American’s Woes, Ultra-Premium United 787-9s, Canadian Cuts, French Additions, and More Airline News

Welcome to another weekly airline roundup. American Airlines takes the limelight twice this week (and not for the best of reasons), United’s newest Boeing 787-9s could be flying passengers soon, Canadian airlines are cutting routes to the U.S., Air Canada shows off images of the Airbus A350-1000 it just placed an order for, and Air France makes New York a focus city for this summer.

Let’s jump in.

Is It Time for American Airlines’ CEO To Go?

It’s no secret that American Airlines‘ reputation has been trapped in the Bermuda Triangle for some time. Made worse by recent mixed reviews of its new flagship Airbus A321XLR, the gravity of the situation was truly revealed this week.

The union representing the airline’s flight attendants passed a unanimous vote of no confidence in Robert Isom, who became CEO in March 2022. There’s no doubt something’s got to change, and many seem to think that should come from the top down.

Photos Emerge of American’s Refreshed Airbus A319s

Photos of American’s refreshed Airbus A319 cabins were revealed this week by DFW_787 on X. They certainly look snazzy and boast significantly nicer seats in first class. However, to make way for the additional 4 seats in first class, American has relocated 2 lavatories from the middle of the cabin to the rear galley so they could jam in the same number of economy seats as before. Ultimately, this tighter, profit-focused configuration will negatively impact the comfort of both passengers and crew.

United’s Newest Ultra-Premium Boeing 787-9 Will Arrive Soon

The first of United‘s huge order of Boeing 787-9s is set to take to the skies within the coming months. The planes’ “United Elevated” interiors have 8 all-new Polaris Studios, 56 updated Polaris business class seats, 35 seats in premium economy, and an economy cabin of just 123 economy seats that takes up less than half of the plane. These will be the most premium-heavy long-haul jets of any U.S. airline.

Additionally, United describes its economy cabin as having the largest IFE screens in the world.

WestJet Slashes U.S.-Canada Routes, Air Transat Exits Completely

It’s a tough time for cross-border flying. Geopolitical tensions have led many Canadians to cross the U.S. off their travel list. As a result, Canadian leisure airline WestJet has axed a bunch of routes, including between key city pairs like Toronto (YYZ) and LAX, plus several routes from Vancouver (YVR).

Air Transat has followed in WestJet’s footsteps with a slightly more drastic approach. Rather than reducing its U.S. network, it will completely stop all U.S.-bound flights as of June 13, 2026. The aircraft used on these routes will likely be redeployed to European leisure destinations instead.

The airline’s 9 routes were focused on taking Canadians to warmer vacation destinations in Florida. The move once again highlights Canadians’ lack of desire to travel to the U.S.

Air Canada’s Airbus A350-1000 Order

Sticking with Canada, its national airline shocked us all with an order of up to 16 Airbus A350-1000s. Air Canada plans to introduce the state-of-the-art aircraft into its fleet by the second half of 2030 with the first of 8 confirmed aircraft. Heralding a new era for the airline, including new destinations, South Africa is teased as a potential new destination for the aircraft.

Air France Adds More Flights to New York

This summer, Air France will fly more nonstop flights between Paris (CDG) and New York City than ever before.

The French flag carrier has scheduled up to 6 daily flights to New York’s JFK, 4 of which will be operated by Boeing 777-300s featuring the airline’s impressive new La Première cabins. As for Newark (EWR), Air France will ramp the schedule up to double daily from June to October. These flights will be operated by its fleet of Airbus A350-900s, which feature the airline’s best business class cabins.

Final Thoughts

The competition between the U.S. Big 3 has never been more heated, and American appears to be lost in the contrails of Delta and United. Speaking of United, the new premium-heavy Dreamliners look very impressive. We can’t wait to test those seats out for ourselves!

We’ll have to wait a little while longer for Air Canada’s Airbus A350-1000s, though. And as demand for travel from Canada to the U.S. continues to plummet, we could hear of even more route cuts by Canadian carriers.