Southwest opened its schedule for reservations through the busy spring break travel season early Thursday and its website apparently wasn't ready. Travelers trying to book tickets for travel into April 2022 — the airline opens its schedule in shorter increments than most major airlines — were greeted with error messages on the airline's website and mobile app. Southwest representatives on Twitter thanked travelers for their patience and said the issue was being worked on. Southwest's website is often overwhelmed during busy booking periods, especially when the airline holds major fare sales. Incoming CEO Bob Jordan, who started in the technology department at Southwest, last week said technology upgrades will be a priority for the airline.<br/>
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Siberian carrier Yakutia’s DG, Vladimir Gorbunov, is to step down from his post following prolonged operational problems with the carrier. Gorbunov had been appointed in October 2018 to lead the airline after previous chief Olga Federova stepped down in the aftermath of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 landing accident in Yakutsk, which occurred shortly after a regulatory inspection turned up separate operational concerns. Sakha republic transport minister Vladimir Sivtsev held a meeting with Gorbunov and the Yakutia board on 15 September, pointing out that the airline has been “unable to provide stable, uninterrupted air links” for a “long time”. He added that an audit is being carried out based on remarks from supervisory authorities. “Taking into account the current situation, the general director of Yakutia will leave the position of head,” says the Sakha transport ministry. It has not identified a successor.<br/>
Emirates on Thursday said it would look to hire 3,000 flight attendants and another 500 people for roles at Dubai airport over the next six months as it continues to restore operations hit by the pandemic. The Dubai state-owned airline, which last year laid off thousands of employees, said it was currently operating to 120 cities, representing 90% of its pre-pandemic network. The airline will be operating 70% of its pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the year.<br/>
Braathens Regional Airlines is to conduct a pioneering flight test at the beginning of next year, aiming to fly an ATR turboprop with a 100% blend of sustainable aviation fuel. BRA CE Ulrika Matsgard said Thursday the carrier was “starting the process” of transforming the business to 100%-sustainable fuel. While the precise time and location of the test flight have yet to be disclosed, one engine on the aircraft will be powered by a 100% blend and the other by a 50% blend. “The aviation sector needs a forerunner,” says Matsgard. “We believe we can be the one.” BRA operates a fleet of ATR 72-600s. Matsgard believes a flight powered by wholly-sustainable fuel in both engines could reduce emissions by over 80%, and anticipates that the test flight will achieve a reduction figure of 64%.<br/>
Aer Lingus has upped the ante as its attempts to force through cost cuts with its 1,300 cabin crew. It is threatening to unilaterally implement a range of tough measures after crew this week voted overwhelmingly to reject a proposed deal. On Tuesday, a ballot closed on the package proposed by the airline, which would have seen cabin crew accept new work practices and lower pay scales for new entrants. Forsa, the crew’s union, made no recommendation on the proposal and staff subsequently voted about 82% against it. In a three-page letter, Mary Montgomery, the airline’s director of inflight services, on Thursday wrote to the union and staff threatening to forge ahead anyway with a slew of cuts. “The seriousness of the situation has not been understood,” she said. Aer Lingus lost E563m last year amid the pandemic. Aer Lingus said it is closing a voluntary redundancy scheme. During the pandemic, cabin crew have also been on reduced hours and pay, although the airline had previously said they would go back up to 80 per cent before Christmas. However, Montgomery said there were too many cabin service managers working for the airline, so it had decided that they would now stay on 60% pay and hours “for the foreseeable future”.<br/>
Ryanair lifted its five-year passenger forecast on Thursday, saying the delivery of an existing Boeing order and increased use of older aircraft would allow it to grow faster without the need for an additional large plane deal. Europe’s largest low cost carrier last week abruptly ended talks with the planemaker over a new order of the larger 737 MAX 10 jets, worth tens of billions of dollars, due to differences over price. Shares of the airline jumped 7% on Thursday after it raised its passenger growth forecast. “If we don’t do another order until 2025, frankly we couldn’t care less. The one great thing about the airline industry is we know there’s going to be another crisis in five years’ time (to drive down jet prices),” CE Michael O’Leary told an analyst call after Ryanair’s annual general meeting. The airline, one of Boeing’s biggest customers, will keep talking to the planemaker, O’Leary said, adding that relations between the two remain “very good”. However, O’Leary has said he is willing to wait years for Boeing to drop its prices and on Thursday he said Ryanair had enough aircraft to fly 225m passengers a year by 2026, up from 200m previously forecast. O’Leary told Reuters that to meet that target Ryanair would sell fewer second-hand planes, on top of the planned delivery of 210 of Boeing’s 197-seat MAX 200 model over the next five years. It may also buy or lease a small amount of current generation planes, he added.<br/>
Ryanair is planning aggressive expansion in Ukraine if the country joins the European Union’s Open Skies deregulated aviation market in the coming months, Group Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said on Thursday. O’Leary, whose airline is the largest low-cost carrier in Europe and a major investor in neighbouring Poland, said he expected the Ukrainian government to sign up to Open Skies before the end of the year. “The one market I would point to is Ukraine... I would think we will be a major investor in Ukraine when they join up to European Open Skies,” O’Leary told an investor call following the company’s annual general meeting. Ryanair launched its first routes in Ukraine in 2018 after the government fought off vested interests who tried to prevent its entry. O’Leary said Ryanair currently operates from five Ukrainian airports on a bilateral basis but that there were as many as 12 suitable airports in the country. Migrant workers would provide a major market for Ryanair’s fares, which he said currently average around 40 euros per flight. The airline has in the past said it also sees potential in the country’s domestic market. “I think that will be certainly a model that we will be aggressively moving into,” O’Leary said.<br/>
Ticket prices for short-haul flights across Europe next summer will be significantly higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said Thursday. O’Leary said bookings over the coming months were “patchy”, with some periods of extraordinary demand around school holidays in October and at Christmas, while current prices were low. “Prices will rise I think during October and at Christmas and I think prices into next summer will be significantly stronger than they were pre-COVID because there’s about 20% less capacity in the short-haul market across Europe,” O’Leary said.<br/>
Virgin Australia said on Thursday it will require all its staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, in line with domestic rival Qantas and a growing number of airlines in the Asia-Pacific region. Pilots, cabin crew and airport workers will need to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 15, while other staff will have until March 31, 2022, Virgin said, aligning its dates with Qantas. "We also remain supportive of any government-led measures to ensure travellers are vaccinated," Virgin ChEO Jayne Hrdlicka said.<br/>