Iran said the black box of a Ukrainian airliner it mistakenly shot down is significantly damaged, complicating an already protracted investigation of an incident that sparked domestic protests and angry calls for greater govt accountability. After Iran’s military admitted to shooting down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, Iranian officials indicated the country would send the flight data recorders recovered from the jet’s wreckage to another country—likely Ukraine or France. But Tehran has since refused to hand over the black boxes, despite admitting it doesn’t have the necessary technology to assess them. Wednesday, Iranian defence minister Amir Hatami said the box was too damaged to read and needed to be repaired first. <br/>
unaligned
Air France unions have called for strikes at its domestic carrier Hop as pilots seek improved pay and conditions and ground staff press for job guarantees, union officials said. The strike calls pose a new challenge to plans by Air France-KLM CE Ben Smith to cut back the airline's loss-making domestic network and restore its profitability. After a Tuesday works council meeting, French ground-staff unions said they were maintaining a call for strikes over Feb 21-22 and stoppages at Paris Orly and provincial airports, with the SNPL pilots' union calling a first strike by Hop pilots for Feb 24. The CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, FO and UNSA unions also expressed concern about widespread job outsourcing and called for new hires and transfers to fill gaps left by voluntary redundancies. <br/>
Debt-laden HNA Group has restructured jet orders with Airbus in a compromise deal that includes an order for dozens of A330neo jets, people familiar with the matter said, amid reports of a wider shake-up at the Chinese conglomerate. Airbus last month announced a surprise order for 40 of its A330neo wide-body aircraft, worth US$12b at list prices, but the buyer's identity was kept under wraps. The sources said the order, dated Dec 23, came from HNA Group airlines and reflected efforts already in place to carry out a restructuring of fleet plans that would see some previously unfulfilled jet orders fall by the wayside. Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that China plans to take over HNA Group and sell off its airline assets as the coronavirus outbreak had further hit HNAs ability to meet financial obligations. <br/>
Ryanair has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn a jury’s decision that the airline was not defamed in an email sent to pilots about its shares and the markets. The appeal arises out of a Dec 2017 High Court jury finding that 3 members of the Ryanair Pilot Group had not defamed the airline in the email sent to 2,289 pilots. It followed a 7-week trial which centred on a September 2013 email headed: “Pilot update: what the markets are saying about Ryanair.” The airline claimed the defendants were saying that, by innuendo or insinuation, Ryanair misled investors and knowingly facilitated insider dealing by management. It also wrongly meant the airline was guilty of market manipulation and conspired with management to abuse the markets, it claimed. <br/>
JetBlue CFO Steve Priest Wednesday chided aviation pundits who are asking if the airline can maintain its dominant position in Boston as 2 larger carriers — American Airlines and Delta — boost their presence at the airport. He said JetBlue would be fine. “We are very used to competitive incursions.” It’s true JetBlue so far has withstood competition in Fort Lauderdale amid a challenge from Spirit Airlines. But what is coming to Boston may be unlike anything the airline has faced. In the past 6 months, Delta and American have signalled they will expand significantly in Boston, which accounts for about 30% of JetBlue’s capacity. This may put JetBlue in an uncomfortable position. American and Delta are capable of losing money short-term to achieve long-term strategic objectives. By comparison, JetBlue is tiny. <br/>
Investigators with India's antitrust watchdog have found no evidence that the country's biggest airline, IndiGo, and 4 rival carriers colluded to fix ticket prices, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in 2015 ordered a probe into allegations of anti-competitive practices after similar fares were being offered on certain routes by IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, Air India and now-defunct Jet Airways. The CCI inquiry, which included an analysis of the algorithms airlines to determine ticket fares, found that all 5 airlines were working independently, the sources said. "No direct evidence of cartelisation was found," said one of the sources, who added the investigation also did not reveal any communication amongst airline executives to fix prices. <br/>
Baggage handlers and ground crew have walked off the job in a 24-hour strike against Jetstar, amid a bitter standoff over pay and working conditions. Jetstar cancelled about a quarter of its domestic flights scheduled for Wednesday in preparation for the planned strike by airport workers. Dozens of workers marched into the Jetstar terminal at Melbourne Airport, waving union flags and chanting “What’s outrageous? Jetstar wages!”, as stunned passengers watched on. Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus: “These workers are only being guaranteed 20 hours a week. You can't survive on 20 hours a week. You can’t support a family on 20 hours a week. You can't afford a Jetstar flight to take your family on holiday on 20 hours a week.” <br/>