German cabin crew union UFO said strikes were possible from Monday at Eurowings after talks on pay collapsed last week. More detailed information on timing would be provided at a later point, UFO board member Nicoley Baublies said Thursday. Lufthansa is using the regional carrier as the base for low-cost expansion and is combining it with its Germanwings operations. The union has been trying to agree new contracts for Eurowings staff in Germany for 2 years. The Eurowings talks are separate from an agreement between Lufthansa and UFO for staff at its main Lufthansa brand and Germanwings, for which a deal was agreed over the summer. The carrier has previously said that only 23 Eurowings planes operated in Germany could therefore be subject to the latest industrial action. <br/>
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Norwegian recorded Q3 net profit of NOK992.5m (US$121.1m), up 19% compared to a net profit of NOK832.8m in the year-ago quarter. It achieved the profit on revenue up 15% at NOK8.4b. Norwegian described the quarterly results as its “best ever.” “Overall development is good in all markets,” CE Bjørn Kjos said, singling out growth on Spanish domestic routes; Spain is now Norwegian’s second-largest market in terms of number of passengers. Capacity expressed in ASKs and revenue in RPKs kept in step with an increase of 17% each, while passenger numbers grew 12% to 8.6m compared to the year-ago period. Load factor was 91.3%, up from 90.7% a year ago. Ancillary revenue per passenger increased 10% to NOK139. So far in 2016, Norwegian has taken delivery of 3 more Boeing 787s and 14 737-800s. <br/>
“An unfavorable light” is being cast on US commitment to the rule of law and its Open Skies agreements by the delay in finalising a decision on Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application to begin flights to the US, JetBlue Airways has charged. In a letter to US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx, JetBlue EVP & general counsel James Hnat expresses concern the continued delay could have negative repercussions for US airlines that wish to grow their networks under the terms allowed by the US-EU Open Skies agreement. Hnat hints that JetBlue might ultimately wish to launch transatlantic services, but the dispute between the EU and the US over the NAI application could jeopardise such any such plans. NAI completed its foreign air carrier permit application more than 30 months ago. <br/>
AirAsia X has dismissed calls for the airline to be banned from Australian skies for safety fears. AirAsia X Group CE Kamarudin Meranun said the incidents were not as serious as have been reported and that the airline stands by its safety record. He claimed the string of incidents being investigated by the nation’s transport safety bureau were being misreported. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is said to be investigating 4 incidents involving the carrier, prompting calls for the airline to be grounded. Incidents included a loss of separation between an AirAsia X A330 and a Jetstar A320 over Gold Coast Airport, an engine shutdown on a flight to Kuala Lumpur and a near collision in Melbourne when an AirAsia X A330 began taxiing before a pushback tug had moved clear. <br/>
Emirates airline, which started charging for early seat selection this month, could introduce additional fees on services. The airline this month started charging economy class travellers with a “saver” ticket for seat selection. Emirates is also “seriously” considering introducing a premium-economy cabin for business-class customers hit by the decline in oil prices and tightened travel budgets, said Emirates president Tim Clark. “We’re looking at it where there’s a value proposition rather than a penalty,” Clark said. “You look at a range of offerings that could be monetised as far as we’re concerned, but more importantly, add value to what the consumer is prepared to pay. If there’s harmony, nirvana, then bingo." A strengthening dollar has made for a “tough” first half of the company’s financial year, Clark said. <br/>
Emirates president Tim Clark is worried pilots risk being seduced by technology and lose their flying skills as aircrafts get more advanced. Clark said while aircrafts can theoretically be flown and landed by computers, pilots still needed hands-on training to deal with a range of scenarios. ''I am very concerned about the loss of airmanship skills and I drive it home in Emirates in a very big way so I've increased the training that they do,'' he said. ''If you seduce them with these unbelievable technological platforms they think they don't have to do much.'' Like other airlines around the world, Emirates has stepped up hands-on training. ''There's an extra day twice a year for manual handling to deal with high level upsets, low speed approaches and departures with difficult situations to try and hone the skills,'' he said. <br/>
Copa Holdings will launch Wingo, a low-cost carrier subsidiary of Copa Airlines Colombia, Dec 1. “Wingo…diversifies and expands Copa Holdings’ business and operational models, allowing us to better serve a market segment where many opportunities for growth and development still exist,” Copa Holdings CE Pedro Heilbron said. The airline will operate administratively and functionally as a subsidiary of Copa Airlines Colombia, with completely autonomous structures for its commercialisation, distribution systems and customer service, the company said. Wingo will operate a fleet of 4 Boeing 737-700 aircraft, each configured for single-class seating capacity for 142 passengers. The LCC’s route network will cover 16 cities in 10 countries in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. <br/>
Alaska Air Group posted Q3 2016 net income of US$256m, down 6.6% from a net profit of $274m in the 2015 September quarter. The year-over-year profit decline can be attributed to $22m in one-time costs related to Alaska’s proposed merger with Virgin America, which remains the subject of antitrust talks. Without the merger costs, Alaska’s profit would be slightly up year-over-year. Chairman and CE Brad Tilden said that “2016 is shaping up to be a year of record profitability” for Alaska, predicting that the company’s full-year net income will top its record 2015 net profit of $848m. Alaska’s Q3 revenue rose 3% year-over-year to $1.6b while expenses increased 8% to $1.2b, producing an operating profit of $400m, down 8% from $433m in operating income in the prior-year period. <br/>
Alaska Air Group remains in discussions with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over gaining antitrust clearance for its acquisition of Virgin America and continues to be confident the deal will be approved. “The scope of the issues that remain with the Justice Department are manageable,” Alaska chairman and CE Brad Tilden said Thursday, explaining that the issues are “important” and time will be needed to work through them. “We were hoping to get this done a couple of weeks ago,” he said. Tilden said he is unable to give a specific timeline on when the talks with DOJ will conclude and the Alaska-Virgin America merger can close, though he noted Alaska is “good to go” from a financing standpoint. “We’re fully prepared to close the deal once we have DOJ approval,” CFO Brandon Pedersen added. <br/>