One day before a Lion Air jet went down near Jakarta last year, pilots on the same Boeing 737 Max jet, which had been suffering repeated failures on recent flights, made a startling decision: In spite of a malfunctioning airspeed indicator, they chose to ignore procedures and take off for their destination anyway, according to 2 people familiar with the incident. The plane landed safely, but the previously unreported decision to fly represents another in a series of missed opportunities to prevent the Oct 29 crash. The flight with the faulty airspeed indicator is expected to be outlined in a report by Indonesian investigators that’s scheduled for release Friday, according to the people who asked not to be named discussing the details of the flight. <br/>
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Southwest Airlines lost US$210m in revenue during Q4 as a result of the Boeing 737 Max grounding, and expects an even greater revenue hit in Q4 due to aircraft and schedule reshuffling for the busy holiday travel season. Southwest estimates the grounding, which took effect in March, cost it US$435m in operating income through September, the company said Thursday. Southwest, which operates an all-Boeing fleet, has cancelled Max flights through Feb 8, and says it expects delivery of seven new aircraft in Q4 pending FAA re-certification of the type, and the remaining 34 on order moving into 2020. “We assume an un-grounding date around mid-December,” says CE Gary C Kelly. The airline say it will take several months to get the entire fleet back and running once the FAA green-lights the aircraft’s return to service. <br/>
IndiGo reported its biggest ever quarterly loss on higher maintenance costs and cut capacity expansion targets, at a time when the industry is grappling with slowing passenger growth in a sluggish economy. IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation’s net loss grew to INR10.66b (US$150m) in the 3 months to Sept 30 from INR6.52b a year earlier, the only other instance that the airline reported a quarterly loss. Maintenance costs spiked as IndiGo was forced to reassess the expense of leasing and maintaining older Airbus A320ceo planes to fill a gap caused by the grounding of newer A320neo aircraft due to engine issues, CFO Aditya Pande said. The results come against the backdrop of an escalating tussle between IndiGo co-founders and top 2 shareholders Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia. <br/>
Airbus isn’t delivering planes fast enough. That’s the verdict of IndiGo, the biggest customer for Airbus’s A320neo jets. Delay in getting planes on time is forcing the airline to slow down the pace of expansion, executives said. “The issue is on the supply side,” CE Ronojoy Dutta said Thursday, while answering a question on replacing older jets. “The reason why we are not growing fast enough is because we are not getting airplanes fast enough from Airbus.” IndiGo, which has ordered 430 A320neo jets on top of 100 for the older version of the aircraft, is embarking on an ambitious expansion plan, especially in international markets, seeking to eventually connect cities such as London with New Delhi. The airline controls almost half of the domestic market, and is in talks with Airbus for another large order. <br/>
Cuba's state airline Cubana says it is cancelling routes to 7 international destinations because of Trump administration sanctions on companies that lease planes to the carrier. The Trump administration said last Friday that it was revoking licenses of companies that lease aircraft to Cuban state-owned airlines because the airlines use the planes to take tourists to Cuba. US regulations prohibit Americans from engaging in tourism in Cuba. Travel with special purposes, like visiting religious institutions or supporting private businesses and civil society, is allowed. Cuban state media reported Thursday that companies in third countries that rented planes to Cubana had cancelled contracts, forcing the cancellation of routes to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Haiti, Martinique and Guadeloupe. <br/>
EasyJet has cancelled 32 flights between the UK and Italy ahead of a national strike Friday. The EasyJet groundings affect an estimated 5,000 passengers – but the airline has failed to give travellers a proper picture of their rights. Travellers have been told: “You can transfer onto a new flight.” But half-term for many schools begins or ends at the weekend, and so demand is strong, with many flights fully booked. With no space on EasyJet services for days, there is no mention of using another airline. Under European air passengers’ rights rules, as spelt out by the Civil Aviation Authority, if EasyJet cannot provide a suitable alternative flight on the same day then it must buy seats on another airline. The same rules apply to passengers booked on Alitalia, which has cancelled more than 200 domestic and European flights Friday. <br/>
Norwegian has reported a 64% rise in Q3 operating profit, to NKr2.97b (US$326m), after slowing capacity growth in the period. Revenue was up 8% at NKr14.4b, primarily thanks to the airline's intercontinental flights. Passenger numbers declined 3% to 10.5m. The airline increased capacity by just 3%, compared with 8% during Q3 of 2018 and a 48% hike during last year's Q2. "Norwegian's key priority is returning to profitability through a series of measures, including an optimised route and base portfolio and an extensive cost-reduction programme," the airline says. Its year-to-date operating profit stands at NKr2.13b, compared with a loss of NKr258m across the same period last year The cost-reduction programme is running at "full force" and delivered savings worth NKr827m during Q3, says Norwegian. <br/>
Norwegian Air Shuttle has sealed a long-awaited joint venture with one of China’s biggest banks in a deal designed to bolster a balance sheet strained by the carrier’s breathless pace of expansion. The joint venture, 70% owned by a subsidiary of state-controlled China Construction Bank, will be responsible for financing 27 Airbus A320neo aircraft that Norwegian expects to be delivered in 2020-23. The airline said the deal with China Leasing International Corporation would slash its capital expenditure by US$1.5b. The joint venture with CCB follows more than a year of talks with potential partners as Norwegian, which is unusual in the industry for owning most of its aircraft, sought to free up cash. <br/>
Jazeera Airways is not ruling out a complete switch of aircraft type to the Boeing 737 Max as part of its development plan. Jazeera exclusively operates Airbus A320-family jets and is holding discussions on future requirements, with a view to taking a decision next year. The carrier has had "conversations" with Airbus regarding long-range single-aisle variants, said CE Rohit Ramachandran. Jazeera will maintain a single-type fleet but he says the airline will not necessarily remain loyal to Airbus. "I'm interested in the best deal," he says, hinting that Boeing has been particularly competitive in its efforts to restore airline enthusiasm for the 737 Max following its extensive grounding. He says the airline – which will have 13 aircraft by the end of this year, and 16 next year – is looking to take its fleet to 23 by 2022. <br/>
Air Zimbabwe has been barred from operating from South African airports owing to failure to pay debts relating to aeronautical charges. Johannesburg features on the airline's advertised network but Airports Company South Africa says it has "suspended" the airline from its 9 airports effective Oct 22. It says the carrier is required to settle weekly the debts owed for landing charges, parking and passenger fees along with a partial payment of arrears. The airports operator says it informed Air Zimbabwe Oct 18 that it was facing the restriction on its services and that this would remain in place until outstanding payments were received. It states that the airline has been told it "will not be allowed to depart" from the airports. <br/>