AirAsia looks set to confirm an order for Airbus wide-body jets, soothing nerves at the planemaker after Boeing tried to swoop on its biggest Asian customer and extend a lead in the lucrative long-haul market. A person familiar with the discussions said that Air Asia co-founder Tony Fernandes was likely to reconfirm a commitment for 66 A330neo jets worth US$19.6b as the Malaysian group looks to expands its long-haul operations. Airbus and AirAsia declined comment. But Fernandes later told the Financial Times that A330neo flight test results presented by Airbus were better than expected, adding, "We are looking on it much more favourably". The decision by the carrier - currently exclusively an Airbus customer - is regarded as crucial as Airbus tries to defend its slow-selling A330neo. <br/>
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EasyJet said its flying rights would not be affected by Britain's departure from the EU after shareholders voted to amend the airline's legal structure and after a change to its British flying license. To protect their flying rights after Brexit, airlines from across Europe, including Wizz and Ryanair, have been making changes and applying for new licenses, a process which EasyJet said it was close to concluding. "Structurally we now have everything in place that protects all of our flying rights both in Europe and the UK," an EasyJet spokesman said. At its annual general meeting, shareholders approved changes to its articles of association to ensure the company would remain EU-owned and controlled after Brexit, thereby allowing EasyJet to continue to fly between and within EU countries. <br/>
Norwegian Air International will double the flights on its service from Dublin to New York state from April. The Norwegian plans to double services from Dublin to Stewart International to twice a day from April 26th. The move will make 66,000 extra seats available to travellers on the route this year and bring to 29 the number of flights that the airline will offer between Ireland and the US. More than 130,000 people have flown on Norwegian’s Irish-US services since it launched last July, according to Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegian’s CCO. Norwegian is bidding to boost demand further by timing its flights to allow shoppers take one-day trips to Woodbury Common, a premium retail centre run by New York-listed Simon Property Group. <br/>
A Nigerian airline has blamed a passenger after one of its aircraft doors fell off shortly after landing. The flight from Lagos to Abuja was taxiing on the runway when the emergency exit door came away. Dana Air denied that it was caused by a mechanical fault. But one passenger told the BBC that everyone on board had denied tampering with the door. "When we landed and the plane was taxiing back to the park point, we heard a poof-like explosion, followed by a surge of breeze and noise. It was terrible." Dana Air denied there were issues with the door during the flight. "The emergency exit door of our aircraft are plug-type backed by pressure, which ordinarily cannot fall off without tampering or a conscious effort to open by a crew member or passenger," the company said. <br/>
Emirates Airline president Tim Clark issued a stern warning to the airline industry on the need to embrace the seismic shift in technology that's underway. "The company of the 2050s will bear no resemblance to the company of 2018," he said. The executive made these comments in response to a question about the role new technology will play at Emirates. Some airlines envision a future where its planes become flying e-commerce platforms while others see technology as a means to improve operational efficiency. As for Emirates, Clark replied using the word "Revolutionary" to describe how new tech will affect his airline. "The airline industry which has traditionally been fairly Jurassic in its thinking needs to get its act together pretty quickly because we are so process driven," Clark said. <br/>