Air Arabia’s expansion could see the carrier order 100 narrow-body planes worth US$11b at list prices before the end of the year. The UAE-based airline hasn’t yet reached a decision but the figure is “probably the right number,” CE Adel Ali said Monday. Air Arabia currently operates a fleet of 50 Airbus A320 jets and is looking at the upgraded Neo version, while also seriously considering Boeing’s rival 737 Max, Ali said. Bombardier’s C Series plane is also in the running as the carrier moves to renew its fleet after full-year profit jumped 29% in 2017 to a record $171m. The carrier is rebounding from a period of overcapacity and lower yields in the Middle East as the low oil price weighed on Gulf economies and concerns about terrorism in North African nations hurt leisure demand. <br/>
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Wizz Air sees operations as its biggest challenge in 2018 as the carrier continues rapid growth. “We have a lot of commercial opportunities, but the biggest challenge for us is on the operational side because in 17 weeks we are taking delivery of 17 new aircraft,” CCO George Michalopoulos said. Wizz Air has increased its fleet size to 89, which includes a mix of Airbus A320s and A321s. Feb 1 the average aircraft age was 4.6 years. In Nov 2017, Wizz Air signed its largest-ever Airbus order for an additional 146 A320neo family aircraft, which has received shareholder approval. The LCC has a total of 256 of the type on order. Michalopoulos said the A321neo is the “ultimate, ultra-efficient aircraft” for an LCC. “We expect the first A321neo in Jan 2019.” <br/>
Passengers delayed in Greece were bussed 235 miles to catch a plane in another country amid a 27-hour wait for their flight back to Manchester. Passengers were taken by EasyJet from Kavala in Greece to Skopje in Macedonia. Bad weather led to the flight being diverted on its way to Greece to pick passengers up. So travellers faced an epic saga which included a 6-hour wait for a hotel room, 4 coach journeys lasting over 9 hours, and a long and painful border crossing. An EasyJet spokesman said: “EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY1844 from Kavala to Manchester Feb 27 was delayed overnight because the inbound flight was unable to land in Kavala due to snow. As a result the Captain had to take the decision to divert to Skopje, the closest operating airport to Kavala." <br/>
Following the resolution last week of a new labour contract with its pilots, Spirit Airlines raised its expected operating expenses excluding fuel for the 2018 Q1 and full-year 2018 by approximately 3 percentage points compared to 2017. In an updated guidance statement, Spirit forecast its adjusted CASM ex-fuel for Q1 2018 will decline about 3% year-over-year (YOY), narrowing from the 5.5% to 6.5% decline Spirit forecast a month earlier. Similarly, Spirit forecast the company’s full-year 2018 CASM ex-fuel would fall somewhere between flat and -1% YOY, contrasted with a 3%-5% drop the ULCC forecast Feb 6. Spirit’s pilots ratified Feb 28 a new 5-year labour contract, ending a contentious 3-year series of negotiations between Spirit’s 1,600 pilots and management. <br/>