The Aviation Week in Review May 9, 2026
Joby Aviation began a series of FAA proving flights of its S4 electric vertical takeoff-and-landing air taxis from Blade Air Mobility’s Manhattan terminal. If it gets final approval, it plans to offer flights from Manhattan to JFK, a flight that should take about seven minutes.
A class-action lawsuit filed in New York accused Delta of breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, and using “dark patterns” to hide cash refund options, pushing travelers to accept eCredits instead.
Not even a week since Spirit ceased operations, some carriers have rapidly leapt into the Ultra Low-Cost Carrier’s graveyard. Most notably, Southwest announced it is adding 26 routes from Las Vegas and 23 new routes from Orlando—both former Spirit strongholds. Not to be outdone, JetBlue added 11 new routes from Ft. Lauderdale. Even Breeze jumped into the now-deserted Atlantic City airport with four routes starting in July.
AirAsiaX placed a massive order with Airbus as the launch customer for the 160-passenger variant of the A220. It ordered 150 aircraft with options for 150 more. This is the largest-ever order for a commercial aircraft to be built in Canada and speaks to the airline’s ambitious vision for serving long-haul secondary cities than cannot support widebody types.
JetBlue takes off on its longest route to date this weekend with its Boston-Milan Malpensa launch. It will operate one daily flight on its A321LR equipped with 24 lie-flat Mint business class and 114 economy class seats. The 3,810-mile flight is projected to take 7 hours 45 minutes eastbound and 8 hours 47 minutes on the return.
And then there were two. European airline consolidation looks to continue as IAG drops out of the bid for TAP Air Portugal. While IAG struggles to manage the current crisis of fuel costs and supplies in Europe, it has decided not to add TAP to its stable that includes British Airlines, Iberia and Aer Lingus. However, Lufthansa which already counts Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines and ITA Airways, is actively pursuing TAP, with its strong route network to Africa and South America. Meanwhile, Air France-KLM has made no secret that it sees the Portuguese flag carrier as an ideal partner for its SkyTeam network. Both groups see huge value in having a partner to combat IAG’s Iberia.
Spot price average for jet fuel was 13 US cents per gallon less today than a week ago but was $3.48 on May 8 compared to $2.42/gal the day before the US launched the Iran war.
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