Norwegian Air Shuttle said it is cancelling its orders for 92 of Boeing’s troubled 737 MAX jets, threatening to add to the US planemaker’s mounting financial strain. The announcement by the carrier Monday came as Boeing’s long-troubled jet began a series of regulatory test flights needed for the aircraft to again carry passengers after two fatal crashes. The MAX has been grounded since the second crash in March 2019. Norwegian said that it hasn’t been able to reach an agreement with Boeing over compensation after the grounding of its MAX fleet disrupted the carrier’s operations and caused significant financial losses. The airline said it had 18 MAX aircraft at the end of last year. A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on negotiations with Norwegian. “As with many operators dealing with a very challenging time, we are working on a path forward,” he said. Norwegian said it would also cancel orders for five wide-body 787 Dreamliners due to reliability problems related to Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC engines that power those aircraft. The engine maker has said it was working to fix the problems and improve reliability.<br/>
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Canada’s Porter Airlines will restart its operations a month later than previously planned due to ongoing coronavirus-prompted travel restrictions that continue to make business difficult. The regional carrier, which serves 19 destinations in eastern and central Canada as well as the northeastern USA, now says it is aiming to begin flying again by 31 August. “We want to see our planes in the sky as soon as possible and are actively working to prepare for our resumption of service,” the airline says on 28 June. “However, the ongoing uncertainty presented by government travel restrictions, including border closures, is impacting our ability to operate flights. We are closely watching developments and know that Porter will be an important part of providing people with travel options as the economy recovers.” Porter shuttered operations in March as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning to disrupt air traffic around the world. According to Cirium fleets data, the airline operates a fleet of 29 De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Dash 8-400 aircraft and has orders for 12 Airbus A220.<br/>
The Iranian missile operator who shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet in January shortly after takeoff fired without permission from commanding authorities, Tehran’s military prosecutor said following a preliminary judicial investigation. Gholam Abbas Torki said human error was responsible for the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which killed all 176 people on board. He ruled out cyber attacks on Iranian defense systems, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency, and said three people were in custody over the disaster. After days of denials, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted it unintentionally shot down the plane after mistaking it for a cruise missile amid heightened tensions. <br/>
Ryanair's British pilot union is to announce on Wednesday whether its members have backed an agreement brokered with management to mitigate the loss of 334 pilot jobs by agreeing to series of measures including a 20% pay cut, the union said. It did not say how many jobs might be saved. The British Airline Pilots Association said it had negotiated with Ryanair "to mitigate the potential loss of 334 UK pilot jobs," which the airline had notified the union of on May 18. "To do this we have jointly developed a range of measures including a 20 per cent temporary pay reduction which will be restored to 100 per cent over the next four years," a spokeswoman said. Members are due to take a final decision on the proposed deal, with the final result to be made public on Wednesday, she said. Europe's largest low-cost carrier is facing union resistance in a number of markets at plans to cut pay by up to 20% and axe up to 3,000 jobs. It has said the number of job cuts might be smaller if staff agree to pay cuts and productivity improvements.<br/>
Korean budget carrier Eastar Jet founder Lee Sang-jik said Monday that the ownership family will contribute all their shares, worth around 41b won ($34.2m), to Eastar Jet to “save the company,” amid growing uncertainty in an acquisition plan by fellow low-cost carrier Jeju Air, due to wage issues following the latest pandemic shock. But with the ongoing tit-for-tat argument between the two low-cost carriers, it remains unclear whether or not the ownership family’s offer will spur Jeju Air’s acquisition of Eastar Jet, which has been halted since March. “Eastar Jet has been seeking a breakthrough after Jeju Air’s request for acquisition last year, but the process has not been smooth due to closure of international routes following aggravated ties with Japan last year and the economic turndown following the latest virus outbreak,” Lee wrote. His statement was read by Eastar Jet Executive Director Kim Yoo-sang during a press conference held at Eastar Jet’s headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on Monday. “I had to make a decision as an Eastar Jet founder, since Jeju Air and Eastar Jet’s M&A deal is being delayed and has caused suspicions and a sense of crisis,” he added. Story has more background.<br/>
Icelandair Group has deferred a planned share offering until August, as it strives to reach stakeholder agreements on which the stock issue is conditioned. The company had been aiming to seal these agreements by 29 June, a date already pushed back by two weeks from the original mid-June estimate. Icelandair Group says it intends to initiate the proposed share offering in August if it can complete negotiations with the various stakeholders during July. But while the company has received “positive feedback” from most creditors over its restructuring effort, talks with some “pivotal” parties have yet to be concluded, it states. These parties include aircraft leasing companies and a credit-card acquirer. Icelandair Group is also still holding discussions with Boeing over further compensation arising from the grounding of Icelandair’s Boeing 737 Max fleet, as well as future Max deliveries.<br/>
South African carrier Comair’s rescue practitioners are still trying to work through the details of an expression of interest in the airline, and are seeking to postpone further the publication of a business plan. They are requesting creditor approval to push back the publication date from 30 June to 28 July. After receiving the expression of interest on 21 June, the practitioners have been engaged in examining “certain legal complexities” necessary to develop it, they state. They add that, until these issues are clarified and resolved with the interested party, no business plan can be published that will have all the information necessary to assist with a decision on whether to accept it.<br/>
NokScoot's closure is unlikely to have a significant impact on the domestic aviation industry due to international flight restrictions, with the industry's existence depending on vaccine development, say brokerage firms. The regional budget carrier said its board of directors decided last Friday to liquidate the airline, with the decision to be announced at a general meeting of shareholders slated within two weeks. The airline had been struggling with fierce competition from other low-cost carriers before the Covid-19 pandemic caused most airlines to be grounded because of lockdown measures and travel restrictions. The decision will leave 450 staff unemployed, except for some who will work on the liquidation process. NokScoot operated medium- and long-haul Asian routes serving seven cities in China and three in Japan, as well as New Delhi, Singapore and Taipei, from its base at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok. The closure will not affect Nok Airlines' routes and services as the company operates mainly domestic flights, said KTB Securities Thailand. Every route operated by NokScoot remains closed and it is uncertain when these destinations will allow inbound flights to resume, said KTBST.<br/>