WestJet will start flights to Seoul, Reykjavik and Edinburgh as part of a wider network expansion announced for its 2024 northern summer schedule. The Canadian carrier says it will begin flights from Edmonton to Atlanta, Nashville and San Francisco; and from Calgary to Seoul, Reykjavik in Iceland and Deer Lake in Newfoundland. The other routes include Vancouver-Detroit, Halifax-Edinburgh, St. John's-London Gatwick and Regina-Minneapolis. Some of the routes that will be reinstated include flights from Halifax to Dublin, London Gatwick and Orlando; and from Toronto to Dublin, Edinburgh, Providenciales, Puerto Plata, and Moncton. The airline adds that there will be more flights between Hawaii and Canada and it will be the only carrier providing year-round service between Canada and Maui-Kahului, from both Calgary and Vancouver. WestJet says it will increase transborder seat capacity by 26% this summer, including 70% growth to its codeshare partner Delta Air Lines hubs. "This summer will see the return of seasonal, leisure-focused flying, to connect Eastern and Western Canada, and substantial growth in service to sun destinations, further cementing our position as Canada's leading leisure airline," says WestJet Group Executive vice-president and chief commercial officer John Weatherill.

Boeing has warned that "some near-term 737 deliveries" could be delayed as a result of 50 undelivered aircraft at its assembly line in Renton requiring rework because of miss-drilled holes in the single-aisles' fuselages. In a letter to employees dated 4 February, Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Stan Deal states that the US airframer will spend "several days in the Renton factory this week" to inspect aircraft and complete rework. Boeing on 1 February was informed by a supplier that "two holes may not have been drilled exactly to our requirements" on "some fuselages", Deal says, without naming the supplier. Spirit AeroSystems – sole fuselage supplier for the 737 programme – confirms that one of its employees identified the issue. "Once notified, we began immediate actions to identify and implement appropriate repair solutions," the aerostructures manufacturer tells Cirium, adding: "We are in close communication with Boeing on this matter." Deal says: "We currently believe we will have to perform rework on about 50 undelivered airplanes." He notes that the condition is "not an immediate flight safety issue" and in-service 737s can continue operating as normal. "While this issue could delay some near-term 737 deliveries, this is the only course of action given our commitment to deliver perfect airplanes every time," he states, adding that time dedicated to address the issue is aimed at demonstrating "the premium we place on quality, safety and, ultimately, stability in our factories". Deal acknowledges that "many employees" during a recent quality stand down "voiced frustration with travelled work and how unfinished jobs – either from our suppliers or within our factories – can ripple through the production line. "These employees are absolutely right. We need to perform jobs at their assigned position." He adds "we have to maintain this discipline within our four walls" and hold suppliers to the same standard, noting that a major supplier was recently instructed to hold its shipments until all jobs have been completed to specification. "While this delay in shipment will affect our production schedule, it will improve overall quality and stability." Deal says that the time allocated to addressing miss-drilled fuselage holes will be used to "catch up on unfinished jobs across all 737 factory positions". Deliveries of unaffected aircraft will meanwhile continue as planned. The fuselage hole rework comes amid increased scrutiny on Boeing after a number of quality issues. Last year, Spirit detected a production issue with attachment fittings for 737 vertical stabilisers and subsequently found miss-drilled holes in aft pressure bulkheads, which required extensive inspections and rework both at the aerostructures manufacturer and Boeing. The inflight loss of a door plug on a brand new 737-9 operated by Alaska Airlines on 5 January – attributed to the failure of fittings in the door plug installation – prompted temporary grounding and inspection of international Max 9 jets with the same door configuration, and an investigation by the US Federal Aviation Administration in manufacturing practices at Boeing. As part of the investigation, the FAA will not allow Boeing to expand Max production rates for the time being.

Icelandair aims to slash its unit costs through the winter by leasing out capacity when demand for travel to the country is at its lowest, chief executive Bogi Nils Bogason has indicated. During a briefing on annual results, Bogason noted that being located near to the Arctic Circle – Icelandair's home base of Reykjavik is the most northerly capital in the world – meant that the airline experienced particularly large swings in demand through the year. This, he observes, has only widened post-pandemic because leisure demand, which is highly seasonal, has recovered faster than corporate travel. "We are working on initiatives to mitigate the cost of low resource utilisation in the low season," says Bogason. The airline's leasing arm, Loftleidir Icelandic, will be "key" to this, he adds, providing capacity to other carriers through the winter. Loftleidir focuses on maintenance projects, ACMI and private-jet services. During 2022, it operated five Boeing 757s, two 767s and one 737-800. Last year, it contributed revenue of $71.3 million, out of a company total of $1.5 billion. Icelandair is currently in a period of fleet renewal, phasing out its ageing 757s in favour of the 737 Max and Airbus A320-family aircraft. This year, it will operate 21 Max aircraft, up from nine in 2021, while the number of 757s it will fly has fallen from 26 in 2018 to 12 in 2024. The airline has also committed to 20 Airbus A320-family jets (seven of which will be leased), plus 12 options, and aims to completely replace its 757s by 2027. Through 2024, the airline will operate 36 passenger aircraft, but over 50 jets across its wider fleet once cargo and leasing are included. EBIT for 2023 came in at $21 million, up from a $18.9 million the year before, with the company's results held back by seismic activity pre-Christmas which led it to drop its previous guidance of $50-60 million. A sharply higher wages bill, up by nearly a quarter, also impaired the carrier's performance. After the airline focused in 2022 and 2023 on ramping up operations, "now we are going into more normal operations with slower growth", says Bogason. Management attention has now shifted to efficiency and cost of operations, and there is, he adds, a "strong pipeline of initiatives aimed to drive unit costs lower". The outlook for is "in general promising", Bogason says, with "considerable strength" in the transatlantic market in particular.