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JetBlue Airways told staff on Tuesday that it is culling a host of routes, making it the carrier’s latest move to cut costs in the wake of a failed attempt to acquire Spirit Airlines and a Pratt & Whitney engine issue that has grounded some of its Airbus planes. The carrier will reduce its departures from Los Angeles International Airport from about 34 a day to 24, focusing on profitable transcontinental routes that include its Mint business class cabin, according to a memo to staff, which was seen by CNBC. Cuts include service from Los Angeles to San Francisco; Seattle; Miami; Las Vegas; Reno, Nevada; and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. JetBlue is also ending flights to Bogota, Colombia; Quito, Ecuador; Lima, Peru; and Kansas City, Missouri, in June, and flights between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Austin, Atlanta, Nashville and Salt Lake City as well as between New York and Detroit. “With less aircraft time available and the need to improve our financial performance, more than ever, every route has to earn its right to stay in the network,” Dave Jehn, vice president of network planning and airline partnerships, said in the memo. Along with transcontinental flying, JetBlue said it will focus on “bread and butter” routes along the East Coast, and those serving Caribbean vacation destinations. CEO Joanna Geraghty is a month into the top job and is under increasing pressure to reduce expenses and return the airline to profitability after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed a nearly 10% stake in the carrier last month and won two board seats.<br/>

BermudAir has launched thrice-weekly round-trip flights to Baltimore, representing the first major expansion of the short-haul airline’s early network. The new “business-class short-haul” carrier kicked off its service between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall airport and Bermuda’s LF Wade International airport on 18 March. The occasion also marked BermudAir’s 1,000th flight since launching passenger service in September. Baltimore is BermudAir’s fourth destination on the East Coast of the USA, along with Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Westchester County near New York City. The carrier also plans to start Embraer E175s operations to Orlando on 26 March. “This expansion demonstrates our dedication to meeting our passengers’ needs and strategically enhancing our service offerings, based on continual market feedback and evaluation,” says CE Adam Scott. “It’s a significant step.” <br/>Scott says Baltimore and Orlando have ”had connectivity to the island in the past, and so this is picking up where others left off”. “With our model and the right-size aircraft, it lends itself to greater frequency, and hopefully that can foster increased economic activity between both Bermuda and those destinations,” he says. <br/>

Start-up leisure carrier Canada Jetlines has taken delivery of a leased Airbus A320 from Aviation Capital Group and recently signed lease agreements covering acquisition of an additional two of the type. The airline said on 18 March that its fledgling fleet of leased narrowbody Airbus jets is now four strong and will soon grow to six, with the next two jets due for delivery in Q2. “We are excited to partner with Aviation Capital Group and welcome this new addition to our fleet,” says CE Eddy Doyle. ”This A320-200 delivery marks a significant step in our growth strategy.” The carrier has previously stated plans to grow its fleet to 15 aircraft by the end of next year. Canada Jetlines did not disclose financial terms of the deal. Demand for aircraft is intensely strong as certification and delivery delays have stunted the capacity-growth plans of airlines worldwide. The low-cost carrier also did not indicate if the lease agreements for its fifth and sixth aircraft are with Aviation Capital Management or another lessor, and did not immediately respond to questions. With a model based on a mix of scheduled, chartered and ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) operations, Canada Jetlines entered the North American passenger market in September 2022 and has since carved itself a small slice of Canada’s hotly contested “snowbird” market with a leisure-focused strategy. <br/>

Latvia's airBaltic, which is aiming to float on the stock market at the end of this year or in 2025, could see itself as part of a larger airline group when it has built up enough scale, its CEO told Reuters. "It could well be when we are large enough that it makes sense to be part of a group," Martin Gauss said. "We have just ordered 30 more (aircraft) and have an intention to go to 100 aircraft, I would say in the years 2030, 2032. When we have or exceed 100 aircraft, we have a size where a larger group will say how 'would that fit in?'" he said. AirBaltic ordered 30 Airbus A220-300 aircraft last year and has 20 purchase rights. It currently operates 50 aircraft, Gauss said. However, he added airBaltic wasn't looking to be bought at the moment and was focused on launching its initial public offering. "We're doing okay; we came very well out of the crisis, ... we want to do an IPO ideally at the end of this year or next year and then fix our equity issues," he said in an interview. State-owned airBaltic posted its highest ever profit of E34m ($37m) last year, as airlines benefit from a post-pandemic surge in travel, but it is also striving to cut debt, with about E200m due within six months. Europe's airline industry has been gradually consolidating for the last 20 years but remains fragmented, with small national carriers struggling to compete with bigger rivals.<br/>

One of the two bidders for bankrupt Indian airline Go First has raised its offer following a nudge from lenders, two banking sources and a person aware of the development said on Tuesday. The consortium, which includes budget carrier SpiceJet's managing director Ajay Singh and Busy Bee Airways, increased the bid amount between 1b rupees ($12.06m) and 1.5b rupees, one of the sources said. The original bid amount stood at 16b rupees. The sources did not wish to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Emails seeking comments from Reuters to Go First's resolution professional, who conducts the bankruptcy process, Singh, Spicejet and Busy Bee majority shareholder Nishant Pitti did not immediately get a response. Pitti is the CEO of online travel platform EaseMyTrip. Go First, which filed for bankruptcy in May last year, received two financial bids as part of its bankruptcy process, the second being Sharjah-based Sky One Airways, Reuters had reported. "The bid amount in both the offers was far below the expectations of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and would involve a deep haircut, which is why both the bidders were asked to revise their offer upwards," a banker with a state-run bank that has exposure to Go First said. Its bankruptcy filing lists Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank and Deutsche Bank among creditors to which it owes a total of 65.21b rupees. The CoC, through the resolution professional, are in talks with Sky One, the banker added.<br/>

Vietnamese low-cost carrier Pacific Airlines has ceased operations, with its Airbus A320 fleet returned to lessors. According to a report by Vietnam’s VnExpress news outlet, the airline has handed back all of its leased aircraft. Flight tracking websites indicate that the carrier is no longer operating, and it is impossible to buy tickets through its website. FlightGlobal understands that the carrier has been in extreme financial difficulty for some time and is well behind on lease payments. Pacific Airlines is 98% owned by Vietnam Airlines. Australia’s Jetstar formerly held a 30% stake – while it operated as Jetstar Pacific Airlines – but exited the carrier in 2020, setting the stage for its rebranding. FlightGlobal has contacted Vietnam Airlines for comment. Cirium fleets data suggests that the eight A320s previously in the carrier’s fleet were leased from Aviation Capital Group, Castlelake, China Aircraft Leasing, and BBAM. The carrier’s failure underlines the ruthless nature of Vietnam’s market, which features intense competition on routes between the three biggest cities of Da Nang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as price-sensitive customers.<br/>