{"id":7062121,"date":"2026-09-20T13:51:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T13:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/delta-adds-at-lax-cranky-flier\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T13:51:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T13:51:52","slug":"delta-adds-at-lax-cranky-flier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7062121","title":{"rendered":"Delta Adds at LAX \u2013 Cranky Flier"},"content":{"rendered":"


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We are back from our late summer break, and this week Brian and I talk about the summer 2027 announcements from Air Canada, American, and United. Really, we\u2019re focusing mostly on the A321XLR routes now that this airplane has enough critical mass to let us see the strategy. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Delta Continues to Grow in Los Angeles<\/h3>\n

Delta announced an expansion<\/a> in Los Angeles Friday morning as the carrier continues to attempt to entrench itself as the #1 carrier at LAX. Earlier this week, the carrier announced new service from LAX to Monterey, and today it said it will launch a daily flight to Philadelphia beginning next summer. The flights to PHL will be operated by Delta\u2019s A321neo, launching on June 7.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not stopping at those new destinations \u2014 the carrier is also beefing up frequencies on seven destinations: Boston, Cincinnati, Houston\/IAH, Raleigh\/Durham, San Antonio, San Diego, and Seattle. Delta is planning its largest LAX schedule in its history including previously-announced new service to Manila and Vancouver. While Delta will offer more flights than any other carrier from the airport, its transpacific offerings are less than that of rival United. But that\u2019s ok, because you can fly 5 times a day to San Diego, and that\u2019s really what matters here.<\/p>\n

Delta did pick LAX as the first airport to receive a second Delta One lounge. The 75-seat lounge in T2 gives Delta\u2019s top passengers an alternative than making the trek to T3. This comes as the airline offers more than 200 departures to almost 70 destinations next summer \u2014 including both Newark and Tucson\u2026 for now.<\/p>\n

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airBaltic Files for Bankruptcy<\/h3>\n

airBaltic did what every Latvian based company does when money gets tight \u2014 it filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court<\/a> for the Southern District of New York on Monday.<\/p>\n

In its filing, the airline said it secured a commitment for \u20ac350 million in debtor-in-possession financing provided it receives approval from the court. The carrier says business will continue as normal for the foreseeable future to include flights, refunds, etc. In its Q1 earnings at the end of March, the airline showed \u20ac472 million of borrowings and nearly \u20ac900 million in lease liabilities. <\/p>\n

The Latvian government currently holds 88.4% of the voting rights at the carrier while Lufthansa holds most of the remaining bits. We won\u2019t be surprised if Lufthansa\u2019s interest forces the airline to shut down and then restart under a slightly different name. Get ready for airBaltic City Airlines! The airline says its current reorganization will wrap up next summer provided it receives court approval to access the DIP financing. Stay tuned. Ryanair<\/a> certainly is.<\/p>\n

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Breeze Pilots Look to Federal Mediation<\/h3>\n

Negotiations between Breeze and its pilots are in their 4th year at this point, and that has led ALPA to file a request<\/a> to have the government appoint a mediator to help with the negotiations.<\/p>\n

In what could be the most predictable response ever, the airline acknowledged<\/a> this is happening while not agreeing with the characterization of the negotiations. The pilots from Breeze blew into ALPA in 2022 and have been working on a CBA since the early days of 2023. This request comes after ALPA sued Breeze in January for much of the same \u2014 saying that the carrier was allegedly obstructing negotiations.<\/p>\n

Despite four years of talks, almost nothing has been decided between the two parties except that their lead negotiators are benefitting financially from the drawn out process. According to ALPA, hardly any key contract sections have reached tentative agreement, with just two sections reaching any sort of consensus stage since January 2025. Under the Railway Labor Act, mediation can continue until the government determines that a voluntary agreement is unlikely. In that case, a 30-day cooling off period must expire before either side can take self-help action.<\/p>\n

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Lufthansa Places First MAX 10 Order<\/h3>\n

A new aircraft is joining the Lufthansa family as the carrier used an option from a 2023 order for B737-8 MAXs to purchase 20 B737-10 MAXs<\/a> with a rack rate of about $3.4 billion.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re pumped about seeing the MAX 10 in LH colors, you\u2019ll want to chill your jets as deliveries aren\u2019t expected to begin until the next decade. Nothing says German efficiency like an aircraft order who\u2019s delivery date is \u201cTBA\u2026sometime next decade.\u201d It also helps to diversify your narrowbody fleet if you\u2019re Lufthansa and hedge your bets at the same time. Airbus can\u2019t deliver enough airplanes, Boeing can also not deliver enough airplanes.<\/p>\n

Lufthansa says the MAX 10 will consume 30% less fuel while reducing unit costs by 20%. <\/p>\n

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American Earns its Stripes<\/h3>\n

American Airlines and German LCC Condor announced their plans<\/a> to launch an interline partnership this week. Of course this is the lowest level of cooperation available to two carriers, so this isn\u2019t groundbreaking at face value. But American does boast in the release that it flies to more than 150 cities from Condor\u2019s U.S. gateways (BOS, JFK, LAX, and soon ORD). And let\u2019s be real \u2014 nothing says partnership like agreeing to move each other\u2019s bags underground at airports around the world.<\/p>\n

Condor is an alliance-less beach towel<\/del> airline that picks its spots to take on Lufthansa. The two airlines used to have a feeder program in which LH provided feeder traffic to Condor, but that agreement was ended a year ago. Whether or not this is the first step in seeing Condor join oneworld is definitely a bit presumptuous, but it does seem like a likely landing spot for the airline\u2026eventually. It\u2019s already partners with newish oneworld member Alaska, and this buddying up to American can\u2019t hurt in that regard either.<\/p>\n

The partnership will give American customers another way to connect in Germany without having to learn the intricacies of Lufthansa Group, something we all can appreciate. <\/p>\n

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