Canadian start-up Lynx Airlines has begun selling tickets and preparing for an April launch. The Calgary-headquartered ultra-low-cost carrier says on 19 January that it will initially serve five Canadian cities: Calgary, Vancouver, Kelowna, Winnipeg and Toronto, with fares beginning at C$39 ($31) one-way. A test booking showed that Lynx Air flights will begin on 7 April with a first daily out-and-back connection between Calgary and Vancouver. Calgary-to-Toronto flights will commence on 11 April, four times weekly at first and expanding to daily at the end of the month, and further routes will launch successively in the course of the following weeks. Lynx was formerly called Enerjet, which offered charter flights servicing Canada’s oil and gas industry. Last November, the company said it had changed its name and appointed a new management team which is looking to replicate in Canada the low-cost model that “revolutionized air travel across Europe and the United States, offering low fares, flexibility and choice”.<br/>
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Icelandair is to lease another pair of Boeing 737 Max jets to raise its capacity for the summer season, taking the aircraft from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. The airline had indicated, last October, that it was considering adding up to three more 737 Max 8s to its fleet. Icelandair has been receiving Max 8s and 9s from an order for 12, and deliveries are nearing completion. But it intends to raise the fleet to 14 ahead of the summer with the extra pair which are due to be delivered from Boeing in spring. “With favorable conditions in commercial aircraft markets, and the continued ramp-up of our route network, we saw an opportunity and need to expand our fleet,” says Icelandiar Group chief Bogi Nils Bogason. “The aircraft have proved to perform even better than expected, both in terms of flight range and fuel-efficiency.”<br/>
A United Nations report into the forced diversion of a Ryanair jetliner last year has found that a bomb threat that drew the plane to Minsk was “deliberately false” and that Belarus withheld crucial information from its fact-finding team. The UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization set up a specialist fact-finding team in May 2021, days after Belarus diverted the Vilnius-bound jet carrying a wanted opponent to Minsk following what it described as a bomb threat. Dissident Belarus journalist Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend were detained in Minsk following the diversion, which took place shortly before the jet was due to leave Belarus airspace, prompting international uproar. Girlfriend Sofia Sapega has since been charged with inciting social hatred and could face up to 12 years in prison, while Protasevich remains under house arrest. The report, sent to ICAO’s 193 member states on Monday, said Belarus authorities did not properly contact Ireland-based Ryanair about the alleged bomb threat, despite regulations urging them to do so, and did not help crew talk to their base. The pilots agreed to divert to Minsk after a Belarus air traffic controller declared “code red”, indicating a credible threat to the aircraft necessitating an immediate landing. Story has more.<br/>
Supply chain challenges, rising labor costs and the price of flying more sustainably will be felt keenly by Virgin Atlantic Airways this coming year, and passengers will foot the bill. CEO Shai Weiss also warned that higher inflation is here to stay. “Inflationary costs, and containing them, is a major risk not just for an airline but to everyone in the industry right now,” Weiss said. “I’m assuming we will need to pass some of it on in the form of prices.” He added that inflation is likely to persist for another year. Weiss added that “all of us need to become more efficient.” However, Virgin Atlantic is a carrier that’s become as lean as possible during its fight for survival during the pandemic. It laid off 45% of its employees, reduced its cost base by more than $400 million, and secured a $1.6b rescue deal. Last month it added $530m from both the Virgin Group and Delta Air Lines. “We’ve gone further than any other airline to ensure we’re fit for purpose for the future, and future volatility,” Weiss said. Agility will be essential in the coming year in the face of the Great Resignation too. The tight labor market means wages will rise in the fight for talent. Weiss said 4.5 million people quit their jobs in December alone. “That gives you the scale of the issue. It’s not going to go away in the next few months.” The CEO was also quizzed on how the aviation industry could afford to deliver on its pledge to become greener.<br/>
Shortlisted bidders for South Africa’s stricken state-owned budget carrier, Mango Airlines, have been granted more time to comply with financial requirements after none provided an acceptable form of proof of funding. This is according to a January 14 letter to potential investors from the airline's administrator, Sipho Sono, and cited by Fin24. As reported previously, expressions of interest from prospective investors had to be submitted to Sono by December 20, whereupon shortlisted parties were notified accordingly on January 14, 2022. According to the original timeline, they were required to complete their due diligence of Mango by February 14, with binding offers to have been submitted no later than February 21, 2022. Sono was not immediately available to clarify how the extension for the submission of financial requirements would impact the timeline. The selection of the investor will remain at the sole discretion of the administrator. He earlier stated the aim was to find an investor for Mango by the end of March 2022, but the company would not resume operations until it secured a new owner.<br/>
El Al has shifted its frequent-flyer programme to a wholly-owned subsidiary as part of its efforts to obtain financial support from the government. El Al says the activities and assets of the programme have been moved to assist the development of the business and the “recruitment of investors”. The carrier had been informed last year that it would need to sell a substantial part of its frequent-flyer programme as a condition of securing government assistance.nIt detailed a support agreement last November involving a series of loans provided by controlling shareholder Kanfei Nesharim and a planned share issue, in return for an injection of government aid. El Al has also been informed by the ministry of finance that a government decision has been approved regarding additional assistance to Israeli carriers, in response to the latest outbreak of the ‘Omicron’ coronavirus variant. The airline had referred to this proposal for further aid in early January.<br/>
IndiGo CE Ronojoy Dutta has reiterated his view that New Delhi needs to reduce and rationalise taxation for India’s airlines. Dutta points out that aviation is critical for the nation’s growth and economy, but is held back by taxation. “Civil aviation pays 21% of its revenues to the government in indirect taxes with very little input credit,” he says. “It is an unreasonable proposition to expect that the industry should earn a 21% margin just to pay taxes to the government. This unreasonable proposition is resulting in an industry that is chronically ill and is unable to live up to its true potential of boosting commerce and employment.” Dutta specifically requests that central excise taxes on fuel should be cut to 5% from 11%, and that taxes on fuel should be brought under the ordinary Goods & Services Tax rate. In addition, customs duties on imported spare parts need to be eliminated. Dutta’s remarks come as New Delhi plans its budget for the year. In previous remarks to media, he has taken issue with the taxation challenges faced by airlines. “A rationalisation of taxes will result in explosive growth for aviation, which will have multiplier effects throughout the economy, stimulating commerce and employment and integrating the different regions of our diverse country closer together,” he says. In February 2021, Dutta told FlightGlobal that low fares and high taxes form a fatal mix for airlines operating domestically in India, noting the demise of Kingfisher Airlines, which ceased operations in 2012 and Jet Airways, which collapsed in 2019. <br/>