Ryanair has signed a union recognition agreement with Italian pilots union ANPAC, continuing the formalisation of the airline’s decision to recognise unions across Europe. The carrier confirmed March 8 that it had signed a Union Recognition agreement with ANPAC—which will now be the sole representative body for Ryanair-employed pilots in Italy—following extensive negotiations since the December about-turn designed to head off the threat of strikes and disruption. “This recognition agreement with ANPAC is significant because Italy currently accounts for almost 80 of Ryanair’s 400-plus current aircraft fleet and approximately 20% of Ryanair’s pilot body,” the carrier said. “We are making good progress with unions in other major EU,” Ryanair’s chief people officer Eddie Wilson said. <br/>
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WestJet made a surprise CE change, announcing March 8 that Gregg Saretsky was stepping down “effective immediately” after 8 years leading the company. Executive VP-commercial Ed Sims, who has held senior positions with Air NZ and formerly was CE of New Zealand air navigation service provider Airservices, was named the airline’s new president and CE. He also was appointed to WestJet’s board of directors with immediate effect. The leadership move comes following a Canada Industrial Relations Board ruling on pilot staffing at WestJet’s new ultra-LCC subsidiary, Swoop, which threatens to derail plans to launch the carrier in June—although it is unknown whether that played a role in the decision to make a CE change. <br/>
WestJet’s appointment of a new CE opens the way for the carrier to hammer out a labour deal with its pilots over the next few months, a union leader said. Relations had soured between the union and CE Gregg Saretsky as WestJet pilots sought their first bargaining agreement. Those negotiations now fall to CE Ed Sims. At issue in the labour talks is the push by the company to get a new discount operation up and running. A contract puts at risk the carrier’s cost advantage over larger rival Air Canada. “I’m optimistic that we can come to an agreement in a relatively short period of time," said captain Rob McFadyen, chairman of the WestJet unit of the Air Line Pilots Association. "I don’t think there is any reason we can’t have this done within the next few months.” <br/>
Eurowings is interested in cooperating with other carriers on bookings with connecting flights, much like rivals Ryanair and EasyJet have done, its CCO said Thursday. Ryanair said this week that it could provide connections with long-haul airlines in the future after signing a deal with Aer Lingus, while EasyJet last year signed a connecting flights agreement with Norwegian Air Shuttle. Such deals are also of interest for Eurowings because they could bring extra passengers to fill its planes, Oliver Wagner said. "We're looking at it very closely, it's a topic for the future," he said, adding that Eurowings would be interested in working with providers of both short and long-haul flights. Eurowings is growing more quickly than expected as it competes with rivals to fill the gap left by the collapse of Air Berlin last year. <br/>
IndiGo plans to order as many as 50 Airbus A330 wide-body jets as it seeks to expand beyond short-haul flights, people with knowledge of the matter said. The carrier aims to take the upgraded A330neo version of the plane, according the people. The deal would be worth US$13b at list prices for the smaller of two variants, though some of the aircraft are likely to options to be confirmed later. IndiGo is developing plans for long-haul flights after building up a fleet of more than 150 Airbus A320 narrow-body planes used within the region. The carrier looked at the Boeing 787 and Airbus’s larger A350 before settling on the A330neo. Quick delivery times and the ease of retraining A320 pilots for the jet were a factor in the decision, one person said. <br/>
Thomas Cook Airlines believes a transition period following Britain's exit from the EU is important to allow time to clarify new rules regarding flying rights, ownership and safety regulations, an executive said. "The clock is ticking," Christoph Debus, head of the travel group's airline business, said. "Brexit is coming in March 2019 and we are already selling tickets for summer 2019." British airlines currently have unlimited flying rights to, from and within the EU as part of an EU's single aviation market. Carriers must be majority EU-owned to exercise those rights. After Brexit, it is not clear what agreements will govern flying rights between Britain and the remaining EU countries. "I believe that there will be a solution, but the question is how quickly," Debus said, saying a 2-year transition period would be desirable. <br/>
Virgin Atlantic will offer a new basic-economy-like seating class starting this spring, along with two other sections in the main cabin, mimicking efforts by partner Delta Air Lines as well as US rivals like American Airlines and United Airlines. The move comes as competition on flights over the Atlantic to and from Europe escalated last year, as more low-cost, long-haul carriers like Norwegian Air Shuttle and WOW air chipped away at territory long dominated by legacy airlines. Virgin Atlantic's economy class will now be split up into Economy Light, Economy Delight and Economy Classic, and the carrier is overhauling its fleet to install up to 36 Economy Delight seats on every flight. The remake of the carrier's flight cabin, which it said is the biggest change to its economy seating in more than a decade, is part of a US$419m investment. <br/>
Virgin Atlantic has canceled the 6 Airbus A380s that it originally ordered in 2001. Virgin Atlantic CE Craig Kreeger confirmed that the much-postponed A380 commitment was canceled “within the last couple of weeks.” Kreeger said the firm order was previously downgraded to options as part of the order negotiations for another type—possibly as part of an earlier A330 deal. “We have cancelled our options on the A380,” Kreeger said. “We just can’t find enough markets that made sense for an aircraft that big and it didn’t make sense to take just one or two because of fleet complexity.” Airbus recently took the decision to more than halve A380 production from 2.5 aircraft per month to just one, as the manufacturer continues to struggle to secure additional sales for its largest aircraft. <br/>