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Air Canada sees encouraging booking trends and yield signals for the second and third quarters of 2025, but plans to shift some capacity in case of a possible near-term slowdown in bookings to the United States, an executive said on Friday. Airlines with international routes are capitalizing on growing demand for global travel, as consumers place greater emphasis on experiences rather than material goods. However, costly labour agreements and rising aircraft maintenance expenses are squeezing carriers' profit margins. Montreal-based Air Canada is looking at redeploying some capacity in anticipation of a possible slowdown in near-term bookings to the United States, although the carrier hasn't immediately seen evidence of it. “We don’t see any major slowdown or anything substantial that would change our view of the market," Mark Galardo, executive vice president, revenue & network planning, told analysts. "That being said, you know, if we can derisk this a little bit and be a bit proactive and move capacity to other sectors we see strength in, that’s the right move right now.” Some Canadians have canceled trips south of the border, among other measures in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump threatening tariffs on imports from Canada. Galardo said it was too early to discuss the impact of possible U.S. tariffs on imports and the prospect of retaliatory duties. On Thursday night, Canada's largest carrier forecast record 2024 operating revenue and 2025 core profit above analysts' estimates, helped by a rebound in business bookings and strong passenger demand for international travel.<br/>

Air Canada may reduce flights to certain U.S. destinations later this year if demand from travellers begins to lag, as the airline acknowledged Friday it is coping with uncertainty from the current economic environment, including the threat of tariffs. The Montreal-based carrier is preparing in case customers decide to fly south of the border less often in 2025, said executive vice-president of revenue and network planning Mark Galardo. But he cautioned that hasn’t yet been the case, with January booking trends aligning with the company’s expectations. “We are anticipating proactively that there could be a slowdown,” Galardo told analysts on a conference call, as the airline reported its fourth-quarter earnings. “In the U.S., we don’t see any major slowdown or anything substantial that would change our view of the market. That being said, if we could de-risk this a little bit and be a bit proactive and move capacity into other sectors we see strength in, I think that’s the right move right now in this context.” Galardo said leisure destinations such as Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona could be affected if Canadians pull back on travel plans to the U.S.<br/>

Air Canada plans to add 10 to 15 new destinations in the U.S. over the next three years as it works to bring more American travelers through its hubs on their way to Europe and Asia. The Montreal-based Star Alliance carrier plans to serve 60 to 65 U.S. "stations" — or airports, such as New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA), both of which are considered separate stations — by 2028, Alexandre Lefèvre, Air Canada's vice president of planning and scheduling, said at the Routes Americas conference in Nassau, Bahamas, on Tuesday. Schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that Air Canada will serve 50 U.S. destinations in the second quarter. The airline has unveiled one new U.S. destination to date this year: Jacksonville International Airport (JAX). "We need to offer more connectivity," Lefèvre said. "We need to offer more dots on the map, [and] basically create more value." Air Canada's planned U.S. expansion follows an established playbook. The airline focuses primarily on midsize American cities where connections over one of its three hubs — Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in British Columbia — make sense for trips to Asia or Europe. These are known as "sixth-freedom" itineraries where travelers originate in one country, change planes in another country and arrive in a third country.<br/>

Lufthansa Group airlines - including Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings - are rolling out a new feature. From now on, they’ll use the Apple AirTag tracking feature to help find lost luggage. “Thanks to our app and website, passengers can now find solutions quickly and easily in the event of irregularities,” says Oliver Schmitt, Head of the Lufthansa Group Digital Hangar. Schmitt explains that integrating customers’ AirTag data has already improved baggage tracing. This allows airlines to track bags more efficiently and quickly, an easy win for customer service. "Customers want bag tracking," says Tero Taskila, CEO of beOnd, a Maldivian airline headquartered in Dubai, citing the airline's post-flight surveys. "We plan to implement Apple AirTag in the second half of 2025 as it's relatively simple for airlines to integrate this technology."<br/>

Latvia’s government aims to retain at least a 25% interest in Air Baltic as the company prepares to open its capital to investors, but accepts that the carrier might have to give up some of its independence in order to flourish. Speaking to FlightGlobal on 12 February, Latvian transport minister Kaspars Briskens stressed the benefits of Lufthansa’s recent agreement to take a convertible share in the airline ahead of a broader initial public offering.“When we speak about European aviation consolidation, obviously we understand that Air Baltic has been more of an exception rather than the rule in terms of having maintained its independence – and also independence from any aviation alliance,” says Briskens. “But at the same time, of course, we understand the direction in which European aviation is going.” He hopes the IPO will attract a large number of investors, adding that “nothing prevents” Lufthansa “topping up” its shareholding. If Air Baltic opts to expand and strengthen Latvian and Baltic connectivity, he says, a partner such as Lufthansa – which is a cornerstone member of Star Alliance – is “obviously a strategic asset”. The government wants to retain a 25% shareholding, ensuring that the Latvian state stays closely connected to the company, not least because of its geographical position on the periphery of Europe. Briskens points out that Latvia does not have high-speed rail connections and the air transport link is a “critical element”. “Even if Air Baltic becomes primarily owned by private investors, this will not change the strategic impact and importance that the Latvian government and the Latvian state affords to this important company,” he says.<br/>

Belgian national carrier Brussels Airlines is celebrating 100 years of flights between Belgium and Africa. The Belgium-Africa service started with flights to the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1925 and today, Brussels Airlines serves 18 destinations across the continent. This summer, the airline will operate up to 56 weekly flights to sub-Saharan Africa , a 10% increase from last summer. The carrier will receive an 11th Airbus A330, allowing it to increase frequencies to Nairobi (Kenya), Accra (Ghana), and several other destinations. Flights to Nairobi were launched in June 2024 , bringing the airline’s share of Lufthansa Group’s sub-Saharan destinations to 56%. From March 2025, Kinshasa will have daily nonstop flights from Brussels. The route currently operates five times weekly nonstop and twice-weekly via Luanda (Angola). Speaking about the expansion, Brussels Airlines CEO Dorothea von Boxberg said, “Looking ahead, we will expand our long-haul fleet with an 11th Airbus A330 starting operations in June, followed by two more aircraft in the coming years. This year’s additional 10% capacity will strengthen the existing routes while we also explore new destinations as from next year. As we embark on the next century of aviation between Belgium and the African continent, we will continue to invest, innovate, and serve our passengers with our expertise, commitment and passion.”<br/>

Asiana Airlines (OZ) has updated its domestic schedule for the Northern Summer 2025 season, signaling the end of an era for its Boeing 767-300 operations. Asiana is a full-service South Korean airline and a Star Alliance member. Korean Air (KE) owns 63.88% of the airline and completed the acquisition on December 12, 2024. Korean Air aims to complete the integration with OZ within two years. The strategy includes network optimization, service expansion, and enhanced safety investments. While no fleet upgrades were mentioned, the retirement of the 767 is not uncommon. American Airlines (AA) completely withdrew its 767 fleet by March 2020. According to aeroroutes.com, OZ’s last scheduled 767 service will occur on March 29, 2025, operating on the Seoul Gimpo (GMP)—Jeju (CJU) route.<br/>

Many years ago, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong told Executive Traveller of his plans to phase out business class recliners and ensure every SQ plane featured lie-flat beds. The idea was that any passenger connecting to or from flights on Singapore Airlines’ global network could enjoy the same restful sleep as if they’d stepped off an Airbus A380 – even if they were making one leg of their journey on a regional Boeing 737. The latest 737 Max aircraft already feature a business class flatbed seat, but the older 737-800 jets inherited from SQ’s SilkAir regional arm were the weak link in the chain. “Not only did these aircraft have recliner seats in business class, but they also lacked video screens and inflight WiFi (which SQ spun as ‘luxuriate in an undisturbed break and recharge. No work, no messages, no worries.’)” But that’s about to change, and very much for the better. Singapore Airlines has confirmed to Executive Traveller that the last of the 737-800 jets is set for retirement in late October, making a final flight on Saturday 25th. After that, every single Singapore Airlines flight will have business class seats that convert to fully lie-flat beds, suitable for anything from a restorative power nap to a full night’s sleep.<br/>