Russian’s Interstate Aviation Committee has issued 5 “prompt” safety recommendations in its interim report on the crash of Flydubai flight 981, a Boeing 737-800 that plunged into the ground after a second missed approach at the Rostov-on-Don airport March 19. Four of the recommendations address pilot actions and potential disorientation during go-arounds (or missed approaches) with both engines operating near the end of a flight, when aircraft weight is lower and the engines provide more acceleration. A fifth recommendation calls for Boeing 737-800 operators to take note of the findings. The early recommendations hint that disorientation as a result of the dynamic manoeuvre—a full-power go-around with both engines operating and low aircraft weight after 6 hours of flying—could have played a major role in the crash. <br/>
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Ryanair will trial flight transfers this summer as it moves another step closer to mainstream airline practices. For years, Ryanair has been a strictly point-to-point carrier, going so far in years past as to actively warn prospective passengers against trying to make connections between two of its flights at major hubs. As part of its move toward legacy airline standards in the area of customer relations, however, the airline has said it will test a transfer service at London Stansted and Barcelona El Prat this summer. Stansted is Ryanair’s largest hub outside its Dublin home; it makes up more than 70% of the 20m passenger throughput at the airport. The trial “will allow customers to connect onto Ryanair flights without having to go back through security,” the airline said. <br/>
After being forced to cut its guidance on multiple occasions from late 2014 through 2015, Spirit Airlines has returned to its winning ways. In January, the company dramatically boosted its Q4 margin guidance, offering hope that the unit revenue declines seen throughout 2015 were starting to moderate. Monday, Spirit offered up more evidence of a turnaround in unit revenue. It still has to make up a lot of ground to return to unit revenue growth, but revenue came in ahead of expectations for a second straight quarter, leading to a better-than-expected operating margin in Q1. In Q1 2015, Spirit Airlines achieved a remarkable 22.7% adjusted operating margin during what is traditionally the weakest quarter for the airline industry. However, revenue trends weakened throughout 2015 as airline capacity grew faster than demand. <br/>