Ryanair hopes to reach deals with all of its major unions by Christmas, its CE said Monday, in a sign an end may be in sight to disruptions which have hit its profit and shares. The carrier Monday reported a 7% fall in profits in the six months to Sept. 30 on high fuel costs and intense competition. But it said these factors were helping it to resolve its industrial relations troubles. “Given the adverse environment that’s out there for airlines and the number of job losses being reported in recent weeks both by pilots and cabin crew, there is a much more sensible, common sense approach being taken by the unions,” CE Michael O’Leary saidn. O’Leary said that recent progress in talks left Germany and Belgium as the only two large markets for the airline where recognition agreements had not been secured. “We would be hopeful of concluding agreements with them this side of Christmas,” he added. The fall in profit was less than the 9% drop forecast by analysts.<br/>
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British police are investigating after footage of a man shouting racist abuse at an elderly black woman on a Ryanair flight went viral over the weekend, with the airline facing criticism over how it dealt with the incident. The unidentified man insulted her after complaining that she had inconvenienced him as he tried to reach his seat aboard. “Don’t talk to me in a fucking foreign language you stupid ugly cow,” the man tells the woman before a man in the row behind asks him to stop. “I will carry on as long as I can with this ugly black bastard,” he retorts. Ryanair said that they were aware of the matter and had reported it to the police. “Essex Police takes prejudice-based crime seriously and we want all incidents to be reported. We are working closely with Ryanair and the Spanish authorities on the investigation,” the police said. After the argument, the woman was eventually moved from her seat. A flight attendant appears to tell the man he will discuss the incident with his supervisor, but the passenger is left in his place. “I’ve seen airlines ground to a halt, and police called, and passengers escorted off of planes for less,” said David Lawrence, who recorded the video.<br/>
JetBlue Airways is ready to brag about its premium offerings on potential trans-Atlantic routes, even if it hasn’t yet decided whether to start flying to Europe. If it jumps into one of the world’s busiest markets for business travel, the airline would be betting on replicating the success it’s had on cross-country US flights with its high-end Mint cabin. The product cut premium fares as much as 50% while generating financial returns that exceeded the company’s own expectations, JetBlue said. “We know we can compete in the front cabin with any airline that provides trans-Atlantic service," President Joanna Geraghty said. “There are a lot of customers and a lot of premium seats. We only need a small incremental part to be very successful." JetBlue is studying the growth and profit potential of trans-Atlantic flights while rolling out a plan to revive its shares by revamping operations. The changes, laid out earlier this month, include improving JetBlue’s industry-lagging on-time performance, cutting costs with new or renegotiated maintenance contracts and beefing up service in New York, Boston and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. <br/>
Hurricane Willa, a major storm strengthening to near-Category 5 status in the Pacific, is threatening to derail travel plans to popular resort destinations in Mexico. Southwest Monday issued a travel advisory for travelers headed to and from Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta this week. Passengers booked on flights from Monday, Oct. 22, through Friday, Oct. 26, can change their flight without penalty if they want to get ahead of the storm or wait until it passes. There is fine print. The airline has already cancelled flights between Houston Hobby, Oakland and Los Angeles and Puerto Vallarta for Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the airline and flight tracking service FlightAware. Passengers whose flights are canceled are eligible for a refund or can rebook. American also issued a travel waiver to the region, waiving fees for travelers ticketed to fly through Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24. More airlines with flights to the region were likely to follow with their own travel waivers if Hurricane Willa maintains its momentum.<br/>
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will probe Irish regional airline CityJet’s plans to place aircraft on long-term wet-lease with International Airlines Group (IAG) Irish carrier Aer Lingus. In late August, Dublin-based CityJet announced plans to relinquish operating Dublin-London City in its own right, instead flying six return weekday flights on behalf of Aer Lingus, with a reduced service at weekends.. The deal covers two of CityJet’s Avro RJ85 regional jets from Oct. 28. The aircraft will fly in Aer Lingus colors, with the IAG carrier’s service model on board. Dublin to London is Europe’s most heavily trafficked international air route. On Oct. 12, the CMA issued an initial enforcement order (IEO), saying it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect that the deal could blur the lines over assets of the two companies, meaning that they could cease to be “distinct.”<br/>
A Hawaiian Airlines flight from San Diego to Maui diverted to Oakland, California, due to an engine problem and landed safely. Airline spokesman Alex DaSilva says Flight HA37 departed San Diego International Airport at 8:25 a.m. Monday en route to Kahului Airport when a cockpit light indicated a possible issue with one of the jet's two engines. DaSilva says that out of an abundance of caution, the pilot diverted the Airbus A321neo to Oakland International Airport and declared an emergency to obtain priority. The aircraft landed at 10:51 a.m. and the 178 passengers and seven crew members aboard got off the plane. A new departure time is being determined.<br/>
The US DOT has granted Norwegian Group subsidiary Norwegian Air Norway authority to fly to and from the US. The Department said in an Oct. 10 notice it will grant NAN an exemption allowing it to operate in the country until the airline receives its foreign air carrier permit (FACP), which is subject to approval by US president Donald Trump. NAN has been operating since December 2014 with mostly short-haul routes to and from Scandinavian countries. The airline said in its application for the exemption and FACP that Norwegian Group is implementing a corporate restructuring, in which Norwegian Air Shuttle will become a holding company with little or no operational activities, and NAN will become the Group’s primary airline operating in the US. Norwegian Air UK is expected to continue operating between the US and the UK following the restructuring, according to a person familiar with the matter. The new corporate structure for Norwegian Group would resemble that of IAG Group or Lufthansa Group, both of which contain a number of smaller, regional airlines operating under a holding company with a single air operator’s certificate. That structure makes it easier for carriers to navigate the complex web of traffic rights and bilateral agreements required to operate in multiple European countries.<br/>