Tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis has categorically denied reports that Air Malta will become a feeder airline of Alitalia or Etihad. The Sunday Times of Malta has reported that a new business plan for Air Malta will see the airline slash one third of its European routes, but introduce new flights to Northern Africa and the Middle East. “This strategy confirms Alitalia’s plan to use Air Malta as a feeder airline to the already established networks operated by Etihad and the Italian carrier,” the report claimed. However, Zammit Lewis vehemently denied that Air Malta will become a feeder airline. “The report written so as to create uncertainty for the airline at a crucial moment during negotiations, and to destabilise the tourism industry during a time of unprecedented success,” he said. <br/>
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Virgin Atlantic is to offer live TV on its Boeing 787s after signing a partnership with Panasonic Avionics and IMG. “The service is being rolled out to the 787 [family] now, and all 13 aircraft will be fully equipped by the end of the year,” Virgin Atlantic said. Passengers will be able access 3 live TV channels―BBC World News, CNN International and Sport 24― through either their own devices or their seat-back screens. Virgin Atlantic EVP–customer Jill Brady said the move was prompted by customer demand for current affairs and sporting events coverage. Earlier this year, Virgin Atlantic CE Craig Kreeger said that innovation was key to turning around his airline’s results. Virgin Atlantic is aiming to achieve sustained profitability by 2018. By summer 2017, all of the airline's aircraft will be equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity. <br/>
Ryanair and its low-cost rivals are likely to have to cut ticket prices to stimulate growth, according to stockbrokers Davy. A new report by analyst Ross Harvey points out that earnings downgrades have cost European airlines 20% of their value in the last 2 months. He notes that low-cost airlines such as Ryanair are continuing to see strong growth and are selling a greater proportion of their seats. However, he says that this now requires the “greatest degree of price stimulation” in more than 2 years. Unit revenues were down in Q2 of the year and, while it is improving, peak summer pricing is weak. He says that Ryanair carries the best cost momentum going into Q2 of 2016, which supports the airline’s own predictions for its full-year performance. <br/>
Alaska Airlines formally broke ground Monday on construction of a US$40m aircraft maintenance hangar in Anchorage. Officials with the airline say the planned 105,000-square-foot structure is part of a $100m investment in Alaska that includes new cargo planes and rural terminal improvements. Monday, airline officials and state and local officials were on hand to unveil the design for the Anchorage hangar, which will be nearly 3 times the size of the current structure. Construction is slated for completion in summer 2018. The project is expected to employ 150 at the height of construction. Anchorage-based architecture firm McCool Carlson Green and general contractor Kiewit were brought in to design and build the hangar. <br/>
Beijing Capital Airlines will begin 3 X-weekly Hangzhou-Vancouver services Dec 30, marking the western Canada city as the first the North American destination for the HNA Group subsidiary airline. The Airbus A330 service will fly Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International (HGH) via Qingdao Liuting International (TAO). The aircraft will be configured for 222 passengers, with 36 seats in business class and 186 seats in economy. Beijing Capital Airlines will be the sixth airline from mainland China flying to Vancouver International (YVR). The airport has seen 10,475,024 passengers in 2016 through June, up 8.1% YOY, and registered 135,354 commercial aircraft movements, down 0.7% YOY. Asia-Pacific passengers year-to-date at YVR have risen 12.9% YOY as of June 30. <br/>
Inadequate local Kyrgyz regulations and pilot error are named as the main causes for the Avia Traffic Boeing 737 accident Nov 22, 2015, at Osh International in Kyrgyzstan. The aircraft ran out of runway while landing. Ten of the 160 passengers and crew on board were injured. According to the report by Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee, weather conditions at Osh on the day of the run-out were below minimum conditions for a Category 1 instrument approach to the runway. The crew made the go-around decision at a height of 45 meters, despite being beneath the required 60 meters. The height was enough to perform the manoeuvre safely, but the pilots mishandled the procedure. “The captain’s mistake, pushing forward on the yoke while the aircraft was pitching up, did not allow stopping the descent,” the agency stated. <br/>
Air Mauritius reported a Q1 net income of E2m (US$2.6m), reversing a E9.8m loss in the year-ago period. “This represents the best [Q1] performance registered by the company in the last 10 years,” Air Mauritius stated. “This positive performance is due to the company’s efforts to improve efficiency at all levels. It is also the result of a reduction in operating costs, mainly due to the drop in fuel price, which fell from $61 to $44 per barrel, on average. However, the positive effect of this drop is mitigated by a fall of 5.6% in yield.” Air Mauritius said it is facing fierce competition from existing airlines as well as new “megacarriers” operating to Mauritius, forcing it to improve its commercial and operational efficiency. Revenue for the 3 months ended June 30 rose 2.7% to E109.4m, while expenses fell 10.2% to E98.5m. <br/>