Airlines are facing their worst crisis in a generation and Michael O’Leary is in no mood to waste it. As rivals have collapsed and retreated, the Ryanair CE is on the hunt for opportunities to increase the Irish airline’s dominance of European airspace. “I have never in my 30 years in the industry seen such a clean-out,” Mr O’Leary told the Financial Times in an interview. “The real seismic change from Covid will be the growth opportunities across Europe. They are much greater than after the financial crisis or 9/11.” Airline capacity has been gutted during the pandemic, creating a window for survivors to fill the gaps once people start flying again. Thomas Cook and Flybe have collapsed while Norwegian — until recently a big operator in the European market — has entered administration. O’Leary predicted that 100m of his competitors’ seats would be taken out over the next 18 months, around a 15% reduction on normal passenger traffic. “Somebody has to step up and take that capacity” he said, adding that he was in discussions with airports in Italy and Spain, which had been Norwegian customers, about filling those slots with Ryanair planes. O’Leary has cultivated a reputation for outlandish claims as he has overseen more than two decades of near continuous growth at Ryanair, based on slashing costs and maximising efficiencies to undercut rivals and take their passengers. But low-cost carriers are widely expected to lead the recovery in flying because the short-haul and leisure markets they serve will rebound faster than intercontinental and business travel. “The shape of the demand recovery favours airlines exposed to short-haul leisure traffic,” said Daniel Roeska, aviation analyst at Bernstein.<br/>
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A Southwest flight from Honolulu bound for Oakland, California, made an emergency landing in Hawaii after the captain heard strange noises about 20 minutes after taking off on Christmas Day. Southwest Flight 1278 landed without further incident at 3:11 p.m. on Friday, according to the FAA. There were five crewmembers and 19 passengers on the flight, KHON-TV reported. No injuries were known to have occurred. The television station reported that the captain of the flight decided to turn it back toward Hawaii in an abundance of caution and to allow mechanics to inspect the windshield within the cockpit where the noises were coming from. The station also reported that no mechanical issues were detected after inspection. The flight took off again on a different airplane and arrived in Oakland about three hours behind schedule.<br/>
Emirates airline on Sunday announced key management changes in its Dubai hub and across markets in the Far East, West Asia and Africa. As part of the changes, five Emirati commercial managers will be placed in key positions across the airlines’ network to support its commercial strategies as it responds to “shifting market dynamics and navigates the complex challenges posed by the global pandemic.” “We are sharpening our focus further and placing extremely capable leaders with diverse experiences to help drive commercial initiatives that stimulate demand and maximise revenue opportunities and margin performance,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ CCO. The changes will come into effect on January 1, the airline said. Salem Ghanem Al Marri, currently manager Japan, will return to Dubai to the airline’s strategic planning department; Jaber Mohamed, currently area manager Taiwan, will become country manager Philippines, and Saeed Abdulla Miran, currently manager Bangladesh, will become area manager Hong Kong. Sultan Alriyami, currently an outstation manager, will become area manager Taiwan and Mohamed Alhammadi, currently a commercial manager, will become manager Bangladesh. In addition to the UAE National rotations, several commercial managers in Africa and South East Asia will also be taking on new roles, said the airline.<br/>
Skymark Airlines has decided to introduce a four-day workweek for office employees, possibly beginning in the spring, as part of efforts to avoid staffing cuts amid low travel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, a source with knowledge of the plan said Saturday. Although Japanese airlines have already cut the number of days that flight attendants work, Skymark is the first among them to decide on such a measure for employees at its headquarters or branch offices. The Tokyo-based budget airline, launched in 1996, plans to apply the measure to all office employees, not only those raising families or taking care of parents. But the new system will be adjusted as necessary to ensure that it does not affect business operations, the source said, adding that the airline will also consider offering flextime. Skymark will work out the specifics, including how to change its white-collar pay structure, in the upcoming months and try to introduce the four-day workweek — even if only partially — starting from April, according to the source. In the business year that ended in March last year, the airline, which is currently only operating domestic flights, mainly from Tokyo’s Haneda airport, posted a net deficit of Y1.2b and is expected to stay in the red in fiscal 2020.<br/>