Hainan Airlines is selling the remainder of its stake in Azul Airlines—part of Hainan parent HNA Group's continuing efforts to raise cash and pay down debt. Hainan's stake sits at about 17% following its recent divestiture of about 4% to United Airlines. The deal is expected to net Hainan about US$320m. "The offering is part of Hainan’s strategic plan, which includes capital raising initiatives, selected divestments, as well as investments in airlines and in the aviation services sector," Azul said. "Azul and Hainan do not expect the offering to result in any material change to the strategic plan or commercial relationship between Azul and Hainan." Though Azul did note that “following the completion of the offering, Hainan will no longer have the right to appoint any directors to Azul’s board of directors.” <br/>
unaligned
Russian criminal investigators are probing the qualifications of the crew involved in the fatal Saratov Airlines Antonov An-148 crash in Moscow, in order to establish whether the pilots had been properly trained. The federal Investigative Committee is conducting its own analysis of the Feb 11 accident, and has declared "incorrect actions" of the crew to be the primary contributor to the crash. As part of the criminal probe the Investigative Committee has been gathering evidence, conducting searches and seizures, and questioning instructors of the institutions where the pilots were trained in order to assess their qualification. It states that this work includes efforts to "establish the legitimacy" of the certificates obtained by the first officer. <br/>
Shares in African budget airline Fastjet collapsed Wednesday after warning it could go bust unless it obtains new funding. The airline, set up by EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, flies in several African countries including South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. It is talking to major shareholders about an equity fundraising. However, if no new funds emerge, Fastjet said it may not be "able to continue trading as a going concern". Fastjet has just US$3.3m in cash, of which $1.75m is held in Zimbabwe and is not readily accessible. Shares fell 72% in afternoon trading in London, valuing the company at less than GBP20m. If the talks fail, Fastjet said it could be suspended from trading on the AIM market. Stelios has been Fastjet's major shareholder but now has a stake of less than 3% in the company. <br/>
Georgia has denied 2 Syrian airlines access to its airspace in retaliation for Damascus recognising the statehood of 2 Georgian breakaway regions last month, a senior aviation official said. One of the airlines, Cham Wings, was revealed in April to have transported Russian private military contractors to take part in the fighting in Syria. The other airline is Syrian Air. Cham Wings and Syrian Air flights between Syria and Russia stopped using Georgian airspace in June. They diverted instead to Georgia's eastern neighbour Azerbaijan, adding about 30 minutes to the flight time. The two are the only airlines operating direct flights between Syria and Russia. Civilian flights between the two countries had been passing through Georgia because Turkey, the most direct route, denies Syrian aircraft overflight rights. <br/>
Skuli Mogensen launched WOW Air 6 years ago with 2 planes. He drew passengers aboard with rock-bottom fares, and charged fees for nearly everything else. The airline has expanded to serve 3-dozen cities on a fleet this year of 20, mostly leased, Airbus jets, attracting passengers in cities like Boston, St. Louis, New York and Cleveland, with sub-US$100 fares for flights to Iceland and under $200 to continental Europe. However, amid all the rapid growth, troubles have sprung up. Travellers have complained that WOW offers poor customer service, including extensive delays, difficulty getting a refund, and a lack of communication from the airline. These are problems Mogensen said he wants to address, just as he plans to test the ultra-low-cost model on longer flights. <br/>
JetBlue is expanding its flight schedule to Cuba for the winter travel season, adding more flights from South Florida and introducing a new service from Boston. Flights between Boston Logan and Havana’s Jose Marti will start from Nov 10, 2018 and operate once a week Saturdays. JetBlue is also adding another flight between Fort Lauderdale and Havana which will operate daily except Saturday. The extra flight brings the airline’s daily flight roster to 3 between the cities. The new flight operates from Nov 4. The airline also operates flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood to 3 other Cuban destinations: Santa Clara, Camagüey and Holguín. JetBlue has been adding flights to Cuba in contrast to some other carriers that have been retreating from the country. <br/>