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Ryanair COO Peter Bellew is leaving the airline at the end of this year after helping to steer it through a turbulent period of industrial relations. Bellew rejoined Ryanair from Malaysia Air, where he was CE, in late 2017. He had worked for the low-cost carrier between 2001 and 2015. Reports yesterday said that CE Michael O’Leary told Ryanair staff in a memo that Bellew was leaving the company. O’Leary said his colleague had “done great work over the past 18 months” to improve the management of Ryanair’s operations and the punctuality of its flights. Bellew’s move comes as Ryanair is restructuring itself as a holding company for several operating businesses, each with its own management. The change will see O’Leary lead the holding company and a new CE appointed to Ryanair, the Irish-based airline likely to constitute the largest part of the group. Some reports yesterday suggested that the departure related to the restructuring and appointments to new positions, but Bellew indicated to news agency Bloomberg that he was looking at other opportunities.<br/>

Silicon Valley startups have long recognized the benefit of having a few grownups in the room to make sure the youthful, idealistic founders don’t forget about the bottom line. At Norwegian Air Shuttle it’s the older crowd you’ve had to keep an eye on. The transatlantic budget airline’s 72-year-old co-founder Bjorn Kjos has been on a breakneck expansion drive over the past few years, but now he’s stepping down after being forced to abandon that high-spending strategy to ensure his company’s survival. Kjos, who’s staying on as an adviser, has been Norwegian’s CEO for 17 years, making him one of the oldest corporate leaders in Europe. A former fighter pilot and lawyer, his achievements are the stuff of industry legend. Norwegian has come from nowhere to now carry about 38 million passengers every year. American customers flying to Europe are its biggest source of revenue. Unfortunately, Kjos had a big weakness: An obsession with growth that almost proved Norwegian’s undoing. In 2012 Norwegian placed Europe’s biggest ever aircraft order, and the pace didn’t let up. Kjos has since opened a subsidiary in Argentina. The growth has taken a huge toll on Norwegian’s balance sheet. Compared to the colorful Kjos, his interim replacement Geir Karlsen may seem a trifle grey. But the plain-speaking former CFO, who has a degree in business administration, is just what Norwegian needs to win back the trust of the capital markets.<br/>

Britain’s Unite Union said Thursday Stansted airport check-in staff at Easyjet will go on strike for over a fortnight starting in July, as employees demand similar pay to other companies that operate at the airport. Unite is representing 43 passenger service agents employed by Stobart Aviation Services, which in turn has a contract with Easyjet at the airport. The strike, during the busy summer holiday season, would begin on July 25 and would last in batches until Aug. 27, the UK and Ireland's largest union said in a statement. Easyjet said that if the strikes go ahead, the airline will have contingency plans in place so that there would be no impact on passengers. Stobart Aviation Services has, and will continue to engage with Unite and its representatives to reach an agreement on union recognition for front of house teams at Stansted, Stobart said in a statement, adding contingency plans were in place. “We will continue to engage directly with Unite in order to deliver an agreement,” the company said. “The low paid workers voted unanimously to strike over the company’s refusal to pay wages in line with similar companies at Stansted, the refusal to recognise Unite as a trade union for collective bargaining purposes, and a breakdown in industrial relations”, Unite said. The main issue the employees have is that workers at other companies at the airport are being paid up to 20% more for doing the same job, Unite said, adding that members also experienced staffing issues, a lack of basics such as drinking water during long shifts, among other problems.<br/>

An airplane operated by Czech airline Smartwings made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff at Budapest's Liszt Ferenc Airport on Thursday after its landing gear was damaged, a spokesman for Budapest Airport told national news agency MTI. Smartwings' Boeing 737-400 plane bound for Hurghada in Egypt, with 151 passengers and nine crew on board, returned to Budapest and landed safely, MTI reported. No one was injured. Smartwings is the largest Czech airline and one of the fastest growing airlines in Central Europe.<br/>

Emirates Airline passengers bound for the US will soon have inflight connectivity throughout their journey, thanks to the planned launch of Inmarsat satellites that will provide coverage over the polar region. The carrier’s US-bound flights often travel over the Arctic region, where aircraft can lose contact for up to four hours with geostationary satellites over the Equator. By 2022, however, Emirates partner Inmarsat will place two satellites in elliptical orbits, via the new-generation Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, to add coverage over the North Pole, the airline said. That will allow passengers to access Wi-Fi, mobile service connectivity and Emirates’ Live TV broadcast on the route. Live TV is currently available on 175 Emirates aircraft, including select Airbus A380s and all Boeing 777s. “Over the years, we have worked closely with Inmarsat and our supply partners to continually raise the bar on inflight connectivity, and we look forward to further enhancing that experience, taking advantage of new technologies and infrastructure,” Emirates’ EVP and COO Adel Al Redha said.<br/>

SpiceJet will begin daily non-stop flights between Hong Kong and Mumbai on July 31, bringing some much needed competition back to a route dropped by the country’s Jet Airways in April. SpiceJet, which launched a Hong Kong-Delhi service last November, will be operating a two-class, 168-seat Boeing 737-800, at least until its grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet, along with those of many other airlines, is allowed back in the air. Boeing reportedly told SpiceJet last April that this would be happening this month, but it now looks like the worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX could drag on for longer. SpiceJet is offering a 12.15pm departure from Hong Kong, arriving in Mumbai at 3.20pm. Return flights depart at 1.05am, for a 9.40am arrival in Hong Kong.<br/>