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Saudi Arabia clears B737 MAX to resume operations

Saudi Arabia became the second country in the Gulf region to permit B737 MAX operations after the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) cleared the type on February 28, 2021.

The decision does not directly impact any Saudi carriers as none of them currently operates any B737 MAX. However, the GACA underlined that multiple foreign carriers operate the type on flights to and over the country. The decision is of particular importance to flydubai (FZ, Dubai Int'l), which has eleven B737-8s and three B737-9s awaiting return to service. The Emirati authorities have already allowed the resumption of the type's operations, although the carrier has yet to implement the mandated changes.

No Saudi carrier has any firm B737 MAX orders. flyadeal (F3, Jeddah), the low-cost carrier owned by Saudia, once had an order for fifty of the Boeing narrowbodies but cancelled it during the type's grounding, opting for the A320neo family instead.

Delta Air Lines to cut more than half its focus cities

Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) will reduce the number of its focus cities from five to just two, Austin Bergstrom Int'l and Raleigh/Durham, in the post-pandemic recovery period, President Glen Hauenstein said during the 42nd Raymond James annual investors conference.

As reported by Skift, Delta will no longer treat Cincinnati Int'l, Nashville Int'l, and San José, CA as focus cities.

Hauenstein underlined that both Austin and Raleigh/Durham were "growing rapidly and had a high concentration of business traffic". Prior to the pandemic, the airline targeted a "mid- to high-single-digit" number of focus cities, which are essentially small connecting hubs.

According to the ch-aviation capacities module, out of the three focus cities due to be suspended, Delta is only, at present, the largest carrier by capacity in Cincinnati, which was once its hub. Its market share at the Kentucky gateway is currently 35.2%. It has an 11% market share at Nashville airport, behind Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, and just 6.6% at San José airport,...