IAG has stressed that the ownership cost benefits of budget carrier Level's Airbus A330s outweigh the additional expenditure from having lower power-plant efficiency. The airline has 2 A330-200s and is set to introduce 3 more for the next phase of its expansion. IAG chief Willie Walsh states that the A330 is "a great aircraft in the current environment" but adds that company is "not wedded" to the type, and hints that the Boeing 787 – used by Norwegian – could eventually succeed the twinjet. "The 787 will be good in time," he told an investor briefing, but said there was only a limited number of qualified 787 pilots available. He says that the A330 has low ownership costs and, despite being less fuel-efficient, has been the "right aircraft" to enable Level to develop quickly in the market. <br/>
unaligned
A new “all-you-can-fly” airline that allows customers to fly as many times as they like for a flat fee will arrive in Ireland early next year to cater for an increased demand for air travel when Britain exits the EU. Surf Air describes itself as a “membership airline” that enables customers to travel on executive aircraft from private terminals. “There will be no airport queues as such,” said a spokeswoman for the company. “With Brexit, for better or worse, it seems clear that tens of thousands of jobs will be relocated to different cities in Europe, which means tens of thousands of people will either have to relocate or find a commute option,” said the spokeswoman. “We want to facilitate that process. There’s going to be an impact on the travel and airline industry, and we can step in and support ‘the Brexpats’". <br/>
Wow Air is considering a possible IPO in 2019, its CE said Monday, as it explores opportunities for the fast-growing business. Wow Air, which also competes with Norwegian Air on transatlantic routes, connects Europe and North America via its hub in Reykjavik, often with smaller A320 jets typically used for short-haul flights. Founder and CE Skuli Mogensen said the Wow Air's rapid expansion means he will start exploring options for the business from next year and will be ready to act in 2019. "By 2019 we'll do about a billion in revenue, in US dollars. So that's when we're hitting a point where we'll be an interesting size to go public," Mogensen said. "To continue our growth we will have to look at various opportunities to find a strategic partner, go public, et cetera. We haven't really selected which path to take." <br/>
Edelweiss Air will add 3 leased Lufthansa Airbus A320s from Macquarie Group as part of its expansion plans. The airline will take delivery of 2 A320s in April 2018 and the third aircraft in June 2018. In July, Edelweiss announced plans to expand its network by 20% in summer 2018, adding 11 new destinations and reaching a total of 62 destinations in 28 countries. Edelweiss plans to use the leased A320s to eight new destinations on short- and medium-haul routes. It will also increase frequencies from Switzerland airports, including Zurich, to daily services to Las Palmas and Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, and Palma de Mallorca, Spain. During 2018, the carrier will also add 2 former SWISS A340-300s to its fleet. By the end of 2018, Edelweiss expects to operate 9 A320s, 2 A330-300s and 4 A340-300s. <br/>
Southwest Airlines launched 3 new nonstop international routes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) Nov 5, including its first daily service to British Overseas Territory Turks and Caicos Islands’ Providenciales International (PLS). The carrier also introduced new service between FLL and airports in San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) the same day, part of the company’s stated efforts to increase brand awareness and foreign points of sale in the Caribbean and Central America. “We’re investing in the Caribbean with an optimistic outlook on travel and tourism” Southwest SVP-operations and hospitality Steve Goldberg said. The carrier expects to have 75 daily flights from Fort Lauderdale by the end of the year, 18 of which will be international. <br/>