AirlinesAirAsia Philippines delays IPO Filipino low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Asia Philippines will delay a projected $200 million initial public offering (IPO) by 24 months to 1Q 2018, until the carrier has further consolidated its business in the local market. The original IPO date, set for 2016, “will definitely happen, (but) I think we will have to defer that to 2018, first quarter,” Philippines AirAsia CEO Joy Caneba said.
LinkAmerican Airlines boosts seasonal service to Mexico cityAmerican Airlines is boosting service to Cancun, Mexico, by adding routes from four US cities. The seasonal Saturday service will begin in March from: Pittsburgh; Kansas City, Mo.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. "The addition of these four new routes gives our customers 12 locations to fly nonstop to Cancun," said Art Torno, senior vice president of international and cargo at American.
LinkVueling chief named as next British Airways CEOInternational Airlines Group (IAG) has named Vueling CEO Alex Cruz as the next chairman and CEO of British Airways (BA), succeeding Keith Williams who will retire April 2016. Cruz started his career with American Airlines and remained with the US carrier for 10 years, before moving into management consultancy. In 2006, he founded the Spanish airline Clickair, which merged with Vueling in 2009. Cruz took leadership of the combined airline and Vueling was subsequently acquired by IAG in 2013.
Link Delta may create overseas subsidiary Delta Air Lines could potentially set up a non-US subsidiary housing its international operations and joint ventures (JVs) to reduce the amount of US taxes it pays, according to a Wall Street analyst report. In a report issued Nov. 6 by New York-based Wolfe Research, the firm says Delta senior management has several times hinted in analyst calls that it was working on a tax strategy and Wolfe believes it will announce that plan in December.
LinkFlybe concludes redeployment of E195 fleetUK regional carrier Flybe has completed its search for new uses for its surplus Embraer E195s. Finding roles for Flybe’s 14 original regional jets has been described as the last remaining legacy issue for the carrier, which has undergone major changes in recent times, bringing in new management and shedding its unprofitable Finnish operations.
LinkInterSky ceases operationsAustrian regional InterSky ceased operations Thursday evening after talks with a potential German investor failed. “Our long, ongoing negotiations with possible investors have all failed. We have done everything possible to find an investor—our last option collapsed. We have to declare insolvency on Monday,” InterSky founder Renate Moser confirmed.
LinkJetBlue to offer new service from JFK to CaribbeanJetBlue Airways plans to debut service from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. The route will be served by Airbus A320 aircraft. "Antigua and Barbuda offers another opportunity to grow our network in high-value geographies and strengthen JetBlue's position as the leading brand for Caribbean travel," said Umang Gupta, director of getaways and leisure sales for Jetblue.
LinkJetstar commits to Asian expansionAustralia-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Jetstar has outlined ongoing expansion plans for its subsidiaries in Southeast Asia including both fleet and route additions in the coming months. Singapore-based Jetstar Asia will begin a new 3X-weekly route connecting Singapore’s Changi Airport and Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport in Pekanbaru, Indonesia from December 2015.
LinkLufthansa To Cancel 929 Flights On MondayLufthansa will cancel 929 flights on Monday, affecting 113,000 passengers, after a cabin crew union announced a walk-out at three of the German airline's major airports for almost the entire day. The strike is part of a week of action by cabin crew union UFO to push demands in a long-running row over early retirement benefits and pensions.
LinkLufthansa cancels 290 flights on day 1 of week-long cabin crew strikeLufthansa has canceled 290 out of 3,000 flights—including 15 intercontinental services—on the first day of a week-long strike by its cabin crew, which is represented by the UFO union. According to Lufthansa, 37,000 passengers have been affected. UFO called for the strike in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf after long-running (December 2013) talks over pay, retirement benefits and working conditions failed this week.
LinkInvestigators "90 Percent Sure" Bomb Downed Russian PlaneInvestigators of the Russian plane crash in Egypt are "90 percent sure" the noise heard in the final second of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb, a member of the investigation team said. The Airbus A321 crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Sharm al-Sheikh tourist resort eight days ago, killing all 224 passengers and crew. Islamic State militants fighting Egyptian security forces in Sinai said they brought it down.
LinkQatar Airways Chief Would Consider A380neosQatar Airways' chief executive Akbar Al Baker said the airline would consider replacing some of its Airbus A380s with the upgraded A380neo if the newer plane performed better. "If Airbus produces a (plane) which is head and shoulders above what they produce today we would look at them for replacements," Akbar Al Baker said when asked about interest in the A380neo.
LinkUnited empowers employees for enhanced customer serviceIn September, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz wrote a public letter acknowledging that the carrier wasn't exactly giving fliers the treatment they deserved, and pledged changes were coming. United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said, "As we focus more on listening to customers and employees, we decided to remind airport coworkers of their tools and provide more guidance on how to address issues in the moment to better serve our customers."
LinkMunoz announces return to United in 2016Oscar Munoz, the CEO of United Airlines, plans to return to the helm of the carrier next year. "My time away will be a little longer than I would like, but based upon discussion with my doctors I will be back in the first quarter," Munoz wrote in a letter to employees.
LinkVietnam Airlines adds new London 787 service Vietnam Airlines has added a new Ho Chi Minh-London service to its existing two direct flights on the route, from the end of October. The extra service uses Vietnamese flag carrier’s new Boeing 787-9 aircraft on 3X-weekly service from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City, to Heathrow Airport, UK. The new schedule gives the carrier six direct flights a week from Vietnam to Heathrow, using 787s. It had already operated a 3X-weekly Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi-Heathrow services and is the only airline offering direct flights between the UK and Vietnam.
LinkWOW Air launches US West Coast services, acquires A330-300sIcelandic low-cost carrier (LCC) WOW Air plans to acquire three Airbus A330-300s to launch services from Reykjavik Keflavik to Los Angeles and San Francisco from summer 2016. The 340-seat aircraft will offer an all-economy configuration. Keflavik-Los Angeles service will operate 4X-weekly; Keflavik-San Francisco route will operate 5X-weekly.
LinkUK Airline Refused Permission To Fly To EgyptAttempts to return thousands of British tourists stranded in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh were thrown into chaos on Friday when easyJet said it had been refused permission to fly some of its planes to Egypt. Prime Minister David Cameron halted flights to and from the Egyptian resort on concerns that a bomb planted by Islamic State militants downed a Russian plane which had left Sharm al-Sheikh on October 31, killing all 224 people on board.
LinkUS To Seek Airport Security Enhancements After Egypt CrashThe United States will boost security checks overseas for US-bound flights as a precaution following the recent Russian passenger jet crash in Egypt, including asking foreign airports to tighten screening of items before they are taken on board aircraft. Jeh Johnson, the US Homeland Security Secretary, said in a statement that he and the head of the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), "out of an abundance of caution, have identified a series of interim, precautionary enhancements to aviation security with respect to commercial flights bound for the United States from certain foreign airports in the region."
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