A pan-European body representing Ryanair pilot unions on Friday described the Irish airline’s decision to close two bases and reduce its capacity this winter as a “declaration of war” on unions and said the move must be reversed to make progress. Ryanair in a statement angrily rejected the charge that the closures were targeted at unions, saying it had been forced to act by higher oil prices and falling airfares that have also contributed to base closures at other carriers in recent months. The airline has said it hopes to secure deals with several pilot unions in the coming months in an effort to bring a wave of industrial rest under control. But the European Cockpit Association (ECA) said the decision by the airline to close bases in the Dutch city of Eindhoven and Bremen in Germany, while also reducing capacity in the German region of Niederrhein, threatened to “seriously exacerbate” tensions. “Closing down a base and moving your employees to a different country is not compatible with social dialogue. We see it as a declaration of war, and totally contrary to all claims to be willing to negotiate,” the president of the Dutch pilots’ association VNV, Arthur van den Hudding, was quoted as saying in the ECA statement following a meeting of unions last week.<br/>
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Indian airline IndiGo on Sunday said wide-bodied aircraft are an “aspiration” and talks with manufacturers are ongoing but there is no firm timeline amid difficult market conditions in the Indian market. The budget airline faces fierce competition in the very price sensitive Indian market where carriers are struggling to remain profitable despite filling 90% of their seats and rising demand. IndiGo recently reported a steep fall in quarterly profit due to higher fuel prices and continued pressure on yields reflecting price competition. “Wide-bodied aircraft are an aspiration, we have talked to manufacturers. We are looking at A330neo and Boeing 787,” CCO Willy Boulter said. IndiGo announced direct flights, starting Monday from two south Indian cities, Kochi and Kozhikode to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. In the Gulf, the airline has direct flights to Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE as well as to Doha and Muscat. Flights to Kuwait will be launched this week, to Saudi Arabia in November and Hong Kong in December, Boulter said. In early 2019, IndiGo plans to start flights to London with an Airbus A321 aircraft stopping at a mid-point that is yet to be selected, he said. <br/>
Alaska Airlines plans to cut about 100 jobs as part of a management shakeup that comes as the carrier seeks to reverse its downward-trending financial results, according to reports. Reached by FlightGlobal, the airline stopped short of explicitly confirming the layoffs, saying only: "These will not be easy steps to take, but they are necessary to reset how management supports our frontline employees." Alaska adds it will not eliminate any "front-line employee non-management jobs". Those include airport employees and staff working in roles related to flight and inflight operations, customer service, call centers, maintenance and operations control. The Seattle Times reported that Alaska notified employees in an 11 October email that the company was planning to make 100 "management reductions", the details of which would be sorted in about three weeks. Alaska has struggled in recent quarters as it has worked to merge with Virgin America. The merger has pushed up costs and eroded profits. Meanwhile, fuel costs are rising.<br/>
Thai Vietjet plans to more than double the size of its Thailand-based fleet over the next year as part of a longer-term expansion plan, a Vietjet executive said Friday. “We plan to increase our fleet size by adding 10 aircraft every year. That means, at the end of next year, Thai Vietjet will have a total of 17 aircraft,” Vietjet Vice President Nguyen Thi Thuy Bihn said. Thai Vietjet is currently operating 6 Airbus SE A320 family narrowbody jets, with another due to arrive next month. The expansion comes at a time of intense competition in Thailand’s budget market with AirAsia franchise Thai AirAsia and Nok Airlines reporting losses in the quarter ended June 30 on higher fuel prices. Nguyen did not elaborate on which routes the 10 jets to be added would operate. Thai Vietjet will kick off two new routes connecting Bangkok and Danang in Vietnam and Taichung in Taiwan this year, according to the airline.<br/>
Canada’s Air Transat could expand a partnership deal with the airline arm of British tourism group Thomas Cook to include codesharing and interlining, the boss of the Canadian carrier said. “Is it possible that eventually we look at the possibility of commonality of their network with our own network? I would lie to you if I said we didn’t look at that possibility. Is it going to happen? I don’t know,” Jean-Francois Lemay, President-GM of Air Transat said. He said talks were at an early stage and the pair were not on the verge of concluding any agreement. Thomas Cook declined to comment. Air Transat and Thomas Cook Airlines are in the first year of a seven-year deal to exchange aircraft on a seasonal basis. This winter, Air Transat will fly ten of Thomas Cook’s A321 short-haul planes between Canadian and Caribbean destinations, while Thomas Cook will use four of Air Transat’s larger A330s to fly Europeans to long-haul destinations, such as the Caribbean. In the summer months, the planes return to their owners for use on each company’s main routes.<br/>
Pakistan has appointed Air Vice Marshal Arshad Malik as chairman of loss-making PIA, the information minister has said. A new CEO will also be named soon to replace Musharraf Rasool Cyan, who was removed last month by Pakistan’s top court after it found irregularities in his appointment. Malik’s appointment comes days after the carrier was sanctioned by the Pakistan Stock Exchange for not complying with bourse rules, a move which sent PIA shares tumbling. “Air Vice Marshal Arshad Malik has been appointed as the new chairman of PIA. He is a serving Air Marshal and an excellent professional,” information minister Fawad Chaudhry said Thursday. He said the decision was taken at a cabinet meeting headed by new PM Imran Khan. Pakistan’s new government that came to power in July has made one of its priorities the revival of state-owned businesses. Khan’s government has vowed to restructure the airline after previous efforts to privatise the carrier failed. <br/>