It practically goes without saying: American airlines have a public-relations crisis on their hands. Almost every week since a passenger was bloodied and dragged off a United Airlines flight in early April, another outrage has swept the internet. Families kicked off planes because of birthday cake. Girls in leggings denied boarding. Heated confrontations about strollers. All-out brawls amid tighter-than-ever seats. But in what feels like a parallel universe, one airline is racking up nearly every industry accolade. So far this year, Alaska Airlines has been recognized by SmarterTravel, the Points Guy, and FlyerTalk—three authoritative aviation websites—along with US News & World Report, as either being the best US airline of 2017 or having the best rewards program. In some cases it claimed both titles. It has the No. 1 on-time performance record seven years running, according to FlightStats. To those who frequent the airline, Alaska’s success is no surprise. In the Pacific Northwest, where the company is based, Alaska Airlines is considered a homegrown hero of sorts; locals are as loyal to the airline as they are to the record-breaking star quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, Russell Wilson, who happens to be Alaska’s celebrity spokesman. To everyone else, Alaska can sneak up like a sleeper hit from the indie film festival circuit—one nobody had heard about until Oscar season. But that will change: Parent company Alaska Air Group Inc. recently acquired Virgin America Inc. and is engaged in aggressive cross-country expansion. It’s not just for West Coast-based commuters anymore. Story has more details.<br/>
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The world’s largest uranium producer and Kazakhstan’s national airline have selected investment banks to advise on public listings in 2018 to kick-start the country’s long-awaited privatisation programme. Kazatomprom, the state-owned uranium producer and exporter, and Air Astana, the largest Central Asian carrier, are both working with banks to prepare flotations, four people involved in the processes told the Financial Times, as part of a long-term plan to sell off stakes in state assets worth about $70bn. Both companies are preparing for listings in 2018, said Berik Beisengaliyev, managing director for asset optimisation at Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna. He added that the sale processes could still be shelved if the market response was not satisfactory. Air Astana, which is 49% owned by BAE Systems and 51% owned by Samruk-Kazyna, is widely viewed as the state’s most investor-friendly asset. It is scheduled to be listed on both the Astana and London stock exchanges in the third quarter of next year, with Kazatomprom to follow. “The shareholders continue to discuss this, and the provisional window for a listing opens in Q3 2018, and it is very likely that it will be a dual listing [in Astana] and London,” said Peter Foster, Air Astana’s chief executive. “That is the proposed and indeed approved course of action by both shareholders.” <br/>
Ryanair's experiment with selling journeys involving connecting flights is going very well and may be extended to London's Stansted and Dublin airport within the next 12 months, CE Michael O'Leary said Wednesday. Ryanair become Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers by running a bare-bones operation, which included shunning trips involving a transfer to a connecting flight to avoid the risk of having to compensate passengers for missed connections. But O'Leary dropped his opposition in 2015 as part of the airline's efforts to expand beyond its traditional customer base to fill a rapidly growing fleet of planes. "The connecting flights trialled in Rome Fiumicino, which has been up and running for a month, is going very well," O'Leary told a news conference in Dublin. "We are seeing a big uptake on Italian domestic routes into Rome." The trial means, for example, that a passenger in Italy wanting to fly to London from a city with no direct Ryanair route can now buy one ticket and change in Rome, rather than flying via Rome but paying for two separate Ryanair tickets.<br/>
A Florida man says a Southwest Airlines employee refused to let him board a flight as a family with his husband, their three children and a grandparent. Grant Morse said he was in the family boarding area at the gate at the Buffalo, New York, airport on Saturday when a gate agent told them the area is for family boarding. Morse says he and Sam Ballachino told the agent they were with their twin 3-year-old boys and 5-year-old daughter. He says the agent eventually told them the children could board with one adult. They were forced to wait until everyone else boarded the plane and didn't sit together as planned. In an emailed statement to the newspaper, Southwest said the boarding area conversation was not discriminatory.<br/>
Thai Airways International's refusal to subscribe to new shares of Nok Air could jeopardise THAI's fight for control over the loss-ridden budget carrier. That would be good news for Nok Air, which has been less than keen to join the flag carrier's new consolidation plan under the THAI Group concept. By rejecting Nok Air's offering of 245mnew shares, THAI's shareholding will diminish to roughly 20% from 39.25% now, thus weakening<br/>THAI's hand in Nok Air's fate, insiders said Wednesday. This implication emerged after confirmation that THAI had overturned its earlier decision to take up the share subscription offering at the 11th hour, just ahead of a Monday deadline. Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said that he was informed by THAI executives that the flag carrier would not subscribe to the rights offering. He said THAI remains the biggest shareholder in Nok Air, retains administrative power at the budget airline and could possibly consider buying more shares from Nok Air in the future. SET-listed Nok Air announced that it had no problem with THAI's decision to sit out the rights offering.<br/>
A $32m maintenance hangar at Detroit Metropolitan Airport has opened as part of efforts to ensure safety among Spirit Airlines' fleet. Plans for the Spirit Airlines hangar at the airport in the Detroit suburb of Romulus were announced in 2015. It opened this month and Kirk Thornburg, vice president of technical operations, said that the airline has added 80 new jobs so far. He says new workers at the Miramar, Florida-based airline's facility include technicians, engineers, technical trainers and tooling coordinators. The hangar can hold three of the airline's largest aircraft, but it will primarily be used for overnight maintenance and repairs.<br/>
Another Filipino airline catering to the Middle East market, this time Cebu Pacific Air, is suspending operations in some countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. The low-cost carrier, which is headquartered in Manila, Philippines and operates the Dubai route, announced on Wednesday that it is ceasing flights to and from Kuwait, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Doha in Qatar. The suspension of flights will take effect on different dates, with the first cancellation slated for next month. The last outbound flights from Kuwait, Riyadh and Doha will be on June 14, July 3 and July 1, respectively.<br/>“These routes are no longer viable and sustainable,” the airline said.<br/>In a statement sent to Gulf News, the airline admitted that its business has been affected by competition in the aviation industry, especially with the aggressive expansion undertaken by other carriers. "The entry of Cebu Pacific into these markets benefitted passengers with lower fares and more choices. Of late, other carriers have aggressively added more flights, which has resulted in substantial oversupply of seats and fares that are so low, hence making the routes unsustainable," said lawyer Jr Mantaring, VP for corporate affairs of Cebu Pacific.<br/>