Southwest is closing in on a large order for Boeing’s 737 Max 7 jetliners after weighing a rival Airbus model, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks have been underway for months and are in the final stages as the largest Max customer prepares to resume flights with the plane Thursday, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential. Southwest is studying a deal in the range of 150 to 200 firm orders and commitments for the jet, one of the people said Wednesday. The Dallas-based carrier has determined that it may eventually need a fleet of about 300 aircraft to replace the Boeing model at the heart of its operation, the 737-700, the people said. In addition to the Max 7, Southwest also considered ordering Airbus’s A220-300, a move that would have diversified the airline’s all-737 fleet and severed its exclusive relationship with Boeing. For the US planemaker, retaining Southwest would represent an important victory as the Max returns to the skies. <br/>
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The US DoT has granted approval for a new airline led by David Neeleman, who started JetBlue Airways two decades ago. Breeze Aviation Group has up to one year to begin flights using up to 22 planes, the company said Wednesday. According to an application submitted last year, the airline plans to fly to “neglected, forgotten markets” using smaller planes to reduce costs. Company representatives said that many parts of the country have seen air service decline as big airlines focus on major airports. Neeleman, 61, co-founded Morris Air, which was sold to Southwest in 1993. In 1998, he started New York-based JetBlue and served as its CEO until 2007, then left to found Brazilian airline Azul, where he remains chairman after stepping down as CEO in 2017. A company filing in September reported that Neeleman owns 36% of Breeze and is its CEO.<br/>
Air Serbia and IATA plan to begin testing a mobile application to help travellers to store and manage certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccines, the Serbian flag carrier said on Wednesday. The testing of the Travel Pass application developed by IATA would start in April on Air Serbia flights between Belgrade and Zurich in Switzerland, it said.<br/>
Cebu Air, now operating at a quarter of its capacity, is prepared for a slow and longer recovery in travel demand, VP Alex Reyes said. International demand may take longer to return, while domestic travel could come sooner, he said. Local bookings have spiked as the Southeast Asian nation eased travel restrictions, he said. Cebu Air, a unit of JG Summit Holdings, raised about 12.5b pesos ($257m) from a stock rights offering and got a 16b-peso loan from a group of local banks. “That’s going to give us working capital to move forward no matter how long it takes to recover,” Reyes said. The airline, in a stock exchange filing, said the 12.5b pesos it raised from the rights offer will be used to repay debt and advances. As much as 3.91b pesos has been allotted for aircraft operating lease due this year, and the rest is for other purposes including refunding passengers should cash flows from operations become insufficient.<br/>
AirAsia is ready to furlough more workers unless domestic coronavirus travel curbs end next month, even as the company speeds expansion of its non-airlines business to fill an earnings hole, top executives said. The airline founded by local tycoon Tony Fernandes and its budget model have been hammered by the drop in international air travel, while movement restrictions between states in Malaysia are also choking revenue. AirAsia Group President Bo Lingam said that it is critical for internal routes to reopen. "We would prefer [this] as soon as possible, but I think the green states can be opened first, and we would appreciate if it's by next month," he said, referring to the end of April. Green states are those with lower new COVID-19 cases, namely Melaka, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah and the federal territories of Putrajaya and Labuan. The Malaysian government has not said when it will reopen domestic travel nationwide despite pressure from lobby groups, including hotels, tour operators and airlines.<br/>
Jetstar is to “temporarily” move six Airbus A320s from its Jetstar Japan unit to its Australian operation, as the latter’s relatively strong domestic market provides an outlet for capacity. Jetstar CE Gareth Evans said that while the group remains committed to Jetstar Japan – which is a partnership between Qantas, Japan Airlines and Tokyo Century Corporation – the slower recovery pace in Japan and the demise of Virgin Australia’s Tigerair Australia unit meant there was a greater need for capacity in its home country. “We’re looking to bring six of the Jetstar Japan aircraft down to Australia… for a temporary period – not permanently but for two to three years perhaps to provide some capacity for growth to Jetstar domestically and potentially to leverage into Western Australia as well,” Evans says. That means Jetstar Japan’s fleet falling from 25 aircraft to 19, amid a continued effort to serve largely domestic routes in the country.<br/>