Brazilian low-cost airline Gol plans to launch a fleet of zero-emission electric air taxis in São Paulo that aim to be as cheap as an Uber. The carrier will buy or lease 250 of the futuristic aircraft, which look like mini helicopters, from Avolon, according to Dómhnal Slattery, chief executive of the Dublin-based aircraft leasing group. Avolon bought 500 of the aircraft, valued at $2bn from the UK’s Vertical Aerospace in June, the start-up’s largest single order. The financial terms of the deal for the air taxis, called VA-X4 eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft), were not disclosed. Gol declined an interview request. “It’s going to be an absolute disrupter. We’re going to democratise air travel,” Slattery said. “Helicopters have been the domain of the ultra wealthy.” Brazil is the ideal country to launch air taxis since it has one of the world’s highest number of helicopters and helipads, Slattery said. The aircraft, which American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and others have also bought, are still some years away from commercial flights. Yet to be built, they are expected to be delivered in late 2024 or 2025. “Our basic estimate at the moment is that the operating cost here for this aircraft will be the equivalent of $1 per passenger over a 25-mile trip,” Slattery said. “We think we can get the cost of this down to the equivalent of an Uber ride, equivalent to downtown Manhattan to JFK.” The aircraft, designed to transport four passengers plus one pilot, will have power systems designed by Rolls-Royce, Slattery said. Besides taxi services, they could also be used for cargo and medical evacuations.<br/>
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Russian operator Utair Aviation has reached a loan agreement with Rossiya Bank for Rb12b ($164m) as part of the company’s financial restructuring. Utair says the terms of the 12-year loan include a “grace period” for payment of the principal and interest. It adds that the two sides aim to settle repayment terms for previous loans by the end of October, continuing the carrier’s effort to optimise its debt situation. Utair Aviation is Russia’s fourth-largest operator, with a fleet of some 400 aircraft and helicopters, and is core to its parent Utair Group. Over the first six months of this year Utair Aviation turned in a small net profit of Rb626m, in contrast to the previous interim loss of Rb5.8b. But the company remained in a poor financial position at the half-year point, with negative net assets to the amount of Rb24.2 billion – only a slight reduction on the figure at the end of 2020. Its current liabilities exceeded its current assets by Rb45.6b, according to its half-year financial statement to 30 June 2021, filed under international standards.<br/>
Aer Lingus staff working in ground operations in Dublin have overwhelmingly rejected proposals by the airline for cost reductions and work practice changes to offset losses arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. The trade union Siptu said its members working in ground operations for Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport had voted by 82 per cent against the proposed measures. The union said it represented about 1,100 workers employed by Aer Lingus as ground crew in Dublin Airport. Siptu sector organiser Niall Phillips said: “Prior to this ballot, union representatives engaged with management at the company concerning changes it wished to implement due to the losses the company incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our members have clearly rejected what was proposed to them. Workers in the aviation sector have been severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Many have been laid off for long periods of time, others saw significant reductions in their working hours, and hundreds have been made redundant across the sector.”<br/>
Virgin Atlantic has reported a 600% surge in flight bookings to the US and British Airways reported a jump in searches after the US said it would lift restrictions to allow fully vaccinated passengers from the UK and most European Union countries to travel to the country from early November. Bookings jumped overnight, compared with the same time last week, after the US government announced on Monday the end of the 18-month travel ban first imposed by Donald Trump in the early stages of the pandemic. Virgin Atlantic said most bookings were to New York, while typical leisure destinations were also popular with holidaymakers. Orlando flights were up eleven-fold, Miami bookings rose nine-fold and demand for Las Vegas was up eight-fold. Juha Järvinen, the airline’s chief commercial officer, said: “Following the gradual relaxation of travel restrictions, we’ve seen demand increase to many of our global destinations, but the USA has always been our heartland. We are simply not Virgin without the Atlantic and I’m thrilled we’re finally able to return to the country that’s so important to us.”<br/>
Ryanair on Tuesday warned that Boeing risked forgoing the main driver of growth in Europe, low-cost airlines, to rival Airbus unless it reversed a recent price increase. Europe’s largest low cost carrier earlier this month abruptly ended talks with the U.S. planemaker over a new order of the larger 737 MAX 10 jets, worth tens of billions of dollars, due to differences over price. Ryanair Group CE Michael O’Leary said that “Europe’s low cost carriers will drive demand for Airbus A320 family aircraft and not Boeing” unless it cuts its prices and does a deal with Ryanair. He made the comments in a letter responding to a Reuters article that quoted a Boeing executive forecasting low-cost carriers would drive growth.<br/>
The head of budget airline easyJet has told the boss of Ryanair to focus on running his own airline after he questioned the British carrier's independence. Ryanair group CE Michael O'Leary was quoted as telling the Financial Times last week that rivals easyJet and Wizz Air would need to merge or be taken over as the industry consolidates in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. "(It is) complete nonsense," easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said. "I would urge anyone who runs an airline to focus on their own business rather than speculate about others, (where) they have no idea about what's going on." Lundgren said consolidation was already taking place in Europe as weaker airlines cancel capacity, and that easyJet was not opposed in principle to consolidation carried out in the form of external transactions. "We are not against any M&A type of activity but it needs to be able to deliver value for shareholders and to deliver a reason to believe in a successful outcome," he said. Asked whether easyJet saw itself as a buyer in any future shake-out of the European airline industry, Lundgren said: "We would be looking at companies, as I am sure companies would be looking at us. There is no drama around that at all."<br/>
EasyJet said governments need to get behind zero-emission aircraft including hydrogen-powered models envisaged by Airbus if they’re to become a reality by the 2030s. Airlines that operate such planes should benefit from tax breaks and reduced airspace and airport charges, while state support will be key in developing hydrogen supplies and infrastructure, EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said Tuesday at an Airbus sustainability event. The aviation industry has put forward a range of proposals as it seeks to burnish its green credentials before next month’s COP26 climate summit in Scotland. EasyJet said that while it will embrace near-term measures such as sustainable aviation fuel, the most effective long-term solution for short-haul operators is a wholesale switch to zero-carbon hydrogen and electric aircraft. “It needs to be an effort by everybody including governments to make sure there’s a plan of how to decarbonize,” Lundgren said. “One of the things I’m skeptical of is well-meaning attempts by some policy makers that will strangle aviation by impacting demand.” Airlines are currently reliant on carbon offsets as an immediate response to cutting emissions, with the role of SAF limited by a lack of availability and consequent higher costs. Even so, the CEO said he’s concerned that too much focus on SAF risks hurting investment in true zero-emission technologies.<br/>
Eastar Jet has submitted its restructuring plans to Seoul Rehabilitation Court by the required - and repeatedly postponed - deadline as part of its intention to finalise an acquisition deal with property developer and golf course owner Sungjeong. However, the low-cost carrier now aims to resume commercial flights early next year rather than by the end of 2021. It will prepare steps to regain its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) in or by December, Eastar Jet CEO Kim You-sang told Yonhap News Agency. If Eastar Jet’s debt settlement proposals - which it also submitted to the bankruptcy court - are accepted by two-thirds of its creditors, the court will close the deal. A creditor meeting is set for November. Presenting the plans comes three months after Sungjeong signed a deal to buy an 80% stake in the airline for KRW108.7b won (US$92m) and paid a KRW11b (US$9.3m) deposit. “Once the company receives government approval for flights, it will focus on putting its business back on track as soon as possible,” the CE told the news agency.<br/>
Philippine Airlines said Tuesday that it has filed a petition before a Pasay City court seeking recognition of the proceedings and decisions of a United States bankruptcy court hearing its Chapter 11 case. “The recognition petition filed by PAL before a local court is a petition which aims to ensure that the Philippine legal system recognizes all proceedings and decisions rendered by the foreign court handling the Chapter 11 case,” PAL Spokesperson Cielo C. Villaluna said. “This was filed before a Pasay City court yesterday, Sept. 20,” she added. PAL filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Sept. 3. PAL has said that the bankruptcy protection filing will allow it to “successfully restructure and reorganize its finances to navigate the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) crisis and emerge as a leaner and better-capitalized airline.” Story has details.<br/>