Investigators of the Oct 29 crash of a Lion Air flight into the Java Sea say the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was deemed airworthy when it made its final take-off from Jakarta. The officials summoned reporters Thursday to clarify comments made at a news conference the day before, where some media reported the investigators had said the plane was not airworthy when it took off. "The NTSC and the Head of Aviation Communication never stated that Lion Air, Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft registered PK-LQP, was not airworthy," said investigator Nurcahyo Utomo. The issue of airworthiness is crucial because of concerns over technical issues with the new Boeing 737 MAX that crashed and questions over the airline's safety procedures. <br/>
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Indigo Partners has a preliminary agreement to purchase Wow Air, a deal coming less than a day after Icelandair Group pulled its offer to buy the beleaguered carrier. The Phoenix-based private equity firm, which has stakes in Frontier Airlines, Volaris and Wizz Air, will complete its due diligence of Wow before the deal can close, Indigo says. Terms were not disclosed. Indigo is known for its successful investments in ultra low-cost carriers. Spirit Airlines' turnaround from a small leisure carrier in the eastern USA to a national ULCC is one of its more successful investments. Icelandair was due to acquire Wow under a deal reached earlier in November. However, the airline scrapped the deal Thursday when it was unable to meet a number of "pre-conditions" at its shareholder meeting. <br/>
The AirAsia Group saw its net profit nearly double in Q3 thanks to one-off items, but operating profit dropped significantly mainly because of rising fuel costs. The group reported a Q3 net profit of RM804m (US$192m), up from RM434m in the same period a year earlier. The result was boosted by the sale of its stake in a joint venture with Expedia, and the reversal of deferred tax liabilities. Excluding these factors, the group’s operating profit was RM253m, down 49% from RM494m last year. Revenue for the quarter increased 7% to RM2.6b, partly because of a 9% increase in passengers and average fares up 3%. However, load factor decreased by 5 points to 82%, as the 5% traffic gain was exceeded by a 10% capacity rise. Unit costs rose 12%, with fuel price increasing by 50%. <br/>
Alaska Airlines executives said Tuesday it is considering a membership in the oneworld alliance. CCO Andrew Harrison told analysts that Alaska Air is looking at joining oneworld as a "connect" member. Oneworld connect is a secondary membership tier that offers airlines some — but not all — customer benefits provided through the alliance. Fiji Airways is currently the only oneworld connect member. It joined in Summer 2018, when the membership tier was announced. Harrison explained the move would help Alaska keep the domestic business of passengers who often travel internationally from straying to other airlines. That represents a pretty hefty sum of travelers who are based at Alaska's 4 largest operations: Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. <br/>
Alaska Air Group will decide in 2019 if it will continue operating both Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies or shift back to a single-type fleet, says COO Ben Minicucci. Minicucci did not elaborate, and the company declines to provide further comment. But questions about Alaska's long-term fleet plan have been unanswered since the company acquired Virgin America in late 2016. Prior to that deal, Alaska's subsidiary Alaska Airlines operated only Boeing 737s – a strategy viewed as contributing to Alaska's success as a profitable, fast-growing company. Minicucci says fleet integration work proved costlier than Alaska had anticipated. Indeed, executives have said the entire merger proved more expensive than Alaska anticipated, driving down profits in recent quarters. <br/>
Hainan Airlines is planning to borrow CNY7.5b (US$1.08b) from banks, according to the company. The National Development Bank is the lead and agent bank, which will provide the company with CNY1.5b. Six other banks including, Exim Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Postal Savings Bank of China will each offer the company CNY1b. The loan period is 3 years, while the grace period is1 year. Hainan Airlines said the funds will be used for operational expenses such as buying aviation fuel, aviation materials as well as maintenance and landing fees. Last summer, Airbus refused delivery of a number of Airbus A330 aircraft to Hainan Airlines because the carrier was not able to pay for them. <br/>