Ryanair has revealed a gender pay gap of 72% – the worst in the airline industry – with women making up only 3% of the top quarter of earners at the airline. The figure is among the most imbalanced yet reported in any sector, about 4 times the UK average and outstripping that of EasyJet, whose 45% gap had attracted widespread criticism. Median hourly pay among Ryanair’s 1,182 UK staff is 71.8% lower for women (67% lower on mean hourly pay), while median bonus pay for women was 3% lower (with a mean difference of 21%). Ryanair said: “Like all airlines, our gender pay in the UK is materially affected by the relatively low numbers of female pilots in the aviation industry." Ryanair has yet to spell out what steps it will take to recruit more women into higher paid positions. <br/>
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AirAsia X is looking to move more of its operations to secondary airports in 2018, in a bid to further reduce costs. The carrier's CE Benyamin Ismail says that it is targeting “around 40-50% in cost savings” from moving to smaller airports. Ismail adds that AirAsia X is also eyeing similar switches to Nagoya airport in Japan, as well as Toowoomba Wellcamp airport near Brisbane and the under-construction Western Sydney airport. The latter facility is not expected to open until around 2025. AirAsia X announced in February that it will shift its Melbourne flights from Tullamarine airport to Avalon later this year. The carrier has also identified 3 countries for future growth: China, India and Australia - particularly in more secondary cities. <br/>
Alaska Airlines is ending service on several California routes as it looks to both cut underperforming routes and harmonise its schedule with merger partner Virgin America. Four routes are from San Francisco, where non-stops to Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Mexico City will end by mid-June. Another San Francisco route — to Cancun — ended this month. Two routes from Southern California — Los Angeles-Orlando and San Diego-Mexico City — will be discontinued by summer. The adjustments come as the lucrative California market has become increasingly competitive, especially since Alaska Airlines’ acquisition of Virgin America made it one of the top carriers in the state. Alaska Airlines said the changes don’t indicate a pullback. <br/>
SpiceJet has selected ultralight seats designed by French start-up company Expliseat on 10 of its Boeing 737 NGs and the 25 Bombardier Q400s the LCC ordered last year. At 4,500 seats, the contract can be seen as the first major order for Expliseat. On the in-service 737 NG narrowbodies, the existing seats will be replaced. The new Q400 turboprops will receive a high-density layout with 90 seats. Deliveries are to start in Q3 of this year. SpiceJet has chosen the TiSeat E2, the weight of which can be as low as 5 kg, the exact weight depending on the options. The equipment manufacturer thus estimates 1,300 kg will be saved on each 737. The Q400 seats are calculated to be 400 kg lighter. The titanium-composite TiSeat E2 is 60% lighter than the competition, Expliseat claims. <br/>
Southwest Airlines is considering an order for “more than a handful” of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft as the carrier benefits from lower tax rates and expanding travel demand. Discussions with Boeing are ongoing, Southwest CE Gary Kelly said Tuesday without specifying a number for a potential order. The CE reaffirmed that the airline would potentially add as many as 500 more planes in the long-term future. Kelly’s comments underscored Southwest’s plans for growth as it experiences a dip in its fleet after retiring a group of its oldest 737s late last year. The CE said in December that Southwest intended to use some savings from the reduction in corporate tax rates to expand its 706-plane fleet or replace aging aircraft. <br/>
If Warren Buffett is interested in buying Southwest Airlines, he's not telling the airline's CE directly. Southwest chairman and CE Gary Kelly said Tuesday that he hasn't talked to Buffett since the Berkshire Hathaway CE sparked speculation with a comment that he wouldn't rule out owning an entire airline. Berkshire Hathaway already owns 8.1% of Southwest, making it the airline's second-biggest shareholder behind Primecap Management. Berkshire Hathaway also holds major stakes in American, Delta and United airlines. Some analysts and columnists argue that Southwest could be the financier's most logical target because of its low-cost business model, investment-grade credit rating, and potential for growth. It wouldn't be cheap, however — Southwest's market value is around US$33b. <br/>
For the past couple of years, Spirit Airlines' fleet plans have been in limbo as the company tried to finalise a new pilot contract in order to get cost certainty. Fortunately, Spirit's pilots finally ratified a new contract in late February. Last week, Spirit made one major fleet decision. The company agreed to purchase 14 Airbus A319s that it currently leases from AerCap. This move is a big bet on the long-term profitability of operating older, smaller jets -- even with higher pilot costs. Under prior CE Ben Baldanza, Spirit Airlines developed a strong preference for the larger members of Airbus' A320 aircraft family, which have lower unit costs. It also preferred to operate a fleet of young aircraft that were easy to maintain. However, the company's philosophy has evolved since Bob Fornaro took the helm in early 2016. <br/>
Flybe warned on its profits Tuesday, blaming the “Beast from the East” UK cold snap for pushing the airline’s revenue down in the first 3 months of the year. The carrier said revenue per seat had risen in recent months, with passenger numbers also rising despite a drop in capacity, but bad weather had dented revenue for Q4 to March 31. Since “extremely poor weather” had struck so late in the financial year, the company said, the resulting losses would be reflected in its full-year results. Flybe said it had been forced to cancel 994 flights in the quarter, compared with 372 in the same period last year, with bad weather in February and March lowering revenue by about GBP4m. Airport closures across the UK and the near continent had “particularly affected Flybe, as all our flying is within this area”, the company said. <br/>
Sichuan Airlines has secured approval to use fifth freedom rights to extend a route from Chengdu, China to Prague, Czech Republic and onto Zurich, Switzerland beginning June 23. The new twice-weekly Chengdu-Prague-Zurich Airbus A330 service is expected to become the first fifth freedom flight from Chengdu to transport passengers to a third country. Currently, the domestic regional carrier operates international services that include twice-weekly Chengdu-Prague service and 2 European routes to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Sichuan Airlines chairman Li Haiying had previously said the carrier planned to open 5 international routes this year—all originating from Chengdu—to Copenhagen, Boston, Cairo and Tel Aviv, in addition to Zurich. <br/>
Virgin Australia will begin flights from Sydney to Hong Kong July 2, which will join its existing service from Melbourne to Hong Kong. The carrier had previously signalled it wanted to start the Sydney flights this year as it expands its reach in the Greater China market. Virgin Australia regards Hong Kong as its gateway to mainland China, thanks to existing connections with partner Hong Kong Airlines. Virgin has also revealed it will be adding an interline agreement with Hong Kong Express, which like Hong Kong Airlines is an affiliate of the HNA Group. HNA is a major shareholder in Virgin Australia. The Hong Kong Express interline flights will be sold by Virgin starting later this month, and will allow passengers from Sydney and Melbourne to connect to other Asian destinations beyond Hong Kong. <br/>