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Southwest was sued by its pilots union and accused of violating federal labor law by unilaterally changing working conditions, rules and pay rates as travel collapsed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The carrier violated the Railway Labor Act by making changes in its contract, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said in a lawsuit filed Monday in a Dallas federal court. The union, which represents 9,000 pilots, said it seeks to block further similar actions and asked a judge to order Southwest to make every effort to negotiate an agreement. The lawsuit is the latest sign of rising tensions between the Dallas-based airline and its pilots as talks on a new contract have stalled. The union has threatened to picket Southwest ahead of winter holiday travel over its failure to negotiate contract terms for items affected by the pandemic and the possibility of mandated vaccines. Southwest will trim its flight schedule for the last four months of the year in part after pilots, flight attendants and other employees complained about overwork and understaffed operations.<br/>

An Envoy Air regional jet that reportedly hit a drone while in flight on 22 August did not hit a drone after all. Rather, it struck a balloon. That is according to the FAA, which has now corrected an earlier statement about the in-flight collision, which involved an Embraer 175 and occurred shortly after the jet took off from Chicago O’Hare International airport. “The FAA determined the object was a Mylar balloon,” the US regulator says on 31 August. Neither Envoy nor parent American Airlines Group responded to a request for more information about the incident and resulting damage to the aircraft. Following the collision, the FAA said the aircraft “struck a UAS” – an unmanned aircraft system. The incident occurred as the aircraft was climbing and turning left after taking off from O’Hare’s Runway 09C.<br/>

Norwegian Air Shuttle’s first results since it emerged from bankruptcy protection showed the low-cost airline still struggling with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, even as it improved its financial position. Norwegian said it expected future bookings to continue to increase as travel restrictions across Europe are eased, but warned that the uncertainty over Covid was still too high to provide profit guidance this year. Under its preferred measure of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and restructuring costs excluding other gains and losses, Norwegian’s losses widened from NKr467m in H1 2020 to NKr1.86b ($215m) in the first six months of this year. Revenues dropped 92% to NKr591m. But thanks to its financial restructuring, which it completed in May, it swung from a pre-tax loss of NKr4.79b last year to a profit in 2021 of NKr1.59b. CE Geir Karlsen said the H1 results represented “a clear improvement” in Norwegian’s financial situation as the airline had cut its operating costs and debt, allowing it to plan for the future with “renewed confidence and focus”. He added: “Forward bookings continue to increase in response to the relaxation of travel restrictions and the rollout of international vaccination programmes. We expect to see this trend continue in the remaining months in 2021 and through 2022.”<br/>

Icelandic start-up carrier Play has signed letters of intent with two lessors covering six more Airbus A320neo family aircraft. Play launched services in June this year on European routes from Reykjavik using three A321neos and earlier this month filed for US regulatory authority to launch transatlantic flights next spring. In a first-half trading update today, Play says it agreed on letters of intent with two undisclosed “major international aircraft lessors” during August. One deal covers the delivery of two new A320neos, built in 2020, in the first quarter of next year. The other covers three A320neos and one A321neo for delivery in spring 2023. It says it is in final negotiations over the lease of a 10th aircraft. ”With these arrangements, Play is taking advantage of favourable terms in the current post-Covid market and will have six aircraft in its fleet in spring 2022 in time for the hub-and-spoke operation between North America and Europe,” the airline says. ”Negotiations for additions to the fleet for 2024 and 2025 are also ongoing, bringing the total fleet to 15 aircraft by 2025.”<br/>

Ryanair expects to return to pre-pandemic passenger numbers this winter, as Europe’s largest airline banks on a “very strong recovery” in travel. The low-cost carrier has launched 14 new routes from London for this winter and will slash the prices of its flights to encourage passengers to step back on board. “The recovery has been very strong,” said CE Michael O’Leary. He claimed that “no airline has recovered as quickly as we have” after estimating that Ryanair carried just over 10.5m customers in August. He expected the airline to sustain those numbers in September and October, with the launch of new routes from Stansted and Luton airports to locations including Grenoble, Turin, Naples and Helsinki, which will help to create 500 new jobs. Between November to March, O’Leary expected Ryanair to hit pre-pandemic passenger levels on a monthly basis. Monthly numbers are currently running at 85 per cent of pre-Covid levels. The airline is then expected to exceed its annual pre-pandemic level of about 150m travellers in the year to March 2023. Ryanair is planning an aggressive expansion: it will receive 55 Boeing 737 Max aircraft this winter and the same number each year until 2025. Its fleet will expand to 600 aircraft by the end of the 2026 financial year, up from more than 450. However O’Leary predicted that it would take until the summer of next year for prices to return to normal levels. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand there,” he said. “The pent-up demand will take advantage of low pricing, pricing will then begin to work its way back up to pre-pandemic levels.” He added that the UK’s traffic light system was holding back more travellers from going abroad because of the uncertainty. “The UK is lagging behind,” he said. “The traffic light system serves no purpose any more.”<br/>

Ryanair does not expect to do a deal with Boeing this year on a major new order of 737 MAX jets, CEMichael O'Leary said Tuesday - but added that he could order up to 250 of the aircraft if the price was lowered. Ryanair is already the largest European customer for the 737 MAX, with 210 firm orders of the 197-seat MAX 8-200 model. In July it said it might do a deal before the end of the year for a significant order of the 230-seat MAX 10. But O'Leary told journalists on Tuesday that he would be surprised if agreement was reached before next year. "I would be hopeful that agreement might be reached in 2022. I mean the rate and pace of negotiation depends on Boeing," O'Leary said in London. "At the moment I think the balance lies in favour of us because Boeing have recorded remarkably few orders for the aircraft, and they need a couple of large Max 10 orders." In the past he had indicated that that order would be on a similar scale to the 210 jet MAX 8-200 order. But on Tuesday he said he could take up to 250 of the MAX 10. "In an ideal world ... if we can agree on pricing, I would certainly like to see Ryanair continue to grow and expand at the rate of about 50 aircraft a year." he said. "So over a four or five-year period we should be looking at 200-250 aircraft."<br/>

Airbus secured an order for 36 single-aisle planes from UK leisure carrier Jet2, picking off a Boeing customer with steep discounts as it seeks to regain sales momentum. The A321neo jets, scheduled for delivery over five years through 2028, are valued at $4.9b before “significant discounts,” Jet2 said Tuesday. The number of planes could rise to 60, bringing the face value of the deal to about $8.1b. Airlines with the resources to commit to new jets are finding bargains as planemakers bend on prices to replenish pandemic-depleted order backlogs. Jet2 said the agreement with Airbus gives the UK-based operator of packaged-holiday tours the flexibility to finance the planes through internal resources and debt. For Airbus, the move marks a rare steal from Boeing, which had supplied Jet2 with its 737 model in the past. Carriers are typically loath to switch suppliers because of the added complexity and cost associated with re-training pilots and maintaining a fleet with two different types of aircraft. <br/>

Vistara has been granted a Foreign Air Carrier Permit by the US DoT to operate scheduled and charter passenger and cargo services between India and the US. The order, issued on August 24, becomes effective on the 61st day after its submission for a presidential review or the date of receipt of approval from the US President's office, whichever happens earlier. Tata SIA Airlines Limited – a 51/49 joint venture between India’s Tata Sons and the Singapore Airlines Group – on June 2 had received tentative approval from the DOT to its application for an exemption and an FACP. This followed its application on April 28 to launch commercial services to the US on September 1, 2021, using B787-9s.<br/>

Beleaguered Hainan Airlines dramatically cut its operating loss for the six months to 30 June, amid a strong uplift in revenue and a reduction in expenses. For the half-year, the carrier, whose parent HNA Group is in the middle of a creditor-led bankruptcy reorganisation, reported an operating loss of CNY3.9b ($604m). This represents a significant reduction compared to the record CNY16.3b loss it reported in 2020. Revenue for the period climbed 56.5% year on year to CNY18.3b, helped by a 63% jump in transportation revenue. Traffic for the half-year grew by 63%, while capacity rose 48% year on year. Hainan also bucked the trend seen by its larger compatriots, and cut its expenses for the period by 6.9% year on year, to CNY23.3b. The carrier reported a net loss of CNY881m, a significant reduction compared to the CNY11.8b net loss it posted in 2020. The HNA Group in early 2021 received a bankruptcy application by its creditors, amid worsening financial strife within the group. Since then, the court approved applications from creditors to place 10 affiliates of Hainan Airlines Holding in bankruptcy reorganisation, including six airlines. It later allowed the merger of 321 HNA Group-linked companies to speed up business restructuring efforts. <br/>

Thai Vietjet (TVJ) is targeting 3.5m passengers this year as the travel situation seems likely to recover from rock bottom experienced during the two-month lockdown period. As international travel shows strong signs of resumption in many countries, TVJ has to make an early move ahead of its competitors by planning three routes to two destinations -- Singapore and Taiwan -- from October, said Woranate Laprabang, CE of TVJ. Of 3.5m passengers this year, the international market will make up 15%, while the largest portion will be derived from the domestic market which is poised to fully return in November and December. Besides domestic flights from its aviation base at Suvarnabhumi Airport, TVJ will connect cross-regional routes from Phuket to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Udon Thani, and resume flights from Hat Yai to Chiang Rai to catch up with returning demand. "We want to fly 100-120 flights per day in the last two months or about 80-90% load factor which will be higher than our peak time in April that stood at 80 flights per day," he said.<br/>

Virgin Australia has followed Qantas in launching its own incentives program for Australians to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Virgin's "VA-X & Win" campaign will allow any fully vaccinated Australians to enter a competition to win one of 251 prizes from the airline, with the grand prize being 1 million Velocity frequent flyer points. Other prizes include 100,000 Velocity points, free business class and economy flights, Virgin lounge memberships and pyjamas. The prize pool is valued at more than $150,000 according to the airline. The competition is open to all Australians who are over 18 and are fully vaccinated by the end of the year. Entry is via the Virgin Australia website. "Vaccination is our way back to the things we love and the people we miss, and most importantly, it's the only way we can protect the lives and livelihoods of all Australians," said Virgin CE Jayne Hrdlicka. "We are all in this together and the sooner we are vaccinated to the thresholds required by government, the sooner we can return to a quality way of life that includes travelling freely within our own country and abroad," she said.<br/>

Australia’s Regional Express (Rex) narrowed its operating loss to A$18.4m (US$13.5m) from A$27.4m a year earlier, but warns of tough times ahead given the impact of a major coronavirus outbreak in Australia. The carrier saw passenger revenue decline 41.3% year on year to A$125.2m in H1 of its 2021 financial year to 30 June, according to its results statement. Net losses also narrowed to A$4.9m, from a net loss of $19.4m a year earlier. The carrier also reduced non-fuel expense by 20.9% to A$250m. As of 30 June 2021, the airline had cash and bank balances of A$30m, compared with $11.2m a year earlier. “The airline industry has never been as badly ravaged in its entire history as today with a staggering drop of 56% in passenger numbers globally,” says Rex chairman Lim Kim Hai. “To understand the magnitude of the devastation, the drop in global passenger numbers was 16% during the Global Financial Crisis. Rex’s passenger numbers fell by 29% in the past fiscal year.” He adds that H1 2022 will see continued lockdowns and border closures, and that the airline’s outlook for 2022 is highly uncertain.<br/>