El Al Israel Airlines said on Tuesday it was continuing to expand into North America with a nonstop flight during the summer months between Tel Aviv and Orlando. The weekly flights to the home of Disney World will begin in June using Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft, El Al said. Israel's flag carrier is investing heavily in 787 aircraft to renew its fleet and has been adding long-haul flights to win back customers from increased competition. In December, El Al said it was starting nonstop flights in June to Las Vegas from Tel Aviv and in May to San Francisco. In 2017 it began flights to Miami.<br/>
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Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd posted its best half-year profit in a decade on Wednesday and forecast higher revenue in the current quarter on the strength of its domestic business and forward bookings. The Australian domestic aviation market is largely a duopoly between Virgin and larger rival Qantas, both of which have increased fares and boosted domestic earnings by cutting capacity. Virgin beat its own earnings guidance for the first half and forecast a 7% revenue jump in the quarter ending March 31, pushing its shares up 10.3% to a three-month high. Virgin posted underlying pre-tax profit, the most closely watched measure, of A$112.3m for the six months ended Dec. 31, compared with A$81.9m a year ago. The airline had guided for a profit of at least A$100m and overcame A$88.2m in fuel and foreign exchange headwinds during the half. Revenue in Virgin's domestic business, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of its sales, grew 10.3%, thanks largely to higher fares, the airline said. Virgin has been looking to build on recent improvements in its balance sheet and domestic business and to turn around its international and low-cost divisions, both of which remained loss-making in the first half as its international division raised capacity to Hong Kong and New Zealand.<br/>
Spirit Airlines will make Charlotte, North Carolina, its newest destination. The carrier will make its debut there on June 20, launching nonstop service to four destinations: Baltimore/Washington; Newark, New Jersey; and the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. “The North Carolina economy continues to thrive, and we are thrilled to add the state’s largest city, Charlotte, to our route network,” said John Kirby, Spirit’s vice president of network planning. The new destination continues rapid expansion for Spirit, which has announced numerous new routes and destinations during the past several years. In North Carolina alone, Charlotte will become Spirit’s fourth destination. <br/>
US regional Southern Airways Express has acquired Hawaiian-based commuter carrier Mokulele Airlines, in a deal that will result in the combined entity operating 1,380 weekly flights. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Southern said one of its goals for the expanded company will be to obtain additional interline ticket and baggage agreements with major carriers. Southern has interline agreements with American Airlines and Condor Airlines, while Mokulele has agreements with Alaska Airlines and Air New Zealand. Expanding those partnerships to include multiple national and global carriers will be the focus post-integration, the airline said. Southern said it intends to keep the Mokulele brand alive in the Hawaiian Islands, while eventually operating all flights on the Southern Airways’ FAA operating certificate. Mississippi-based Southern, founded in 2013, offers scheduled regional service to more than 20 cities in the Gulf and Mid-Atlantic regions with a fleet of 24 aircraft, comprising the Cessna Caravan, Grand Caravan and Piper Chieftain.<br/>