Ryanair has been granted a UK air operating certificate by the CAA for a UK subsidiary, which will guarantee its rights to carry on operating domestic flights and to fly from UK to non-EU destinations after Brexit. The airline said it had put “robust post-Brexit structures” in place, despite assurances from govts that flights would continue after Britain leaves the EU. Ryanair has long warned of potential disruption to airline operations after March 2019, and although the EU has signalled its intention that flights should continue even in the event of no deal, firm agreements remain to be signed. Ryanair has indicated it would remove voting rights from its non-EU shareholders to comply with Brussels’ rules demanding majority-EU ownership and control. <br/>
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Herb Kelleher, the eccentric founder of Southwest Airlines, died Thursday. He was 87. The company announced his passing in a statement that described Kelleher as a "pioneer, a maverick, and an innovator." The cause of death was not disclosed. "His vision revolutionised commercial aviation and democratised the skies," the company said. Kelleher was a young lawyer living in Texas before leaving his firm to start Southwest in the 1960s with the goal of providing low-cost transportation among Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. But then-competitors Braniff, Trans Texas, and Continental Airlines fought to keep his start-up out of the skies with a temporary restraining order. Kelleher personally fought the ban all the way to the Supreme Court of Texas, which eventually ruled in favour of Southwest. <br/>
Lion Air has ended the search for the cockpit voice recorder from flight JT610, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed into the Java Sea Oct 29, 2018, but Indonesian officials said the search could resume next week. Lion Air had funded the US$2.6m search using a civilian offshore supply ship since mid-December. The battery powering the CVR’s locator beacon has a 90-day life and is expected to be depleted by Jan 27. The flight data recorder was retrieved Nov 1 about 98 ft. below the surface amid aircraft debris. Search efforts for the CVR were hampered by poor underwater visibility. Although govt agencies typically fund search operations after a crash, the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation said in December it would only fund the investigation process while Lion Air would cover the cost of the CVR search. <br/>
CityJet is changing the craft it uses to operate a series of routes for Brussels Air after experiencing “teething troubles” with the Sukhoi SSJ100 that it has been using on the services. The move has prompted the president of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, Alexander Rubtsov, to suggest that his company and the carrier may end their relationship. CityJet has been operating services for Brussels Air using the Sukhoi, until what sources called “teething troubles” prompted a switch to Bombardier CRJ900s. It is understood that the problems were mainly routed in slower than usual times for maintenance and routine work on the craft, which affected reliability. Rubtsov, whose company supplies the SSJ to CityJet, indicated that the “fate of this contract” would be known in Q1 of this year. <br/>
JetBlue Airways has firmed up an order for 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, which was announced in July 2018. The carrier said at the time the aircraft will be one-for-one replacements for its 100-seat Embraer E190s. JetBlue plans to take 5 A220s in 2020, followed by 4 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 19 in 2023, 22 in 2024 and 2 in 2025. Airbus will produce the A220-300 aircraft at a new US assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama. According to the manufacturer, construction of the plant—to be located adjacent to the existing Airbus A320 assembly facility—will begin later this month. The airline’s existing Airbus fleet includes 193 A320 and A321ceo aircraft in operation, with an additional 85 A321neo aircraft on order. <br/>
The new US low-cost carrier led by JetBlue Airways founder David Neeleman, now known as “Moxy,” signed a firm order with Airbus for 60 A220-300 airliners, the manufacturer announced Jan 3. The order, valued at US$5.4b at list prices, confirms a MOU the parties entered into during the Farnborough International Air Show in July. Deliveries are expected to start in 2021. With Moxy, Neeleman plans to serve city pairs in underserved and short-haul markets with the A220-300, formerly the Bombardier CSeries CS300. Neeleman said: “The A220’s ability to operate profitably in thin, underserved markets across a broad spectrum of ranges is unique.” Airbus reports an order book for 500 A220s to date. <br/>