Ryanair faces the worst strikes in its 3-decade history Friday after German and Dutch pilots said they’ll join a protest aimed at forcing the carrier to increase pay and improve working conditions. The company will scrap more than 400 flights, disrupting travel for about 55,000 people, marketing chief Kenny Jacobs said Wednesday after the German Vereinigung Cockpit union announced a 24-hour walkout on the same day that strikes are planned in Belgium, Sweden and Ireland. The Dutch Airline Pilots Association revealed later that it would also take action. Ryanair has shown no willingness to improve salaries, acknowledge seniority or ease up on requirements for pilots to move between bases as it sees fit, VC negotiator Ingolf Schumacher said. The company hit back saying it won’t bow to demands that jeopardise the airline. <br/>
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Uganda’s fledgling national airline will be a candidate for an IPO and closer cooperation with other carriers if the launch goes as planned. Uganda Airlines, which last month signed deals for Airbus wide-body jets and Bombardier regional planes, is due to begin operating 19 routes in January, Transport minister Monica Azuba Ntege. Uganda is working to establish a new flag carrier after the last collapsed amid mounting debts in 2001. Ntege said the chief role for the airline, to be based at Entebbe airport outside Kampala, will be in boosting travel links and introducing competition to bring down fares. It will also have a cargo arm to serve areas of the economy such as flower exports and a growing oil sector. “Our people have been charged exorbitant prices for tickets because there was no competition,” the minister said. <br/>
The central African nation of Chad will launch its new national airline Oct 1 after documents setting it up were signed by the nation’s govt and Ethiopian Airlines. Chad is 1 of 4 countries in which Ethiopian has said it will help establish new national carriers by the end of this year. The impoverished African state has been without a national airline since 2012, when the previous carrier, Toumai Air Chad, went bankrupt. According to local media reports, Chadian Airlines will be owned 51% by the govt of Chad, with Ethiopian Airlines taking a 49% stake. The new carrier will initially serve domestic routes, followed by expansion to the surrounding region and then further afield in central Africa and the Middle East. Chad only has a single fully fledged airport, N’Djamena International. <br/>
Mexican carrier Interjet received MXN733m (US$39.6m) in compensation for maintenance costs for its Sukhoi Superjet 100 fleet, after the airline was forced to ground at least 4 SSJ100s in the past year or so. The airline says the amount, recorded in its Q2 financial results, is an estimate of contractual recovery of the costs related to maintenance of its SSJ100s. Interjet recorded maintenance-related expenses of MXN652m in Q2, as part of overall operating expenses that rose 21% in the period to MXN6.18b. It notes that the compensation of MXN733m had helped offset its expenses. A report by Bloomberg earlier this year said that Interjet had grounded 4r SSJ100s and was cannibalising the aircraft for parts to keep its remaining SSJ100 fleet in service. <br/>
Hawaiian Airlines reports a substantial rise in July traffic on strong travel demand. Also, load factor improves on traffic growth outdoing capacity expansion. RPMs increased 5.1% to around 1.55b. Available Seat Miles also climbed 5% to 1.78b in the month. Load factor inched up 10 basis points to 87.4% as traffic growth outpaced capacity expansion. In the first 7 months of 2018, Hawaiian Airlines witnessed a 5.8% rise in RPMs to 9.92b. Also, ASMs rose 5.3% to 11.53b. As a result, load factor increased 40 bps to 86%. Additionally, passenger count grew 5.3% to 7m in the period. For Q3, Hawaiian Airlines anticipates operating revenue per available seat mile to be down 1.5% to up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Capacity expansion is projected between 7.5% and 9.5%. <br/>