At least 17 Nok Air pilots have quit the company, a day after the airline's top executive dismissed as false an earlier report about pilots quitting in response to recent flight cancellations. Tuesday he had insisted no pilots had left the firm. A source at Nok Air said that, as of Tuesday, as many as 17 pilots tendered their resignations which will take effect next Tuesday. The company has a total of 192 pilots. According to the source, more resignations are expected following the Feb 14 strike. Nok Air CE Patee Sarasin admitted Wednesday that a number of pilots had resigned but refused to specify the number. He downplayed the effect of the pilots quitting, saying other airlines also see people come and go. He said Nok Air's turn-over was being linked to the Feb 14 pilot strike. <br/>
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Norwegian has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 as it continues to ramp up its long-haul services. Norwegian already operates 8 787-8s, mainly on North Atlantic flights. It will use the larger 787 variants to launch new routes to the Americas and Southeast Asia. Norwegian CE Bjørn Kjos said: “The 787-9 will give Norwegian unrivalled operational advantages, large improvements in fuel efficiency and much lower costs.” Norwegian is leasing its first 787-9 from MG Aviation. Its first commercial flight will take place Feb 27 from Oslo to Orlando and the aircraft will operate routes to and from London Gatwick. Norwegian has 30 Boeing 787-9s on order, as well as 100 Boeing 737 MAX, 100 Airbus A320neo and 34 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. <br/>
Regional Express has reported its first statutory loss in more than a decade after taking non-cash write-downs due to the loss of an Australian Defence Force contract in its Pel-Air division. The carrier reported a A$11.m bottom-line loss in the first half – its first since the 2003 financial year – down from a $3.9m profit a year earlier. However, it achieved a $3.3m operating profit, down from $3.9m a year earlier. In November Rex said it had faced headwinds from the weaker Australian dollar increasing its engineering costs and the weak domestic economy depressing travel, but it would benefit from the low fuel price, new opportunities in Queensland and Western Australia and world demand for pilot training. Rex's capacity rose by 1.7% in the first half and it filled 54.8% of seats, up 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier. <br/>
New Spirit Airlines president and CE Bob Fornaro promised to make “small, but meaningful changes” to the carrier’s operation, which he conceded has scored too low on key customer-service metrics. Fornaro said that the airline’s inconsistent on-time performance and high customer-complaint rate were unacceptable. “It’s going to change,” he said, adding that there is “no conflict” between Spirit’s low-cost model and operating an efficient, customer-friendly airline. “The change will take a bit of time, but you’ll see Spirit improve its on-time performance and customer satisfaction,” Fornaro said, adding the carrier “can do a better job” of assisting passengers when service disruptions, such as flight cancelations and mishandled bags, do occur. <br/>
Ryanair is to actively campaign for Britain to remain in the EU, branding its planes with pro-Europe slogans, as it warned UK fares could rise after a vote to leave. The CE of the carrier said Europe had allowed Britons to enjoy affordable holidays through deregulating the airline industry, and that Ryanair would invest less in the UK if it were outside the EU. Michael O’Leary promised to “bore everybody to death” by repeating a pro-EU message until the June referendum. His company plans to back the remain campaign in the EU referendum with advertising and by lobbying its customers. He dismissed Boris Johnson and other leaders of the leave campaign as “career politicians” who “don’t employ anybody, don’t create jobs and are generally passengers when it comes to the economy”. <br/>