EasyJet has revealed that men at the company earn on average 51.7% more than women, one of the highest gender pay gaps reported so far in the UK as part of government transparency requirements. Under the new rules, businesses with more than 250 employees have to report the extent of the pay gap by April 2018. So far 263 firms have responded out of an expected 9,500 eligible. In its report, EasyJet, which in Carolyn McCall has had a female CEO for the past seven years, wrote that the discrepancy is “strongly influenced” by the salaries and gender make-up of its pilot community, which accounts for more than a quarter of its UK employees. “Pilots are predominantly male and the higher salaries, relative to other employees, significantly increases the average male pay at EasyJet,” the Luton, England-based carrier said. The average salary of an EasyJet pilot is 92,400 pounds ($123,000) compared with GBP24,800 for cabin crew and almost GBP54,000 for management. The gap between men’s and women’s pay at EasyJet is higher than what’s been disclosed so far by financial-services companies including Virgin Money, Aldermore and TSB Banking Group Plc, which are all around the 30% level. <br/>
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Johannesburg-based Airlink, the largest regional airline in southern Africa, and Cape Town-based Safair, parent of LCC FlySafair, have entered into a merger agreement under which Safair will be acquired by Airlink. Safair is wholly owned by Dublin-based ASL Aviation Holdings, which will become a minority shareholder in Airlink following the merger. Airlink, FlySafair and Safair’s other businesses, including humanitarian aid and cargo flights, will retain their brands, aircraft fleets and management teams after the merger, which the companies said would not result in any job losses. The two companies will submit their merger plan to South Africa’s Competition Commission Nov. 28 for approval and anticipate a decision during the 2018 Q1. Airlink CEO Rodger Foster said that the merger is being pursued to take advantage of “opportunities to reduce our combined costs, position ourselves for growth while at the same time increasing connectivity.” He added: “Our combined networks will enable us to connect 37 destinations in nine southern African and Indian Ocean countries and St. Helena. This will stimulate and enable trade, tourism, economic growth and social development in those markets we serve.”<br/>
Darwin Airline, the Lugano, Switzerland-based regional carrier, has entered reorganization under Swiss insolvency regulations just four months after the airline changed ownership. From 2014 until July 20, 2017, Darwin was 33.3% owned by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and operated under the brand Etihad Regional. Luxembourg-based private equity fund 4K Invest, owners of Slovenia’s Adria Airways, acquired the airline in July, including Etihad’s share, and began the process of restructuring the carrier, which operates six Saab 2000 and four ATR 72-500 turboprops. But despite a “promising” start to the restructuring process, Darwin “has encountered several unfavorable market impacts” that led to the decision to enter insolvency proceedings similar to US Chapter 11 protection, according to a Darwin statement Nov. 27. Darwin “has been challenged with the termination of all business contracts by Alitalia, [which] filed for insolvency proceedings in May 2017,” Darwin said. “Furthermore, the unexpected insolvency of airberlin in August 2017 led to significant negative impacts such as bad debt, loss of existing business and future business opportunities.” Darwin said it is seeking to save as many jobs as possible. It will continue flying under its existing Air Operator’s Certificate “for the time being,” the carrier said. <br/>
An Irish aircraft leasing company is creating its own airline because it can’t find anyone to borrow its A380 superjumbos. Dublin-based Amedeo counts eight A380s among its fleet, and has a further 20 on order from Airbus, but such is the lack of interest in the world’s largest passenger plane that it has been unable to renew its leases, or find new customers, despite months of negotiations. So it has come up with a novel solution: launching its own A380-only airline. According to Mark Lapidus, Amedeo’s CE, the new airline’s business model will see it offer seats to existing carriers, or to potential non-traditional arrivals such as Airbnb. Passengers would buy their ticket through another company, while Amedeo would operate the flight, using its own cabin crew but tailoring the service to suit the client. “Joint ventures and codeshares are making passengers feel accustomed to buying tickets with one [airline] but flying with another,” Lapidus said. He added that Amedeo would apply for an air operator’s licence next year. The growing collection of low-cost airlines offering long-haul flights, such as Norwegian, WOW Air, Level and Air Asia X, would be obvious targets for Amedeo. Lapidus said it was in early discussion with a number of possible customers, including non-aviation firms like Airbnb who are looking for a simple way to enter the market.<br/>