Air Berlin is demanding damages from its part-owner Etihad Airways for letting it become insolvent and it hopes for payment of at least E10m, Air Berlin’s administrator told a German newspaper. “We are in negotiations with Etihad and hope to reach a general settlement soon. We are hoping for a two-digit million euro sum,” daily Rheinische Post on Saturday quoted administrator Frank Kebekus as saying. Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy in August after Etihad, the owner of almost 30% of Air Berlin, withdrew funding following years of losses. Etihad was not immediately available for comment. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier has been reviewing its European investments after they failed to yield the profits expected. <br/>
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An Air Berlin airliner was grounded at Iceland’s Keflavik airport late Thursday because the insolvent carrier had not paid its airport charges, Keflavik operator Isavia said in a statement. It said the unpaid charges had been incurred before Air Berlin, which has struggled to turn a profit over the last decade, filed for insolvency on Aug. 15. According to German magazine Stern, the Airbus A320 landed at Keflavik at 10:35 p.m. local time on Thursday and was due to depart for Duesseldorf just after midnight. Air Berlin said the grounding was “unlawful” and “unacceptable”. “We have told Keflavik airport repeatedly that any outstanding demands of payment relating to the time before Aug. 15 must be registered on the insolvency table due to insolvency law,” Air Berlin said. “We have called on Keflavik airport to cease its unlawful actions immediately,” it added.<br/>
A Qantas jumbo jet bound for San Francisco was forced to return to Australia on Saturday after a “technical issue” 90 minutes into its flight, the airline said. Engineers were inspecting the Boeing 747 after it landed at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith airport, a Qantas spokeswoman said. No injuries were reported. “We understand delays can be frustrating for our passengers but we’ll always put safety ahead of schedule and our teams are doing everything they can to get passengers back on their way,” she said. Passengers were told that flight QF 73, which departed at 2.10 pm local time, had been turned back because the autopilot wasn’t working, a passenger told Australia’s ABC News. “The flight got ridiculously bumpy, and the seatbelt sign never got switched off,” the passenger said.<br/>
Malaysia Airlines announced on Friday that a company veteran, COO Izham Ismail, will be the group's new CEO following the departure of Irishman Peter Bellew. Izham will be the troubled company's third CE in three years as it continues to recover from the disappearance of flight MH370 as well as the downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Izham will assume the role on Dec 1, taking over from Bellew whose abrupt resignation after just over a year in the job was announced on Tuesday. The Irishman, who will return to Ryanair, is currently on administrative leave. MAS chairman Md Nor Yusof said of Izham:"He has a valuable breadth of understanding that spans airline operations and business management. I am proud that he is our own internal home grown talent and I am confident that he will be able to take the airline further forward and ensure the turnaround plan is met.” To ensure a smooth transition, a Board Executive Committee will be in place for up to six months, the company said. <br/>
Mainland Chinese carriers are seeking to poach Cathay Pacific Airways pilots, capitalising on a cost-cutting drive by Hong Kong’s flagship airline to slash salaries and benefits. Some 200 pilots from Cathay Pacific are considering their options with the likes of China Southern and Hainan Airlines after registering with a recruitment agency, according to a source. This has contributed to cockpit recruiters for China’s major state-owned and private airlines making greater strides to woo Hong Kong-based pilots feeling disenchanted over salary cuts and wanting a better lifestyle. In an attempt to plug losses of HK$2.05b in H1 of the year, Cathay Pacific embarked on a three-year transformation plan to rein in costs which included 600 job cuts so far. Last month, pilots at Cathay Pacific were told that they would face a salary freeze, pension changes and substantial cuts to housing allowances worth HK$1.2m. “Until last month, very few Cathay Pacific pilots have inquired, or made applications to Chinese airlines. However we have seen a spike in interest in recent weeks, numbering in the hundreds,” said Deborah White, marketing manager for Longreach Aviation, which recruits pilots for Chinese airlines. It will host recruitment briefings for Hong Kong pilots at the end of the month. Longreach Aviation said two of its clients – China Southern and Hainan – would need an estimated 100 foreign captains to meet demand for expansion each year until 2020.<br/>