Effects of Spirit’s Demise, Concierge Key Private Terminal, New Routes, and More Airline News

Welcome to another week of airline news you might have missed. So much happened that it wasn’t easy to fit everything in.

Head turners include what airlines are doing post-Spirit shutdown, a host of new routes, a new perk for American Airlines’ Concierge Key elites, and more.

Spirit’s Demise Has Huge Impact on U.S. Travelers

Last weekend’s melancholic news of Spirit’s shutdown has left passengers stranded and other airlines scrambling to fill the 21.3-million-seat-sized hole that the ultra-low-cost carrier left behind.

U.S. airlines such as Breeze, JetBlue, Southwest, and United are among the airlines adding Spirit’s former routes to their respective networks. Breeze’s new routes include saving connectivity to and from Atlantic City (ACY), where Spirit had a large presence, with new routes to Fort Myers (RSW), Myrtle Beach (MYR), Orlando (MCO), and Palm Beach (PBI).

Additionally, United is adding capacity on some of Spirit‘s former routes from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando.

Even South American LATAM Airlines is stepping in and offering to help Spirit passengers who are no longer able to return home after taking a Spirit flight.

Alaska Announces 4 New Routes

Alaska will expand its presence at Sonoma County Airport (STS) in Caliornia this winter with 3 new routes to Boise, Idaho (BOI), Phoenix (PHX), and Salt Lake City (SLC). The seasonal services will operate from November 1 until April 19 or 20. Alaska will be the only airline connecting Sonoma County to Boise and Salt Lake City.

And from September 8, Alaska will start a new year-round, double-daily service between Seattle (SEA) and Long Beach, California (LGB).

United’s Boeing 787-9 Elevated Will Now Fly to Zurich

United’s best-in-class Dreamliner will add Zurich (ZRH) as its third destination from September. The jet, based at San Francisco (SFO), also flies to London Heathrow (LHR) and Singapore (SIN).

The new Elevated Dreamliner — now United’s flagship aircraft — features 8 impressive Polaris Studio suites in addition to 48 reimagined regular Polaris suites.

Air Canada Continues To Axe U.S. Services

Due to ever-declining demand for travel from Canada to the U.S., Air Canada has been slowly trimming routes from its cross-border network. After suspending all flights to and from JFK from June 2 until October 23, the following, primarily leisure, routes will also be paused:

• Montréal (YUL) to Austin (AUS) from September 5 until October 19
• Toronto (YYZ) to Sacramento, California (SMF) from August 1
• Toronto to Charleston, South Carolina (CHS) from September 6
• Vancouver (YVR) to Raleigh-Durham (RDU) from July 29

Riyadh Air Plans Wants To Fly to the U.S.

With hopes of being a disruptor in the Middle Eastern airline market, new Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air has applied to operate flights to the U.S. It’s not confirmed which cities Riyadh Air plans to fly to, but my money is on JFK as its first U.S. route. London Heathrow is the only route the carrier has launched since it started flying passengers in October 2025.

American Airlines Gives Concierge Key Members Exclusive PS Private Terminal Access

American Airlines has teamed up with PS private terminals to offer its invite-only Concierge Key members access to the exclusive spaces, including at LAX where it debuted. Members were emailed a one-time complimentary offer that could be enough to entice them to sign up for a membership.

Breeze Airways Adds New Caribbean Destination

Thanks to Breeze Airways, Tampa (TPA) will get its first and only nonstop route to the U.S. Virgin Islands on December 16. Saint Thomas (STT) will become the airline’s fourth Caribbean destination in its expansive route network from Tampa.

Avianca Increases U.S. Flights

Colombia’s Avianca will increase frequencies on 3 of its routes: Bogota (BOG) to Fort Lauderdale will increase to double daily, Barranquilla (BAQ) to Miami (MIA) will increase from 3 times weekly to daily, and Medellín (MDE) to Orlando will move to a year-round, daily service.

Final Thoughts

It’s been a tough week for both Spirit passengers and former employees alike. The aftershocks of the airline’s sudden departure will likely last for a while.

Among the several new routes and frequency increases this week, Riyadh Air’s application to add service to the U.S. is particularly exciting. On the other hand, it’s a shame to see Air Canada having to cut so many U.S. routes.

As for United’s new Dreamliner, it’s officially made it on to my “to fly” list for 2026.