British trade union Unite said Wednesday it would launch legal action on behalf of over 1,800 workers who lost their jobs when Monarch Airlines went in to administration earlier in the week. The airline collapsed Monday and made 90% of the staff on Monarch Airlines and Travel Group redundant after falling victim to intense competition for flights and a weaker pound. The union said it would lodge employment tribunal proceedings over the company's failure to consult the workers on redundancies, and said the employers had not given the necessary notice or statutory pay. "The manner in which Monarch went into administration and the way the govt allowed it (to) happen means there is a strong claim for compensation by former Monarch workers," the union said. <br/>
unaligned
Belgium said Wednesday it intends to take Ryanair to court, accusing the airline of illegally punishing customers hit by thousands of flight cancellations. The airline has "shown a lack of professionalism", Belgian deputy prime minister Kris Peeters, who handles the consumer affairs portfolio. Ryanair has been plagued by a pilot shortage that has led it to axe thousands of flights in Europe -- and has now extended the wave of cancellations into early 2018. The firm had already scrapped 2,100 flights in the 6 weeks to the end of October as it struggled with landing planes on time. Based on a series of infractions, "I have lodged a cease and desist action against Ryanair, which if accepted will bring fines against the firm if the practices continue," Peeters said. <br/>
Relations between Aer Lingus and Dublin Airport have “soured immensely” in the last year, according to the airline’s COO, Mike Rutter. Aer Lingus announced plans Wednesday to begin flying from Dublin to Philadelphia from next March and to boost space on its transatlantic services by 177,000 seats to 2.75m. Speaking after the announcement, Rutter admitted that relations between Aer Lingus and Dublin Airport “have soured immensely in the last 12 months”. The pair have clashed several times over what Aer Lingus says is airport owner DAA’s unwillingness to invest in the infrastructure needed to allow the airline’s expansion. Aer Lingus wants to grow its transatlantic passengers in Dublin to 4.5m by 2020, from an expected 2.5m this year, and to continue developing the airport as a hub between Europe and North America. <br/>
SpiceJet plans to purchase more than 100 amphibian planes, estimated to cost US$400m, as the airline looks to boost regional operations, its CE Ajay Singh said. With regard to purchase of the up to 14-seater amphibian aircraft, SpiceJet has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan's Setouchi Holdings. Announcing its plans to enhance regional operations, Singh said the MoU is to explore whether the amphibian planes can be used by the airline in a cost effective manner. "If it is done, it will be done in excess of 100 planes," he said in response to a query on how many amphibian aircraft would be ordered. Noting that these aircraft are not expensive, he said one amphibian plane costs around $4m. Singh said if things move ahead, then the project would be done in one year. <br/>
Emirates will be the first airline to receive Boeing’s all-new 777X aircraft, when it gets rolled out in 2020, a senior Boeing executive confirmed, putting an end to the debate on which of its 7 customers were going to launch the planemaker’s flagship aircraft. Emirates will receive its first 777X aircraft in mid-2020, racing ahead of the previously-declared launch customer Lufthansa, which is now rethinking whether it needs all those jets it ordered. “Emirates is now actually ahead of its original mid-2020 schedule to receive its first 777X aircraft,” said Boeing VP Marty Bentrott. Emirates’ US$76b order for 150 Boeing 777X aircraft was the single largest aircraft order by value in the history of US commercial aviation. It comprises 35 Boeing 777-8Xs and 115 Boeing 777-9Xs, plus 50 purchase rights. <br/>
Hong Kong Express Airways, part-owned by Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, said Wednesday it had appointed a new boss after the aviation regulator expressed concern over flight cancellations. Former CE Andrew Cowen had been removed from his post, 2 people with knowledge of the matter said Wednesday. Two other executives have also left, the people said. They said the departures were related to the airline cancelling flights during the ongoing "Golden Week" public holidays due to a lack of properly trained staff after safety trainers left the company. Wednesday evening, HK Express did not comment on Cowen's status, but the airline said Zhong Guosong had been appointed as the new executive chairman and acting CE "in light of recent challenges". <br/>