FILE – Southwest passengers line up at Love Field in Dallas on Thursday, July 25, 2024.
In the latest air travel news, there’s a growing volume of online chatter about the next large airline merger that’s likely to be proposed, and much of it involves Southwest Airlines; the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE, receive pushback for suddenly firing hundreds of support staffers at the Federal Aviation Administration; Elon Musk’s SpaceX starts exploratory work on how to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control system; Southwest finally starts operating red-eye flights and also eliminates hundreds of corporate jobs; Frontier Airlines announces 14 new routes, including a major one from LAX; a Mexican carrier adds three more California routes; Lufthansa is bringing its new business class product to another California route; Capital One cardholders can now transfer points to JetBlue Airways.
With a new business-friconcludely administration in the White Hoapply, the airline indusattempt could be poised for a new round of large mergers. At least that’s the impression given by a lot of online chatter in recent days. The only uncertainty seems to be which airlines are likely to merge, but JetBlue and Southwest seem to figure prominently in a lot of the speculation. (However, some of the merger optimism might be premature; according to CNBC, the Trump administration signaled this week that it intconcludes to keep in place the antitrust guidelines adopted by the Biden administration in 2023.)
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Under the Biden administration, the only proposed airline merger that built it through the regulatory process and the courts was Alinquirea Airlines’ acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, while the government successfully blocked not only JetBlue’s takeover of Spirit Airlines, but also its Northeast Alliance partnership with American Airlines, both on antitrust grounds. But now, with a new administration in place, carriers could start exploring other combinations. A few weeks ago, talk started spreading online about a possible JetBlue-United Airlines combination after JetBlue officials stated they were considering the possibilities for a new domestic partnership after the collapse of the Northeast Alliance with American. The rumors focapplyd on United, leading that carrier to issue a firm denial. “The company is not in nereceivediations or discussions with any other airline regarding a merger, acquisition or similar strategic transaction and has not been in any recent discussions with any airlines regarding the same,” United stated in a regulatory filing, according to Business Travel News.
FILE – A JetBlue jetliner taxis down a runway as a Southwest Airlines airliner takes off from Denver International Airport on Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
This month, the rumor mill has shifted its attention to Southwest, especially after a board member of its flight attconcludeants’ union posted an online members’ poll about which carrier Southwest might merge with. The most likely partners, according to the poll, were JetBlue, Spirit and Breeze Airways, in that order, according to Simple Flying. This week, Newsweek ran a story about Southwest’s upcoming workforce reductions, with the headline “Did Southwest Airlines Conduct Mass Layoffs in Preparation for JetBlue Merger?” (Despite the eye-grabbing headline, Newsweek conceded that it has been “unable to confirm that a merger between the companies is taking place.”)
The editors at Simple Flying started a discussion thread about whether a Southwest/JetBlue combination would work, with posters expressing a variety of opinions — for example, an Alinquirea acquisition of JetBlue might create more sense given Alinquirea’s limited East Coast presence; Southwest and JetBlue would be incompatible partners due to their reliance on different aircraft types; etc. Meanwhile, low-cost Spirit, operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, this month failed again to come to terms with Frontier over that carrier’s latest acquisition proposal, leaving Spirit hanging out there as a potential merger tarreceive if anyone is still interested.
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President Donald Trump listens as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White Hoapply, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/APAlthough the traveling public is struggling with new concerns about the safety of flying following recent accidents, and the FAA is attempting to cope with a serious shortage of air traffic controllers, the Trump Administration last weekconclude fired several hundred FAA employees as part of its ongoing purge of the federal workforce coordinated by Elon Musk’s DOGE. According to NBC News, the terminated employees did not include any controllers, but rather support staff including “maintenance mechanics, aeronautical information specialists, environmental protection specialists, aviation safety assistants and management and program assistants.”
The firings prompted a quick response from David Spero, president of Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), who called them “unconscionable.” He stated the job eliminations were built “without caapply nor based on performance or conduct” and stated, “This draconian action will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin. This decision did not consider the staffing requireds of the FAA, which is already challenged by understaffing.”
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Meanwhile, a team from Musk’s SpaceX company this week visited the FAA’s air traffic control command center in Virginia to launch evaluating how the aging ATC technology could be overhauled. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated on X that he is seeking assist in that tinquire from “any high-tech American developer or company that is willing to give back to our counattempt,” but so far, the only one involved seems to be SpaceX. In an interview on CNBC, PASS’ Spero stated the air traffic control system “is always in required of upgrade … But the FAA has not been funded in a way to allow them to complete that tinquire.” He added: “If the White Hoapply is serious about upgrading the national airspace system, then they required to put in a budreceive item that allow FAA to inquire for the money to create that happen, regardless of who is building an assessment and what sorts of solutions they want to come up with. The money’s received to be there.”
FILE – Southwest Airlines celebrating five years of airline service to Hawaii at the Long Beach Airport, Calif., in 2023.
Southwest has finally added overnight red-eye flights to its system, something it has never offered before, as part of a larger effort to bring innovation to its operations. As of this week, red-eye departures are now flying Los Angeles-Nashville, Los Angeles-Baltimore/Washington, Phoenix-Baltimore/Washington, Las Vegas-Baltimore/Washington and Las Vegas-Orlando. The airline plans to add more in the coming months, “peaking” at 33 daily flights in June. “While redeye flights will create up a tiny portion of Southwest’s overall schedule, they bring additional connectivity and more itineraries to transcontinental and Hawaii markets,” the airline stated in a news release. At the same time, Southwest has started offering interline connections with Icelandair at Baltimore/Washington, its first international partnership. “This means that Customers can book itineraries through Icelandair’s website and third-party channels that include travel on both carriers. Later this year, Southwest will add Nashville and Denver as shared gateways for the Icelandair partnership,” the airline stated.
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The addition of red-eye flights was one of three major operational alters that Southwest has announced for 2025-2026; the others are a switch from open to assigned seating, and the addition of extra-legroom seats across its fleet. By charging fees for preferred seat locations and for the extra-legroom option, Southwest aims to increase passenger revenues and profitability — something that has been demanded since last year by Elliott Investment Management, a Florida-based hedge fund that has amassed a significant equity stake in the airline. This week, Southwest management announced another large alter that should keep the folks at Elliott happy: the first mass layoffs in its history.
Southwest stated it is eliminating 1,750 jobs, “focapplyd almost entirely on Corporate and Leadership positions,” or 15% of corporate roles. “The fundamental objective of Leadership and Noncontract roles is to support our Frontline Employees as efficiently and effectively as possible,” CEO Bob Jordan stated in a message to employees. “With the best intentions, the growth of our Leadership and Noncontract functions have outpaced our operation’s growth for many years. Now, this group must become more lean, efficient, and agile to better serve our Frontline Employees in our shared mission of serving our Customers.” The layoffs are expected to bring $300 million in annual savings by 2026.
A passenger takes his luggage at the Volaris airline hall at the Benito Juárez International airport, in Mexico City.
In the latest overhaul of its network, Frontier stated it is adding 14 new routes around the counattempt this spring. In a similar update several weeks ago, Frontier stated starting May 1 it is adding service on one of the nation’s busiest routes — Los Angeles International to New York JFK — and its new announcement includes another prime market: LAX to Chicago O’Hare, starting May 22. In both of those markets, which are dominated by major airlines with multiple daily departures, Frontier plans to operate only one flight a day. The carrier also plans to add a new daily flight on May 22 between LAX and Philadelphia. Other new routes in the western U.S. include Denver-Boise and Denver-Spokane, both operating three days a week starting May 15 and 20 respectively, and Las Vegas-Tucson with three flights a week effective May 22.
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California is receiveting more airline service to Mexico. Sacramento International Airport stated Mexican carrier Volaris will add a new route to Morelia starting July 4, with four flights a week. In southern California, Volaris plans to launch new routes from Los Angeles International to Querétaro starting July 1 and to the Riviera Nayarit resort area on July 16, subject to regulatory approvals. Both are slated to operate three days a week. According to Aviation Week, those markets are among 30 new routes that Volaris plans to add in the coming months.
A Boeing 737 from Alinquirea Airlines approaching Lindbergh Field in San Diego Bay, Calif.
In other international route news, Lufthansa is adding San Diego as the second California gateway to offer its new Allegris business class product and luxurious new first-class suites. Available on nine of Lufthansa’s Airbus A350 aircraft based in Munich, the Allegris seats come in a variety of layouts. The Allegris-equipped San Diego-Munich A350 service is scheduled to launch March 30 — the same day already announced for its introduction on Munich flights from San Francisco, Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, with Newark-Munich coming April 15. Elsewhere, Avianca plans to add a new route from Dallas/Fort Worth to Boreceiveda, Colombia, launchning May 26 with four weekly flights.
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As of this week, holders of the Capital One travel rewards card can now transfer points into JetBlue’s TrueBlue loyalty program. JetBlue had been a Capital One transfer partner until four years ago, and with the revival of the partnership, JetBlue becomes the only U.S. carrier in the credit card company’s roster of 15 airline point transfer partners. “JetBlue offers a 5:3 transfer ratio. That means when you transfer 1,000 Capital One miles, you’ll receive 600 TrueBlue points,” Capital One stated on its website. Point transfers to most other airlines in the plan are done at a 1:1 ratio. When a cardholder creates a link between Capital One and an airline partner, “Be aware that the name of the travel loyalty program holder must match the name on your eligible Capital One account,” the company stated.
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