Southwest said on Thursday it is recalling over 2,700 flight attendants from leave to support its summer schedule, ending a voluntary furlough program introduced during the coronavirus pandemic as travel demand waned. As more Americans become vaccinated, Southwest is among US airlines signaling a recovery and trying to prepare for pent-up demand for domestic leisure travel. Last week, the low-cost airline said it had recalled 209 pilots from a similar voluntary leave program. Both recalls take effect on June 1.<br/>
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One of two new US low-cost airlines, the first to debut in more than a decade, is about to begin flying just as larger rivals rush to entice customers to return to the skies this summer. Avelo Airlines plans to begin flights on April 28 with 189-seat Boeing Co. 737-800 jets going from Burbank, California, to Santa Rosa, in the heart of the state’s wine country. Additional flights in the following weeks will connect Burbank to 10 other cities and heighten competition with the airport’s biggest carrier, Southwest, which has expanded its own network to smaller burgs during the pandemic. Avelo will fly nonstop to smaller cities such as Ogden, Utah, and Pasco, Washington, while eschewing routes that Southwest would defend fiercely, said Avelo CEO Andrew Levy. “The chess board is a little different now,” he said, citing “materially lower costs” for aircraft, labor and other items amid the recent collapse in travel spending. He added that low fares, meager frills and smaller airports will help the company grow amid an expected surge in leisure travel as US vaccinations rise. Avelo’s motto -- “refreshingly simple” -- is based on the notion that smaller, secondary airports are easier to navigate and reduce travel hassles.<br/>
Even in a pandemic, people are launching new airlines. The latest is Connect Airlines, which looks to offer flights out of Toronto Billy Bishop City Airport to destinations in the northeast and midwest US starting in October 2021. Porter Airlines, operating out of YTZ since 2006, already flies to several US destinations including Boston, Chicago, Newark and Washington-Dulles, as well as more than a dozen Canadian destinations. Porter’s operations are currently suspended through May 19 due to the pandemic. The company behind Connect Airlines is based in Boston as a jet charter operator called Waltzing Matilda Aviation. WMA says Connect Airlines will use Canadian-built Q400 turboprop aircraft, the same aircraft used by Porter. Connect Airlines is geared to “day-tripping business travellers” looking for direct flights into Toronto’s downtown core. The airline’s operations are still subject to regulatory approvals.<br/>
Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has replaced its flight operations chief after he was apparently recorded telling his team to draw up a redundancy list of pilots who were often sick or "caused grief" while sparing cheaper contract crew. In a letter to staff dated April 4, Wizz said its Head of Flight Operations Darwin Triggs was stepping down from his role after an investigation into "how the COVID-19 related redundancies were determined and carried out" last year. The Budapest-based airline announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs, or 20% of its workforce, in April 2020, weeks after a travel shutdown in Europe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter, the airline said an independent review of its handling of the redundancies found no indication it had acted unlawfully but "some factors may have been taken into account that were inconsistent with Wizz Air's culture of open and honest communication and its focus on employee opportunity."<br/>
Boeing’s 777X programme is in “a state of disarray”, in the view of Emirates Airline president Tim Clark, who has revealed that the Middle Eastern carrier may not receive its first of the aircraft until as late as end-2025 – over five years later than scheduled. “We should have had our first [delivery] in June last year, and so far we have no visibility on when the first one will arrive,” Clark said Thursday. Clark said that, following discussions with Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Stanley Deal, he expects the jets will begin arriving “either [at] the back end of ’23, ’24 or possibly even ’25”. Cirium fleets data shows that Emirates has a total of 115 777X jets on order: 101 777-9s and 14 777-8s. Letter-of-intent commitments cover a further 11 777-8s.<br/>
Sharjah-based Air Arabia, a leading low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, Thursday endorsed the success of the strategic planning undertaken during 2020 by the company. The early measures taken by the management team helped in controlling cost and preserving liquidity as the global and regional aviation industry continues to deal with the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, said asenior officials at the Annual General Meeting. Chairman Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani said it was another successful year of Air Arabia’s journey. "Air Arabia’s ability to record two profitable quarters during 2020 despite the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, is a testament to the robust business model it operates and the carrier’s management team," Al Thani stated.<br/>
Belarusian flag-carrier Belavia has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 Max, one of five of the re-engined type intended for the airline’s fleet. The Max 8 aircraft arrived in Minsk on 8 April, having flown from Seattle via Reykjavik. It was acquired through US lessor Air Lease under an agreement signed in mid-2018. Belavia says it will deploy the jet initially on its “most popular” connections but adds that the greater range of the Max will enable the airline to expand its network to cover new routes. The 174-seat aircraft is configured in two classes including 12 seats in the business cabin.<br/>
Taiwanese low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan has received the first of 15 Airbus A320neos. The first aircraft, registered B-50021, is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofans, and configured to seat 180 passengers. Tigerair Taiwan, which is wholly-owned by flag carrier China Airlines, says the A320neo fleet also features a refreshed interior, with inflight streaming capabilities and mood lighting among the new features. However, the airline did not state which route the first A320neo will be operating on. Airbus says the jet is the first A320neo to be introduced in Taiwan, adding that it “will be the optimal platform for Tigerair Taiwan to increase capacity and open new routes across the Asia region”.<br/>
Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has served SpiceJet with a notice immediately requiring three of its B737s to be grounded due to payments that have allegedly lapsed over a period of five months, unnamed government sources told the Hindu Business Line newspaper on April 7. The grounding notice was reportedly sent both to the airline and to India’s civil aviation authority, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, earlier this month. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the three jets were leased to Jet Airways until the end of March 2019 and joined the SpiceJet fleet on May 22 and May 28 of that year. SpiceJet currently operates forty aircraft of the type as part of its 102-strong fleet. “A notice has been sent to both the DGCA and SpiceJet regarding the grounding. DAE has also written to SpiceJet seeking an Aerodrome Entry Permit for one of its representatives,” a source said.<br/>