Southwest is working to ensure a steady supply of jet fuel after Hurricane Harvey forced the shutdown of crude-oil refineries and pipelines along the Gulf Coast. “It’s something we are concerned about and are working very aggressively to manage,” CEO Gary Kelly said Thursday. “I don’t expect any problem, but this is an evolving crisis.” The rush to guarantee the fuel supply underscores the fallout on US supply chains from widespread flooding in Houston and along the Texas and Louisiana coast after record rainfall. Southwest relies on the region for more than a third of its jet kerosene, although not all refineries were affected, Kelly said. Two pipelines that supply the Dallas-based carrier have been closed. “It’s not to the point where there should be panic,” Kelly said. “The concern is along the lines of, we know there’s an issue and we have to take steps to mitigate it and that work is underway. We won’t have trouble based on what we know right now sourcing jet fuel to power our flights.” “We are definitely watching this closely,” said Josh Freed, a spokesman for American Airlines. “We don’t expect any immediate impact on our ability to operate our schedule. We are continuing to manage our fuel supplies and monitoring inventory levels regularly.” Southwest will resume flights Saturday at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport, where operations were suspended by flooding. Service will resume with 20 to 30 flights and ramp up to Southwest’s normal 120 daily departures by Sept. 9, said a spokeswoman.<br/>
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Swedish regulators have downgraded regional carrier NextJet to a temporary air operator’s certificate (AOC) because of financial concerns, triggering the airline to recapitalize. NextJet operates a fleet of 14 aircraft—10 Saab 340s and four British Aerospace ATPs—on its own scheduled services and lease for other operators. However, on Aug. 18, Swedish CAA Transport Styrelsen wrote to the airline, voicing concerns about NextJet’s financial position. In the letter, Transport Styrelsen told NextJet to send back its original AOC documents, which will be replaced with a temporary AOC until Nov. 17. The temporary license is intended to give NextJet time to sort out its finances and come up with a solution. Following the intervention, NextJet’s management team agreed to a recapitalization.<br/>
UK LCC easyJet is rolling out a new “Hands Free” service, where passengers can pay GBP4 ($5) to leave their hand luggage at check-in and receive priority boarding. EasyJet is launching the service across its network (excluding London Gatwick) after more than 9,000 passengers chose the option during a four-week trial in France earlier this year. “We’ve seen a fantastic response from customers upgrading to the ‘Hands Free’ experience,” easyJet ancillary revenue director Andrew Middleton said. Under the initiative, passengers part with their hand luggage at the airside bag drop desk in the departures hall. The bags are then tagged as priority luggage, so they are among the first delivered to the baggage belt at the arrival airport. EasyJet normally charges GBP13-£30 for hold luggage, increasing to GBP35 at the bag drop desk, or GBP45 at the boarding gate.<br/>