star

United Airlines said Monday that the FAA has approved its first Starlink-equipped aircraft type and that the first commercial flight is planned for May. United said the FAA issued a Supplemental Type Certificate for the Embraer 175 and the airline expects the first commercial flight to be onboard a United Express Embraer 175. The Chicago-based airline plans to add the high-speed Wi-Fi technology to around 40 regional jets per month and expects all 300 planes of the type will be completed by the end of the year. United said it will work with Elon Musk's Starlink to secure FAA approval to install Starlink on more than 16 United aircraft models. The FAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Starlink Wi-Fi service will eventually be available on all its flights, the airline said earlier this year, and will be free for MileagePlus members. Last year, United signed a deal with Starlink to provide in-flight internet services across its entire fleet of over 1,000 aircraft over the next several years. Starlink, a unit of SpaceX, has deals with multiple airlines to provide in-flight internet services as it seeks to expand its reach beyond consumers and households in rural areas around the world with little to no internet access.<br/>

Bookings on cross-border routes are down significantly across the industry amid Canadians' new-found aversion to U.S. destinations, Air Canada says. At its annual shareholder meeting Monday, the company said its decreased cross-border flight bookings for the next six months were "comparable" to an industry-wide drop of about 10%. Most Canadian carriers have reduced capacity to the United States while bolstering their domestic or transatlantic offerings, as customers turn their back on travel to a country whose president has set off a continental trade war and threatened annexation. A weak loonie has also discouraged stateside excursions because the conversion rate has been particularly unfavourable for Canadians over the past four months. Flair Airlines commercial vice-president Eric Tanner says cross-border trips will comprise just 12% of the budget carrier's network in winter 2025-26 versus 20% over the past few months. "Overall, we’ve seen more customer and consumer uncertainty. Obviously the U.S. tariff issue is getting a lot of attention, and we’ve certainly seen an impact from that and made network moves to adapt accordingly," Tanner said in a phone interview.<br/>

ITA Airways is continuing its integration into the Lufthansa Group, with the Italian flag carrier switching terminals at Frankfurt and Munich airports. ITA has moved from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 at Frankfurt, with departures now operating from gate areas A and B within the terminal. And at Munich the airline has moved from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2. It means that all of ITA Airways and other Lufthansa Group airlines are now operating from the same terminals at all of the group’s hubs, with this already having been the case at Brussels, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. Lufthansa Group officially acquired a 41% stake in ITA Airways earlier this year, and reciprocal earn and burn opportunities are already in place for Volare and Miles & More FFP members. ITA has initiated its withdrawal from SkyTeam, and plans to join Star Alliance in the first half of 2026.<br/>

Asiana Airlines is expanding its China routes to accommodate the surge in travelers following recent visa exemption policies between China and South Korea. The airline announced Monday that it will add 26 weekly flights to its China routes during the summer flight schedule, which runs until October 2025. This expansion brings the total to 164 weekly flights across 18 routes, or a 20% increase. Asiana also resumed daily operations on its Incheon-Chengdu and Incheon-Chongqing routes on Sunday, both of which had been suspended. Chengdu, home to the Giant Panda Base where visitors can see Fubao, the giant panda born in Korea, is also renowned for its cuisine. Chongqing, one of China’s four direct-administered municipalities, is the birthplace of hotpot and features key tourist attractions such as Hongya Cave and the Three Gorges. The airline is additionally increasing frequencies on other China routes. The Incheon-Dalian route will now operate daily morning flights, with three additional afternoon flights to a total of 10 per week. The Incheon-Yanji route will increase from five to seven weekly flights, with another flight to be added on April 28th, 2025, bringing the total to eight.<br/>