Norwegian Air International may not be able to fly its proposed route from Cork to New York because the Irish airport’s runway is too short, according to its group CE, Bjorn Kjos. The carrier will begin flying from Ireland to the US east coast from July, including the first transatlantic service from Cork. Norwegian is also considering a service to Stewart International in New York state from Cork next year, but Kjos said the airline would have to see if it was possible to fly this route “because of the runway length”. The length of Cork Airport’s runway, 2,133m, means Norwegian cannot fill the Boeing 737 Max aircraft it intends using on the Providence route, to ensure the aircraft can take off. However, because New York is further south, and thus a longer journey, Kjos said that it may not be possible to complete it from Cork. <br/>
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Virgin Atlantic Airways has suffered a dive in profits after the costs of leasing its aircraft fleet jumped. Pre-tax profits tumbled two thirds to GBP3.9m last year after finance costs rose to GBP19.4m at the airline. The numbers came as the airline claimed an aviation agreement with the US is expected to be a high priority for the govt as it works on an equivalent agreement with the EU. It expects the govt to “prioritise” a liberal agreement with the US, given the UK’s existing arrangements are catered for by an EU-wide agreement which it could find itself outside of after Brexit. The company’s planes were fuller in 2016 and low fuel prices continued to aid overall performance. Management also said it backed Heathrow’s expansion but it would be “simply untenable” for the airport to increase passenger charges. <br/>
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras was cleared late Friday by the CVM, Brazil’s securities regulator, to proceed with an initial public offering. The offering had been suspended by the Brazilian regulator Thursday, just as the company was planning to price its shares. The regulator cited Azul’s use of marketing material for the offering that had not been approved. But the regulator said late Friday that the company had now satisfactorily addressed its concerns, including removing a presentation from a website. Azul expects to finalise pricing Monday. Its shares will trade in São Paulo and on the New York Stock Exchange. The market debut comes as Brazil’s market for new stocks is showing signs of life after several dry years. Azul has previously sought many times to go public, dating back to 2013. <br/>
JetBlue Airways had fairly modest expectations for its upscale Mint service when it launched less than 3 years ago. Wall Street analysts were also doubtful about JetBlue's ability to win over well-heeled travellers who would pay US$600 or more for a flat-bed seat on transcontinental routes. Instead, Mint has been an amazing success. In addition to attracting wealthy leisure travellers and small/medium business customers, JetBlue's Mint service has made inroads among corporate travellers who had previously been loyal to legacy carriers. This success has encouraged JetBlue to add more and more Mint flights. First, JetBlue will convert its 2 daily flights to San Diego to Mint service. One daily Mint flight between New York and San Diego will start in mid-August; the second Mint roundtrip will begin in October. <br/>
Southwest Airlines reported its March and Q1 traffic figures Friday, with passenger numbers up by just over 3%. Southwest carried 11.29m revenue passengers in March, an increase of 3.2% on the previous year. For the quarter to end March the airline served 29.5m revenue passengers, a 3.3% lift. Traffic in revenue passenger miles was up 3.9% for the month, but available seat miles capacity rose 4.5%, resulting in a 0.5 percentage point fall in load factor to 84.1%. For the quarter, RPM traffic increased 3.3% on an ASM capacity rise of 4.1%. Load factor dropped 0.6 percentage points to 79.9%. Southwest estimates Q1 2017 operating revenue per ASM will decline by between 2 and 3% compared with Q1 2016. It said bookings and unit revenue trends remain strong for Q2. <br/>
Kuwait Airways is to complete switching over its booking, ticketing and reservations system to the Amadeus Altéa Suite of products within the next 6 months. The switch is the latest stage in efforts to revive the airline, which had fallen behind the curve in comparison to competitors in the Gulf. Kuwait Airways’ elderly fleet is being renewed, the workforce is being thinned and a new terminal planned. Amadeus is the latest factor in the modernisation equation. Work on introducing the system has been underway for the past few months, with phase 1—the booking, ticketing and reservations system cut-over—scheduled for the current quarter. The second phase, which includes the departure control system, is scheduled to be fully implemented by the end of Q3 2017. <br/>