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A Delta Airlines pilot was arrested Tuesday morning for being intoxicated. He was scheduled to fly out of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International. A Delta spokesperson says the pilot was arrested shortly after 11 am. He was originally supposed to fly to San Diego from the Twin Cities. Before he went through security in Minneapolis, he noticed TSA officers were conducting additional screening, so he turned around and removed himself from the security line. Officers reported it to the Minneapolis Airport Police and they conducted 2 sobriety checks. One found he was under the influence of alcohol, and results from the second are still pending. According to the airport spokesperson, officers found the pilot was also in possession of an "alcoholic container." The spokesperson said it was a "bottle." <br/>

Air France-KLM has signed for up to 120 Airbus A220-300s as part of a fleet renewal plan disclosed Tuesday. The airline group says the commitment comprises 60 firm aircraft, plus 30 options and 30 acquisition rights. Airbus labels the 60-unit portion of the deal as a memorandum of understanding. The aircraft will "gradually replace" Air France's A318 and A319 fleet, beginning with the first delivery in Sept 2021, says Air France-KLM. "The acquisition of these brand new A220-300s aligns perfectly with Air France–KLM's overall fleet modernisation and harmonisation strategy," states group CE Benjamin Smith. "This aircraft demonstrates optimum operational and economic efficiency, and enables us to further improve our environment footprint thanks to the A220's low fuel consumption and reduced emissions." <br/>

Air France will retire its Airbus A380 fleet by 2022 and is studying options to replace the double-deck type with twinjets. The airline previously decided to decommission 3 of its 10 A380s and now approved "in principle" the retirement of the remaining 7 aircraft, Air France-KLM says. Five of the 7 aircraft in question are owned by Air France, while the balance is leased. Air France-KLM says that "the current competitive environment limits the markets in which the A380 can profitably operate". The airline asserts that the 4-engined aircraft's per-seat fuel consumption is 20-25% higher than "new-generation" long-haul twinjets. "Increasing aircraft maintenance costs as well as necessary cabin refurbishments to meet customer expectations reduce the economic attractiveness of Air France's A380s even further." <br/>

Korean Air has improved its on-time arrival and departure record in the first half of the year compared to 2018, according to recent rankings and published data. FlightStats reported that 80.4% of Korean Air's flights arrived less than 15 minutes after the scheduled time in the first half of 2019. The record puts Korean Air in the 13th place for most punctual airline ― a significant jump from 34th place for the same period last year. In June alone, Korean Air ranked seventh for on-time arrivals. Departure gate delays were also less common this year, according to the airline. Between January and June, 83.8% of Korean Air's 49,166 international flights took off within 15 minutes of the scheduled time ― 11.8 percentage points higher than the same period last year. <br/>