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India’s debt-laden Jet Airways is close to reaching a deal with State Bank of India for a fresh loan of 15b rupees ($215m) to meet its working capital needs, two sources aware of the matter told Reuters. The airline has scheduled a meeting on Jan. 8 with its vendors and lessors, many of whom are getting increasingly concerned over non-payment of dues, and officials from State Bank of India to discuss the debt restructuring plan, the first source with direct knowledge said. The bankers are being called to the meeting to reassure the creditors, some of whom are expected to come to India from overseas, that Jet is working toward securing funding and has a repayment plan which it will share with them, said the first source. Jet, India’s biggest full-service carrier by market share, owes money to pilots, lessors, banks and vendors. Its problems have been exacerbated by higher oil prices and intense pricing competition in the domestic market. The airline, part owned by Etihad Airways, was in talks with the Abu Dhabi-based carrier to infuse more equity, but any money would be conditional on Jet’s founder Naresh Goyal ceding control, sources have said. Jet did not respond to various Reuters queries for this article but late on Friday, after the story was published, a company spokesman said none of its 737 MAX planes have been grounded. The airline on Tuesday said it had defaulted on debt payment to a consortium of Indian banks, led by SBI, prompting ratings agency ICRA to downgrade the carrier and send its shares sharply lower.<br/>

Tigerair Australia pilots will undertake limited industrial action from 4-9 January and from 11-18 January. The Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) says that 90% of the airline’s pilots have approved taking industrial action. “From tomorrow, Tigerair pilots will commence their action by not performing any work on rostered days off, annual leave days or days free of duty,” says AFAP. “Industrial action in the form of other low-level bans conceived to minimise disruption to passengers was originally planned for December 2018, however this was suspended following Tigerair’s successful application to the Fair Work Commission.” AFAP industrial officer James Lauchland notes that most of the airline’s pilots work on days off, and that the airline relies on this. “This action simply involves pilots working to rule and refusing to offer this discretionary effort. If the company can’t find another way to crew these flights, we are likely to see a large impact on Tigerair flights during the busy January holiday period.” AFAP has said it was pushing for a 2.5% annual increase in pilots’ pay for two years, but talks with the airline have stalled despite reaching an in-principle agreement in May 2018.<br/>

Ryanair expects to operate a full schedule of flights on Tuesday despite plans by Spanish cabin crew unions to strike, the Irish airline said on Friday. Spain’s USO and Sitcpla unions say they plan to hold industrial action on Jan. 8, 10 and 13 in a dispute over working conditions. Ryanair suffered a number of strikes last year by cabin crew and pilots, forcing it to cancel hundreds of flights, after the airline recognized unions for the first time in 2017. Under an agreement with the Spanish labour authorities, the unions have agreed to operate all flights between Spanish islands and 50 percent of flights between Spanish islands and the Spanish mainland on those days. But they will only operate 25% of flights to and from Spain over 500km. “Due to the efforts of the Spanish government minimum services regulator and the support of our pilots and cabin crew in Spain, we expect to operate a full schedule of flights to/from (and within) Spain on Tuesday Jan 8,” Ryanair said. A spokesman for Sitcpla Friday said he expected the strike to go ahead as the union saw no sign of compromise from Ryanair.<br/>

Ryanair has been rated as the worst airline for the sixth consecutive year by Which?, with the consumer group claiming the Dublin-based carrier is still catching out passengers with hidden costs. In the annual survey of short-haul airlines, passengers gave the airline the lowest possible rating for boarding, seat comfort, food and drink, and cabin environment. According to Which?, Ryanair, which carries more passengers than any other airline in Europe, is also now the airline most consumers refuse to fly with; of those who expressed a preference, 70% said they would not use Ryanair. Ryanair, however, dismissed the survey as “unrepresentative and worthless”. The poll suggests Ryanair’s attempts to convince the flying public it is a better airline have yet to pay off, while the refusal to pay compensation to passengers affected by strikes has again left its reputation in tatters. While Ryanair argues that repeated tweaks to its baggage rules have made travelling cheaper for many, the charges for assigned seating and cabin luggage can push their fares higher than those of rivals, Which? said. <br/>

For about 200 passengers, the flight from London to Thessaloniki in northern Greece took almost 24 hours. Foggy conditions in Thessaloniki airport led Ryanair to divert the flight from London Stansted Airport to the city of Timisoara in western Romania, late Friday. Many passengers, already grumbling that the diversion was not made to an airport closer to their destination were outraged when the company offered buses to take them the 770km distance in freezing weather. Ryanair has scheduled flights to Timisoara, as well as Athens, Greece, and some passengers felt that the decision to divert to the Romanian city was made on the basis of minimizing costs. "They could have landed us at a Greek airport," said passenger Sakis Papadopoulos. "Our flight was already delayed and then, around 10:30 p.m. (Friday), they informed us we would be landing at Timisoara instead of Thessaloniki," Papadopoulos said. A total of 89 refused to take up the offer of buses, despite what they said was pressure from airport authorities, who kept them in the baggage area overnight. Informed of the passengers' plight, the Greek government arranged with Greek carrier Aegean Airlines to send a plane to Timisoara. Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis weighed in against what he said were "low cost, low social responsibility" airlines. Ryanair issued an apology for the diversion, saying that it was "beyond our control."<br/>

Gulf Air, the loss-making Bahrain-based carrier, announced on Sunday a “boutique business model” as part of its business plans for 2019 and as it aims to turn around its fortunes. The airline said the new business model will “reinforce its focus on product and customer experience,” and will see it launch new destinations this year and new offerings in its Gold Class cabins. “As already done in the hospitality industry, Gulf Air will differentiate itself as a boutique airline that is different and unique in the way it operates, comparing to the bigger airlines that are more volume-driven,” the carrier said. Gulf Air said the new business model will give it a competitive advantage that will translate in its new fleet. It added that it aims “grow strategically in size and expand to more boutique destinations in 2019.” It did not specify how it plans to change its services or operations tox fit the business model.<br/>

Pakistan's national airline is cracking down on what it terms the "excess weight" of some of its cabin crew. A memo distributed to approximately 1,800 cabin crew working for Pakistan International Airlines says they have six months to slim down to required limits or face being grounded. The order, issued January 1, 2019, by Aamir Bashir, the carrier's general manager, flight services, advises that official excess weight limits would be cut back by five pounds a month.<br/>Currently, flight attendants who are 30 pounds over are still eligible for flight duty. PIA issues its crew a suggested weight chart for differing heights and body types. For a "medium frame" woman of 1.7m, for example, the guide is 133 to 147 pounds. "Weight check of all the cabin crew will be carried out at their base stations respectively and comprehensive data will be maintained for perusal of management," according to the memo. Those already "on weight check" need to report monthly to a "grooming cell" -- the term is not defined any further -- to receive clearance to fly. Around 100 -- just over 5% -- of the crew would need to lose weight by July 1 to avoid grounding, said a PIA spokesman.<br/>

Chinese start-up Genghis Khan Airlines appears one step closer to launch, as it applies for a business licence. The carrier first received preliminary regulatory approval last March. The Civil Aviation Administration of China is now seeking comments to its application for a business licence, by 17 January. The airline, wholly owned by state-owned Inner Mongolia Aviation Tourism Investment, will operate domestic regional passenger and cargo services out of Hohhot Baita International airport. On its website, it lists a target to launch operations in early 2019. The Chinese regulator adds that the carrier has been approved for the purchase of three Comac ARJ21 regional jets, signed ground services agreement with Hohhot Baita International, and been allocated the airline code 9D. It has also hired the necessary staff including 21 pilots and 10 maintenance personnel. The proposed carrier had previously planned to operate Bombardier CRJ900s. Last August, however, it placed an order for 25 ARJ21s, with options for another 25. It is targeting to grow to a fleet of 25 aircraft within five years, with services to 40 points.<br/>

WestJet's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner took to the skies for the first time Saturday, successfully completing its initial test flight with more scheduled. The airplane is the first of 10 787s on firm order for the Canadian low-cost carrier. WestJet expects to take delivery of the 787 in the coming weeks, with an eye to launch trans-Atlantic flights between Calgary, Canada, and London Gatwick starting April 28. The airline will add Dreamliner service between Calgary and Paris Charles de Gaulle on May 17 and between Calgary and Dublin, Ireland, on June 1. The cabin on WestJet's 787s will be arranged in a three-class configuration, seating 304 total. The airline is using the opportunity to unveil a swank new business class cabin that will feature on-demand dining and turndown service for the 16-passenger section. The seat appears to be the popular lie-flat B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seat that's also used by national rival Air Canada. A small premium-economy cabin will seat 28, with a product that looks similar to a typical first-class seat seen in domestic flights within Canada and the United States. The remaining 260 passengers in economy will sit in a 3-3-3 configuration. The airline says each seat will have TVs and power. <br/>