A Frontier Airlines flight from Miami to La Guardia Airport in New York was canceled on Sunday night after a large group of passengers, including several adults, refused to wear masks, the airline said. By Monday morning, the airline was facing accusations of anti-Semitism for its treatment of the passengers, who are Hasidic Jews, as well as demands for an investigation from the Anti-Defamation League of New York and other groups. Frontier steadfastly held to its position that the passengers had refused to comply with federal rules requiring them to wear masks. Several cellphone videos that have surfaced do not show the confrontation that took place between the passengers and the Frontier crew members, only the aftermath. The video footage from inside the aircraft appeared to show members of the group wearing masks. Some passengers said that the episode escalated because just one member of the group, a 15-month-old child, was not wearing one. A Frontier spokeswoman said in a statement that “a large group of passengers repeatedly refused to comply with the US government’s federal mask mandate.”<br/>
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Westjet says it has reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees on a first collective agreement that would cover more than 3,100 cabin crew if ratified. CUPE has represented cabin crew at Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. since 2018 and has engaged the company in collective bargaining toward a union contract since April 2019. CUPE Local 4070 president Chris Rauenbusch characterized the news as a "monumental task" given COVID-19 travel restrictions and layoffs. "[This is] an unprecedented achievement at the height of trying times for our industry," he said. The union and the company now will await a ratification vote from the membership. In a statement, Ed Sims, WestJet's president and CEO, said he was pleased with the development. "Our cabin crew members are a valued and integral part of the WestJet team and it is our goal to continue supporting them as they continue the safe, caring service our guests expect of WestJet," Sims said.<br/>
Canada’s Porter Airlines has again delayed its restart, now saying it will resume operations on 19 May. “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 its website on 1 March. “However, the ongoing uncertainty presented by government travel restrictions, including border closures, is impacting our ability to operate flights.” Porter suspended operations on 21 March 2020 after coronavirus-driven travel restrictions led to a sharp decline in passenger traffic. It has repeatedly pushed back its resumption of service. Most recently, the regional carrier said it would begin to fly again on 29 March 2021. The new target date of 1 May is the ninth potential re-start date the airline has announced since last year, and the new delay raises even more questions in the industry as to whether the airline will come back at all.<br/>
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) plans to order 70 airliners from Airbus and Boeing, Saudi news outlet Maaal reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources. Saudia is in talks with local banks to raise 11.5b riyals ($3.07b) to partly finance an order for Airbus A321 narrow-bodied jets and Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner wide-bodies, Maaal said. The report did not breakdown how many aircraft of each type Saudia was planning to purchase. A bankersaid that Saudia was in the market to raise debt for an order of around 70 new jets. The airline’s fleet of 144 aircraft already includes A321, 777 and 787 jets.<br/>
Emirates will launch daily flights to Khartoum from March 9. "The increase of frequencies to daily from Khartoum are a direct response to growing passenger demand,” said Khalfan Al Salami, Country Manager - Sudan, Emirates airline. “Emirates is the top choice for travellers in Sudan, and we are committed to growing our operations to and from Khartoum further to support the country's post-pandemic recovery and help grow opportunities for future trade and investment.” Emirates flight EK733 departs from Dubai at 14:50, arriving in Khartoum at 17:10. The EK734 departs Khartoum at 18:45, arriving in Dubai at 00:40 hours, the following day. Emirates will utilise the Boeing777-300ER on its services to Sudan.<br/>
Economy Class fliers on Emirates airline can now buy up to three empty adjoining seats on their flights. These seats will be offered to all holding a confirmed booking. But they will not be able to pre-book empty seats, as these are subject to availability. Empty seats will only be offered at the airport check-in counter prior to flight departure, and range from Dh200 to Dh600 per empty seat, plus applicable taxes depending on flight sector. Emirates has also introduced discounts on excess baggage rates, to help those flying on essential trips. These range from 35 to 60% off on normal rates depending on sector and must be pre-booked and pre-paid up to 4 hours prior to flight departure. Emirates said the new empty-seat option addresses the needs of a "range of customers seeking extra privacy and space while still flying in economy class."<br/>
Aer Lingus is to place 129 staff members at Shannon on temporary unpaid lay-off, the airline announced. The decision follows the publication of the company’s full year results on Friday, which showed the airline recorded an operating of loss of E361m in 2020. It said that all inflight service and ground operations staff would be laid off on March 8th until June 7th. The dates may also be subject to further extension or change based on work requirements in Shannon, it added. The airlines said the loss posted on Friday represented the largest ever in the airline’s history and demonstrated the “profound impact” of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Increased travel restrictions in Ireland and across our network and the subsequent negative impact on demand for travel required us to review our network schedule and operations,” it said. “Aer Lingus has completed a review of the Shannon operation, and on the basis that no flights have operated to or from Shannon since April 5th, Aer Lingus has concluded that it is not sustainable to continue to roster staff to the current levels when there is no work available.”<br/>
The shares of Norway's Flyr airline rose 28% in its debut trade on Oslo's Euronext Growth stock market on Monday as the start-up carrier prepares to compete with established players Norwegian Air and SAS. Flyr, which means “flying” in Norwegian, is betting on a recovery in demand from the COVID-19 pandemic. It plans to launch its maiden flight by mid-2021, serving domestic routes in Norway and also offering trips to major European destinations. Founded by airline industry veterans, Flyr raised 600m Norwegian crowns ($70m) in its IPO, and aims to buy or lease a fleet of eight jets, with a planned increase to 28 aircraft in the next 3-4 years. “This will enable us to pursue opportunities in a changing market and a recovering airline industry,” CE Tonje Wikstroem Frislid said following the IPO. “Due to the availability of aircraft and crew, a rapid and demand-driven scale-up is possible for Flyr,” she added.<br/>
AirAsia Group has disclosed that it extended approximately $40m in advances and corporate guarantees to Philippines AirAsia in November-December. The low-cost airline group on 19 November provided a $19.1 million corporate guarantee to Filipino bank BDO Unibank. This was in relation to the restructuring of a three-year, $35m loan to Philippines AirAsia, the group says in a 26 February disclosure to Bursa Malaysia. On 29 December, AirAsia Group through AirAsia provided AirAsia Inc with a corporate guarantee and cash advances amounting to Ps991m ($20.4m), with Citibank Philippines as the beneficiary. In support of that move, AirAsia Group pledged one of AirAsia Berhad’s spare engines for an uncommitted short-term revolving credit facility applied for by Philippines AirAsia. AirAsia Group’s latest annual report for 2019 indicates that AirAsia Berhad is the legal name for the Malaysia-based LCC AirAsia, and AirAsia Inc refers to the AirAsia Philippines airline. The same report states that AirAsia Group’s effective equity interest in the Filipino carrier stood at 40%.<br/>
Nok Air finished debt negotiations with 50% of creditors in the buildup to the rehabilitation process while its biggest shareholders want to acquire stakes of competitors to control the aviation market. "We will likely submit the rehabilitation plan to the Central Bankruptcy Court on March 15 as planned. But we also have to learn from the precedent case of THAI [Thai Airways International] which must proceed the rehabilitation plan to the court by the deadline on March 2," said Nok Air CE Wutthiphum Jurangkool. "Some issues need to be settled. For instance, whether our debts should include future obligations, such as airplane leasing contracts for upcoming years," he said. In the meantime, his family already proposed to two airlines in Thailand to acquire stakes in that will enable them to manoeuvre the market more easily in the future.<br/>