Ryanair will cut its regular hand-luggage allowance from 2 pieces to just 1 in a bid to reduce boarding delays. Ryanair currently allows all passengers to bring 1 large (55cm x 40cm x 20cm) and 1 small (35cm x 20cm x 20cm) item of hand luggage into the cabin. This is more generous than EasyJet, which strictly enforces a 1-bag policy for non-priority passengers. However, with load factors running at 97% in August, Ryanair said there is not enough overhead bin space for 182 customers to each have 2 carry-on bags (364 bags in total), causing flight delays. Under the changes, which takes effect on all flight departures from Nov 1, Ryanair will require non-priority passengers to give up their second, larger bag at the gate. There will be no fee for this service, although the bag must be handed over at the gate and not the check-in desk. <br/>
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JetBlue Airways is looking for more supermarket clerks and accountants to train to fly its planes as the US airline industry copes with a looming pilot shortage. The carrier said its first-in-the-US training program that turns people with little or no flying experience into commercial jet pilots has been so successful that it’s seeking a second round of candidates. The company is taking online applications for the 4-year, $125,000 program starting Wednesday and running through Sept 30. The window opens as 6 of the program’s initial 24 candidates selected in 2016 begin training to become a flight instructor, a key step toward becoming a certified passenger pilot. Trainees include a baggage handler, a grocery-store clerk, a heavy-equipment operator and an accountant. <br/>
Loss-making Pakistan International Airlines Wednesday named Musharraf Rasool Cyan as its new CE, entrusting him with turning around the carrier’s fortunes after a turbulent year. Cyan, who PIA described as a ‘professional technocrat’, will face an uphill task in returning the airline to profitability and improving the carrier’s reputation which was dented by a plane crash in December and allegations of financial mismanagement. Cyan’s appointment follows the removal of the carrier’s German CE Bernd Hildenbrand, who was ousted in April after authorities launched a corruption investigation into leasing of planes from a Sri Lankan carrier. In March, Hildenbrand said PIA was losing about US$30m per month, while Gulf-based rivals such as Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines were eating into its market share. <br/>
AirBaltic, which is in the process of being reprivatized, plans to phase out its 12 Bombardier Q400s and replace them with either CSeries or Embraer E195-E2s. “We will be announcing an order to replace the Q400s. The decision to replace our Q400s with jets has already been taken, so it just a question of when we announce the order. The turboprop era is over, so we are going jet,” AirBaltic CE Martin Gauss said. AirBaltic currently operates 12 Q400s. This was meant to rise to 14, but the airline is sticking at 12 after taking the decision to transition to an all-jet fleet. The Q400s will come off lease around 2021-22, although airBaltic is considering bringing in the jet replacements around 2019-20 and subleasing the Q400s until the end of their terms. <br/>