In this week’s round-up, we’ve got lounge news from Nashville and American Airlines’ Flagship Lounge at Miami, some amenity kit announcements from American and Delta, an interesting update regarding the Air France-KLM brand, and a bunch of U.S. and global route developments.
Alaska Airlines Launches New Hawaii-California Link
On Wednesday, Alaska Airlines launched a daily nonstop flight from Honolulu (HNL) to Burbank (BUR), making it the airline’s ninth California airport with nonstop service to Hawaii. The seasonal route, operated by the Boeing 737 MAX, will end on August 8.
Redemptions via Atmos Rewards start at 20,000 points plus $6 in economy and from 60,000 points plus $6 in first class.
Nashville Will Get a Credit-Card Access Lounge
The airport lounge situation at Nashville (BNA) is set to drastically improve with the opening of a new 20,600 square-foot space. Confirmed in a meeting with the airport’s finance committee this week, American Express, Chase, and probably Capital One have shown interest. When the lounge opens its doors — likely a couple of years from now — it will be the first and only bank-operated lounge at the airport.
American Introduces Table Service to Miami Flaship Lounge
Passengers in American’s Flagship Lounge at Miami (MIA) can now order a small selection of dishes to be delivered to their table. The service, which is also available at the new location at Philadelphia (PHL) and Soho Lounge at JFK, includes dishes such as ahi tuna tostada, moho pork cubano, and croquetas.
Air France-KLM Will Rebrand
European airline group Air France-KLM is planning a rebranding following its acquisition of a majority stake in Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). With SAS about to join the group and the possible future stake in TAP Air Portugal, the group needs a name that represents all of the airlines within it, not just the founding airlines, Air France and KLM. “The Blue Group” was reported by De Telegraaf as the most likely new name.
American and Delta Showcase New Amenity Kits
Throughout June and July, American Airlines will offer limited-time amenity kits to passengers in Flagship First, Flagship Suite Preferred, Flagship Business, Flagship Suite, and premium economy seats. The bags are clear, making them compliant with stadium regulations.
Flaunting its partnership with Missoni, Delta‘s amenity kit update gives American’s the red card. The new seasonal kits, exclusively for Delta One passengers, come in 5 collectible colors that were inspired by some of Delta’s destinations.
Air Europa Confirms New Home JFK’s New Terminal One
Spanish leisure airline Air Europa is the latest airline to announce it will move operations to The New Terminal One at JFK. A phased opening of the multi-billion-dollar terminal is expected to start in June 2026. Air Europa joins a long list of other international airlines, such as Air France, Etihad Airways, and Mexican low-cost Viva, who’ll make The New Terminal One their home.
Air India Axes 3 U.S. Routes in Reshuffle
Temporary suspensions of Air India‘s routes from Delhi (DEL) to Chicago (ORD), Delhi to Newark (EWR), and Mumbai (BOM) to Newark will be in place for a period over the summer months. All of Air India’s other Canada and U.S.-bound routes will be affected by frequency reductions at some point over the summer. The airline cites increased jet fuel prices and regional airspace closures as the reasons.
Qatar Airways Will Resume 3 More Routes
Qatar Airways is back in the roundup this week after announcing it will resume 3 more routes from its hub at Doha (DOH). Flights will resume to Helsinki, Finland (HEL), and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) on July 15. Also this week, Qatar resumed double daily service to Abu Dhabi (AUH) in the U.A.E.
Final Thoughts
That was a lot to fit into 1 update. Aside from Air India reducing its frequencies, it’s nice to have so much positive news to write about.
New lounges, new routes, and fancy new amenity kits are always welcome. The jury’s still out on what passengers will make of American’s World Cup kits, though. And as for Air France-KLM’s rebranding, that’s a significant development that we’ll dedicate a feature piece to once more information is revealed.