It began as a chant at a NASCAR race. It became an inside joke among many Republicans that spread to T-shirts and even to the floor of Congress. And now it has entangled Southwest in the nation’s political tussles. The phrase “Let’s go Brandon,” which is understood to be code for swearing at President Biden, was uttered over the intercom by a Southwest pilot during a flight on Friday, a reporter for The AP wrote in an article about the spread of the phrase. The reporter, Colleen Long, who was on that flight, added that it prompted “audible gasps from some passengers.” As word of the remark spread on social media, many threatened to boycott the airline. Others pledged their support to Southwest because of the pilot’s remark. Southwest apologized to customers on Sunday and said that it was conducting an internal investigation. “Southwest does not condone employees sharing their personal political opinions while on the job,” the company said. The airline would not say if the pilot had been suspended for making the remark, adding that it does not comment on an employee’s status.<br/>
unaligned
Wideroe, the Nordics' largest regional airline, is setting up a subsidiary to help it develop an emissions-free airline business, its CE said. Privately-owned Wideroe serves short-haul routes in a sparsely populated region with few train lines and challenging geography. It has 40 Bombardier Dash 8 propeller planes and 3 EmbraerE190-E2 jets. Wideroe plans to have its first zero-emissions plane flying in 2026 and aims to replace its 26 Dash 8-100 and -200, which will be obsolete between 2030 and 2035, with zero-emissions planes, either electric or using hydrogen as fuel. Called Wideroe Zero and launching on Friday, the new company would help Wideroe achieve its aim of a zero-, or near-zero, emissions fleet, ChE Stein Nilsen said. "To be free to think outside the box we decided to establish a new company with the main target of finding this path to find a more sustainable (business)," he said. Wideroe Zero would also try to find new market opportunities, he added, when the airline industry, which accounts for 2.5% of global CO2 emissions in 2018, according to Our World in Data, is under pressure to be more sustainable. New technologies are disrupting the industry too, Nilsen said, citing the emergence of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) as an example of the rapid change that Wideroe wants to take advantage of.<br/>
Portugal has blocked Ryanair Holdings Plc from opening three new routes from Lisbon to Morocco, the airline said Saturday. The move will cause the cancellation of flights for over 3,000 Portuguese passengers from Sunday. “This is a clear breach of the EU Open Skies Agreement in place with Morocco,” Ryanair said. The airline is planning to arrange alternative travel or refunds for affected passengers.<br/>
Vietnam’s VietJet Aviation on Sunday signed a $400m contract with Rolls-Royce for the provision of aircraft engines and services, the budget airline said. The deal for the Trent-700 engines for widebody aircraft was signed in Edinburgh at the presence of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is heading to Glasgow to attend the United Nations COP26 summit, the airline said.<br/>
Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways will launch direct services between the country’s two largest cities and London from next year, the company said on Sunday. The airline will initially conduct six return flights per week from January, connecting business hub Ho Chi Minh City and capital Hanoi with London, Bamboo Airways said. It will operate Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on the new routes, the company said.<br/>
AirAsia X Bhd.’s shares dived by the most in more than a year after the long haul budget airline was officially categorized as a financially distressed firm, which gives the company a year to recast its finances or risk losing its Malaysian listing. The stock tumbled as much as 21.1% to 7.5 sen on Monday, set for the steepest drop since August 2020. On Friday, AirAsia X’s auditor Ernst & Young issued a disclaimer of opinion on the airline’s audited financial results for the 18-month period ended June 2021, citing threats that cast “significant doubt” on the firm continuing as a going concern, the airline said in a filing. AirAsia X said it has a year to recast its finances, failing which it will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia. “AirAsia X continues to face severe liquidity constraints and all hopes are on successful debt restructuring and new equity funding from existing and new investors to provide sufficient capital to restart operations when international borders reopen,” Public Investment Bank wrote in a note on Monday. The brokerage maintained its stock-target price of 1 sen. On Friday, AirAsia X’s auditor Ernst & Young issued a disclaimer of opinion on the airline’s audited financial results for the 18-month period ended June 2021, citing threats that cast “significant doubt” on the firm continuing as a going concern, the airline said in a filing. AirAsia X said it has a year to recast its finances, failing which it will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia. “AirAsia X continues to face severe liquidity constraints and all hopes are on successful debt restructuring and new equity funding from existing and new investors to provide sufficient capital to restart operations when international borders reopen,” Public Investment Bank wrote in a note on Monday.<br/>