Thai AirAsia X (TAAX) is all set to spread its wings to Tehran and Muscat to cash in on new travel market frontiers, CE Nadda Buranasiri has confirmed. The carrier will start operating 3 non-stop flights a week from Bangkok Don Mueang to Tehran June 22. It will also start offering 3 flights week from Bangkok to Muscat June 28. The direct connections between Bangkok and the two Middle Eastern capitals are served mainly by Tehran-based Mahan Airlines and Oman Air, which also operates on behalf of THAI. The lifting of economic sanctions against Iran in January has turned Tehran into a new economic frontier and an emerging tourism market, said Nadda. These 2 new routes also support the strategies of the Thai govt and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to penetrate new markets, he said. <br/>
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Thomas Cook said its summer bookings fell as security concerns meant more holidaymakers opted for breaks in Spain over Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt, outstripping its efforts to adjust flights. Despite shifting 1.2m airline seats from the eastern to the western Mediterranean, the travel operator said bookings were down by 5% and full-year profit would now be at the bottom end of market forecasts. CE Fankhauser said Turkey had not recovered as he had hoped after an attack on tourists in Istanbul in January. "This has had a particular impact on our German airlines business, which is the market leader into Turkey." Holidaymakers could turn to Turkey at the last minute, Fankhauser said. "There is no late market in Spain, because Spain is filling up extremely fast, and then there may be a shift back into Turkey," he said. <br/>
Southwest Airlines' growth plans may be jeopardised by a lawsuit filed by its pilots union over flying Boeing ’s newest 737 jetliner, CE Gary Kelly said. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, representing 8,300 aviators, Monday asked a federal court to block the carrier from flying the 737 Max until the plane is listed in a new contract. The two sides have been negotiating a labour pact for more than 4 years. “It will harm Southwest if we cannot receive future aircraft deliveries,” Kelly said Wednesday. “It won’t put us in jeopardy of shrinking the airline, but we won’t be able to grow.” Pilots are dependent on an expanding fleet so first officers can be promoted to captain positions, Kelly said. “This all becomes a nonissue with a contract,” said the union’s president. <br/>
Ruili Airlines has ordered 6 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, in a deal valued at US$1.54b at list prices. The aircraft will be used for international expansion. A delivery schedule was not released. Launched in May 2014, Ruili operates a fleet of 9 aircraft on 16 domestic routes with 46 daily departures. The carrier plans to expand its fleet to 11 aircraft by the end of this year and to 80 aircraft by the end of 2025. In 2015, Ruili committed to buy 30 Boeing 737 MAXs with the financial support of AVIC International Leasing. Other Chinese carriers have also ordered Boeing 787-9 aircraft: Air China has ordered 15 787-9 aircraft and received its first one May 18; China Eastern has ordered 15 787-9s; and Hainan Airlines has 30 787-9s on order. <br/>
SIA plans to combine the management of its LCC subsidiaries Scoot (long-haul) and Tigerair (regional) into a single body. The carrier has formed a new subsidiary called Budget Aviation Holdings, which will own and manage both LCCs following the recent delisting of Tigerair from the Singapore Stock Exchange. The new entity will be headed up by Lee Lik Hsin, who was appointed as CE of Tigerair in early 2014 following a series of poor results. Scoot founding CE Campbell Wilson will “return to SIA in a senior position,” the company said. SIA CE Goh Choon Phong said the move to a new LCC operating structure was made on the back of the parent company’s buy-back for the majority of Tigerair shares. It follows a preliminary agreement between the LCCs to implement “wide ranging cooperation” across various marketing functions. <br/>