Boeing is being called out by Ryanair, one of its major customers, for not selling its jets more cheaply. So far Boeing is standing fast and refusing to meet Ryanair's price demand, despite the hit its sales have taken the last two years. On Tuesday Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary called Boeing's stand on pricing "delusional" and said the aircraft maker's demands for higher prices on future sales were "unjustified and inexplicable." It's an unusually public dispute between two companies with a long and strong business relationship: Ryanair exclusively flies Boeing 737 jets. And it's a sign that demand for aircraft in general — and the troubled 737 Max in particular — has rebounded from pandemic lows faster than many thought possible. It's also a strong indicator that higher prices aren't just causing pain for consumers but also for businesses. Part of Ryanair's business model is based on only flying different versions of the 737, allowing pilots to move seamlessly between planes without additional training and reducing the cost of keeping spare parts for different aircraft models on hand at various airports. Southwest has long followed such business model. But the statements from O'Leary suggest the airline may consider making the jump to a 737 competitor. "Europe's low cost carriers will drive jet demand for Airbus A320 family aircraft and not Boeing," O'Leary wrote in a letter Tuesday. "If Boeing wants to sell aircraft in Europe, it needs to continue to be cost competitive and do a deal with Ryanair." Story has more.<br/>
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Spanish tourism group Globalia will seek to reach an alternative furlough agreement with its unions should the Spanish government not extend its COVID furlough programme, which will expire at the end of this month, a spokesperson for the company said. Globalia - which owns airline Air Europa - will propose furloughs for organisational and productive reasons to around 9,000 employees across the group's various companies, including Be Live Hotels and handling firm Groundforce. With tourist activity only slowly recovering, Globalia is still far from operating as it did before the coronavirus crisis, a source within the sector said. Earlier this week, airline Iberia - which recently bought Air Europa in a cut-price deal - also announced that it would propose a furlough to its employees, under similar conditions, should Spain's force majeure government scheme not be prolonged. Air travel to Spain has slowly begun to recover in recent months with 5 million international passengers arriving in August, according to official data released on Monday, soaring by 172% from a year ago, but less than half pre-pandemic levels.<br/>
Norwegian airline start-up Norse Atlantic Airways has signed a collective agreement with the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), the two said in a joint statement on Wednesday. Norse listed on Oslo's stock market this year and seeks to fill the void left by Norwegian Air's exit from transatlantic routes using 15 leased Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes. "We are thrilled to be collaborating with BALPA to offer pilots the opportunity to return to the cockpit and create hundreds of new jobs in the UK, especially following a tough time for the entire aviation industry," Bjorn Tore Larsen, chief executive of Norse Atlantic Airways, said. BALPA said the agreement was a much needed "glimmer of hope" for the struggling UK aviation industry. "We are pleased to welcome Norse Atlantic Airways to London and the new jobs they will deliver at this critical time," it added.<br/>
Mauritius government is set to reimburse 9.5b rupees ($223.5m) to creditors of the state-owned airline and provide an additional 2.5b rupees to help the carrier emerge from voluntary administration. The Air Mauritiusdebt-restructuring plan is in a report by administrators Sattar Hajee Abdoula and Arvindsingh K. Gokhool ahead of meetings with three classes of creditors scheduled for Sept. 28. Aircraft lessors will be called to vote for a 65% cut on their claims, while hedge counterparties will be asked to take a 40% reduction. In the report dated Sept. 21, the administrators urge creditors to accept the proposed arrangement. If all approvals are secured, the airline will come out of deed administration on Nov. 1, the administrators said. “It offers greater certainty and speed of return than the other options,” the administrators said. The payouts “will be funded by a shareholder loan through a government-owned entity and will be distributed to creditors by Oct. 31.” Getting Air Mauritius back on track as soon as possible will have a positive impact for the tourism-dependent Indian Ocean island economy. The country is set to reopen borders to vaccinated tourists holding a negative PCR test on arrival as from Oct. 1. Air Mauritius has been under voluntary administration since April 2020. In the 15 years through fiscal year ended March 2019, the airline incurred losses in seven years. <br/>