star

Brussels Airlines is to implement a 3-year downsizing strategy aimed at stemming losses and achieving sustainable profitability. "The airline has grown a lot in recent years, but profit didn't follow," says the carrier. "We need to take a step back to enable us to grow in the future." Having embarked on an evaluation of the network and fleet to see where reductions can be made, the airline is targeting a sustainable profit margin of 8% by 2022. It acknowledges that cutting back its operations would entail job cuts, but has not provided any figures. There have been discussions with employee unions, and the airline is seeking to make any redundancies on a voluntary basis. A more detailed announcement will be made to staff Thursday. The move follows a 4-month internal investigation into how profitability can be restored. <br/>

Three airlines in South Africa took the unusual step of grounding some planes Tuesday after a regulator flagged compliance issues and ordered maintenance checks. Things got weirder when no one would publicly say exactly what needed checking. The groundings by South African Airways and its Mango unit, plus Comair, which operates British Airways domestic flights and Kulula, were big local news. There were some delayed and rescheduled flights. The disruptions followed Civil Aviation Authority inspections at South African Airways Technical, the maintenance provider for the airlines. But what specific violations the inspectors found, and whether they compromised passenger safety, remain a mystery. <br/>