JetBlue Adds More Winter Sunshine Routes, Air Passengers Rights Are In Jeopardy, and More Airline News

The first week of December brought with it a varied bunch of news.

We’ve got JetBlue adding more routes to its beloved New York, updates from the niche BermudAir and Global Airlines, some potentially troubling news about passenger rights, and some exciting tidbits for 2 of Canada’s major airlines.

Let’s get started.

JetBlue Adds More Connections to Upstate New York

JetBlue is giving Upstate New Yorkers more opportunity to escape the end of winter with 3 new routes coming in March.

“With winter at the doorstep, these new connections to sunny destinations are a win-win for Upstate New Yorkers and businesses who will benefit greatly from more direct flights,” said Charles Schumer, U.S. senator of New York.

Buffalo (BUF) will get 2 nonstop services, while Syracuse (SYR) will get 1.

JetBlue will be the sole operator of flights between Buffalo and San Juan on the island of Puerto Rico. The other 2 routes are already operated by low-cost carriers like Allegiant, Frontier, and Southwest.

Introductory one-way fares starting at just $59 are available to book now.

Also this week, JetBlue launched daily year-round flights from Boston (BOS) and New York (JFK) to Daytona Beach (DAB).

What’s Happening With BermudAir?

BermudAir is changing tack after canceling yet more of its routes to the U.S.

The latest airports to be culled from the airline’s route map are Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (RDU) and Richmond, Virginia (RIC). As of January 2026, BermudAir’s twice-weekly services to the cities will come to an end.

It was only 3 weeks ago that the airline announced its expanded summer 2026 schedule of U.S. routes. Raleigh-Durham and Richmond likely needed to be axed to free up aircraft for routes with higher demand.

Oneworld Could Get a Canadian Member Airline

Thanks to Air Canada‘s membership in the Star Alliance, loyalty and status is a pretty one-sided game in Canada. Unless, of course, Canadians choose to fly U.S. carriers like Alaska, American, or Delta, letting them earn status in the Oneworld and SkyTeam alliances.

However, that could all change if regional carrier Porter Airlines were to join Oneworld. The Toronto-based carrier has been slowly strengthening partnerships with Oneworld members Alaska and American, so a full-blown membership would be a logical next step. In fact, British Airways and Qatar Airways (both Oneworld member airlines) are partnered with Porter in some capacity.

Porter’s joining Oneworld would ultimately mean better connectivity and redemption possibilities for U.S. travelers (and visitors from elsewhere in the world) heading to Canada.

Porter’s CEO hinted this week that the airline may consider an eventual application for Oneworld.

Air Passengers Rights Are Reduced Even Further

The Trump Administration is swinging its wrecking ball in the travel industry once again.

This time, the Department of Transportation will no longer force airlines to honor refunds when they make significant changes to passengers’ flights. Under the Biden Administration in 2024, new rules meant passengers could refuse to travel and be entitled to a refund if of the following changes were made:

• A domestic delay of 3+ hours or an international delay of 6+ hours
• Rebooking passengers to arrive at or depart from different airports than their original itinerary
• Adding addition layovers to an itinerary
• Downgrading
• Changing the layover airport of a disabled passenger
• Changing the aircraft so it’s no longer suitable for a disabled passenger

To be clear, the rules are still in place, but the DOT will no longer be enforcing them. A revised set of rules is expected to be published in April next year.

An Update From Global Airlines

I was on one of Global Airlines’ first-ever flights onboard its Airbus A380 from Manchester (MAN) in the U.K. to New York (JFK) back in May this year. Since then, the airline has taken some time out of the spotlight to get some work done behind the scenes.

That was until this week when we were caught off guard by the hard launch of a second aircraft: an Airbus A340-300, owned and operated by wet lease carrier Hi Fly.

Similar to Global’s Airbus A380, which has been in maintenance since July, this new aircraft, registered 9H-SUN, has probably seen better days at just over 25 years old.

As the Airbus A380, which Global actually owns, faces maintenance delays before it can take to the skies again, the newly leased A340 might have been brought in to get passengers flying again.

I’ll hopefully be speaking to James Asquith, Global CEO, again myself soon to find out more.

Air Canada Adds Nonstop to Rio de Janeiro

Bem-vindo ao Rio de Janeiro, Air Canada.

The Canadian flag carrier touched down in the magical city of Rio on the morning of Friday December, 2025.

Having operated regularly scheduled daily flights to São Paulo (GRU) from Montréal (YUL) and Toronto (YYZ) for a while, it was high time Air Canada added the country’s best city to its route map.

“We are experiencing the best moment for tourism in Rio in decades, and this new service reinforces that Rio de Janeiro remains on the radar of the world’s leading airlines,” said Gustavo Tutuca, secretary of tourism for the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The new seasonal service from Toronto Pearson will run until the end of March, 2026. The short season covers the coldest months of Canadian winter as well as Carnaval — one of the most vibrant, colorful, and exciting festivals in the world.

Final Thoughts

As always, I love to let you know of new routes — especially when they’re to places like Rio! It’s a shame that sometimes, in the case of BermudAir, launching new routes means cutting others.

It would also be great for U.S.-based travelers who want to explore more off-the-beaten track places in Canada if Porter were to officially join Oneworld. As for the rights of U.S. air travelers, I don’t hold out much hope that the new regulations will have a positive outcome. And finally, watch this space for more from Global’s CEO.