Hong Kong Airlines, partially owned by China's HNA Group, was thrown into deeper uncertainty Wednesday after Hou Wei disputed a decision that removed him as chairman and said he was still in charge of the struggling carrier. Former Hong Kong Airlines director Zhong Guosong announced Tuesday he had been appointed chairman after a shareholder meeting where he and Chinese private equity firm Frontier Investment Partner, who together control about 61% of the shares, voted in additional board members, including Zhong as chairman. Referring to himself as chairman of the airline, Hou Wednesday challenged the decision to remove him. In an internal letter sent to employees, Hou said the board changes were a result of a shareholder dispute and would not have any impact on the company's operations. <br/>
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Pilots of Spanish regional operator Air Nostrum, represented by the SEPLA union, have reached an agreement, ending a strike that had been planned for 6 days, from April 15-17 and April 22-24. Air Nostrum canceled 47 flights April 16, but the airline expects normal operations to resume April 17. However, Security staff of Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, Spain’s main airport and Iberia’s major hub, continue an open-ended strike for the sixth day, which began April 12, following the collapse of negotiations on working and contract conditions with airport operator Aena. Also, trade unions USO and UGT, representing 60,000 ground staff, are still planning strike action for April 21 and 24 at all airports in Spain. <br/>
Garuda Indonesia's budget unit Citilink has denied any involvement in plans by 2 Malaysian companies to establish a budget airline that will use its brand name. SMTrack, a Malaysian listed company that provides radio frequency identification tracking services, announced April 15 a plan to buy 60% of Citilink's Malaysian general sales agent, Dexma Express, and start work to transform it into a low-cost carrier under the name Citilink Malaysia. It also indicated that the Indonesian carrier would later invest in the proposed Malaysian affiliate. But the Indonesian LCC strongly refuted the plans. "We have not set up any future plan in establishing a business entity in Malaysia," it said. <br/>
SpiceJet will add 5 more Bombardier Q400s to its fleet by June to back-fill some of the capacity lost in the market due to Jet Airways’ financial difficulties. Three of the turboprops are expected to be delivered within the next 10 days, with the final 2 to arrive by June. The carrier has 27 Q400s in its fleet already, with 22 more on order. SpiceJet announced the additional Q400s less than a week after it said it would lease 16 additional Boeing 737NGs that will help to cover capacity lost from the grounding of its 13 737 Max 8s. While not naming Jet Airways directly, SpiceJet chairman and MD Ajay Singh indicated that the additional capacity will help to fill capacity on regional routes lost by the downsizing of the full-service carrier. <br/>
AirAsia has decided not to pursue its plan to create a joint venture (JV) airline in Vietnam, at least in the short term. The carrier revealed in a Malaysian stock market filing that it has “amicably agreed” with its Vietnamese partners to terminate the JV. AirAsia had formed a partnership with Gumin and Hai Au Aviation, and had indicated a Vietnamese franchise could begin operations this year. Despite the termination, AirAsia said it “remains interested in operating a low-cost airline in Vietnam”. The cancellation of the Vietnamese JV highlights the fact that the AirAsia Group has less appetite for opening new overseas franchises. In January, Fernandes said that after the Vietnamese launch, AirAsia would not open any more airlines for at least 3 years. <br/>