US regional airline behemoth Republic Airways is opening a new corporate headquarters and training centre in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel. Shifting to the new 105,000sq ft facility will enable Republic, which is currently based in Indianapolis, to consolidate existing training centres in Cincinnati, St Louis, Indianapolis and elsewhere, Republic says on 20 September. “The site will include a high-tech training facility for pilots, technicians, flight attendants and other positions,” the carrier adds. Republic will equip the new facility with two “cabin trainers”, eight flight simulators and 20 classrooms. It will also include temporary housing for use by employees during training, says the airline. Republic Airways is among the USA’s largest regional airlines, with a fleet including some 220 Embraer E-Jets.<br/>
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IAG’s Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling is set to pick up slots at Paris Orly airport being released by Air France as a condition of the European Commission’s approval of French financial support to the latter. Air France is releasing 18 daily slots at Paris Orly as one of the conditions for the Commission’s approval of a French government E4b bailout to the airline. The Commission has now ranked Vueling first on the list of carriers that applied for the slots, leaving it free to start operating new routes from the French airport from November. The Commission’s executive vice-president in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager says: “Following an open procedure, Vueling will obtain 18 of the daily take-off and landing slots at Paris Orly airport, currently held by Air France. This will enable Vueling to expand its activities at this highly congested airport, helping to ensure fair prices and increased choice for European consumers. The significant capital support to Air France enabled the airline face financial difficulties resulting from the coronavirus outbreak, without unduly distorting competition.”<br/>
Emirates plans to ramp up flights to the United States as travel restrictions ease further and ahead of the World Expo event in Dubai that’s expected to draw millions of visitors. The airline will increase flights to a number of US destinations from October and aims to restore more than 90% of its pre-Covid frequencies to the country by early December. The US this month lowered its travel warning for the United Arab Emirates to level 3 from 4. Emirates was hit hard by the pandemic, with widespread border curbs preventing travelers to make the intercontinental journeys in which the carrier specializes. As demand for travel picks up, it has ramped up operations and plans to recruit 3,000 cabin crew and 500 airport services employees to join its Dubai hub over the next six months. Daily cases have been dropping in the UAE, which has rolled out one of the world’s fastest vaccination programs.<br/>
The streamlining plan will see the Israeli airline stressing the North American market and cutting routes to Europe. The management of El Al Israel Airlines has presented drastic changes designed to cope with the financial crisis caused by the ongoing Covid pandemic. Management wants to sell up to 26 planes and lay-off 1,500 employees. El Al currently has a fleet of 45 planes and management would like to see the fleet shrink to 29 aircraft or less. As part of this streamlining, El Al will reportedly stress the North American market and halt flights on some routes between Israel and Europe, leaving it with its core destinations in Europe. As a result, most of the planes that will be sold will likely be the narrower bodied Boeing 737s. In addition to reducing its fleet and routes to Europe, El Al is seeking to lay off an additional 1,500 employees. The airline currently has 4,000 employees, including 1,400 staff on unpaid leave until October 31, and after laying off 2,000 employees over the past year.<br/>
Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways will sign a deal valued at nearly $2B with General Electric to purchase GEnx engines to power Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, the airline said on Tuesday. The deal will be signed in the United States later on Tuesday in the presence of Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Bamboo said. The GEnx engines, due to be delivered in 2022, will be used on the airline’s wide-body Dreamliner fleet to operate planned non-stop routes between Vietnam and the United States, the company said. “This new signing agreement will be an important milestone for the airline to expand its transcontinental flight network, connecting Vietnam with medium- and long-range markets,” the statement said. The airline said it will open a representative office in the United States and sign agreements with San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport this week, paving the way for its first test of a non-stop flight between the countries on Thursday. Bamboo said it aims to finalise procedures for non-stop commercial flights to the United Sates early next year, pending government approvals.<br/>