Newark’s Getting Better, Lufthansa Expands Allegris, and Other Airline News This Week

In this week’s roundup of airline-related stories from the past 7 days that didn’t get their own article, we look at why delays and cancellations may be less troublesome soon at Newark airport, and then we fly around the world to check out news running the gamut from first-class suites to tiny seats on low-cost airlines.

United Confident About Newark This Summer, Praises FAA

United Airlines is confident that operations at its Newark (EWR) hub will be smoother this summer once the runway currently closed for repairs reopens on June 15. That will double the runway capacity, which is currently limited to just 1 runway that’s being used for both takeoffs and landings.

On a conference call on Friday, United executives said recently imposed caps on the number of movements (takeoffs and landings) per hour will bring order to operations at EWR, which have been marred by delays and cancellations for weeks. Outages affecting air traffic control have snarled flights at the airport, as well, and United says that’s being taken care of, too.

Airline execs praised the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for taking action. The FAA designates Newark as a Level 2 airport, where takeoff and landing slots aren’t as scarce and coveted as Level 3 airports like nearby JFK and LaGuardia (LGA), where traffic is tightly controlled for that reason. Newark would routinely exceed its cap of 77 movements per hour, causing bottlenecks, and the government would not intervene since it wasn’t Level 3.

Now, United said, that cap has been lowered to 68 and is being enforced by the FAA. Combined with the airline’s own decision to reduce operations at EWR by 35 flights per day, plus the runway reopening and tech improvements at traffic-control facilities, this should lead to a better summer at the airport.

Speaking on background, company officials said that on 8 of the 11 days through May 21, United cancelled less than 1% of its flights from Newark. On May 19, Newark had the best on-time arrival percentage of all 3 New York airports.

According to flight-tracking site Flightradar24, Newark had a 47-minute average departure delay on May 23 at noon, compared to 40 minutes at JFK and 17 at LGA.

United Makes Check-In Time Limits Stricter

Beginning on June 3, passengers on United must check in no later than 45 minutes before departure, whether they are checking bags or not. Currently, the check-in cutoff for domestic flights on United is 45 minutes with bags to check and 30 minutes without (at most airports).

According to an internal memo shared with Live and Let’s Fly, the new policy says that “customers traveling without checked bags must check in at least 45 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights.” The goal is to have a consistent cutoff for all domestic passengers.

The change does not affect passengers who check in on the United app or site and do not have checked bags to drop off.

Separately, United said it’s expecting to fly about 3.8 million people this Memorial Day holiday —between May 22 and 28. That’s 8.5% more than the same period last year.

Avelo Faces Increasing Backlash

Avelo Airlines has recently begun flying people to third countries who the Trump administration is expelling because it says they are criminals and are in the U.S. illegally. Avelo CEO Andrew Levy has said that leasing planes and crews to the government to carry out those flights will provide the airline with financial stability and that Avelo flew similar charters under the Biden administration, too.

Unlike those previous charters, though, these so-called “deportation flights” are being stopped by court orders. For example, the Supreme Court has blocked the deportations of a group of men who are currently in immigration detention in Texas. The administration is invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which gives presidents the power to expel foreigners if there’s a war or invasion. The Supreme Court hasn’t ruled yet on whether deporting people today under that law is admissible; it merely said that more time is needed to give those detainees the due process guaranteed by the Constitution.

Meanwhile, a pledge to boycott Avelo until it stops those flights has gathered 38,000 signatures.

The online pledge also contains a petition for the Connecticut legislature to end the fuel tax moratorium Avelo enjoys as it expands flying in the state, particularly at the Tweed airport in New Haven (HVN), from which it serves 21 destinations.

Avelo is also involved in a legal fight with an aviation journalist and blogger who’s also a New Hampshire state senator, Seth Miller. To protest the airline’s involvement in deportations, Miller had billboards placed outside the New Haven airport inviting people to “say AvelNO.” Avelo sent him a cease-and-desist letter, saying the billboards (since taken down) were a copyright infringement. Miller then sued the airline, alleging he had a First Amendment right to say what he said.

Delta Returns to Tel Aviv, Only U.S. Airline in Israel for now

Delta Air Lines is the only U.S. airline serving Israel at the moment. The carrier restarted daily flights to Tel Aviv (TLV) from New York-JFK on May 20 with the Airbus A330-900. Delta had suspended service after May 4 in response to a missile attack on the airport by the Houthi militia based in Yemen.

The airline said that the decision to reopen the route followed “an extensive security risk assessment.”

United Airlines had also suspended Tel Aviv service on the same day and plans to resume flights from Newark on June 12. American Airlines won’t restart the JFK-TLV route until September. Israeli flag carrier El Al continues to serve the U.S. without interruptions.

Lufthansa’s First Class Lounge Reopens

One of the delights of flying Lufthansa first class is the ground experience, reputed to be among the best in the world. And now, one of the Lufthansa First Class Lounges at the Munich (MUC) airport, specifically the lounge at Terminal 2, has reopened after renovations, Lufthansa said.

It’s around 10,000 square feet, with a newly designed dining area featuring, like before, an à la carte restaurant and a buffet, plus a redesigned bar. It’s open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is located in the departures area on level 4 next to gate G21 on the Schengen (intra-Europe) level and on level 5 next to gate H21 on the non-Schengen level.

Lufthansa first-class cabins are showing their age, but the new first and business, both known as Allegris, are a different story. So far, they are found only on some Airbus A350-900s, and they are so much better that you should book an Allegris flight, if you’re able to, over the much inferior legacy business and first.

This summer, the new Allegris first class will fly from Munich to Chicago (ORD), San Francisco (SFO), San Diego (SAN), Shanghai (PVG), and Bengaluru (BLR). San Francisco and San Diego will be served by the new Allegris until October. Charlotte (CLT) will see Allegris from August until October.

In the 2025-26 winter timetable going into effect October 26, Simple Flying reports that Allegris cabins will serve Cape Town (CPT), Miami (MIA), Newark, New York-JFK, and Tokyo-Haneda (HND).

Azul Returns to Fort Lauderdale

Brazilian airline Azul is restarting nonstop flights on July 2 between Belo Horizonte (CNF) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL), as reported by Acheiusa, a U.S.-based news service in Portuguese.

Flights operate Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, taking off from Belo Horizonte at noon and landing in Florida at 7:20 p.m. The return takes off at 9:40 p.m. and arrives at 6:50 a.m. the next day.

Azul, founded by David Neeleman — whom Americans know as the founder and first chief executive of JetBlue — is betting on Belo Horizonte for a strategic role in its network. It’s the third-largest city, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in the biggest Latin American economy.

Wizz Air Joins a Small Club

European low-cost carrier Wizz Air is joining Iberia and Aer Lingus among operators of the Airbus A321XLR, which has the longest range among single-aisle planes being made today.

Aviation Week reported that Wizz Air will start A321XLR operations on May 26 with daily services from London-Gatwick (LGW) to Jeddah (JED), Saudi Arabia.

There’s a big difference, though: The Spanish and Irish flag carriers have business class with flat beds on their A321XLRs. Wizz Air is going for a high-density layout, true to its low-fares mission, with a whopping 239 seats. According to Aerolopa, a site devoted to cabin layouts, most of them have 28 inches of legroom. Compare that with 194 seats aboard Delta’s similar A321neos, or even 102 on the A321s that American Airlines uses for coast-to-coast flights in the U.S. And, on top of that, Wizz Air seats do not recline.

At 6 hours, that Jeddah flight isn’t anywhere near the range limit for the plane. Sitting bolt upright for that long in a 28-inch seat is no fun, but the prices are undoubtedly attractive — especially at the basic level (no frills, no checked bags, just the seat).

For a less punishing way to experience the newest product of the European planemaker, you can try Iberia’s A321XLR business class from Boston (BOS) and Washington (IAD) to Madrid (MAD) or the equally spacious Aer Lingus business currently flying to Dublin (DUB) from Indianapolis (IND), Minneapolis (MSP), and Nashville (BNA).

More JetBlue Flights Across the Ocean

Among the growing number of airlines crossing the ocean in A321s is JetBlue, which operates the slightly less capable A321LR version. While it may not have the long legs of its XLR sibling, the LR still has enough range to traverse the Atlantic with ease, and that’s why JetBlue is sending it on new flights from Boston to Edinburgh (EDI) and Madrid (MAD).

Daily nonstop service started this week and will last through October 25. The new routes join JetBlue’s existing seasonal transatlantic service from Boston to Amsterdam (AMS), Dublin (DUB), and London-Gatwick, plus year-round flights to London-Heathrow (LHR) and Paris (CDG). That’s in addition to seasonal flights from New York-JFK to Dublin and Edinburgh and year-round service to Amsterdam, London-Heathrow, and Paris.

Unlike Wizz Air, JetBlue has business class on its long-haul A321s, and it’s a very good one.

Final Thoughts

This week has brought some good news for flyers using Newark airport: United, the biggest airline there, is confident that air-traffic chaos at the airport is going to end soon and has some data to bolster its opinion.

The news is even better if you’re a lucky flyer in long-haul first class: Lufthansa is bringing its new first class to more U.S. airports, and it has refreshed its excellent first-class lounge in Munich. At the opposite end of the comfort spectrum, a big low-cost airline has begun flying the revolutionary Airbus A321XLR with minimal space. With hundreds of these planes order all over the world, you can be sure that one of them is coming soon to an airport near you.