An Indian investigation has found that Jabalpur airport failed to conduct required inspections and maintain its boundaries, allowing wildlife to stray onto the runway and collide with a landing SpiceJet Bombardier Q400 in 2015. The aircraft, registered VT-SUC, was operating a flight from Mumbai with 49 passengers, two cabin crew and two pilots on-board on 4 December 2015 when the accident occurred around dawn. Five or six seconds after touching down, the aircraft struck a heard of wild boars on the runway, causing the left main landing gear to collapse. That resulted in the left propeller shearing off and the nose gear collapsing, after which the aircraft exited the runway and came to rest on soft ground. Nobody was injured in the accident, but Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that the aircraft was subsequently written-off. India’s Air Accident Investigation Board found that the accident was caused by the boars, but stated that the airport failed to maintain a number of boundary walls and the vegetation around them. This allowed the animals to make it onto the operational surface.<br/>
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Germany is investigating whether Kuwait Airways, in violation of air-traffic laws, has refused to sell tickets to Israelis. The probe, launched Tuesday by Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt, follows a lawsuit filed by the Lawfare Project against the airline for alleged discrimination against an Israeli who sought to fly from Frankfurt to Thailand last summer but was denied a ticket purchase because of Israeli nationality. Nathan Gelbart, the Lawfare Project’s German counsel, said: “This case makes clear that there should be no room for discrimination in Germany. Our country’s laws and common values should call German policy-makers to act immediately in ending Kuwait Airways’ systematic violations of civil rights in our country.” Brooke Goldstein, executive director of the Lawfare Project, said, “We commend the German Federal Ministry of Transport for launching an investigation into Kuwait Airways’ discriminatory practices. Our team will continue to pursue legal action until the German government makes clear that Kuwait Airways must either comply with the law or cease doing business in their country.” The lawsuit against Kuwait Airlines is being heard in the city of Frankfurt.<br/>
Alaska Air Group‘s takeover of Virgin America created the fifth-biggest carrier by revenue in the US — and a lot of headaches for company executives. The deal gave Alaska a stronger foothold in California. Alaska-Virgin now has the largest number of seats among airlines serving that state. But other carriers have been discounting airfares on intra-California routes and on transcontinental routes to and from California — especially on so-called walk-up fares that are booked relatively close to departure. United has been especially aggressive in San Francisco, while Southwest has been aggressive on other routes. Meanwhile, Delta has been pressuring Alaska in its home turf of Seattle. The discounting forced Alaska into matching to maintain its market share. These pricing battles will continue for months to come, according to executives speaking during Alaska’s Q3 earnings call Wednesday. Besides various pricing battles, Alaska has also been distracted by the mechanics of the merger. The proof of this is that the airline, which has historically watched costs like a hawk, saw costs for operations, engine maintenance, marketing, and fuel rise in the third quarter. Fuel was up substantially because of hurricane-related supply issues. Brandon Pedersen, CFO, said, “We are more frustrated than investment analysts. There has been a lot of anxiety around here. There has been a lot of tough conversations in the last few weeks.” Executives noted the complexity of integrating hundreds of systems and dozens of agreements. On top of the logistics, the company has had to rethink how to manage the routes by Virgin America it has inherited and, on top of those new routes, it has recently added 44 new markets.<br/>
Bangkok Airways is evaluating the Airbus A319neo, Boeing 737 Max 7 and the Bombardier CS300 for its fleet renewal and expansion needs. Network and fleet management advisor Peter Wiesner said the airline is looking at about 20 aircraft, to be available for delivery from the second half of 2019. These aircraft, which will be taken in a mix of acquisitions and leases, will replace its fleet of 15 A319s. Wiesner says that while the CSeries is lighter than the A319neo and the 737 Max 7, bringing about fuel savings, it will bring with it the complexity of adding a new aircraft type to the boutique carrier's fleet. "Ideally we should make a decision between six and nine months," says Wiesner. "But the leases of our existing aircraft are also ongoing so there's no real rush." <br/>
AirAsia has taken delivery of the first A320neo assembled at the Airbus Final Assembly Line Asia (FALA). It took delivery of the aircrft at a dedicated ceremony in Tianjin, China. The aircraft, powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines, seats 186 passengers and is equipped with the innovative Space-Flex cabin. AirAsia is the largest airline customer of the A320 Family with orders for 578 aircraft. These include 404 A320neo Family aircraft. AirAsia Berhad CEO Aireen Omar said the airline is very proud to receive the first Airbus A320neo fully assembled in Tianjin, China and congratulated Airbus, as well as the Chinese Government for achieving yet another milestone.<br/>