Ryanair faces a 1-day walkout by cabin crew across 5 countries Sept 28 as unions step up pressure on the airline to accept local contracts. The threatened strike in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain is aimed at pressuring shareholders set to meet Sept 20 to address Ryanair's labour agreements, union officials said Thursday. They said unions would strike once a month until their demands are met. "It is time the company accepted to employ us with local contracts under local conditions in accordance with local law," a spokesman for the CNE union in Belgium said. "We need shareholders to change Ryanair's employment model," he said, and called for European political mediation. Belgian unions forecast most flights out of Ryanair's 2 airports in Belgium will be canceled. <br/>
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Norwegian has hit back at Ryanair CE Michael O’Leary after he claimed it will “go bust” this winter. A spokesman for Norwegian accused O’Leary of being a “broken record” and insisted his comments have “no root in reality”. Norwegian has shaken up the long-haul market by offering flights at knockdown prices. But it has struggled to contain costs amid its rapid expansion, and had around GBP2b of net debt at the end of last year. O’Leary claimed he is “shocked it’s still flying as it loses heroic sums of money” and predicted it will “go bust this winter”. He went on: “It deserves to go bust because frankly graveyards are full of airlines who had low fares and high costs. Asked if Ryanair had any interest in making a move on the airline, O’Leary replied that he “wouldn’t touch Norwegian with a barge pole”. <br/>
The Iranian government plans to file a lawsuit against ATR for breach of its contract to deliver all of the 20 ATR 72-600s ordered by Iran Air, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported Wednesday, quoting the head of the Iranian parliament’s Civil Commission, Mohammadreza Rezaei-Kouchi. ATR, which last month delivered the last of 13 airplanes now in Iran Air’s possession, recently began the process of “reallocating” the 7 undelivered airplanes after US sanctions that came back into force Aug 7 effectively prevented any further deliveries to the Islamic Republic. However, Tehran has accused ATR of unnecessarily yielding to political pressure from the US. “This company is obliged to either comply with its remaining commitments or pay compensations to Iran,” said Rezaei-Kouchi. <br/>
Hawaiian Airlines’ Boeing 767 fleet will retire by the beginning of next year, about a quarter earlier than originally expected. This early retirement is due to the airline’s decision to suspend its Beijing service mid-October, as well as the ongoing addition of Airbus A321neo aircraft on West Coast routes. The airline currently has 6 Boeing 767 planes, and is on track to have a total of 11 A321neos by the end of the year. It will also begin accepting delivery of 10 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in 2021. The airline previously said the decision to suspend its China service was a difficult one, as it believes the market holds potential for Hawaii. CE Peter Ingram recently said the market has not developed as quickly as the airline expected, and it has even shrunk since service began in 2014. <br/>
Nigeria’s Air Peace has ordered 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8s during a signing ceremony in Lagos. Air Peace operates Boeing 737s between major cities in Central and West Africa. The airline, which recently added 777s to its fleet, is looking to soon launch its international flight operations. Air Peace chairman & CE Allen Onyema said the new aircraft will enable the carrier to “expand our network to offer more destinations and serve more passengers. The fuel efficiency and superior operating economics of the 737 MAX will ensure that the aircraft will play a major role in growing our business in the years to come.” Boeing SVP-commercial sales & marketing Ihssane Mounir acknowledged that Africa is a “growing market for commercial airplanes.” <br/>
Peach will resume all international services from Osaka Kansai International Sept 14, as more of the airport’s facilities recover from floods that hit it Sept 4. The carrier has been operating limited domestic and international flights since Sept 7, but will be the first airline to resume all international services from the facility. Peach operated from Terminal 2, which is now fully operational, while partial operations at Terminal 1 are expected to be restored Sept 14. Foreign carriers are being allocated limited slots over the next few weeks, and as more facilities are cleared for operation, regular schedules will gradually re-commence. All fuel infrastructure are operational, although some parts of the fuel tanker docking facilities are still under repair. <br/>
Interjet has walked back comments that indicated it planned to sell its Sukhoi Superjet fleet, stressing that it intends to continue operating the regional airliners, despite several mechanical issues in recent years. "The Sukhoi Superjet 100 has been an integral part of Interjet's success, and we will continue to operate this aircraft," says Interjet, following a report that the airline was in talks with Sukhoi to sell its Superjet fleet. Interjet CE Jose Luis Garza was asked Sept 11 if it was true that the airline planned to sell the Superjet fleet, and said it was. "We're finalising an amicable negotiation with Sukhoi," he said. An Interjet spokesperson has subsequently clarified that Garza's comments were referring to talks with Sukhoi on "improving Interjet's competitive market position as it relates to their fleet, training, etc." <br/>