Ethiopian Airlines has sealed an agreement with the Ghanaian govt to develop a new national carrier for the country. The carrier says Ghanaian Aviation minister Joseph Adda and Ethiopian CE Tewolde Gebremariam signed a memorandum of understanding in Addis Ababa Wednesday to establish the new airline in early 2019. The final ownership structure of the unnamed carrier is still to be determined but Adda has stated that the govt is not seeking to hold more than a 10% stake. Ghana has been without a national carrier since the demise of Ghana International in 2010, but the country is served by private operators including Ghanian company Africa World Airlines. <br/>
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Aegean Airlines has signed a preliminary agreement with Pratt & Whitney to buy new fuel-efficient and lower-pollution engines for up to 62 new passenger jets. The memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday is worth up to US$1.5b, and is part of the E5b ($5.7b) agreement announced in the summer for Aegean to buy new Airbus A320 neo planes. The Pratt & Whitney GTF engines are designed to offer at least 16% better fuel efficiency and 75% noise reduction, as well as significantly lower pollution emissions, according to Aegean. The memorandum of understanding will also provide for long-term maintenance for the new engines. <br/>
Airlines have drastically reduced bumping from flights since a United passenger was bloodied and dragged off an airplane. The number of passengers denied boarding by US airlines was down 69% in the first 9 months of this year compared with the same months in 2017, not counting regional partners. Bumping at United, Delta and JetBlue each was down more than 96% compared with last year. United says it had 2 months this fall when it involuntarily bumped only 6 people out of 30m. “We are close to reaching our goal of zero,” says Toby Enqvist, United’s chief customer officer. But now several carriers are essentially eliminating bumping and finding that it’s barely making a dent in their revenue. Airlines say better forecasting, along with other tools have allowed them to curtail bumping without losing money. <br/>
South African Airways has clarified its financial position, after a series of media reports that it was seeking more govt bailouts. The carrier, which has been in financial difficulties for several years, has said in the past it is technically insolvent and has survived through a series of financial govt subventions. SAA CE Vuyani Jarana, who was brought in from the telecoms sector a year ago, aims to reach breakeven in 2021 but cash infusions are required from the govt to reach this point. Following reports in the past week that further govt funding is required, an SAA spokesman said the turnaround plan agreed between company and govt remains unchanged. SAA had agreed to a 5-year recovery program, of which breakeven by 2021 was a major milestone. <br/>