The union representing Ryanair pilots in Britain, the airline's largest market, has threatened possible strike action unless the company implements a transparent system to manage promotions and transfers, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Ryanair in December recognised trade unions for the first time in its 32-year history, but has since then struggled to reach agreement on the terms of the recognition with some unions and it faces several threats of strike action. Industrial action in Britain, Ryanair's first market to agree a formal union recognition agreement, could be particularly damaging. The airline has experienced minor disruption due to industrial action in Germany and Portugal, but has so far avoided a major stoppage. <br/>
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Indian investigators reportedly filed a corruption case Tuesday against the CE of AirAsia and some of his top deputies, saying the company paid bribes to get govt approvals to launch its India operation. AirAsia CR Tony Fernandes, his deputy Bo Lingam and others were named in the complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The report said most of the bribes were paid through a "sham contract" with a Singapore-based company. The complaint did not say which Indian officials were allegedly bribed. AirAsia India, the Indian arm of the carrier, denied the allegations, with company official Shuva Mandal saying it is "cooperating with all regulators and agencies to present the correct facts." While investigators registered the case Tuesday, formal charges can only be ordered by a court. <br/>
El Al Tuesday reported a bigger loss in Q1, reflecting the impact of higher jet fuel and salary costs and a further deterioration in market share. The carrier has met with stiff competition from rivals including Turkish Airlines, Aeroflot, EasyJet and WizzAir, which offer lower fares on routes to Israel even though some flights require a stopover. During the quarter, El Al’s market share at Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion slipped to 27.5% from 32.3% a year earlier, but the airline remained the market leader. El Al’s passenger numbers rose 2.6% versus 20.7% for all airlines. El Al said its passenger load factor was 83.8%, compared with 83.6% last year. CE Gonen Usishkin said the Q1 results reflected “the many challenges stemming from the open skies (with Europe) and the fierce and increasing competition from foreign airlines — especially low cost carriers.” <br/>
Following personal intervention by the Canadian govt’s labor minister, WestJet management and its pilots, as represented by ALPA, agreed May 25 to federal mediation of the two sides’ heated contract negotiations, averting pilot strike action. The federal mediation process is expected to be concluded by the end of June, both the airline and the pilot union said. May 10, WestJet’s pilots overwhelmingly approved a vote to strike if contract negotiations failed to produce movement on a new contract. The earliest day for a potential strike, May 19, was postponed to not disrupt travel over the Victoria Day national holiday (May 21) long weekend. After the strike authorisation vote announcement, WestJet management added 14 days of additional face-to-face negotiations. <br/>
At least 10 passengers on a flight preparing to take off from Borneo island were injured, most of them with broken bones and head wounds, after panicked ensued when a man claimed there was a bomb on board, Indonesian police said Tuesday. Passengers overheard the man, Frantinus Nirigi, telling a flight attendant there was a bomb on the Lion Air Boeing 737, which was to carry 189 passengers to Jakarta Monday night. An eventual inspection of the plane found no explosives. After Nirigi made the bomb claim, another passenger broke open the emergency exits, enabling panicked passengers to flee the aircraft. Both were arrested. Video posted online showed dozens of people standing on the plane's right wing. Some slid down the right engine and landed on the tarmac. <br/>
Donghai Airlines is set to become the first Chinese carrier to begin long-haul services with a Boeing 737-800 on a twice-weekly Shenzhen-Darwin, Australia route May 30. Donghai president Yang Jianhong said the carrier can cut operating costs in half by using the 737 narrowbody instead of a widebody. “We are also considering changing this route into Shenzhen-Bali-Darwin or Shenzhen-Darwin-Bali at the proper time as there are a lot of passenger traffic between Bali and Australia,” he added. Yang also said Donghai and Darwin-based Airnorth are in talks on a partnership to use Airnorth’s network to transfer to different Australian destinations. A Boeing 737 MAX 8 is expected to replace the 737-800 on the Shenzhen-Darwin service when the carrier begins taking delivery of MAX aircraft next year. <br/>
IndiGo Tuesday announced levying fuel surcharge of up to INR400 (US$5.9) per passenger on domestic routes to offset rising oil prices, a move that would increase fares. IndiGo is the first local carrier to announce passing on the burden of spiralling jet fuel prices to the passengers. In the wake of a sharp uptick in the price of oil and the cost of ATF, it has been decided to re-introduce fuel surcharges effective May 30, the airline said. A sum of INR200 would be levied on every ticket on routes having less than 1,000 kilometre distance. The amount would be INR400 on routes longer than 1,000 kilometre. “A marginal increase in airfares in the form of fuel surcharge will not have any significant adverse impact on the air-traffic demand,” the airline said. <br/>