Aer Lingus remains confident that its expansion plans for next summer will not be hindered, despite production delays at Airbus that could delay its new fleet of long-haul aircraft. It has ordered a fleet of 8 Airbus A321neo long-range aircraft that are seen as a potential game-changers. But Airbus has been dogged with production delays, particularly with regard to engines. One informed source said the Aer Lingus order could face delays of up to 6 months, meaning the new aircraft would not be available for any planned expansion next summer. Another source said that although the order was officially still on schedule, delays were possible. Aer Lingus chief corporate affairs officer Donal Moriarty said: " We do not expect our first deliveries to be delayed to Q3 of 2019." <br/>
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Airbus is favoured to pull in an order from SIA affiliate Vistara for as many as 60 new-engine single-aisle airliners to gain a stronger foothold in the booming Indian market, according to people familiar with the negotiations. The airline is leaning toward buying the A320neo jets after a contest with Boeing’s 737 Max model. The carrier will make an announcement soon, one of the officials said. The A320neo has an average list price of about US$110m, valuing the deal at $6.6b before discounts. An order from Vistara is a consolidation for Airbus after the carrier is poised to give Boeing an order for widebody jets. IndiGo and SpiceJet are ordering hundreds of aircraft worth billions of dollars to tap an emerging middle-class flying for the first time, helping India become the world’s fastest-growing major aviation market. <br/>
Brisbane-based regional carrier Jetgo Australia has grounded its passenger services after entering into voluntary administration Friday. The airline, with its fleet of 5 Embraer aircraft, flew regular passenger services to and from Brisbane and Melbourne’s Essendon Airport to regional centres in the eastern states. It had also announced services between Brisbane and Karratha, in Western Australia, which would have run from August. “Jetgo Australia will continue limited charter operations, however, all Regular Passenger Transport scheduled services are suspended for the duration of the administration period,” the company said. Jetgo had operated as a charter service focusing on FIFO workers from 2012, but expanded into regular passenger services after it received regulatory approval to run as an airline in Oct 2014. <br/>
A Bristol-to-Prague EasyJet flight with more than 140 on board was delayed and eventually cancelled Friday night. Avon and Somerset Police said a 32-year-old man was arrested for a public order offence and released under investigation. EasyJet said it did not tolerate abusive behaviour and will "always push for prosecution". A Bristol Airport spokesperson said the "disappointing behaviour of a few" had ruined a flight "not just for their mates but for the 140 plus whose flight was cancelled as a result of their follow-up actions". They added: "It's an aircraft, not a nightclub." EasyJet said its crew had done "everything possible to minimise the disruption" for its remaining passengers. Travel journalist Simon Calder said the "culture of drinking at airports" has to be tackled. <br/>
AirBaltic would benefit from having a strategic investor on-board, but has no pressing need for an additional shareholder, CE Martin Gauss said. Having another large shareholder would improve the airline’s credit rating and make fleet financing cheaper, Gauss said. The company is 80% owned by the state of Latvia and 20% by Danish entrepreneur Lars Thuesen. The airline has been in on and off talks with potential future shareholders, but there has been a pause since late 2017 although the process is slowly resuming. At the end of May, AirBaltic placed a large follow-up order for up to 60 Bombardier CS300s, 30 of which are firm. Gauss stressed that those extra aircraft can be funded without additional shareholders. In 2017, the airline posted its highest profit ever and the first 4 months of 2018 “look even better”, Gauss said. <br/>