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Ryanair pilots in the Netherlands followed their German colleagues in voting in favour of strikes, raising pressure on the discount giant already smarting from walkouts last week in 5 other countries in a dispute over pay and conditions. Nearly all flight deck crew backed “possible” industrial action, the Dutch Airline Pilots Association said Tuesday. No strike dates have been decided by the union, which represents 40 Ryanair pilots at Eindhoven airport. The outcome came a day after German pilots also threw their support behind labor action. While talks for a Ryanair collective labor agreement in the Netherlands are still ongoing “we are losing hope for a positive outcome,” the union said. “Ryanair needs a ‘wake up call’ and a strike in the Netherlands might be the only solution.” <br/>

Ryanair’s CE, Michael O’Leary, has threatened to move more jobs to Poland as the airline faces the prospect of more strikes by crews in Europe. The airline pledged in December to recognise unions for the first time, but has struggled to reach collective labour agreements with some. Last week the airline revealed plans to move crew and planes from Dublin, saying strikes there were harming bookings. O’Leary said Tuesday he was prepared to cut jobs “in any market” if necessary. “We have today – in Ryanair – 20 markets that need more aircraft. We’re short of aircraft in almost every market in which we operate because of the demand for our prices, our services,” he said. He added that those markets included Poland, which is home to its Ryanair Sun unit. <br/>

WestJet Airlines posted its first quarterly loss in 13 years in the 3 months ended June 30 amid the threat of a strike by pilots and soaring fuel costs. The impact of the potential pilots strike will linger into Q3, WestJet officials said Tuesday because some people cancelled bookings they had scheduled for July. The strike threat was removed in late May after the airline and the pilots union agreed to go to binding arbitration if they can’t reach a deal. Fuel prices are expected to be more damaging in Q3 than they were in Q2 – up between 35% and 38% in the current quarter versus a 31% surge in Q2 from year-earlier levels. Amid the rising fuel prices and other cost pressures, WestJet will cut the number of available seat miles by 6% and is examining routes to determine where capacity can be cut, executives said Tuesday. <br/>

Vietnam’s skies are about to get more crowded. With Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Aviation serving one of the world’s busiest routes, property developer FLC Group wants a piece of the action with a new airline, operating 37 routes in the country after its inaugural flight in October. Called Bamboo Airways, the new airline still needs a govt aviation license before operating and is seeking to capitalise on the nation’s growing middle class and rapidly expanding tourism industry. IATA forecasts Vietnam will be among the world’s top 5 fastest-growing air travel markets in the next 20 years. “With a good investment, well-prepared staff and new aircraft, we will become a giant right after we launch the airline,” chairman Trinh Van Quyet said. <br/>

Despite a law violation and mounting public anger at the scandal-prone owner family, it would be a tall order for the transport authorities to cancel the business license of Jin Air due to potential massive fallout, market observers said, Tuesday. "I expect that rather than revoking the license, the (transport) ministry would rather issue Jin Air with a heavy fine or take other actions," Ellis Taylor, Asia finance editor of FlightGlobal, said. He added other actions include banning new route applications. "From their previous statements, and the protests of the employees, there seems to be a strong case that revoking the license would unfairly impact thousands of employees and have a greater impact on the Korean travel industry, when really only airline management need be punished." <br/>

The AirAsia Group showed strong load factors, as the group rapidly increased its fleet size and capacity. The LCC group—including the core Malaysian operation and affiliates in Indonesia and the Philippines—carried 10.9m passengers in Q2, up 13% year-over-year, with the flagship Air Asia Malaysia carrying 7.9m passengers. The group, which has not yet released Q2 financial results, said its total fleet grew by 18 aircraft, with 11 going to AirAsia Malaysia. The result is a capacity increase of 17% to 12.7m seats. The group’s load factor was reasonably good at 86%, although sliding 3 points YOY. AirAsia pointed out that the Q2 is usually a lull season for traveling in Indonesia, resulting in a lower load factor and passengers carried, both shrinking by 4% YOY. <br/>

AirBaltic posted a first-half revenue of E180.8m (US$216.7m), a 19% increase over the same period last year. Passenger numbers for the half-year grew 20% year-over-year to 1.9m. The carrier performed 13% more flights during the 6 months. More financial details were not available. “As airBaltic is still in the middle of its peak season, it will keep the order to publish full operational results after the end of the year,” a spokesperson said. CE Martin Gauss said: “For the last few years, airBaltic has been showing very strong results, gradually growing the scale of our operations. This year, we forecast the operational result higher than previous year. Still, we have to keep in mind such macroeconomic factors as oil price or US dollar exchange rate that might influence the overall situation.” <br/>