JetBlue Airways is offering its flight attendants $1,000 attendance bonuses for not calling out through early January, according to a company memo reviewed by CNBC, the latest effort by a carrier to avoid staffing crunches during the holidays. Airlines have been gearing up for a surge in travelers, many of whom skipped in-person celebrations last year as Covid cases were on the rise. The TSA this week said it expects to screen 20 million travelers from Friday through the end of Thanksgiving week on Nov. 28, close to pre-pandemic levels. But some airlines have been scrambling to ensure they have enough staff, rattled by disruptions. Southwest and American Airlines cancelled 2,000 flights apiece in less than one-week periods this fall. Some analysts have said the incentives could end up costing airlines less than a meltdown. JetBlue’s flight attendants can qualify for the $1,000 bonuses if they don’t call out from work from Nov. 22 through Jan. 5 and work at least 100 credit hours over that period if they are full time.<br/>
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Large US airlines are carrying about $20 more debt per passenger than before the pandemic, according to the CEO of Frontier Group Holdings Inc., who predicts the carriers will start addressing those obligations with higher fares. “How long can that last?” asked Barry Biffle, CEO of ultra-low-cost Frontier Airlines. “They either have to raise their leisure fares or you reduce capacity so you can raise prices.” Large US airlines are carrying about $20 more debt per passenger than before the pandemic, according to the chief executive officer of Frontier Group Holdings, who predicts the carriers will start addressing those obligations with higher fares. “How long can that last?” asked Barry Biffle, CEO of ultra-low-cost Frontier Airlines. “They either have to raise their leisure fares or you reduce capacity so you can raise prices.”<br/>
Canada’s second- and third-largest passenger carriers, WestJet and Air Transat, have entered into a codeshare agreement for transatlantic travel. The airlines say on 19 November that customers can now book travel to Europe involving both companies on a single ticket, which will enable them to also seamlessly check bags to final destinations. “This agreement is a first milestone in our strategy to grow and strengthen our network through alliances,” says Montreal-based Transat’s CE Annick Guerard. “It will create great opportunities for our existing and future customers, who are looking to connect between North America and Europe, and will enhance our longstanding presence on the transatlantic market.” The companies say that from “early 2022”, and pending regulatory approval, WestJet’s code will be placed on Air Transat flights to some cities in Europe, and Air Transat’s code will be placed on some WestJet flights in North America.<br/>
A bomb threat that forced the evacuation of a Spanish airliner on Friday morning after it landed in the northwestern city of La Coruna was a hoax, the central government's regional office said. All passengers were evacuated after the plane from domestic airline Volotea landed around 7:30 a.m. (0630 GMT). The aircraft, which had taken off from Bilbao in northeastern Spain, was parked away from the airport buildings and subjected to a search that showed no explosives were on board, authorities said. "Police proceeded to examine the plane and the luggage and, once it was verified that there was no real threat, the passengers' belongings were handed over to them," the regional office said.<br/>
Ryanair has confirmed it will quit the London Stock Exchange next month to comply with EU ownership rules that have hit the airline industry following Brexit. The move will end the Irish carrier’s 20-year listing on the LSE, making it one of the clearest examples of how the UK’s exit from the EU has affected London’s capital markets. Ryanair warned earlier this month that it was considering leaving the LSE because of EU rules requiring airlines to be owned and controlled by nationals from within the bloc, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. The airline has barred non-EU individuals from buying shares in the company for nearly 20 years, and in January extended this to institutions and individuals in the UK after the country left the bloc. On Friday, Ryanair said it expected the last day of trading in its London-listed shares to be December 17. Although the airline’s primary listing is on the Euronext in Dublin, London has long been a more liquid market than Dublin for its stock. However, the volume of its shares traded on the LSE has tumbled since January and now comprises just 10 per cent of the total, according to calculations by Mark Simpson, an aviation analyst at Goodbody. “The volume of trading of the shares on the London Stock Exchange does not justify the costs,” the airline said on Friday. UK shareholders who held Ryanair shares before January have been able to keep their holdings but are barred from attending or voting at annual meetings. But the carrier has struggled to keep new UK investors out. It had to eject some UK shareholders in September through the forced sale of 1m shares after they bought into the company.<br/>
Virgin Atlantic Airwaysis in discussions with its shareholders about a GBP400m ($540m) capital injection, according to a person familiar with the matter. Added funding would bolster Virgin Atlantic’s balance sheet as it looks to cash-in on pent-up demand for air travel as restrictions lift, said the person, who requested not being identified because the information isn’t public.. It would also provide a buffer should new outbreaks of Covid-19 prompt further lockdowns. Sky News first reported the potential capital increase earlier on Saturday. A spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on speculation. Virgin Atlantic, controlled by founder Richard Branson, was weighing a London listing earlier in the year, but the company has since slowed plans for an initial public offering, opting to rebuild its business before making the case to investors in 2022, Bloomberg News has reported. <br/>
Ten members of Iran's military went on trial Sunday in connection with the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet in 2020, the judiciary said. On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed shortly after take-off from Iran's capital Tehran killing all 176 people aboard, most of them Iranians and Canadians, including dual nationals. The Islamic republic admitted three days later that its forces mistakenly shot down the Kiev-bound Boeing 737-800 plane, after firing two missiles. A report by the Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation released in March blamed the shooting of the jet on "human error". Sunday's trial was held at a military tribunal in Tehran province, the judiciary's Mizan Online agency said. "Ten defendants of different (military) ranks were present in court," it said. According to Mizan Online, 103 people had filed a complaint to the judiciary demanding "an impartial investigation" to identify who was responsible for the downing of the plane and bring them to court. The agency, citing a prosecution representative, added that the plaintiffs also demanded "that factors that hindered the search for the truth be known".<br/>
A cyber attack against Iranian private airline Mahan Air has been foiled, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, adding that the airliner's flight schedule was not affected by the attack. The carrier, blacklisted by Washington in 2011 over support it provided to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in a statement that it had faced similar attacks in the past, adding that its "internal system" had been targeted. "Our international and domestic flights are operating on schedule without any disruptions," Amirhossein Zolanvari, head of the airliner's public relation office told state TV. Authorities have said that Iran is on high alert for online assaults, which Tehran has blamed in the past on its arch-foes United States and Israel. The United States and other Western powers meanwhile have accused Iran of trying to disrupt and break into their networks. Iran has been targeted by a series of cyber attacks in the past such as one last month when the sale of heavily subsidised gasoline across the country was disrupted by apparent cyberattacks.<br/>