Norwegian Air suffered a worse than expected loss in the last 3 months of 2017 and ate into its cash reserves as the cost of expansion weighed. Unlike other budget airlines that focus on shorter routes, Norwegian is trying to crack the transatlantic market by undercutting established rivals but faces pressures to control costs and shore up its balance sheet. The company swung to a net loss of NOK919m (US$118m) from a year-ago profit of NOK197m, while analysts anticipated a quarterly loss of NOK598m. “We are not at all satisfied with the 2017 results,” CE Bjoern Kjos said, while adding that major investments made in 2017 had put the company on course for growth. “We truly hope 2017 will be the last year with loss. We are very optimistic for 2018. Bookings are looking good and cost is on track,” he said. <br/>
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Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester could miss out on new transatlantic links unless Air Passenger Duty (APD) is eliminated, a leading airline group has said. IAG has written to MPs to say “it’s not financially viable” for the group’s low-cost brand, Level, to fly from those cities with APD at current levels. The group says Level’s one-way fares start at GBP88. APD for long-haul flights is currently GBP75, but will increase to GBP78 for flights from April 1, 2018. Willie Walsh, IAG’s CE said: “British consumers are losing out because of APD. In Spain and France, Level can offer lower fares than it can in the UK – and that goes for other long-haul low-cost airlines too." The letter from IAG says for a trading nation reliant on developing international connections post-Brexit to tax aviation so harshly is “foolhardy”. <br/>
Vice-president PPPP (Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians), senator Sherry Rehman, expressed dismay over the disastrous performance of Pakistan International Airlines in the last 4 years. “No serious action has been taken to save PIA or hold people accountable for the losses and malfeasance even after 2 years of hard work by the parliamentary committee’s scrutiny and diligent questioning,” said the Senator while speaking after the Special Committee on the Performance of PIA Rehman said no satisfactory answers were ever provided on the setting up of the Premier Service, its lack of business plan, quiet dissolution and huge losses to PIA. “With only a few dozen planes and accumulated losses of PKR345b (U$3.13b), it pains us to say that PIA is now among the world’s most poorly managed airlines." <br/>
Philippine Airlines is looking at adding the largest version of Airbus's A350 series to its fleet, the carrier's president said Thursday. The airline is undergoing a US$2b expansion programme to make its fleet one of the youngest in Asia. "It is one airplane we can consider. It is a bigger version of the A350-900," Jaime Bautista, president of the airline's operator, PAL Holdings, said before an A350-1000 test flight in Manila. There is commonality in spare parts between the A350-900 and the A350-1000 and Philippine Airlines' pilots can fly both aircraft, Bautista added. In 2016, Philippine Airlines ordered 6 wide-body A350-900 jets worth about $1.8b at list prices to help the company expand its lucrative international network. The carrier expects to take delivery of 15 planes this year, including 4 Airbus A350s. <br/>
Hong Kong Express Airways expects at least a 6-month delay in deliveries of new Airbus A320neo jets due to issues with engines made by Pratt & Whitney, according to an internal memo issued by the airline. The carrier has grounded 1 plane in Hong Kong until May due to a lack of spare engines after the jet made a mid-air turn-back due to engine issues last month, said a person with knowledge of the matter. Another 1 of its 5 A320neos remains on the ground at the Airbus final assembly line site in Hamburg and has yet to be delivered to Hong Kong because one of its engines needs a fix. Because replacement engines will need testing, Hong Kong Express is "seriously considering" not introducing any new A320neos into its fleet until next year at the earliest, the memo said. <br/>
Ryanair's chief legal and regulatory officer and company secretary Juliusz Komorek says Ukraine will become a new destination for Ryanair, having confirmed the company's plans to launch flights in autumn 2018. When asked if he confirms the statement made by Ukraine's Infrastructure minister Volodymyr Omelyan that the air carrier would launch flights to the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Lviv as early as this autumn. Komorek answered that the deadline is real. He also noted the details are being agreed upon. Concerning future flights to/from Ukraine, Komorek noted that they would not coincide with those announced in the spring of 2017 when Ryanair flights were first announced in Ukraine. He said that the schedule would be changed, but the flights from Ukraine to Poland would be launched for sure. <br/>
Alaska Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants have reached a tentative agreement to merge the airline’s and Virgin America’s flight attendant groups. Alaska Air acquired Virgin America in 2016, with the Seattle-based airline pulling together the two workforces since then. Virgin America flight attendants joined the AFA in April 2017. The tentative agreement with the union includes pay raises, increases in retirement contributions and additional benefits, the airline said. A ratification vote by flight attendants is expected to be completed in April. The existing 5-year flight attendant contract becomes amendable in Dec 2019 and the airline said it will begin negotiations for its first joint agreement later this year. Alaska Air and Virgin America received a single operating certificate from the FAA in January. <br/>