Delta One Check-In Now at All Hubs, Airbus A320s Need Emergency Maintenance, and More Airline News

Welcome to the last weekly roundup of aviation stories in November 2025.

From Delta One check-in news and emergency Airbus A320 repairs to a first-class update from Lufthansa and some fun new route announcements, we’ve got a varied bunch of topics to go through this week.

Let’s jump in.

Delta One Check-Ins Now Open at All Delta Hubs

For the first time, Delta now has a Delta One check-in area at each of its 8 major hubs in the U.S.

The exclusive check-in areas, which came first to Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Los Angeles (LAX), and New York (JFK), have now officially opened at Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis (MSP), Salt Lake City (SLC), and Seattle (SEA).

While they’re al Delta One check-ins, the experience varies significantly depending on the airport. For example, the Delta One check-in area at JFK is a huge, separate space with expedited security, which leads passengers lets passengers out just steps away from the lounge.

At other hubs, such as Minneapolis, expect to find a simpler offering without private security screening.

Drinks and snacks are available as standard at every Delta One check-in area, regardless of the airport.

To be eligible to use the exclusive check-in areas, your ticket must be marketed as Delta One. These are usually long-haul, international flights, with the exception of domestic first-class routes. Invitation-only Delta 360 members flying on any SkyTeam airline are also eligible to use the exclusive check-in, regardless of their cabin class. Business- and first-class passengers of other SkyTeam airlines may also be invited to use Delta One check-ins, depending on the airport.

Arajet Doubles Down on Newark

The Dominican Republic start-up Arajet has been making headlines (and appearing in our news updates) quite regularly this year, thanks to its rapid expansion in the U.S.

This week, we learned the carrier will increase its service from Newark (EWR) to Santo Domingo (SDQ) to twice daily (except Saturdays when there’s no service) after demand for the new route proved to be strong.

From Newark, there’ll now be a day and night flight with the following schedule:

• Depart Newark (EWR) at 11 a.m. and arrive in Santo Domingo (SDQ) at 4:26 p.m.
• Depart Newark (EWR) at 11:59 p.m. and arrive in Santo Domingo (SDQ) at 5:25 a.m. (+1)

To Newark from Santo Domingo, there’s now an early morning and late afternoon departure:

• Depart Santo Domingo (SDQ) at 6:10 a.m. and arrive in Newark (EWR) at 9:30 a.m.
• Depart Santo Domingo (SDQ) at 7:10 p.m. and arrive in Newark (EWR) at 10:30 p.m.

On this route, Arajet competes with United, which offers 3x daily flights, and JetBlue, which provides a once-daily, seasonal service. Curiously, American Airlines is the only major full-service carrier that doesn’t fly to Santo Domingo from any New York area airport.

Cathay’s Best Business Class Will Debut in San Francisco

Cathay Pacific rolled out its latest business class product — the Aria Suite — in October 2024.

While the Aria Suite isn’t necessarily revolutionary, it comes with improvements to Cathay Pacific’s older business-class seats, including enhanced privacy and larger 24-inch IFE screens.

Since then, the Hong Kong-based airline has added new destinations to the Aria Suite’s route map as it retrofits, on average, 1 of its fleet of 30 Boeing 777 aircraft per month.

In early 2026, the Aria Suite will fly to a U.S. airport for the first time, arriving in San Francisco (SFO) on January 2.

Initially, it will operate flights CX872 and CX873 3x weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from Hong Kong (HKG), returning from San Francisco on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

American Airlines Airbus Planes Require Emergency Maintenance

On Friday, European aircraft manufacturer giant Airbus announced that approximately 6,000 of its Airbus A320-family planes would need immediate repairs before they can fly again.

Airlines around the globe have been affected, not least JetBlue and American Airlines, with the latter being the world’s largest operator of this popular aircraft.

AA confirmed that around 340 of its 480 Airbus A320-family aircraft would need to be recalled for the fix. JetBlue has simply stated that it’s working on the required updates without saying how many planes are affected.

Thankfully, as the required software update is expected to take only a couple of hours per aircraft, both carriers hope to complete the project by the end of the day on Saturday, November 29.

Air Transat Spreads Its Wings to West Africa

This route announcement was perhaps the most surprising this year.

Air Transat, Canada’s leisure airline, has announced the launch of a nonstop service from Toronto (YYZ) to Accra (ACC) in Ghana.

When it launches on June 17, 2026, Air Transat will be the first and only airline to offer a nonstop connection between Canada and the West African nation of Ghana.

The seasonal service will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A330 aircraft on Wednesdays and Sundays until October 22, 2026.

Only 3 other North American airports are connected with nonstop service to Accra: Atlanta (ATL) and New York (JFK) with Delta, and Washington DC (IAD) with United.

Lufthansa Opens New First Class Check-In Area at Frankfurt Hub

On Tuesday this week, German flag carrier Lufthansa unveiled a new, elevated, premium check-in area at its Frankfurt (FRA) hub.

If you’ve ever shown up to an airport and immediately felt the need to change outfits, then Lufthansa’s new first-class check-in area has you covered.

The new space, which features changing rooms, is reserved for passengers traveling in the airline’s coveted first class as well as those with HON Circle, Senator, or Star Alliance Gold status.

“With the new Premium Check-in Area, we have created a space for our guests that combines comfort, efficiency, and personalized service at the highest level,” said Francesco Sciortino, Frankfurt hub manager for Lufthansa.

Save for Senator and Star Alliance Gold elites, these passengers are also eligible to use Lufthansa’s exclusive, unique first-class terminal, which features premium amenities such as expedited security and immigration, as well as a cigar lounge.

Air Space Closure in Venezuela

After the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued warnings about flying to Venezuela and the U.S. government started threatening the nation’s airspace, Venezuela’s government has responded by revoking permits for 6 international airlines, as reported by Reuters. The 6 affected airlines are Iberia, Avianca, TAP Portugal, LATAM Colombia, Turkish Airlines, and GOL.

As this is a developing situation, we’ll provide updates on any changes related to flights to and from Venezuela.

Final Thoughts

It’s been another interesting week in the airline and aviation world. It’ll be nice to finally be able to use a Delta One check-in at all of its hubs, though Lufthansa’s first-class passengers seem like they’ve got an even nicer space to enjoy.

Arajet’s double daily Newark service and Air Transat’s new route to Accra bring more connectivity and travel choices to North America. And if you’re heading to Hong Kong from the U.S, Cathay’s Aria Suite could make flying from San Francisco worth it.

As for flights to Venezuela, we’re hoping for cool heads and positive updates soon.