Iranian investigators have disclosed that 2 missiles from a Tor-M1 anti-aircraft system were fired before the loss of a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 shortly after departure from Tehran. The Civil Aviation Organisation states that secondary radar contact with flight PS752 was initially lost at 06:15, about 3 min after take-off, as the aircraft climbed through 8,100 ft having been cleared to 26,000 ft. But Mehrabad primary surveillance radar was able to continue tracking the aircraft as it made a right turn. The inquiry says this turn was “possibly towards the airport”, although it has not indicated whether the jet was under control or whether the turn was intentional. After a further 3 min of flight, at 06:18, radar contact was lost completely. <br/>
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WestJet Airlines says it has taken the Boeing 737 Max jet out of its schedule until June 24, following Boeing’s announcement earlier Tuesday that it does not expect the aircraft to be re-certificated until “the middle of 2020”. CE Ed Sims said Tuesday: “We remain confident in the regulatory process undertaken by the FAA and Transport Canada to ensure the safe return of the aircraft.” The airline says that it has completed more than 98% of its planned departures even while its 13 Max aircraft remain grounded. The aircraft’s global grounding is now in its 11th month. Boeing had estimated regulators would clear the jet to fly before year end. But in December, FAA administrator Steve Dickson quashed Boeing’s plan when he said too much work remained unfinished for a 2019 sign off. <br/>
EasyJet’s revenue rose nearly 10% in its fiscal Q!, driven by strong demand and the collapse of UK rival Thomas Cook, prompting the airline to raise guidance for the remainder of the year. In a Jan 21 trading statement, EasyJet says it expects revenue per seat for the first half of its financial year to increase by “mid- to high-single digits” compared with previous guidance of a low- to mid-single-digit rise. The carrier expects to deliver a first-half pre-tax loss “better than” the GBP275m (US$359m) loss incurred in the first 6 months of the previous year. EasyJet’s financial year ends Sept 30. Total group revenue for the 3 months ended Dec 31 increased 9.9% to GBP1.43b. This included a 9.7% increase in passenger revenue to GBP1.12b and a 10.8% rise in ancillary revenue to GBP301m. <br/>
EasyJet's founder and biggest shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou said he planned to vote against the re-election of the airline's chairman in order to express his view that higher profits should be prioritised over capacity growth. Haji-Ioannou's "token vote" against chairman John Barton is meant as constructive criticism, he said, and will represent his opposition since 2017, when he challenged fleet expansion. Haji-Ioannou says that by 2021, EasyJet will have 352 planes and will generate an estimated 110 pence of earnings per share, which is disappointing as more planes are not translating into higher profits. In 2015, the airline had 241 planes and made diluted EPS of 138 pence. <br/>
Aer Lingus CE Sean Doyle has bemoaned the impact that delayed deliveries of Airbus single-aisle aircraft have had on the carrier’s expansion plans. “I was counting on having 4 Airbus A321neo LR aircraft last summer,” Doyle said. “Instead, we had 1. I still only have 3 – the fourth comes in February.” He adds: “We would have loved to have grown our capacity a bit more than we did, and unfortunately that delay in production has continued into 2020. We feel held back, we see opportunities being very credible [that we were not able to take advantage of].” Aer Lingus has committed to using the A321LR on transatlantic routes to North America, as the first airline to use the aircraft for ETOPS flights. This fits in with the carrier’s strategy of making Dublin a hub for travel between Europe and North America. <br/>
South Korean budget airline T'way Air has postponed Tuesday's scheduled launch of a new route to the Chinese city of Wuhan because of rising concern over the spread of a new coronavirus, a company official said. Monday South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the virus from a 35-year-old Chinese national who flew from Wuhan to Seoul Sunday. T'way had been set for the first of its twice-a-week flights from the South Korean main hub of Incheon to Wuhan but canceled its plans because of the outbreak, the company official said. The move came amid spiralling fears over the virus, which could be spread through human contact, with millions of Asians traveling for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. In China, the number of confirmed cases rose to 291 Monday. <br/>