United has launched two new routes to Alaska, with flights commencing in summer 2024. Additionally, the US major is resuming flights to several Canadian destinations this summer. The Chicago-based carrier says it will launch seasonal daily services to Anchorage from Washington Dulles International, and to Fairbanks International from its Denver hub, on 23 May. The carrier plans to expand its Canadian network with resumption of flights between Halifax and Newark Liberty and between Winnipeg and Denver on 23 May. United will reinstate flights to Canada's Winnipeg and Quebec City from Chicago O'Hare in May. It will also resume serving Vancouver from Washington Dulles on 2 May. Additionally, the carrier will resume service between Houston and Ontario in May.

Etihad Airways plans to increase flights to its key destinations across the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, offering about 27% more weekly departures than last summer. The UAE carrier says it will boost frequency to Saudi Arabia's Jeddah and Riyadh by seven per week, operating 28 flights per week from 15 March. It adds that, from 15 June, it will operate four additional flights per week to Amman in Jordan and Colombo in Sri Lanka, bringing total frequencies to 11 and 17 per week, respectively. Additionally, it plans to up its service to Beirut in Lebanon by two-weekly flights, boosting the frequency to seven flights a week. The carrier will also add one flight per week to Kolkata and three flights per week to Bangalore, increasing the frequencies to these Indian destinations to eight and 17 per week, respectively. Etihad notes that the enhancements are a part of its "ambitious" expansion of flights and frequencies to further boost Abu Dhabi's global reach.

A court ruling blocking its proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines and aircraft grounded by engine issues have prompted JetBlue Airways to scale back growth plans for 2024 and seek reductions in fixed expenses. The New York-based carrier expects to reduce first-quarter capacity by a low-single-digit percentage from its level in the same period of 2023. Additionally, it forecasts that first-quarter revenue will be flat. "We expect capacity and departures to be down in 2024," JetBlue finance chief Ursula Hurley said on 30 January during an earnings call. "We're taking a hard look at spending [and] evaluating all of our levers to offset our growth tailwinds." JetBlue has begun offering buyouts to some employees, and is "urgently reoptimising" its network, notes chief operating officer and incoming chief executive Joanna Geraghty. The carrier is also looking to raise capital in 2024. "There's a decent amount of money in the finance-lease market at the moment," adds Geraghty. She points out that the acquisition of US low-budget carrier Spirit "was about accelerating our organic growth". That shortcut to huge fleet growth was apparently sealed off when a US district court judge on 16 January blocked JetBlue and Spirit from executing the merger deal they had agreed in July 2022. Robin Hayes, who is retiring as chief executive on 12 February, said during the earnings call that JetBlue had on 29 January filed with the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit a request to expedite the notice of appeal it had earlier filed jointly with Spirit. "We strongly disagree [with the court's decision]," Hayes says. "That's why we expedited the appeal yesterday." Geraghty adds: "Our hope is that the First Circuit realises that its decision was one-sided, and that the Spirit merger will happen." Absent Spirit, and amid ongoing engine issues that the carrier expects will drive "significant" aircraft ground time in 2024-25, JetBlue is "trying to reduce fixed costs in a world where we're not growing", Geraghty says. JetBlue says seven of its aircraft are out of service because of engine issues, a figure set to rise to 13-15 by year-end 2024. Hurley notes that JetBlue's fleet has been hampered by Pratt & Whitney's GTF inspection programme and an overall "lack of engines". JetBlue's fleet include 56 Airbus aircraft powered by PW1000G engines, Fleets data shows. Every one of its 130 on-order aircraft – all coming from Airbus – will be powered by PW1000G engines. The Pratt & Whitney inspection programme will likely have an impact on Airbus's production of new aircraft given that many GTF-powered A320neos will be on the ground and resources of the engine maker and its partners will be required to return the aircraft to service, Senior consultant Richard Evans noted during a 23 January webinar. JetBlue in the fourth quarter of 2023 made an operating loss of $67 million, compared with a profit of $43 million in the same period of 2022. Operating revenue slid 4% year on year, to $2.3 billion, while operating expenses increased 1% to $2.4 billion. JetBlue ended the fourth quarter with $1.7 billion in liquidity and total debt of $4.7 billion.