SpotLAX+Dorkfest 2026 avgeek news and notes

I'm in bit of a time-crunch to get this year's post assembled - apologies for the minimalist production value!

As is tradition, I'll be at SpotLAX and Dorkfest this weekend with JetTip Kids 1 and 2, along with the usual spotter checklists, golf pencils, and keychains.

Please check out Cranky's details on Dorkfest, as well as NYC Aviation's rundown of SpotLAX if you need some additional context.

Here's a quick rundown of how things have changed since last year.

New airlines for 2026

• Contour ERJ
• Royal Air Maroc 787-8
  Thrice weekly service from Casablanca, arriving in the 8:00 hour, and departing at 10:20 AM on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday.

New airline + type combinations for 2026

• Lufthansa 787

Returning to LAX in 2026

• Asiana A350
• Awesome Cargo A330
• Iberia A330
• China Airlines Cargo 747
• Delta A330
• FedExA330
  Arrives late on Sundays
• SAS Scandinavian A330
• Virgin Atlantic A330
  Ceos flew to LAX before, but, neos are on the route now, replacing the A350.
• Wamos A330
  Flying for Avianca from El Salvador.

Discontinued / gone in 2026

A tough list this year, to be sure.

• Air Canada Express CRJ
• Alaska Air Cargo 737
• Allegiant A320 family
• Amazon 767
• Amerijet 767
• Apex Logistics + Atlas 747
• Hawaiian 787
• KLM Asia 777
• Lufthansa A340-300
• National 747-400
• Norse 787
• Polar / DHL 747
• Saudia 777-300ER
• Southern Airways Express PC-12
• Southern / DHL 747-400
• Spirit A320 family
• Virgin Atlantic A350

2026 checklist errata

I'm not aware of any at the moment, but it's nearly impossible to create one of these lists with ~160 airline/type combinations perfectly. Shoot me an email if you notice any issues, and I'll post updates here.

Nick Benson

Nick lives in Burnsville, Minnesota with his wife and three children. He grooves on railroad and aviation photography, politics, geography, weather, and LEGO. He started JetTip's smart flight alert service in 2017, and is now a full-time avgeek. He can frequently be found atop his Subaru at MSP's Aircraft Viewing Area.