Search teams at the site of the Saratov Airlines Antonov An-148 crash outside Moscow have located a second device believed to be one of the flight recorders from the jet. One recorder was retrieved Monday as recovery specialists started combing through the debris from the accident, which covers an area of 30ha. The Russian emergency situations ministry says the site has been divided into 29 search sectors and that a device was located in the 18th sector. It adds that the Interstate Aviation Committee, the country's accident investigation authority, is working to confirm its nature and identity – although the ministry says it is "presumably" a flight recorder. None of the 71 occupants of the An-148 survived after it came down in a field shortly after take-off on a service to Orsk. <br/>
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A fresh warning on the negative impact Brexit will have on aviation has been delivered by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary. O’Leary has repeatedly claimed that flights between the UK and continental Europe are likely to be grounded in 2019 in the event of a failure to strike a Brexit deal. Ryanair has already started warning on passengers’ tickets of the risk that flights from April 1, 2019, could be cancelled. To keep his aircraft flying, O’Leary will need to demonstrate to regulators that a majority of his investors are EU citizens. At present, 56% of its shareholders are European, and within that about 20% are from the UK. He is examining a number of ways to give incentives to non-EU investors to dump Ryanair shares. The carrier already has a rule stating that any shareholders based outside the EU can sell stock only to European investors. <br/>
Four months after Southwest Airlines announced plans to start flights to Hawaii, a smouldering dispute between the carrier's management and its aircraft mechanics threatens to delay the highly anticipated launch to the islands. The discord also could affect passenger safety if changes aren't made, the FAA has warned. Southwest is in negotiations for a new contract with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, or AMFA. The negotiations have dragged on for more than 5 years. Southwest plans to outsource maintenance work related to its Hawaiian operations — a plan the union opposes. The issue has become a main sticking point in the negotiations. “Southwest Airlines needs to stop playing games and negotiate in good faith with their aircraft maintenance technicians,” said the AMFA. <br/>
Southwest Airlines' cancellation of 250 flights at Midway Airport Feb 11 was the third time in 2 months that a shortage of de-icing fluid has complicated the carrier’s Chicago operations. Heavy snows forced Southwest to use much more than the normal amount of glycol Sunday morning to remove ice and snow from planes that parked at the airport overnight, eating away at the carrier’s supply, a VP said Monday. Matters were made worse when air seeped into pumps, blocking Southwest from accessing some of the remaining glycol in storage tanks. Unable to secure more, and with additional icing in the forecast, the airline decided to cancel most of Sunday’s flights at Midway. <br/>
JetBlue Airways is bringing its premium Mint lie-flat bed service to flights between Seattle and Boston and New York. The airline said it will offer 2 daily Mint flights between Seattle-Tacoma International and Boston starting Thursday, and increase it to as many as 3 flights a day this summer. JetBlue will launch Mint from Seattle to New York-JFK daily April 15 and increase it to twice daily this summer. JetBlue's Mint service is offered in a refurbished Airbus A321 jet that features lie-flat beds or suites in premium class, along with tapas-style dining, premium wines selected by the carrier's wine expert, gate-to-gate high-speed wireless internet and other personal services and extra comforts. <br/>
Boeing’s slow-selling 737 Max 7 has a big fan in Western Canada. WestJet Airlines next year will become the second carrier, after Southwest Airlines, to operate the smallest version of Boeing’s upgraded workhorse. The company is set to receive 5 of the single-aisle jetliners next year. “We love those planes,” WestJet CE Gregg Saretsky said, citing the aircraft’s range and 12 additional seats compared with the Boeing 737-700, a linchpin of the airline’s fleet. “It’s great for long, thin markets.” The model is longer and flies a greater distance than Boeing had originally planned. With input from Southwest and WestJet — and as sales flagged — Boeing decided to stretch the frame to squeeze in 2 more rows of passengers. The Max 7 can now fly as many as 172 travellers and as far as 3,850 nautical miles. <br/>
Allegiant Travel Company ALGT has recently reported traffic numbers for January. Traffic for the total system including scheduled service and fixed fee contract, measured in revenue passenger miles, increased 9.3% on a year-over-year basis to 877.42m. System capacity, calculated in available seat miles, improved 6.1% to 1.1b. With traffic growth outpacing capacity expansion, load factor rose 240 basis points year over year to 79.9%. Allegiant’s passenger count gained 8.7% in January while its system-wide average fuel cost per gallon was approximately US$2.23 in the month. The robust traffic results were released just a few days after the company reported Q4 2017 financial numbers with better-than-expected earnings per share and revenues. <br/>