Norwegian Air's largest cabin crew union in France has called for a strike from April 24 to April 26, seeking higher pay and better working conditions, a union representative said Saturday. UNAC union representative Anastasia Durand said the union represents 70% of the airline's 158 cabin crew based at Charles de Gaulle, from where Norwegian has 4 or 5 flights per day. Durand said there had been no formal vote for the strike but the union had sounded out staff and there was general support for the action. She didn't say if any talks were planned with the company. Norwegian, which flies directly from Charles de Gaulle airport mainly to destinations in the US, including New York and Los Angeles, was not immediately available to comment. <br/>
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Air India Express is examining the possibility of leasing some Boeing 737 aircraft of grounded carrier Jet Airways, which are parked at different airports due to non-payment, through a firm decision is yet to be taken, a top company official said Sunday. Before halting operations temporarily mid-last week due to severe cash-drought, the carrier was forced to ground 69 planes owing to non-payment of rentals to lessors. "We are looking at leasing aircraft but there is no firm decision on this issue so far. There are a lot of other things that have to be looked at, like slots, sectors and timings, among others," Air India Express CE Shyam K Sunder said. Sunder also said the airline plans to recruit 50 commanders from Jet Airways, of which 20 have already been hired. <br/>
Jazeera Airways will begin flights from Kuwait City to London Gatwick using an Airbus A320neo this year. The carrier said that thanks to the aircraft’s additional range, the flying radius from Kuwait has increased to 6.5 hrs. Jazeera took delivery of the Middle East’s first A320neo in June 2018; 3 more of the type will arrive this year. The carrier also has plans to expand its network to new destinations in Europe, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Gulf and India this year. Jazeera Airways chairman Marwan Boodai said routes between India and Kuwait have been underserved and competing regional airlines offering one-stop connectivity between Kuwait and India have historically taken the market share from its local customer base. <br/>
French airline Aigle Azur has launched a direct flight from Paris Orly to Kiev’s Boryspil International Airport, the capital of Ukraine, as part of an ongoing drive to expand its network. The 3X-weekly service uses an Airbus A320 in a 2-class configuration, with 12 business and 168 economy class seats. Aigle Azur CE Frantz Yvelin said: “We are continuing to tell the story of the company by consolidating our historic routes and making use of new growth levers in Europe. The inauguration of this all-new service fits perfectly with our objective of consolidating our medium-haul network and we are … the first French airline to offer a direct link between Orly and Kiev.” <br/>
WestJet Airlines is going to the Supreme Court of Canada in an attempt to have a proposed class-action lawsuit launched by a former flight attendant thrown out of court. The airline lost efforts to scuttle the action in both the B.C. Supreme and Appeal courts, but documents asking for leave to appeal filed with the high court say the case raises several questions of national importance. Mandalena Lewis worked for WestJet for 8 years and alleges in her legal action that the employer broke its promise to provide a harassment-free workplace for women. WestJet claims in its filing that the high court needs to decide if the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Tribunal have exclusive jurisdiction over the claims of sexual harassment in a non-unionised, federal company. <br/>
Thomas Cook is in talks with several potential buyers after a horrible year for the company, during which its market capitalisation tumbled by 80%. Private equity groups KKR and EQT, as well as the acquisitive Chinese group Fosun International, are among the companies said to be interested in parts, or the whole, of Thomas Cook. Fosun, which holds stakes in Club Med and Cirque du Soleil, is said to be definitely interested in making a bid, said a person close to the company. Complicating any takeover plans are EU rules that require airline carriers to be owned by European investors. Thomas Cook’s tour operator arm, which makes up the majority of group revenues, could be bought by an international investor. Two months ago, however, Thomas Cook announced a “strategic review” of its airline business, including a possible sale. <br/>
Air Mauritius received the first of 2 Airbus A330-900s it has on order at Airbus’s Toulouse final assembly plant April 18; the aircraft are provided under contract with Air Lease Corp. The A330neos are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines and have a 2-class cabin layout, with 28 business class and 260 economy class seats. The carrier is the first A330neo operator based in the southern hemisphere, and the first airline worldwide to operate a combination of both the A330neo and A350 XWB. The carrier plans to deploy the A330neo on routes connecting Mauritius to Europe—especially London Heathrow and Geneva—India and South East Asia and on regional destinations including Antananarivo (Madagascar), Johannesburg, and Reunion Island. <br/>
Air Malta is expecting to register an operating loss in the financial year ending March 2019. The airline’s board of directors is forecasting another loss-making year despite continued efforts to increase revenue and lower costs, according to the full financial statements for year ending March 2018 deposited last week with the registry of companies. The airline recently declared a profit of nearly E1.2m. This represents the operating profit before restructuring costs and non-recurring items. Tourism minister Konrad Mizzi touted this as a “success story” coming after nearly 2 decades of yearly losses. The figures just published, however, show that were it not for a nearly E34m in revenue from the disposal of landing rights in 2018, the airline would have registered a loss of E17m (after restructuring costs and non-recurring items). <br/>