The WestJet Group says it has hired Bob Cummings to reprise his role as president of discount subsidiary Swoop. He replaces Charles Duncan, who is transitioning into a new position as executive vice-president of integration and strategic projects after 24 months atop Swoop. Cummings oversaw the budget airline's launch in 2018 after 13 years at WestJet, where he has held several executive titles. He returns to an upended market, now crowded by ultra-low-cost competitors Flair Airlines and Lynx Air, which made its maiden voyage last week. John Gradek, head of McGill University's aviation management program, says both those fast-growing rivals have Swoop in their sights, with all three offering a slew of routes across Western Canada from their home turf in Alberta. He says Cummings understands the business and knows the culture at Swoop. "You need somebody now who’s pretty aggressive and who’s willing to take the commercial strategy in dealing with the competitive threat posed by both Flair and Lynx. Because they’re going after Swoop big-time," Gradek said. Cummings rejoins the team following two years spent helming regional carrier Central Mountain Air. Previously, he led the growth of WestJet Vacations and WestJet Rewards and played a key role in the launch of regional airline WestJet Encore, the Calgary-based company said in a release Wednesday. As WestJet's CCO, he grew the airline's revenue from $4b to $4.5b between 2015 and 2017, according to annual reports from the carrier, which went private after being purchased by Onex Corp. in 2019.<br/>
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EasyJet airline founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has been described as a “deeply unimpressive witness” by a High Court judge who oversaw a trademark dispute. Mrs Justice Bacon said Sir Stelios gave answers “that were defensive to the point of implausibility” when cross-examined at a recent High Court trial in London. The judge said she “unfortunately” had to conclude that she could place very little weight on his evidence – “save where” it was “corroborated by other evidence”. She outlined her views on Wednesday in a ruling on the dispute, which involved Sir Stelios’s easyGroup, and focused on a business he had launched more than a decade ago called easyOffice. EasyGroup had claimed “infringement” of “registered trademarks in the name EASYOFFICE” and accused a company called Nuclei, which is involved in advertising or brokerage of serviced office space, of “stealing our brand”. The judge made findings in favour of Nuclei. She said Nuclei’s use of easyOffice signs did not infringe easyGroup’s trademarks and said four easyGroup trademarks should be revoked on the “grounds of lack of genuine use”. “When cross-examined, Sir Stelios was revealed to be a deeply unimpressive witness,” said Mrs Justice Bacon, who oversaw hearings between December and early April. "He was argumentative, giving answers that were defensive to the point of implausibility, and repeatedly contradicted points set out in one or other of his witness statements. It was clear that he had a poor recollection of the events that formed the background to these proceedings."<br/>
Indian budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd said on Wednesday the country’s aviation regulator has asked 90 of its pilots to refrain from flying Boeing 737 MAX planes until they have been retrained. SpiceJet, which currently operates 11 MAX aircraft and has 144 pilots to fly them, said the pilots have been restricted from operating the jets until they undergo retraining to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s satisfaction. Indian media reported that the restrictions were imposed after flaws were discovered at a simulator facility near Delhi where they had received training for the Boeing jet. The pilots continue to remain available for other Boeing 737 aircraft and the restriction does not impact MAX operations, a SpiceJet spokesperson said. The airline is Boeing’s biggest customer in the South Asian nation for MAX planes. “We are working closely with all parties involved including our supplier and the DGCA to ensure the maintenance and operation of this specific device complies with all regulatory requirements,” Boeing said. “We are committed to ensuring our customers receive high quality simulation experiences in accordance with all regulations.” The pilots need to retrain successfully and we will take strict action against those found responsible for the lapse, Arun Kumar, the directorate general at India’s air safety watchdog DGCA, said. In August, the regulator cleared the 737 MAX aircraft to fly after a near two-and-a-half-year regulatory grounding following two fatal crashes in 2019.<br/>
Firefly plans to add seven more aircraft in phases over the next two to three years to boost its domestic, ASEAN, and Asia-Pacific capacity, according to Izham Ismail, Chief Executive Officer of Firefly parent Malaysia Airlines. “Domestic travel and short distance flights are expected to be in high demand, and this will meet the northern region’s growing demand with Penang as Firefly’s new hub,” he told reporters after seeing off the resumption of a B737-800 service from Penang on April 11, 2022. “Additional Firefly aircraft in the next two to three years are expected to expand its flight network and at the same time introduce new markets to draw passengers to Malaysia via Penang to boost the economy, trade, [and] tourism industries,” he said. Firefly briefly had narrowbody operations from Penang with B737-800s from its parent last year, but put the idea on hold after just three flights and returned all aircraft to Malaysian Airlines in July 2021. <br/>