Ryanair customers face the threat of a fresh wave of flight cancellations as the airline’s pilots prepare to reject an offer of a cash bonus if they give up days off. The Guardian has obtained a draft letter signed by Ryanair pilots from across Europe, rejecting the offer and warning they will now “work to rule” - refusing to work beyond their basic contractual obligations. Ryanair had told pilots earlier this week that if they declined the GBP12,000 payment more flights might have to be scrapped. The no-frills carrier is scrambling to cope with a public relations disaster after it announced plans to cancel up to 50 flights a day until 31 October, citing a “mess-up” in how it schedules time off for pilots. The move has affected 315,000 customers. The letter circulating at Ryanair bases across Europe states: “We would like to advise that with immediate effect the pilot workforce at the bases [airports] listed below rescind the goodwill that has been extended toward the company for many years,including working days off and turning up early. In short, we shall now ‘work to rule’.” Working to rule would mean pilots refusing to help the airline by going beyond the terms of their contracts, which would involve working days off, arriving for shifts early or even answering company calls when they are not at work. The pilots have been spurred on by colleagues flying for rival European airlines, amid concern that Ryanair is leading a “race to the bottom” that has seen terms and conditions watered down across the industry.<br/>
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Italy’s antitrust watchdog said on Wednesday it had opened a probe into thousands of flight cancellations by Ryanair, which it said the low-cost airline could have prevented. Ryanair is bracing for reputational damage and up to E20m in compensation claims after suddenly scrapping flights across Europe over staffing issues. In Italy, where Ryanair carries more passengers a year than any other airline, the antitrust agency is now looking into whether it has violated consumers’ rights. If found at fault, the airline faces a maximum fine of E5m. The cancellations may have been “largely due to foreseen organisational and management reasons ... not random, external causes outside of (the company‘s) control,” the antitrust agency said. The antitrust agency is also looking into whether Ryanair clearly informed its customers of their rights to compensation. Italian Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said this week customers’ rights had to be protected, adding: “We cannot make allowances for anyone who creates so much inconvenience.” But Delrio said the Irish airline was nonetheless a “healthy” company, and could go ahead with a bid for Italy’s insolvent flag carrier Alitalia, which has received several state bailouts.<br/>
Eurowings and the Verdi union representing cabin crew have reached agreement on short notice recruitment of staff. In what it called a “collective agreement for growth”, Eurowings will be able to fill the 600 vacancies for cabin staff it advertised recently. The airline said it had received more than a thousand applications for the positions, and will now set up interviews. The announcement comes a week after Eurowings concluded a similar agreement with the UFO union, which also represents cabin crew at the airline. “We are delighted with this conclusion – with the backing of both unions we have established all the requirements for hiring new cabin crew staff at short notice,” Eurowings CFO Jörg Beissel said. The Lufthansa low cost unit said it will meet the Vereinigung Cockpit union to agree a collective agreement for additional pilots.<br/>
A SpiceJet flight with 183 passengers onboard overshot a runway at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji airport Tuesday evening. Flight SG703 from Varanasi skidded onto a grassy area in high winds and heavy rain about 22:00 (10pm). Passengers evacuated the Boeing 737 down emergency chutes, with no serious injuries reported. The emergency caused delays and cancellations to flights as the aircraft was removed. Several flights were still showing as cancelled or delayed on Wednesday morning as the bad weather continued.<br/>
Thomas Cook pilots are to go on strike on Saturday in a dispute over pay. The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balsa) said five days of talks had failed to reach an agreement and the industrial action will now go ahead. The strike will begin at 3.00am and last for 24 hours. Around 40 flights are likely to be disrupted but none are scheduled to be cancelled. The airline has offered pilots a 1.5% pay rise but Balpa is pushing for a rise that is in line with inflation, which is currently at 2.9%. The union is also demanding better travel conditions for staff. Thomas Cook pilots staged a 12-hour walkout earlier this month and further strikes are planned for 29 September and 6 October. <br/>
Virgin Australia has begun using a “pop-up” baggage check-in service developed jointly by Australian aviation tech company OACIS (Off Airport Check-in Solutions) and Madrid-based travel industry IT developer Amadeus. The service allows passengers to check in and drop off baggage, for any airline, away from the airport, Amadeus said, using the company’s ACUS (Airport Common Use Service) cloud-based technology to access airlines’ check-in systems. OACIS is an off-airport mobile check-in service that can set up in any location—such as a cruise terminal, a hotel, a train station or a conference site—using a laptop and an internet connection. The service checks in the passenger and baggage and, according to the company, “securely transports their bags to the airport and injects them directly into the airport baggage system.” According to Amadeus, Virgin Australia is the first airline to use the OACIS service, starting with a pilot program in Sydney for cruise ship passengers connecting to Virgin Australia flights. The company plans to expand to New Zealand and additional markets by mid-2019.<br/>
Although Nok Air shareholders on Wednesday endorsed a new round of capital injection needed for a business rehabilitation almost unanimously, strong<br/>doubts emerged over whether Thai Airways International (THAI), a major shareholder, would go along in the end. While THAI's representatives raised their hands at the meeting to support the 1.7-b-baht infusion, Somchai Sujjapongse, the permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry, a major THAI stakeholder, sounded a wary note. Somchai said that if THAI's decision to take part in Nok Air's new fund-raising proves unproductive for improving Nok Air's plight, then "somebody has to be responsible". He said that the ministry is still studying whether THAI's subscription to new Nok Air shares -- numbering 245m and valued at 367.5m baht -- is a viable one. Somchai's comment came ahead of Wednesday afternoon's THAI board meeting, where the issue was expected to be tabled. The result of the THAI board meeting was undisclosed at press time. An airline spokeswoman said there would be no announcement after the meeting. Over the past few days, acting president Usanee Sangsingkeo and other senior THAI executives had talked about the flag carrier's inclination to go along with the capital increase at Nok Air for the sake of retaining THAI's 21.57% stake. They said THAI would agree to come aboard in view of a clearer business turnaround plan and prospects of Nok Air returning to the black next year after suffering combined losses of 4.93b baht from 2014 to June 2017.<br/>
Thai AirAsia X is getting ready to embark on a significant expansion after a hiatus caused by aviation safety issues related to Thai regulators. Thailand's first medium-to-long-haul low-cost carrier (LCC) will add at least three new Airbus A330-300 widebody jets to its current six-aircraft fleet,<br/>introducing more North Asian routes and debuting flights to Europe and Australia. All these plans are most likely to be activated next year after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) officially removes the punitive restrictions on Thailand's international flights, TAAX CE Nadda Buranasiri said Wednesday. Thai authorities and the industry are hopeful the UN agency, whose officials are here in Bangkok to begin auditing the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, will agree to remove the red flag in the coming weeks.<br/>
UK-based scheduled leisure carrier Monarch Airlines is carrying out a major review of its operations to plot its future course, and has begun talks with potential strategic partners. Reports on UK satellite TV channel Sky News said the London Luton-based carrier was discussing options with financial and professional services company KPMG and was considering pivoting its operations away from short-haul flights to long-haul operations. The European short-haul market has become ferociously competitive, with LCCs such as Ireland’s Ryanair, UK’s easyJet, Norwegian and Europe’s Wizz Air increasingly pulling traffic away from legacy carriers. Several airlines are focusing more on long-haul services in the search for improved profits—although this market sector is also coming under pressure from new-generation, low-cost long-haul carriers such as Norwegian and International Airline Group’s Level.<br/>