Sky Briefing #003 — Spirit Down, Lights Up
Ten days ago, Spirit Airlines went dark at 3 AM Eastern — no announcement, no hotline, yellow kiosks shutting off in terminals from Fort Lauderdale to LaGuardia. Nine thousand flights wiped from the summer schedule. The market is still rearranging; the sky is not waiting. A G3 geomagnetic storm is forecast for Thursday, and it should light up London.
Skies
NOAA’s G3 storm forecast for May 15–17 could light up London. NOAA forecasts a G2–G3 geomagnetic storm between May 15 and 17, Kp index 6 to 7. At G3, the auroral oval extends to 50 degrees latitude: London, Amsterdam, Prague, northern Germany. On Thursday or Friday night northbound flights toward London, Oslo, Edinburgh, or Copenhagen: take the north-facing window seat. Best visibility windows are 22:00–02:00 UTC under clear skies.
On May 20, Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon share your cabin window. From May 17 to 20, the crescent Moon sweeps past Venus and Jupiter, both sitting in Gemini. Best evening: May 20. Jupiter at magnitude -1.9 sits directly above the Moon, with Venus alongside near the open star cluster M35. Unmissable through a cabin window at 11 km altitude. West-facing seat after sunset: left on westbound flights, right on eastbound.
StarWalk — Astronomical Events May 2026
Aviation
Spirit Airlines is gone. The cheap fares went with it. On May 2 at 03:00 Eastern, the kiosks went dark across a dozen terminal buildings. No warning. 9,000 flights cut from the schedule, 17,000 jobs gone. The trigger: jet fuel spiking after the Strait of Hormuz closure, which for a carrier with no financial cushion made the math impossible. United, Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest are capping fares at around $200 one-way for stranded Spirit passengers. That used to buy a round trip on Spirit.
CNN — Spirit Airlines shutdown
JetBlue started flying to Italy this week for the first time. From May 11, JetBlue flies daily from Boston Logan to Milan Malpensa — A321neo with Mint business class, lie-flat seats, sliding privacy doors. The airline has never served Italy before. Delta reopened Boston–Milan in 2025; JetBlue is now the second carrier. For travelers from New England, there is real competition on a route that had none for 15 years.
JetBlue — Boston and Milan service
Alaska flies a 737 MAX to Iceland starting May 28. A first. SEA–KEF, daily through September, roughly 7 hours 55 minutes, 3,147 nautical miles on a 737-8 MAX. The longest narrowbody route in Alaska’s history and the first scheduled transatlantic 737 MAX service by any US airline. No premium cabin. Seat pitch: domestic flight. Call it adventure travel if you like — just don’t call it a business product.
Simple Flying — Alaska Airlines 737 MAX transatlantic
because you need to know that the north-facing window seat between May 15 and 17 is the only upgrade that still costs nothing.