Issue No. 804

One if by Land, Two if by Sea, and Six if by Air

Mar 01, 2021

Does Boston-London Need Six Airlines on the Route?

Pushing Back: Inside This Issue

Paul Revere's midnight ride warned the residents of Boston that the British were coming. Now, it looks like the Americans are returning the favor, with United becoming the sixth airline to enter, or planning to enter, the market. Why this sudden interest in the route? We examine why in this week's Feature Story.

Elsewhere in this issue, Air Lease Corp. says Boeing has some "tough" decisions to make. Will the airframer design a new aircraft? IAG may be on its way to creating a European mega-hub in Madrid to compete with Frankfurt and Amsterdam. And winter most definitely has arrived in Scandinavia, with Norwegian considering its very survival and SAS scaling back its ambitions.

The Airline Weekly Lounge Podcast

New episodes drop every Thursday and are available wherever you get your podcasts and on AirlineWeekly.com. In the latest podcast, Edward "Ned" Russell and Madhu Unnikrishnan discuss the vacuum left by Norwegian's exit from longhaul flights. Listen to the episode.

Verbulence

“Over the past two decades, the rollout of Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, Microsoft Teams and other virtual connectivity features has not hindered the growth of air travel nor have they seemed to replace the in-person interaction enabled by air travel. That said, it is not unreasonable to expect that the return of business travel will likely be in phases based on purpose of the travel and the destination country or region.”
Air Lease Corp. Executive Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy

Weekly Skies

International Airlines Group (IAG) sees European authorities signing off on its renegotiated deal to acquire Air Europa later this year, as the conglomerate positions the acquisition as necessary to create a competitive alternative to other large European hubs.

Routes and Networks

It's more "snow and sun" for Southwest Airlines this year. The Dallas-based discounter will add Bozeman, Mont., and Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Fla., to its map this May, its 13th and 14th new dots since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Fleet

The likelihood of very large passenger aircraft returning to prominence in airline fleets is low, as airlines retire their remaining Airbus A380s and Boeing 747s, Air Lease Corp. said in its fourth quarter and full-year 2020 earnings call. Freighter conversions…

Landing Strip

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) plans to begin opening the delayed Midfield Satellite Concourse at Los Angeles International Airport this April.

Feature Story

The transatlantic market has long been among one of the busiest and most lucrative for airlines. Repeatedly after past crises, it was among the first to come back — and come back strong — compared with other international markets.