American Airlines and JetBlue have agreed to pay a group of U.S. states nearly $2m in legal fees after the states won a trial challenging the airlines' now-blocked U.S. Northeast partnership.<br/>American and JetBlue will split the tab evenly in payments to the District of Columbia and six states, including Massachusetts, California and Pennsylvania, according to a settlement agreement obtained by Reuters. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston in an order on Tuesday approved the parties’ fee settlement. American, JetBlue and the state officials that signed the fee deal either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for one. The states, which also included Florida, Virginia and Arizona, sued along with the U.S. Justice Department in 2021 to stop the Northeast partnership on antitrust grounds. The airlines had agreed in 2020 to operate together for most flights in and out of the Boston and New York areas. American is the largest U.S. airline by fleet size while low-cost carrier JetBlue is the sixth largest. The states said the alliance would cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars through higher fares and reduced routes. Sorokin presided over a trial and in 2023 blocked the alliance. An appeals court upheld the decision last year, and the airlines have since taken steps to unwind their alliance. The airlines denied the states' antitrust claims, and they said in Tuesday's fee settlement that agreeing to pay the fees was not an admission of wrongdoing.<br/>
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Alaska Air Group on Wednesday topped Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit and forecast a smaller-than-expected loss for the current quarter, driven by strong holiday and corporate travel demand as well as improved pricing power. U.S. airlines are reaping the benefits of a significant reduction in domestic seat capacity, which has driven up ticket prices. Alaska, which completed the acquisition of peer Hawaiian in September, cited sustained leisure demand, an uptick in corporate travel, and mild winter weather, for its higher revenue during the holiday quarter. "Overall revenue trends continued to be really, really strong across pretty much the entire network," CFO Shane Tackett said in an interview. The company, however, expects an adjusted loss of 50 to 70 cents per share in the first quarter, compared with Wall Street's estimates of a loss of 72 cents per share. Tackett said Alaska has traditionally lost money in the first quarter, but earned all of the profits over the balance of the year. The carrier's Hawaiian network is also expected to lose money in the March quarter, with a slight profit expected for the balance of the year, he said. The company still expects to deliver a profit per share of more than $5.75 in 2025. Alaska last month said it aims to generate $1b in additional profits by 2027 by leveraging its $1.9b acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines and booming demand for premium travel. Alaska Air has been ramping up the share of premium seats on its flights and plans to launch a premium credit card as it revamps its loyalty program.<br/>
British Airways’ parent company has warned it would not support Heathrow expansion without an overhaul of how passenger fees are set. International Airlines Group (IAG) CE Luis Gallego said the regulatory model used to determine the west London airport’s charges is “not fit for purpose”. He made the comments amid speculation Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to back the building of a third runway at Heathrow. Speaking at an event held by trade association Airlines UK in central London, Mr Gallego said: “I think the regulatory model that we have is not fit for purpose. “All the investments in Heathrow are too high and in the end we transfer that to the customers. “As a consequence of that, Heathrow is the most expensive airport in the world but the experiences of customers are not comparable to other places. So we want to develop Heathrow and we support the development if we have the right regulatory model.”<br/>
International Airlines Group (IAG) has announced an investment in Wastefront, a company specialising in converting used tyres into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This approach involves processing waste tyres to produce tyre-derived oil, which is then refined into SAF and road fuels. The resulting SAF is expected to deliver life cycle carbon emission reductions of over 80% compared to conventional fossil fuels. The investment is part of IAG’s ongoing commitment to advancing SAF development and supports Wastefront’s plans to construct a state-of-the-art tyre-to-fuel facility at the Port of Sunderland. Scheduled to begin operations in 2026, the Sunderland facility will process up to 10m end-of-life tyres annually once it becomes fully operational in 2027. The UK currently generates around 50m waste tyres each year, many of which are exported to countries like India for incineration in cement plants or discarded in landfills. The Sunderland plant represents a step toward achieving the UK’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel mandate, which took effect on January 1, 2025. The mandate requires that at least 10% of all jet fuel used on flights departing the UK be sourced from sustainable feedstocks by 2030, increasing to 22% by 2040<br/>
Within three days, two airlines from China and Morocco reopened their flight services between China and Morocco, underscoring the market potential driven by mutual visa-free policy. On Tuesday, Royal Air Maroc flight AT230 landed at Beijing Daxing International Airport, signifying the return of its Beijing Daxing-Casablanca round-trip route. This is the first African route since Daxing airport resumed international and regional routes in 2023. This route is currently operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with a capacity of approximately 300 passengers. The route operates three weekly round-trip flights. The Casablanca-Beijing route is crucial to promoting tourism in Morocco, with international tourists anticipated to make up 80% of its passenger traffic, according to information Daxing airport shared with the Global Times. Also on Sunday, Shanghai Airlines flight FM871, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, carrying 237 passengers arrived at Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca of Morocco, where it was welcomed by a water gate salute. With the flight, Shanghai Airlines is the first airline to operate the Shanghai-Casablanca route, establishing a direct connection between Shanghai and Morocco. Shanghai Airlines will fly three times per week. <br/>