The wind blows directly into Avelo’s face

Breeze Airways added 11 new routes this week, all from Avelo’s biggest stronghold – New Haven, Connecticut. Avelo built much of its early growth around HVN, an airport that had no commercial service before Avelo arrived earlier this decade, and an airport on the brink of a bloody battle between the two low-cost carriers.

Breeze will begin flying from New Haven in December and is expected to offer up to ten destinations by February, some of which will compete directly with Avelo. The destinations for Breeze from HVN are:

• Charleston (4x weekly)*
• Fort Myers (5x weekly)*
• Jacksonville (twice weekly)
• New Orleans (twice weekly)*
• Norfolk (twice weekly)
• Orlando (5x weekly)*
• Raleigh/Durham (twice weekly)
• Richmond (twice weekly)
• Sarasota (twice weekly)*
• Vero Beach (twice weekly)
• West Palm Beach (5x weekly)*

*Avelo and Breeze compete on these routes as both airlines serve the city pair.

Alaska FAs reject contract

Alaska Airlines and the flight attendants’ union reached a tentative agreement earlier this summer that, as always, was subject to a vote by the entire union. The union rejected the agreement this week, sending the two parties back to the bargaining table.

The tentative agreement included in-flight allowances (which is actually a rip-off), back pay, and average pay increases of about 33%, in addition to hazard pay on flights to or from Newark. Flight attendants would have received an immediate 24% pay increase, with their pay jumps increasing in each of the three years proposed in the agreement.

Ninety-two percent of union members participated in the vote and more than two-thirds – 68 percent – opposed the deal. The union says it will survey its members to find out what issues need to be addressed. That’s all well and good, but one wonders why it didn’t do that before the first tentative agreement was reached.

Elliott targets Southwest

Elliott Investment has been shadowboxing Southwest Airlines for several weeks in an effort to push for changes at the airline, and the activist hedge fund is now seeking to replace 10 of Southwest’s 15 board members.

This is a further reinforcement of Elliott’s push to have more influence over the airline’s day-to-day operations, and comes after Southwest’s share price fell nearly 25% in the past year. Elliott’s nominees include former executives from across the industry, including former Virgin America CEO David Cush and former Air Canada CEO Robert Milton.

Southwest has tried to work with Elliott to bring about change, while Elliott has opted for a more brute force approach. Both groups are seeking the support of the airline’s other shareholders and stakeholders, with Southwest expected to unveil a business transformation plan at its investor day this fall.

Canada Jetlines ceases operations

Canada has lost another airline, as Canada Jetlines suspended operations on Thursday because it was unable to raise the money needed to continue operations. The airline now plans to file for creditor protection and may liquidate its remaining assets in exchange for poutine vouchers.

Canada Jetlines began operations two years ago next month, with a fleet of just four A320s. Fly flew mainly from its Toronto base to warm destinations in the southern United States, the Caribbean and Mexico. The airline had lost two CEOs in recent weeks, which is not exactly a recipe for success. Canada Jetlines is the second major Canadian airline to cease operations this year, after Lynx, which closed in February.

Three of the four planes have been returned to Canada – they were leased to foreign airlines – while the fourth is currently parked in Morocco. The airline posted a loss of $9.2 million in 2022 and a loss of $6.4 million last year. It was not expected to make a profit this year, but at this point we will never know.

Merger of Alaska and Hawaii wins in court

Judge Derrick Watson this week dismissed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii seeking to block the merger between Seattle-based Alaska Airlines and Honolulu-based Hawaiian. Plaintiffs in the case claimed the merger would cut routes and raise fares, but Judge Watson ultimately ruled that passengers did not have legal standing to challenge the transaction.

The plaintiffs plan to appeal the ruling and ask an appeals court to block the merger, but they are unlikely to succeed. The dismissal of this potential lawsuit is one of the last hurdles for the two airlines as they await a decision from the Justice Department on potential antitrust concerns.

• Air Baltic adds 10 A220.
• Air Canada will resume service between Ottawa and London/Heathrow next year. The flight complements the airline’s current service between Toronto and London (ON).
• Air Europa a new Dreamliner added.
• Alaska invested in JetZero and received in return a very cool looking drawing of an airplane in his colors.
• Avelo will offer two weekly flights to New Orleans from its base in New Haven starting November 14.
• Azman Air – that’s true, we checked again – is suspending the service until October.
• BA suffered a defeat in court over its hiring strategy during the pandemic.
• Canadian North WestJet is offering capacity support for the weekend after approximately 10% of the WestJet fleet was damaged by a hailstorm in Calgary.
• delta After the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, the Olympic flag flew from Paris to Los Angeles. The flag flew in a galley at the rear of the A350, which was painted in LA 28. The space in the galley for the flag cost the IOC 200,000 SkyMiles.
• Denver Air Connection takes over the EAS service between Atlanta and Jackson (TN).
• easyJet still hopes to be able to offer about two-thirds of its flight schedule to Portugal, despite the strike planned for this weekend at four of the country’s airports.
• Edelweiss will begin two weekly flights between Zurich and Seattle next summer.
• El-Al has ordered up to 31 B737 MAX aircraft.
• Ethiopian Airlines is working with the Ethiopian government to build a new airport about 30 miles outside of Addis Ababa that will be the largest in Africa.
• Air France pays off his debts.
• JetBlue signed an interline partnership with Tradewind Aviation.
• Jetstar Asia will launch a non-stop service between Singapore and Colombo, operating five times a week, from November.
• Latin America could buy up to 30 Embraers. But maybe not.
• Qatar offers caviar on 13 business class routes.
• SAS delisted from the stock exchanges in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm this week.
• Thai AirAsia will begin a four-times-weekly service from Bangkok to Kathmandu on October 2nd.
• United is now full of confidence when it comes to Boeing. And all it took was a free lunch.
• Virgin Australia eight E190-E2s ordered.
• WestJet is now the official airline of the CFL. To celebrate, all customers will receive 110 yards of yarn upon boarding.
• Wizz Air is now offering an “All You Can Fly” pass. It will launch on September 25th and will allow up to 10,000 memberships. Flights will be available with no blackout dates and one personal item will be included in the price. Carry-on and checked baggage will be charged extra. Pricing has not yet been announced.