Ryanair plans to cancel only 1% of its flights during a strike by Ireland-based pilots on Friday, but Europe's largest low-cost airline is bracing for far wider industrial action across five countries next week. The Irish airline said Tuesday that it expects to cancel 24 of roughly 2,300 daily flights on Friday because of the action by about 100 of 350 Irish-based pilots in a strike it said was regrettable. The pilots, who are also planning to strike on July 24, are demanding a more transparent system of pay, promotions and transfers as they aim to limit what they say is management's excessive discretion over pilots' careers. Ryanair says it offers some of the best working conditions in the low-cost sector. Next week Ryanair faces action in two of its three largest markets, with strikes by cabin crew in Spain and Italy, as well as in Portugal and Belgium.<br/>
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US regional airline Republic Airways signed a letter of intent to buy 100 E175 passenger jets made by Brazil's Embraer, the two companies said at the Farnborough Airshow on Tuesday. Republic said the deal would include an option to convert to Embraer's latest E175-E2 aircraft, with purchase rights for an additional 100 E175 aircraft. The contract has a value of up to $9.3b based at current list prices if all purchase rights are exercised, the airline said. <br/>
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said the group had not yet taken a decision on which aircraft manufacturer to pick for new plane orders and that he was not planning to go to this week's air show in Farnborough, England. Two sources said this week Fernandes might attend the air show where AirAsia and Airbus will attempt to end a rough patch in their relations and agree all or part of a package of wide-body and narrow-body plane orders. "We haven't made any decision. We definitely need more planes," Fernandes said Tuesday, when asked if any decision had been taken on AirAsia's plane orders. Asked whether he would travel to Farnborough, the Malaysian entrepreneur said: "No. I'm not planning to go anywhere right now." Industry sources have said AirAsia is discussing the possible purchase of another 100 Airbus A321neo jets as the airline and Airbus go down to the wire in parallel negotiations for an expanded order for larger A330neo jets. AirAsia has been a steadfast Airbus narrow-body and wide-body customer, but recently the company has talked to Boeing about buying its 787 jet as an alternative to the A330neo, a person familiar with the discussions said. Delegates say Airbus needs a marketing lift for its A330neo and would relish bringing Fernandes to the widely publicized Farnborough Airshow to reconfirm and expand his order.<br/>
Air Nostrum and Ireland's CityJet Tuesday signed an accord to create a new joint holding which they said would form the largest short-haul airline group in Europe. The creation of the holding, which would have a joint fleet of almost 100 planes, is subject to regulatory approval, Air Nostrum said.<br/>
The Cuban-led commission investigating the crash of a Cubana passenger jet in May said Tuesday that reports on what caused it were premature, after the Mexican plane-leasing company Damojh that owned the plane blamed the crash on human error. The commission labelled Damojh’s conclusion speculation and said in a statement published by state media, “Any affirmation about possible causes of this fatal accident is premature.” “The commission continues its work ... Once it has concluded its analysis of the evidence, it will inform on the results.” Damojh, which leased the Boeing 737 to Cubana, Cuba’s national airline, said Monday that black boxes retrieved from the wreckage showed the crew had piloted it at a “very steep angle.” This, it said, led to a lack of lift that made the plane plunge after take-off. It was not known how Damojh arrived at its conclusion or if it had access to the black box data. <br/>
Chinese carrier Juneyao Airlines has unveiled three liveries for the Boeing 787, ahead of the airline’s first delivery for the type in late September. In February 2017, Juneyao finalized an order for five 787-9s, with options for five more. The first aircraft will be painted with the “Chinese Peony” livery, the national flower of China. Some A320s in the fleet will also be painted in this peony livery to celebrate the airline’s tenth anniversary. Another aircraft will be painted in the “Chinese Red” livery, synonymous to the national color of China. A third 787 will receive the “Chinese Ribbon’ design to reflect their contribution China’s One Belt, One Road initiative.<br/>
British Airways parent IAG plans to expand its long-haul network from Vienna with new budget brand Level, CE Willie Walsh said Tuesday. Most budget airlines offer short-haul routes, but Level was established last year to offer low-cost long-haul flights, joining a handful of other airlines in this relatively new market, including Norwegian. “One of the reasons we chose the Level brand to operate from Vienna (is) that we are looking for opportunities to further expand long-haul flights,” Walsh said, adding that a decision on the new routes had not been taken yet. But Level will initially fly short-haul routes from Vienna where it will compete with Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier Ryanair. Vienna Airport has been trying to attract budget carriers with an incentive scheme in the aftermath of the collapse of Air Berlin.<br/>