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JetBlue Airways expects Q2 capacity to be 15% lower than during the same period in pre-coronavirus 2019, as the airline gears up for progressively higher demand amid rising vaccination rates. The New York based carrier says in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 9 June that it is seeing “continued improvement in bookings”, and now expects revenue during the quarter to be “between 30% and 33%” lower compared to 2019 figures. “This range compares to the company’s prior planning assumption of a revenue decline between 30% and 35%, year over two,” the airline says. “JetBlue continues to believe demand and revenue recovery may be non-linear and may not be able to predict changes to revenue due to additional Covid-19-related disruptions or other factors.” JetBlue’s Q2 costs will likely fall 7% compared to 2019, as compared to the previous assumption of an 8% decline, the airline adds. JetBlue adds to the chorous of airlines which have said in past weeks that domestic demand is rising faster than expected, with most planning to fly a full schedule during the busy sommer holiday travel season. Last month, JetBlue announced the launch of daily flights between New York’s John F Kennedy International airport and London Heathrow beginning on 11 August. A daily flight from JFK to London Gatwick will commence on 29 September, with service from Boston to London to begin next summer.<br/>

Spirit Airlines is planning to expand to Miami International Airport later this year, increasing competition among airlines for Florida travelers. Budget airline Spirit, based in Miramar, Florida, said late Tuesday that it plans to offer flights starting in October from 30 cities, including New York, Cleveland and Denver. Others include service to Cali and Medellin, Colombia, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Miami is a major hub for American Airlines, where the carrier has offered robust service to Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as other domestic and international destinations. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline accounts for more than 5,100 of scheduled Miami flights this month, about 55% of the total, according to aviation consulting firm Cirium. Spirit isn’t the only competitor to plot an expansion into Miami. Southwest last year unveiled plans to start service there as carriers looked for popular tourist destinations and took advantage of a lull in demand for many other destinations. United Airlines last year launched a host of point-to-point flights into Florida. Airlines’ July capacity in the Sunshine State is the same as 2019, while capacity for the entire US is set to be down next month by about 17% compared with two years ago, according to Airlines for America. Spirit said it is not planning to reduce flying at its hub in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “We are the largest airline at FLL, and we intend to stay that way,” Spirit said.<br/>

Ryanair Holdings Pnotched up a third win in its campaign to topple billions of euros of Covid-19 bailouts for rival carriers, after EU judges faulted the EU’s approval of a 550m-euro German loan to airline Condor. The EU General Court, the bloc’s second-highest tribunal, on Wednesday said the EC’s decision gave “an inadequate statement of reasons” for approving the measure. But in light of the “economic and social context marked by the Covid-19 pandemic,” judges put on hold any order to repay the aid until after the EU’s antitrust arm has re-examined the case and issued a new decision fixing the procedural errors. Investor Attestor Ltd. last month acquired a majority stake in the German airline, rescuing a company that’s survived on government support after the coronavirus pandemic punctured the boom in air travel. The EU-approved German loan Ryanair is contesting helped keep Condor afloat. Ryanair has filed more than two dozen challenges to EU approvals for pandemic aid doled out by governments to carriers, including Lufthansa and Air France-KLM. “During the Covid-19 pandemic over 30 billion euros in discriminatory state subsidies has been gifted to EU flag carriers,” Ryanair said. “Unless halted by the EU Courts in line with today’s ruling, the effects of market distortion caused by this state aid will be felt for decades.” The Brussels-based commission said it “will carefully study the judgment and reflect on next steps,” noting the court’s decision “to suspend the effects” of the ruling until a possible new EU decision on the aid.<br/>

Wizz Air is likely to fly more this summer than it did pre-pandemic, said its CE, as European COVID-19 travel restrictions loosen. “We are ramping up. We are seeing a less constrained environment going into peak summer and quite likely we’re going to be above our 2019 capacity in a month or two from now,” CE Jozsef Varadi told an online airlines event on Wednesday. He said Wizz was already operating about 90% of its pre-pandemic 2019 capacity. That puts Hungary-based Wizz, which has an eastern European focus, ahead of many other European airlines which are operating less than half their pre-pandemic capacity.<br/>

Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways is poised to launch direct charter services to the US West Coast, with a long-term eye on California’s Vietnamese diaspora. The airline confirms that it will launch the direct charters from the end of June or beginning of July with Boeing 787-9s. Should the flights take place, it would mark the first direct service between the two countries. “The United States is a potential market, as California alone has the largest overseas Vietnamese community in the world. Despite the considerable demand for travel, there is no non-stop flight connecting Vietnam and the US at the moment,” says the carrier. “Besides, US-Vietnam trade is being significantly promoted, which will lead to a higher travel and trade exchanges demand.” The airline has also secured landing slots for both San Francisco and Los Angeles from 1 September, although these will only be used should international travel be reopened and favourable market conditions prevail. Direct services between Vietnam and the USA have been mooted for several years. In the mid-2010s, low-cost carrier VietJet said the US would be a key destination were it to launch a long-haul, low-cost operation.<br/>

AirAsia Group Bhd has grounded around 90% of its fleet of more than 200 planes across Asia due to resurgence of COVID-19 outbreaks, an executive at its Malaysia unit said on Wednesday. Malaysia, its largest market with 105 planes, is currently under lockdown. AirAsia Malaysia expects demand could start to rebound from August, allowing it to restore service to all 17 of the domestic airports it serves by October, COO Javed Anwar Malik said Wednesday. A full return to pre-COVID demand levels across Asia is not expected until around Q3 2022, he said. AirAsia Group last month reported its seventh consecutive quarterly loss and said it was continuing efforts to secure more liquidity.<br/>

AirAsia will operate its first dedicated cargo aircraft — a Boeing 737-800 — in the third quarter of the year, as the low-cost giant doubles down on expanding in the region’s cargo market. The aircraft, operated by AirAsia logistics unit Teleport from its Bangkok hub, will join two Airbus A320s that are currently being converted to temporary freighters by having seats removed. AirAsia states that one A320 will be based in Kuala Lumpur, while the second A320 will join the 737 freighter in Bangkok. The three aircraft will operate to cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Yangon. It is unclear where the 737-800 freighter will come from, except that it will be a leased jet. The AirAsia Group first disclosed plans to develop “a cargo-only core network” when it released its first-quarter financial results in late May. <br/>