JetBlue Drops Major Airports, Air India Checks Long-Haul Aircraft, and Other Airline News This Week

In this week’s round-up of weekly news you might have missed, we take a closer look at what’s going on business-wise behind the scenes at JetBlue, Frontier, Iberia, and yet-to-launch Riyadh Air, among other noteworthy topics.

Shall we dive in?

Turbulence Ahead for JetBlue?

An internal memo has been released by JetBlue detailing some drastic changes. The airline hoped this year would be a strong step on the road back to profitability, Due to the reduction in flight demand, that won’t be the case.

“We’re hopeful demand and bookings will rebound, but even a recovery won’t fully offset the ground we’ve lost this year and our path back to profitability will take longer than we’d hoped,” the memo said.

As a result, JetBlue hopes to reduce its costs by implementing strategy diversions, at least for the short term. Part of the plan is to focus on operating the carrier’s most profitable routes, which will mean ceasing flights to yet more destinations and even parking some of its planes.

JetBlue is even pulling out of some of the country’s largest airports. As highlighted by Ishrion Aviation, JetBlue has cancelled all flights from Miami (MIA), and its transcon services from Seattle (SEA) have also been suspended.

Hopefully, JetBlue’s financial issues won’t impact the planned opening of its first-ever business class lounges slated for the end of 2025.

New Routes and New Engines for Frontier

Frontier Airlines is doing exactly the opposite of JetBlue. This week, the airline launched a new nonstop intra-Caribbean service connecting San Juan (SJU) in Puerto Rico with Puerto Plata (POP) in the Dominican Republic.

With these new flights on Thursdays and Sundays, Frontier became the first and only airline to operate flights between the 2 airports.

Also this week, it was confirmed at the Paris Air Show that Frontier has chosen Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan (GTF) engines to power the 91 Airbus A321neo aircraft it has on order. The jets, which have an expected delivery date of the end of 2026, will have more thrust capability, better fuel efficiency, and will ultimately be able to fly longer than Frontier’s current fleet.

Could we see Frontier explore the possibility of a JetBlue-style transatlantic foray?

Iberia Invests $6.9 Billion in its Future

Every business has the prerogative to make money, and Iberia has lofty goals of achieving annual profitability between 13.5% and 15%.

To do so, the Spanish flag carrier plans to invest $6.9 billion. The investment will include shiny new aircraft, the retrofitting of existing aircraft, and a third premium lounge at its hub at Madrid Barajas International Airport (MAD). We’ll provide an update as soon as more details are available.

Iberia wants to significantly increase its number of long-haul aircraft from 45 to 70. As it stands, the carrier has 5 Airbus A321XLRs and 9 Airbus A350-900s on order. The Airbus A330neo could also potentially join its fleet for the first time.

A full cabin retrofit of all current long-haul planes will be carried out, and newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft will replace the airline’s aging fleet of narrowbody, short-haul jets.

Additionally, a new premium lounge is already under construction at Madrid’s Terminal 4.

More News About Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air is the airline start-up we’ve all been waiting for: a disruptor in the Middle East where Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar have long dominated the industry.

At the Paris Air Show this week, the carrier confirmed the Airbus A350 as the next aircraft to join its fleet after it starts operations with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner later this year.

The confirmed order of 25 aircraft of the type (plus the option to add 25 more) highlights the general trend of airlines opting to order from Airbus rather than Boeing.

We’ve also learned that Riyadh Air’s Airbus A350s will boast a first-class cabin, unlike its Boeing 787s, in which the highest cabin class is business.

Update on Air India’s Boeing 787s

In the aftermath of Air India’s deadliest plane crash on June 12, the airline was ordered to complete a full check of all 33 of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. No technological or engine issues have been found during the investigation so far.

As an extra precautionary measure, Air India’s fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft will also be included in the safety checks. To carry out the checks, the planes need to be temporarily taken out of service. As a knock-on effect, Air India has cut its long-haul flights by around 15%.

Though no cause for concern has been highlighted, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued the following statement: “[Air India] was advised to strengthen internal coordination across engineering, operations, ground handling units, and ensure availability of adequate spares to mitigate passenger delays resulting from such issues and strictly adhere to regulations.”

Air Transat Announces Nonstop Service to Istanbul

Air Transat’s new route marks a significant development for the airline and North American connectivity. The Montreal-headquartered carrier will be the only North American to offer nonstop service to Istanbul (IST) — Turkiye’s largest city.

Until the route launches on December 6, 2025, the only airline to offer nonstop service from Canada or the U.S. to Istanbul is Turkish Airlines.

To start with, the year-round route will operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Tickets are yet to go on sale, and specifics around the schedule and aircraft that will operate the new route are unclear. However, we’d expect Air Transat’s Airbus A330 aircraft to serve its new Toronto-Istanbul route — the longest in the airline’s network.

The news comes in the same week that the leisure airline launched a brand-new service from Toronto to Berlin (BER).

Final Thoughts

The airline and aviation industry are constantly in a state of flux, highlighted this week by some airlines growing and doing well while others are struggling financially and having to cut back. Next week, we’ll be back with more of the news you might have missed.