United retired its last three B737-500s by end of May

United Airlines ready to sell stake in ExpressJet - Kirby

United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) is prepared to sell its 49.9% stake in ExpressJet Airlines (EV, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson), formerly its regional capacity provider but now a wholly independent regional carrier planning operations under its own aha! brand, Chief Executive Scott Kirby told The Points Guy.

"If anybody wants it, they should give us a call," he said.

United Airlines acquired ExpressJet Airlines in 2018 from SkyWest Airlines (OO, Salt Lake City) through a firm named Mana Air LLC, a 49.9/50.1 partnership with KAir Enterprises. At that time, the regional carrier operated E145s on behalf of United under the United Express brand. ExpressJet suspended all operations in September 2020 after the mainline carrier decided to consolidate all E145 operations at CommutAir (C5, Cleveland Hopkins). However, ExpressJet did not go out of business but rather recertified as an independent scheduled operator. It plans to launch its first regional routes out of Reno/Tahoe on October 24, 2021, flying to underserved second- and third-tier airports in the western...

Air Tahiti Nui receives $78.6mn state subsidy

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Qantas resumes intercontinental flights in mid 4Q21

Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) is bringing forward the restart of its international flights to November 14, 2021, following the Australian government’s surprise announcement that Australia’s borders will open in November.

The national carrier has announced it will operate three weekly return flights between Sydney Kingsford Smith and London Heathrow and Sydney and Los Angeles Int'l respectively with its B787-9s. More flights will be added pending demand.

With its international operations grounded since March 2020, Qantas initially planned to restart its intercontinental flights gradually from December 18, 2021, onwards when Australia is expected to have reached a Cabinet-set vaccination threshold of 80%. Its Perth Int'l to London service has been postponed until at least April 2022 due to the latest Western Australia border settings.

Canberra has not yet disclosed the exact date of the re-opening of borders, meaning Qantas may yet have to adjust the commencement dates. It said flights would be brought forward if borders re-open earlier, or moved to later, if necessary. Passengers would...