Indonesian officials are providing the strongest hints yet that a faulty airspeed indicator played a role in the deadly crash of a Lion Air jet into the Java Sea. Investigators said Monday that one of the so-called black boxes showed that the airspeed indicator on the Boeing jet malfunctioned on its last 4 flights, including the Oct 29 crash. Safety experts said investigators will look at why Lion Air didn't ground the plane if it experienced recurring problems with the sensors and subject it to more rigorous inspection and testing until the problem was fixed. One safety consultant said the report that the same problem happened 4 times and was never fixed suggests that the problem may have been intermittent, making it harder to pin down. <br/>
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Icelandair has agreed to buy WOW air in an all-share deal that would see WOW shareholders own 5.4% of Icelandair Group’s stock. A group announcement said the airlines will continue to operate under separate brands after the transaction, with the combined carriers having a transatlantic market share of around 3.8%. Icelandair sees the acquisition as creating opportunities for both airlines to provide stronger competition to carriers in the international market. Icelandair Group CE Bogi Nils Bogason said “There are many opportunities for synergies with the two companies…The tourism industry is one of the cornerstones of the Icelandic economy and it is important that flights to and from Iceland will remain frequent.” The acquisition is subject to a vote of Icelandair Group’s shareholders, due in 3-4 weeks. <br/>
Online bookings and check-in with Ryanair will close for 12 hours after the airline said it needed to shut down its website and mobile phone app. It said the shutdown from 17:00 UK time Wednesday to 05:00 Thursday was needed for a computer systems upgrade. The carrier says it operates Europe's largest travel website. There are about 1.5m visits to the website every day, with 22,700 boarding passes downloaded each day. Also Monday, Ryanair reported an 11% rise in traffic in October, as it carried 13.1m passengers. That total includes 500,000 passengers from Lauda. During October, the airline had to cancel about 300 flights due to a combination of an airport handler strike at Brussels Zaventem, bad weather, and continuing air traffic control staff shortages in the UK, Germany and France. <br/>
Virgin Australia has said it will now seek public consultation before going ahead with plans to offer priority boarding and a salute to veterans prior to take-off on its flights. The airline announced its change of position Monday, stating: “We are very mindful of the response that our announcement about recognising people who have served in defence has had today. It was a gesture genuinely done to pay respects to those who have served our country.” Virgin Australia CE John Borghetti Sunday announced the plan to offer priority boarding and to pay tribute to veterans on its flights . But following the response from veterans and public, Virgin stepped back from the commitment. <br/>