{"id":330951,"date":"2026-05-24T23:02:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T23:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/330951\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T23:02:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T23:02:40","slug":"cranky-weekly-review-presented-by-oakland-san-francisco-bay-airport-spirits-dire-straits-allegiant-grows-in-florida-cranky-flier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/330951\/","title":{"rendered":"Cranky Weekly Review presented by Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport: Spirit\u2019s Dire Straits, Allegiant Grows in Florida \u2013 Cranky Flier"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"984\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025CWRPBOSFBAlogo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43521\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cwr1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31831\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Spirit\u2019s March was Bad, Like Really, Really Bad<\/p>\n<p>The airline may not be flying anymore, but the bankruptcy continues on. Spirit filed its <a href=\"https:\/\/document.epiq11.com\/document\/getdocumentbycode?docId=4578435&amp;projectCode=SPJ&amp;source=DM\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Monthly Operational Report<\/a> for March to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week and some of the results are legitimately eye-popping. For the month of March, traditionally a strong spring break month for Spirit, the carrier earned $256 million in gross revenue. While might seem a little low on its own, it\u2019s when you put it next to the operating expenses almost $413 million. We\u2019ll wait while you do the math. Or if you\u2019d rather: That\u2019s a loss of $156 million in one mouth. Yowza.<\/p>\n<p>Spirit spent $99.6 million on fuel in March. Remember, its operating loss was $156 million, meaning if Spirit received free fuel for the entire month \u2014 didn\u2019t spend a penny on it \u2014 it still would have lost $57 million dollars. Despite what some may say, high fuel prices were not Spirit\u2019s issue.  That\u2019s a -61% operating margin overall, and -22% if it managed to procure a free fuel card. On March 31, the carrier was down to about $118 million in unrestricted cash, and it was blowing through about $5 million per day. With figures like that, it\u2019s shocking Spirit lasted as long as it did.<\/p>\n<p>What does this mean? Spiking oil prices might have been the nail in the coffin, but this was well on its way long before the war skirmish incursion in Iran. That $500 million from the government was never going to save Spirit. It might have delayed the inevitable for a few weeks at a significant cost to the taxpayer, but that\u2019s a best-case scenario, believe it or not.<\/p>\n<p>Spirit may be gone, but the fight for Fort Lauderdale is heating up.  Come join us on The Air Show this week as we dive into the situation at FLL, especially since we are taking next week off.  In addition to Allegiant as shown below, some blue carrier is trying to do a thing\u2026.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/crankyflier.com\/2024\/12\/21\/the-air-shows-last-episode-of-the-year-holiday-posting-schedule\/theairshowpodcast.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TheAirShowLogo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-37847\" style=\"width:121px;height:auto\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cwr2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31832\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Allegiant Adds Eight<\/p>\n<p>This week it was Allegiant\u2019s turn to try and fill the yellow-plane sized void in the Florida air travel market, as it <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.allegiantair.com\/press-releases\/press-release-details\/2026\/Allegiant-Adds-Eight-New-Nonstop-Routes-Expanding-Service-to-Florida\/default.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">stepped in<\/a> to backfill what it could. Some of these routes are very Allegiant-like, but one stands out as a particularly odd choice for the carrier. <\/p>\n<p>Allegiant plans to begin service between Fort Lauderdale and Boston \u2014 a route dominated by Delta and JetBlue, and one that goes against Allegiant\u2019s usual strategy of picking its spots strategically and avoiding entanglements with major carriers. Delta currently flies the route 2x daily, while JetBlue flies it 4x daily, but it goes much higher in winter. It makes you wonder how Allegiant plans to make money flying the route just 3x weekly.<\/p>\n<p>The other seven new routes for Allegiant are:<\/p>\n<p>From FLL:<\/p>\n<p>Kansas City (2x weekly)*<\/p>\n<p>Omaha (2x weekly)<\/p>\n<p>Pittsburgh (3x weekly)*<\/p>\n<p>From Orlando\/Sanford:<\/p>\n<p>From Punta Gorda:<\/p>\n<p>From St. Petersburg\/Clearwater:<\/p>\n<p>Columbia (MO) (3x weekly)<\/p>\n<p>Philadelphia (2x weekly)<\/p>\n<p>*former Spirit routes along with FLL-BOS.<\/p>\n<p>Each route begins Oct. 1 or 2 with the exception of PIE-COU which will start November 19th. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cwr3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31833\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Landline Teams up with Massport<\/p>\n<p>You probably know Landline as the regional carrier that could. It operates buses in lieu of airplanes on short regional routes for several airlines including American from Philadelphia and Chicago, Air Canada from Toronto, United from Denver (well, used to do this one), and Sun Country Allegiant from Minneapolis\/St Paul. But it\u2019s adding a new option, debuting in Boston on June 1.<\/p>\n<p>Landline will work with Massport, the owner and operator of Boston\u2019s Logan Airport, to <a href=\"http:\/\/landlineco.com\/news\/massport\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">create a remote terminal<\/a> in Framingham, a suburb located west of Boston about halfway to Worcester. Delta and JetBlue are the two biggest carriers at BOS, and they\u2019ll be the launch airlines for the program. Passengers can drive (and park for way less than the airport), or be dropped off at the remote terminal in Farmingham where they can check-in, check bags, and clear TSA in much less time than it would take at the airport.<\/p>\n<p>The Landline bus will then take passengers to the airport and will arrive airside, behind security at Logan, allowing a quick connection in the terminal. Delta passengers will be dropped at Gate A18 and JetBlue passengers at Gate C8. Meanwhile passengers on other airlines who snuck on the bus will be forced to wear a Lakers jersey and will then be dumped in the middle of a Celtics game.<\/p>\n<p>The advantages of this \u2014 if it works \u2014 are large. In addition to saving time for passemgers who use the service, each person who does means one less person in the check-in area at the airport, one less person at the TSA checkpoint, and one less car adding to traffic.<\/p>\n<p>For more on Landline\u2019s new offerings in Boston, please visit Thursday\u2019s post on <a href=\"https:\/\/crankyflier.com\/2026\/05\/21\/massport-and-landline-now-let-you-skip-security-at-boston-logan\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">crankyflier.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cwr4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31834\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>WestJet Called Out for Alleged Tomfoolery <\/p>\n<p>WestJet passengers are alleging to the Canadian government that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167295-canadas-westjet-accused-of-aircraft-swaps-to-avoid-pax-comp?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">carrier has been<\/a> canceling flights citing \u201cunscheduled maintenance\u201d which, by Canadian ,law doesn\u2019t require it to pay out compensation claims to customers. But passengers claim the carrier swaps aircraft to flights its wants to cancel, subbing in airplanes already under maintenance, and giving it cover to claim it was work on the plane \u2014 and not a controllable issue \u2014 that led to the cancellation.<\/p>\n<p>Canada\u2019s Air Passenger Protection Regulation requires a payment of C$1000 or two vats of maple syrup (customer\u2019s choice) when a flight is canceled or delayed more than nine hours and the reason is within the airline\u2019s control and not for safety reasons. Unscheduled maintenance falls under the safety reasons exception.<\/p>\n<p>This comes four years after WestJet was ruled to have done this exact same thing, so we can only assume this is somehow tied to the World Cup. If it turns out this is a regular thing, be sure and check back in with us in 2030 to see if WestJet got caught doing it again on its Spain flights.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cwr5-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31835\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Garfield Hates Monday? Well Avelo Hates Tuesday<\/p>\n<p>Avelo Airlines turned five this week and as a parting gift from its birthday celebration, it\u2019s giving all of its front-line employees Tuesday off. How are they doing it? Simple\u2026<a href=\"https:\/\/aeroxplorer.com\/articles\/avelo-airlines-has-quietly-wiped-an-entire-day-off-its-flying-schedule-and-the-reason-goes-far-beyond-tuesday.php\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">don\u2019t fly on Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In an effort to reign in costs, the little airline that could will not fly on Tuesday for the duration of the summer. One has to wonder if this some sort of reverse psychology trick, like how everyone craves Chick-Fil-A on Sundays, knowing it\u2019s going to be closed. Maybe a similar effect will have the flying public particularly interested in fly Avelo on Tuesdays starting this fall after being denied Tuesday flight for an entire summer.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll have to see if this lasts beyond the summer and if Avelo permanently stays as a six-day-a-week airline. But for now, the airline\u2019s fleet of 15 B737 aircraft will all get a breather one day per week, which the airline hopes will save it enough money to avoid tough decisions to stay flying well into the future.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cwrpotpourri-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31838\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airwaysmag.com\/new-post\/aeromexico-mexico-city-caracas-return-oct-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Aeromexico<\/a> plans to resume flying to Caracas in October.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/czd2qmdvmq6o\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Air France<\/a>, along with Airbus was found guilty of corporate manslaughter over AF447 which crashed in 2009 and killed all 228 on-board.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SeanM1997\/status\/2056369578242940967?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">Air Tanzania<\/a> is beginning London\/Gatwick service next summer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167319-airasia-x-adds-first-a321-200nxlr\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AirAsiaX<\/a> added its first A321LR.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167480-british-airways-seeks-13mn-from-heathrow-for-baggage-issues\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">British Airways<\/a> wanted a $13.4 million payment from London Heathrow as compensation for errors with the airport\u2019s baggage handling system. Airlines asking airports for lost baggage compensation \u2014 see, airlines \u2014 they\u2019re just like us.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167341-cabo-verde-airlines-wet-leases-b737-8-as-maintenance-cover\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cabo Verde Airlines<\/a> is wet leasing a B737-8 MAX.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/aviator.aero\/press\/copa-holdings-delivers-record-q1-profit-despite-fuel-price-surge?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Copa<\/a> had a strong start to 2026.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aerotime.aero\/articles\/etihad-expands-paris-service-to-triple-daily-with-two-a380-flights-per-day\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Etihad<\/a> is expanding its Paris service to 3x daily with two of the three on A380s.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167479-germanys-eurowings-grows-berlin-base-after-ryanair-exit\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eurowings<\/a> is growing in Berlin.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167241-korean-air-pilots-sue-asiana-airlines-union-over-seniority\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Korean Air<\/a> pilots are suing Asiana\u2019s union. The merger seems to be going well.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167296-norse-atlantic-airways-appoints-sale-advisors?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Norse Atlantic<\/a> is considering a sale.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/airwaysmagazine\/status\/2056304438420070870?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">Philippine Airlines<\/a> is placing its PR code on QR flights from Manila, Cebu, and Clark.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167272-qantas-adds-trans-tasman-capacity-as-air-new-zealand-cuts\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Qantas<\/a> is adding capacity to New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f21QTtuPYQ\" rel=\"nofollow\">Qatar<\/a> is adding to its African network.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aerotime.aero\/articles\/riyadh-air-locks-in-true-launch-date-as-ticket-sales-open-to-the-public\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Riyadh Air<\/a> is finally selling tickets.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airwaysmag.com\/new-post\/singapore-airlines-57-net-profit-decline-2025-26#google_vignette\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Singapore<\/a> turned a tidy profit.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch-aviation.com\/news\/167267-taiwans-starlux-airlines-to-sell-leaseback-three-a330-900s\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Starlux<\/a> is raising cash via a sale-and-leaseback on three A330s.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LX_Newsroom\/status\/2056663093493514567?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">SWISS<\/a> is adding service to Bengaluru.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/united-airlines-new-routes-cleveland-hopkins-international-airport\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">United<\/a> is bringing back Las Vegas and Miami service to Cleveland in an attempt to break the record for one way traffic on a singular route compared to the return.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-au\/news\/insight\/new-budget-airline-zinc-faces-fierce-pushback-risk\/gm-GM3EACAC96?gemSnapshotKey=GM3EACAC96-snapshot-9&amp;uxmode=ruby\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zinc<\/a>. Please let it happen.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MCO\/status\/2057489474154533327?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">ZIPAIR<\/a> is returning to Orlando for three more charter flights.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cwrandrewlevity2025.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43523\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Why did the hot dog and hamburger leave the Memorial Day cookout?<\/p>\n<p>They were tired of being grilled about their relationship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spirit\u2019s March was Bad, Like Really, Really Bad The airline may not be flying anymore, but the bankruptcy&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-330951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}