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 Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday.

New airline + type combinations for 2026

• Lufthansa 787
• Kalitta 777

Returning to LAX in 2026

• Asiana A350
• Awesome Cargo A330
• EgyptAir A350-900
  Returning to LAX this year on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. The route had formerly (years and years ago) operated via JFK.
• 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
• 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

2026 checklist errata

Now that I'm back at the JetTip HQ in Minnesota, after enjoying another lovely weekend in Los Angeles, there are a few errors on the list that went out that should be corrected:

• Air Caraïbes A350s are no longer flying to LAX on behalf of FrenchBee
• "Contour" was spelled incorrectly
• Delta Connection CRJs no longer serve LAX
• KLM Asia made an appearance, was shown as discontinued
• EgyptAir returned after a long absence with A350s; they were omitted
• Kalitta has 777s in their own paint operating there, in addition to the ones in DHL paint
• Southern Airways Express was missing a checkbox
• Swoop was listed, but the last WestJet aircraft in Swoop's livery went to paint on September 18, the first day of SpotLAX; C-GLVU, made a trip to LAX on Sept 16, its second-to-last revenue trip in the pink colors
• Virgin Atlantic is still operating the A350 here, it was shown as discontinued

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.