Irish regional carrier CityJet is seeking to acquire 2 more European airlines, its CE Pat Byrne has indicated. Byrne said CityJet was "actively pursuing a couple [of airlines] at the moment that are of interest to us", but "can't talk about it because we are subject to NDAs [non-disclosure agreements]". CityJet, which has already purchased Scandinavian carriers Cimber and Blue1 through deals struck earlier this year and in 2015 respectively, remains "very active on the acquisition front", Byrne stresses. He did not disclose the identities of the two new targets, but did confirm that they were not based in Scandinavia and were in a "completely different market, but in Europe". Byrne describes the integration of Cimber and Blue1 as a "fantastic challenge" that is "very interesting" and "tough", but says: "We are getting there." <br/>
unaligned
Ryanair argues that Channel 4 and a production company behind an allegedly defamatory TV programme about the airline cannot claim journalistic privilege over sources of information in the broadcast. That is because there is “no such thing as journalistic privilege” and it has been established that it is a question of balancing the right to freedom of expression with the right to one’s reputation, Martin Hayden SC, for Ryanair, said. Ryanair said the programme was defamatory because it wrongly stated the airline endangered passenger safety by operating a low-fuel policy and by pressurising its pilots to take as little fuel as possible. The defendants denied the claims and said the statements were an expression of honest opinion and fair and reasonable publication on matters of public interest. <br/>
A Japanese airline said Wednesday it has apologised for making a wheelchair user hoist himself up a staircase from the tarmac to board his flight. Hideto Kijima, who is paralysed from the waist down, faced the problem earlier this month while returning to Osaka from the southern island of Amami with friends. Vanilla Air told him before boarding June 5 that the small airport requires the use of stairs and has no lift to safely carry a disabled person onto the plane. Vanilla also refused to let his friends carry him in his wheelchair or separately. Vanilla said it has apologised to Kijima and that new lifts are being installed. The airline said that Amami is the only airport on Vanilla's 14 international and domestic routes without lifts for wheelchair users. <br/>
Southwest Airlines said it would reduce the number of flights to Cuba, joining other US airlines, as president Donald Trump's Cuba policy continues to restrict Americans traveling to the country. The airline will stop flying to Varadero and Santa Clara in Cuba Sept 4 and has applied with the US DoT for another daily round trip between Ft. Lauderdale and Havana. Southwest currently flies to Havana twice daily from Ft. Lauderdale and once daily from Tampa. "...there is not a clear path to sustainability serving these markets, particularly with the continuing prohibition in US law on tourism to Cuba for American citizens," Southwest Airlines said. Some carriers such as Spirit Airlines Inc, Frontier Airlines, Silver Airways have already pulled out while larger US carriers have pared back flights to smaller Cuban cities. <br/>