Kenya Airways revived long-shelved plans to expand its network by proposing to buy as many as 10 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as part of a 5-year strategy. The move follows 3 consecutive years of losses caused by a poorly executed expansion strategy and fuel-hedging contracts that saw it miss out on rock-bottom oil prices. The losses forced the company into austerity measures that included job cuts, a 15% fleet reduction and the abandonment of a valuable landing slot at London Heathrow. “We’ve put out a proposal for 10 planes at the moment,” COO Jan de Vegt said Wednesday. “We will then have to take 2 to 3 years at least to introduce them. You have to train pilots.” The current fleet is insufficient for new routes the carrier plans to take up, De Vegt said. KQ will begin direct flights to the US Oct 28. <br/>
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Korean Air's chairman apologised Thursday before being questioned by prosecutors investigating alleged wrongdoing by him and his family, deepening woes at the airline. Cho Yang-ho, chair and CE of Korean Air Lines, said "sorry" and bowed his head before entering a Seoul prosecutors' office. He said he will fully collaborate with the investigation. Cho joins his wife and 2 daughters who were questioned by authorities since April on a variety of charges including tax evasions, obstruction of business and violating an immigration law. Cho is suspected of embezzlement and breach of trust. Local media said prosecutors are also looking into Cho's alleged evasion of inheritance taxes when he received millions of dollars in assets from his late father and founder of Korean Air's parent group. <br/>
Last week, Delta Air Lines became the launch customer for an upgraded version of Bombardier's CRJ900 regional jet, ordering 20. This marks the third time in the past year that Delta has opted to replace some of the older jets in its regional fleet. All 50 of the new regional jets will be models that hold 76 seats in a typical regional airline layout. Yet Delta is configuring them with 70 seats instead. That's because its pilot contract doesn't allow the carrier to increase its fleet to 76. However, Delta and its pilot union are set to begin contract negotiations next year, as the current labour agreement becomes amendable at the end of 2019. Easing the restrictions on 76-seat jets would be a fairly harmless concession on the part of Delta Air Lines pilots, while it would help Delta afford bigger raises in the next round of contract talks. <br/>
France’s transport minister is urging Air France-KLM to name a Group CE in July and for that person to be someone with airline industry expertise. French transport minister Elisabeth Borne said Wednesday that it would be “in everyone’s interest” if Janaillac’s successor could be named in July. The Franco-Dutch group’s board of directors met in Amsterdam June 26 and 27 for its annual strategy seminar and discussed the recruitment process. Borne said, “It’s important that we have an air transport professional. It’s quite a specialised sector; we’re in a very competitive environment. Air France-KLM faces global competition and I think it’s important that we find someone who is specialised in air transport and who can take the controls of the airline as quickly as possible as it is facing significant challenges.” <br/>