Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes made a fresh bid Monday to take over its lucrative loyalty program, Smiles Fidelidade, lifting shares of both. Smiles jumped around 20% and Gol, the country’s biggest domestic airline, climbed nearly 4% as investors reckoned the more generous offer might convince minority shareholders. Gol already controls Smiles with a 53% stake and has been trying to buy the rest since October 2018, when it offered minority shareholders a share swap. On Monday, it made a revised offer of both cash and shares, at a premium of about 25% based on Friday closing prices. The premium has grown as Smiles shares have fallen to near their lowest level in four years. Gol’s first takeover bid had wiped out 40% of the loyalty program’s market cap and its weak 2020 forecasts sent shares tumbling further this month. “The no-deal situation created a corporate governance misalignment that was a major negative for the loyalty program,” BTG Pactual analyst Renato Mimica told clients in a note. Gol Chief Financial Officer Richard Lark told analysts in a conference call that the deal does not require regulatory approval and would boost the airline’s earnings per share by 0.40 reais next year.<br/>
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Jetstar is preparing to make major flight schedule changes through January in anticipation of pilot strikes continuing into the new year, as it braces for pilots to walk off the job this weekend. The brewing industrial dispute comes as the Qantas owned budget carrier was hit by lengthy delays and cancelations on Tuesday due to an IT outage that affected its check-in counters at multiple airports across the country. On top of the disupute with pilits, 250 Jetstar baggage handlers and ground crew will hold two two-hour stopwork meetings at various times on Friday at Sydney, Melbourne, Avalon, Brisbane, Cairns and Adelaide airports. Australian Federation of Air Pilots members, who make up around 80 per cent of Jetstar's mainline pilots, will walk off the job for four hours on Saturday and Sunday amid stalled wage negotiations. Sources said Jetstar management was planning changes to its January flight schedule by moving or not operating services to minimise disruptions should the pilot strike continue. Jetstar is yet to tell customers if any flights will be cancelled this weekend, or how services will be affected, with a decision expected by the end of Wednesday.<br/>
The pilot of an American Eagle Bombardier CRJ-200 on final approach to Reagan Washington National Airport reported smoke in the cockpit on Monday, prompting extensive delays to other flights, the FAA said. American Eagle Flight 5082, operated by PSA Airlines, a unit of American Airlines Group Inc, reported the incident after taking off from Tallahassee, Florida. The plane landed safely at 9:36 a.m., stopped on a taxiway and passengers were bused to the terminal. No injuries were reported among the 48 passengers and three crew. The plane was towed to the ramp. An American Airlines spokesman said its maintenance team is evaluating the aircraft. The incident prompted the FAA to hold incoming flights at their origins and caused departure delays of up to an hour.<br/>
Vietjet Air has announced a series of new international routes for the winter season, with a number connecting to Vietnam’s secondary airports. Starting Dec. 23, the LCC will begin daily service from Ho Chi Minh City to Pattaya’s U-Tapao International Airport. The move will also make Vietjet the airline with the most connections between the two countries, with eight direct routes. As part of celebrations to commemorate 30 years of ASEAN and South Korea relations, Vietjet launched 4X-weekly Da Lat-Seoul Incheon and 3X-weekly service Can Tho-Seoul Incheon from Jan. 15 and Jan. 16, 2020, respectively. At 11 direct services, Vietjet also flies the most routes between Korean and Vietnam. Korean visitors to Vietnam have increased 27% year-over-year (YOY) in 2018; in 2019, the airline hit the 1m mark in Q1. Can Tho, which is Vietnam’s fourth largest city, will also see a 4X-weekly service to Taipei from Jan. 10, 2020. <br/>
Chile-based SKY Airline has signed a purchase agreement with Airbus for 10 A321XLRs, confirming the LCC was behind the undisclosed Sept. 30 order for 10 of the new-generation narrowbodies. SKY CEO Holger Paulmann said the order will “allow us to expand our offer of international and wide-ranging routes.” SKY’s current in-service fleet of 23 A320-family aircraft includes nine A319-100s and 14 A320ceos, according to Aviation Week Fleet Data services. In addition to domestic Chile routes, the carrier operates to Latin American destinations in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Peru from its primary hub at Santiago International Airport. The order is further confirmation for Airbus’s A321XLR program, following the Dec. 3 announcement of an order from United for 50 of the long-range narrowbodies to replace two-thirds of its Boeing 757 fleet.<br/>
Icelandic LCC startup PLAY has postponed initial sales of tickets, as local media reported the founders are offering a greater stake in the business to outside investors. “As we are a startup company, things can sometimes take a little longer than planned as there are many tasks to finalize,” the airline said on Facebook. “Our original plan was to start selling tickets in November, but unfortunately, we must delay that a little longer.” The post did not indicate when tickets would be available. The airline also said it is considering Paris as one of its first destinations, but cautioned: “However, we never know what the future holds for PLAY.” According to local media reports, potential investors had balked at the founders—a mix of personnel from failed Icelandic ultra-LCC WOW Air and Icelandic ACMI and charter operator Air Atlanta—holding 50% of the company. As a result, according to the reports, the founders have offered to make 70% of the company’s equity available to outside parties. That 70% stake would cost investors around $14 million, according to the reports.<br/>