Gulf Air cancelled and delayed flights Wednesday as a govt official acknowledged several pilots had resigned from the carrier. Local media reported flight delays and cancellations Tuesday and Wednesday at Bahrain International in Manama, the main hub for the airline. The airline said it is "working round the clock to stabilise the operation bringing back our schedule stability." However, it did not answer questions in regard to what was affecting its operations. Officials in the island kingdom later sent a statement from Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani, the chairman of Gulf Air's board of director and a govt minister, which acknowledged 5 pilots had resigned from the company in February. He said Gulf Air had some 362 pilots on its roster. Local Bahrain media earlier suggested the airline faced a pilot shortage. <br/>
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Wizz Air is examining the possibility of starting flights from the UK to Russia. CE Jozsef Varadi said the carrier could use the air operator's certificate acquired for its Wizz Air UK subsidiary to serve Russian destinations. He says Wizz Air UK is trying to secure status as a designated carrier on routes between the UK and Russia – a market restricted by bilateral arrangements governing which airlines can operate and what destinations they can serve. Wizz Air UK should have a "strong enough background" to allow it to secure designated-carrier status, in Varadi's view. He declined to specify the Russian destinations Wizz would seek to serve, but says flights could start in "months or years". A maximum of 2 UK airlines are allowed to serve Russia. At present, British Airways is the only UK carrier doing so. <br/>
Southwest Airlines has received FAA approvals needed to conduct Hawaii services and plans to announce specific routes, fares and a launch date “in the coming days,” the airline said Feb 27, setting the stage for a major battle in the popular market. The carrier, which has its teams in place at its new markets, has indicated that its initial Hawaii flights could launch within a few weeks of gaining needed approvals. The Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards approval clears the way for the airline to train personnel and finish preparations for its long-anticipated Hawaii service. It plans to serve Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, and Lihue from Oakland, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento to start. It also will offer island-to-island flights within Hawaii. <br/>
The simmering battle between Southwest Airlines and its mechanics saw a new group join the fight, as the airline’s pilots’ union blasted management for “tribalising and scapegoating” technicians to cover for an “ineffective” operation. “The last few weeks have highlighted how poorly upper management at Southwest Airlines is performing, how it truly views labour, how ineffective its communication and execution of our daily operation are, and how everyone at our airline should be concerned,” Southwest Airlines Pilots Association president Jon Weaks said Monday. At issue are “state of operational emergency” declarations that Southwest made at 5 maintenance stations after its out-of-service aircraft count jumped in early February. <br/>
Dutch Caribbean carrier InselAir ceased operations Feb 16, but announced the closure via Facebook Feb 25. According to the Dutch newspaper, De Telegraaf, InselAir has debts of more than US$91.7m. The Curacao-based carrier had reportedly faced financial problems since 2017 and had begun to reduce the business and number of employees. Four years ago, the airline flew to more than 20 destinations within the Caribbean and more than 2m passengers were transported each year. At the end, it just operated between Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire. In 2017, the Curaçao govt invested more than $18.3m in the carrier. The bankruptcy is a new blow to the economy of the island, which has been shrinking for 2 consecutive years, according to De Telegraaf. <br/>
North Carolina-based Eastern Air Lines is seeking permission from the US DoT to operate roundtrip services from New York to Jinan, China, with a technical stop in Anchorage, Alaska. The twice-weekly flights from New York JFK would stop off at Ted Stevens Anchorage International before continuing on to Jinan Yaoqiang International in Jinan, the capital city of China’s eastern Shandong province. The company separately filed with the DoT for a reactivation of its interstate air transport certificate, so it can sell tickets for the domestic leg of the route from New York to Anchorage. The carrier would operate the service with a 209-seat Boeing 767-300ER, and said in its filing that it expects service to begin in July 2019, pending DoT approval. <br/>