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The EU's top court on Thursday cleared the way for passengers to seek compensation for delayed flights from non-EU airlines operating flights on behalf carriers from within the bloc. The ruling from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is the latest to boost passengers' rights to be reimbursed for flight delays or cancellations. Thursday's case concerned three passengers, who made a single reservation with Lufthansa via a travel agency for a flight from Brussels to San Jose in the United States. The flight was entirely operated by United Airlines. The three travellers arrived at their destination with a 223-minute delay and subsequently sued United Airlines in a Dutch court for compensation. The CJEU backed their claim, saying United Airlines could then seek compensation from third parties. "Passengers of a delayed flight may claim compensation from a non-EU air carrier where that carrier operates the entirety of the flight on behalf of an EU carrier," judges said."The operating air carrier (United Airlines) which is obliged to compensate a passenger retains the right to seek compensation from any person, including third parties, in accordance with the applicable national law."<br/>

Air Canada says it is suspending flights between Vancouver and Delhi this summer due to the difficulties of avoiding Russian and Ukrainian airspace. The airline says in a release Wednesday that the change is necessary because of extended flying times and a refuelling stop that are needed for routes that avoid the area. It says wind and weather conditions in South Asia are also expected to add to the challenge. Flights between Vancouver and Delhi will be unavailable between June 2 and Sept. 6, and from June 4 to Sept. 8 between Delhi and Vancouver. Air India, meanwhile, has been operating flights between Vancouver and Delhi throughout the pandemic. Indian airlines are not banned from Russian airspace. Air Canada says it may reinstate the route earlier if conditions allow.<br/>

SAS is to defer interest payments on securities which fall due towards the end of April as part of its latest stabilisation plan. SAS states that it will defer the semi-annual payment of SKr36m ($3.8m) for 25 April, as well as the SKr138m payment for 26 April. It says the deferral is being carried out in accordance with the securities’ terms and conditions. The carrier is taking the measure as part of its SAS Forward restructuring plan, outlined earlier this year. SAS Forward is intended to strengthen the company’s financial position and secure its long-term competitiveness. This involves implementing a cost-reduction programme in order to provide SAS with the ability to attract new investment.<br/>

The CE of Scandinavian carrier SAS has questioned the narrative that demand for long-haul travel in particular will align with pre-Covid trends and assumptions, as he urged the industry to ”get real” about the challenges ahead. Anko van der Werff said that while he is seeing a rebound in demand for travel as Covid-19 restrictions are removed, “it’s not going to fly” for the industry “to just build back what we had, who we were”. Factors including greater airline debt coming out of the pandemic, rising inflation, higher fuel costs, the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war on globalisation, and structural demand changes in long-haul connecting traffic – notably driven by an increased corporate focus on sustainability – all need to be taken into account when mapping out the industry’s future, he suggests. “I’m not fully convinced and I’m not sold yet on the future,” van der Werff states. “We do have to change. We do have to get real about what is working for the industry.”<br/>

The leaders of Emirates Airline and Scandinavian Airlines have offered different perspectives on the market for widebodies today, with one citing the growing need for super-sized aircraft to feed busy hubs and the other suggesting too many twin-aisles have been produced over the past decade. Emirates president Tim Clark lamented the fact that Airbus had failed to develop an enhanced version of the A380 – sometimes dubbed the A380neo – noting that he had “tried so hard” to convince the aiframer otherwise. “I was actually drawing it out for them… smaller tail, different wings,” Clark states, claiming the improvements would have led to a 12-15% reduction in operating costs. He is concerned about what happens in the mid-2030s, as Emirates seeks to serve what he expects to be increasingly slot-constrained hubs including London Heathrow, Hong Kong International, Sao Paulo and Sydney without recourse to an A380 replacement. Clark’s bullish widebody assessment was not shared, however, by SAS CE Anko van der Werff. Explaining why he feels the industry needs to “get real” about future demand trends, van der Werff outlined his belief that “in the last 10 years the world has produced too many widebody aircraft”. He sees that misstep “reflected in widebody aircraft prices post-Covid”. Crucially, van der Werff explains, twin-aisles are traditionally associated with “long-haul connections and premium traffic”. “I’m certainly not yet positive when I see what is going on,” he says of those sectors in the Covid-19 recovery phase, citing “inflation, fuel costs and some dent of globalisation” as factors potentially weighing on demand in the coming years, alongside increased awareness of sustainability issues. <br/>

Ethiopian Airlines has entered a sale-and-leaseback agreement for a pair of De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops recently delivered to the carrier. The aircraft involved – bearing serial numbers 4626 and 4628 – were handed to the African operator in February. Ethiopian Airlines has agreed their sale and leaseback, covering an eight-year term, with regional lessor TrueNoord. Newly-appointed Ethiopian Airlines group chief Mesfin Tasew says the carrier is “committed to a sustainable future” for its regional operations. TrueNoord, he says, has shown an ability to provide “practical and timely lease options” to support the airline’s business model. The Dash 8-400, adds Tasew, is the “ideal aircraft” to serve the carrier’s domestic and regional network. De Havilland Canada vice-president for sales and marketing Philippe Poutissou says TrueNoord’s investment in the turboprops reinforces the manufacturer’s reputation for producing aircraft with “long-term value retention”. TrueNoord says a revolving warehouse facility – underwritten by Citibank, Societe Generale and Royal Bank of Canada – funded the Dash 8s.<br/>