other airline on its flights. The only option is the airline’s own Oasis Club.

Final Thoughts

December has seen some interesting moves in the world of air travel, with several airlines adding flights and only JetBlue making significant cuts.

Many carriers announced an expanded international schedule for next year, meaning that U.S. passengers looking to travel abroad have more options, including more ways to earn and redeem points and miles. Stay with us as we cover what promises to be an exciting 2025 for travelers!