The US DoT’s inspector general is auditing the FAA’s oversight of Southwest after a midair incident in which an engine exploded and one person was killed. The inspector general’s office said in a memo it is opening a new review after “recent events have raised concerns about FAA’s safety oversight, particularly for Southwest Airlines.” The inspector general said “our objective is to assess FAA’s oversight of Southwest Airlines’ systems for managing risk.” The office will write a report after it completes the review and may make recommendations. The FAA, which oversees U.S. civil aviation, said on Thursday it welcomes the inspector general’s “examination of the FAA’s oversight of Southwest Airlines.” The FAA said its oversight system is designed “to identify potential risks before they become serious problems and ensure that corrective action is taken.” Southwest said it has “a very transparent and professional relationship with” the FAA and welcomes “any additional enhancements or oversights” into its safety management system.<br/>
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China will allow North Korea’s Air Koryo to offer flights between Xi’an and Pyongyang from July, the state-run Xi’an Evening News reported Thursday, citing the central Chinese city’s tourism authority. This would make Xi’an the fifth Chinese city with an air link to the North Korean capital after Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai and Chengdu, the newspaper said. Several tour agencies in Xi’an, home to China’s famed Terracotta Army of life-sized sculptures, planned to develop tourism products for North Koreans, the paper said. There were charter flights from Xi’an to Pyongyang about eight years ago and “the response was strong,” the newspaper said, without specifying the operators.<br/>
The CE of EasyJet said Thursday that he would be interested in setting up a base in Heathrow. "It's got to go through all process. Clearly it would be an opportunity for us. It's the only primary airport in Europe from which we do not operate. No reason why we shouldn't be there and be there with a base," EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said. Lundgren added he felt EasyJet coped well regarding competition from its rival Ryanair at the Southend airport in southern England, and reiterated that EasyJet had no interest in low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle. "We have publicly stated we have no interest in Norwegian. Plenty of things to go with on our own. I admire Bjorn, so do a lot of people too," said Lundgren, referring to Bjorn Kjos - the boss of Norwegian Air Shuttle. Lundgren added he was confident regarding the impact that Brexit might have on the travel and airline industry. "I remain confident on it because everybody tells me. It would be inconceivable that we wouldn't be flying between UK and mainland Europe," he said.<br/>
EasyJet wants to be part of European airline sector consolidation but will only join the fray if it makes sense to do so, its CE Johan Lundgren said. “There is a long tail of small operators that might find themselves in difficulty. We want to be part of consolidation,” he said Thursday. “But we will only do it if it strategically makes sense, commercially makes sense and if we can operationally deal with it,” he added. He confirmed that easyJet was interested in Alitalia but added: “We will have to wait and see what happens.” <br/>
Virgin Atlantic Thursday said CE Craig Kreeger would retire at the end of the year and will be replaced by the airline’s CCO. The airline said it would launch its mid-range corporate plan Velocity in 2019 and Kreeger, who was appointed CEO in February 2013, said it was a good time to hand over to CCO Shai Weiss. “As we embark on Velocity, I consider this to be the ideal time to pass the leadership baton to Shai and for me to begin a new chapter,” he said. Kreeger has said that he expects a deal for Air France-KLM to buy a stake in the airline from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group to be completed early next year. The decision last year by Delta, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic to rejig their transatlantic alliances was designed to strengthen the carriers in the face of competition from low-cost entrants. Branson paid tribute to Kreeger’s work to bring the airline closer to Delta, and said that Weiss was the right person to take Virgin Atlantic forward. “The next few years are exciting as we build on the opportunities created by our expanded partnership with Delta and Air France-KLM to bring in more new planes and access to more routes,” he said.<br/>
Argentina’s low-cost startup Flybondi has surpassed Andes Lineas Aereas as the country’s third largest airline, and is seeking 361 potential new route authorities to secure its long-term expansion. Flybondi, which began service four months ago, has requested Argentina’s civil aviation authority ANAC to award it the permits to operate flights on 361 domestic and international city pairs in addition to the 85 route rights it already holds. Rather than operating from the controversial new Buenos Aires El Palomar low-cost airport, the routes requested by Flybondi underline a network development strategy that prioritises connecting cities in Argentina’s interior, avoiding the traditional Buenos Aires-centric strategy of its competitors. Destinations in Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Colombia have been confirmed as candidates for receiving Flybondi’s upcoming international flights.<br/>
Turkish LCC Pegasus Airlines is expanding its Middle East presence with two new routes to the Gulf—Saudi Arabia’s oil industry center Dammam and Oman’s capital Muscat. The Muscat route will complete Istanbul-based Pegasus’ coverage of the Gulf, as Oman was the one member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to which it did not previously operate. Pegasus will start 3X-weekly service to Muscat July 3, with the frequency increasing to 4X-weekly from July 15. Interestingly, the Turkish carrier makes particular mention of the ability of UK passengers flying from London Stansted airport to fly to Muscat, connecting through its Istanbul hub at Sabiha Gökçen, the Turkish city’s second airport.<br/>
WestJet ULCC subsidiary Swoop took to the skies June 20 with an early-morning inaugural flight from Hamilton to Abbotsford, marking the next major development in what is an expanding Canadian low-cost airline scene. The carrier’s other initial route links Hamilton to Halifax. On June 25, Edmonton and Winnipeg will be added to the network, and the airline will ramp up to a scheduled 90 weekly departures by mid-August. “Our inaugural journey ... is just beginning,” Swoop president and CEO Steven Greenway said. “We’ll be progressively rolling out new routes and destinations in the coming months and years to come.” Swoop operates 189-seat Boeing 737-800s supplied by its parent WestJet. While the airlines belong to the same family and will soon share a group of pilots under a single, Air Line Pilots Association-negotiated contract, Swoop is operated as a separate entity.<br/>
Canadian LCC WestJet Airlines’ regional airline service WestJet Link debuted June 20 with its first flight between British Columbia cities Cranbrook and Prince George, flown via capacity purchase agreement with Vancouver-based regional carrier Pacific Coastal Airlines. Additional new WestJet Link routes out of Calgary opened June 21 (serving Alberta cities Lethbridge and Lloydminster); a Calgary-Medicine Hat, Alberta route will begin June 22. Pacific Coastal will operate the routes as WestJet Link flights, utilizing its fleet of 34-seat Saab 340B aircraft painted in WestJet livery. Each aircraft includes six seats at the front reserved for premium economy customers. The launch of the new regional service opens up WestJet’s Calgary hub to smaller cities in western Canada better suited to Saab 340B aircraft.<br/>