US carrier JetBlue Airways is dropping three South American and two domestic points from its network, citing as a rationale its desire to regain profitability. New York-based JetBlue is exiting Colombian capital Bogota, Ecuadorian capital Quito and Peruvian capital Lima. The airline is also withdrawing from Kansas City, and will not resume Newburgh operations it suspended since 2020. Schedules data for this month shows that JetBlue has scheduled daily routes connecting Fort Lauderdale with Bogota, Quito and Lima, and is operating a daily Kansas City-New York JFK service. JetBlue tells Cirium it is also ending certain routes and making some others seasonal. It adds that "the majority of route reductions and city closures" will be enacted on 13 June. "These decisions are never easy," JetBlue says. "However, these markets have recently fallen short of our expectations. The carrier intends to redeploy its fleet on "well-performing" routes to increase frequencies. "The changes will also help us during a time when aircraft availability is limited – particularly with some of our aircraft grounded due to Pratt & Whitney GTF engine inspections," JetBlue notes. Earlier this month, JetBlue and US carrier Spirit Airlines terminated their July 2022 merger agreement, seven weeks after a US district court judge ruled in favour of the Department of Justice after it challenged the deal on competition grounds. Under terms of the merger deal, JetBlue had agreed to pay Spirit $69 million in cash on 5 March 2024. JetBlue is paying Spirit the $69 million as part of the termination. While the merger agreement was in effect, Spirit stockholders received around $425 million in total prepayments, says the Miramar, Florida-based carrier. In February, activist investor Carl Icahn bought a near-10% stake in JetBlue, which in 2023's fourth quarter made an operating loss of $67 million.

WestJet Group chief operating officer Diederik Pen will add the role of president of WestJet Airlines to his portfolio from 1 April. The Canadian airline group says that Pen will continue to report to chief executive Alexis von Hoensbroech, who will maintain overall responsibility for the group and its strategic direction. Pen joined WestJet in 2021 as executive vice president and chief operating officer and helped to lead operations into recovery from the Covid pandemic. With the additional president's role, he will be responsible for the group's day-to-day operations, labour negotiations and will be the airline's accountable executive. "Diederik’s experience as a respected leader, with a track record of operational success, will be critical as we continue our growth strategy, including the integration of Sunwing Airlines," says von Hoensbroech. "With the largest narrowbody aircraft order book in Canada, it is critical we optimise safe and reliable performance for our business, as we deliver more affordable options and better connectivity to Canadians."

Southwest Airlines' ramp, operations, provisioning and cargo agents have voted to approve a collective-bargaining agreement spanning five years. The US carrier's nearly 18,000 ground-service employees were represented during negotiations by Transport Workers Union Local 555. Southwest and TWU 555 had reached a tentative pact in February. "Our ramp, operations, provisioning and cargo agents provide exceptional customer service and are essential to the Southwest experience," states the airline's vice-president of labour relations Adam Carlisle. "This new labour contract rewards them for their work and places them competitively in the industry." TWU 555 notes in a letter sent to union members on 21 March that 78% of the voting membership were in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement. Separately, Southwest disclosed on 20 March that the Transport Workers Union Local 556 representing the Dallas-based carrier's nearly 20,000 flight attendants had tentatively agreed terms for a new labour contract.