JetBlue Airways has been working for months on plans to integrate Spirit Airlines’ operations should it win a takeover battle for the deep-discount carrier. “It is a very complex process,” JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes, 55, said in an interview. “Our team has already started, for a number of months, building an integration plan.” JetBlue last week raised its all-cash offer to $3.4b and added an upfront payment as a sweetener in hopes of winning the support of Spirit’s board, as well as its shareholders. Spirit remains bound by its original takeover deal with Frontier that includes stock and cash valued at $2.9b when it was made in February. Spirit investors will vote June 30. JetBlue shares fell 4.6% to $9.10 as of 9:45 a.m. in New York, while Spirit declined 4.9% and Frontier dropped 6.3%. Spirit shares had slipped 1.3% as of the market close on June 10 since JetBlue launched its competing bid in April, and its market cap sits at about $2.3 billion, below either offer. A Standard & Poor’s index of the five largest US carriers has tumbled 13.4% in the same period. Melding operations of any two airlines is a major undertaking. JetBlue and Spirit have little in common -- outside of their Airbus-dominated fleets and overlapping routes in Florida and the Caribbean. While JetBlue has offered low fares and customer-friendly options like free Wi-Fi, Spirit appeals to the most price-sensitive travelers as a so-called ultra low-cost carrier. But Hayes said JetBlue has held talks with other airline executives who have been through mergers or acquisitions to get the benefit of their experience.<br/>
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LATAM Airlines Group, the largest air transport group in Latin America, on Monday asked a bankruptcy judge to approve $2.75b in new loans to fund the company's exit from Chapter 11. US Bankruptcy Judge James Garrity in Manhattan will review the request during a court hearing on June 23. LATAM, which has operating units in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, says it has commitments for $2.75b in loans from JPMorgan Chase Bank, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners, Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas Securities Corp and Natixis, with an additional $1.17b agreement to refinance and extend its existing bankruptcy loan. "This commitment secures us the full amount of financing required to complete our restructuring plan and, very importantly, with a degree of flexibility that allows us to optimize existing market conditions," LATAM Airlines CE Roberto Alvo said Saturday. In addition to the judge approving the exit loans, LATAM is awaiting Garrity's decision on whether to approve its overall restructuring plan. LATAM needs to secure its exit loans before emerging from bankruptcy and continuing to raise funds through a post-bankruptcy $800m equity offering, according to court documents. Born in 2012 from the merger of Chile's LAN with Brazilian rival TAM, LATAM was one of three major Latin American airlines to seek Chapter 11 protection in New York two years ago amid the economic fallout of the pandemic. The other two, Mexico’s Grupo Aeromexico and Colombia’s Avianca, have both emerged from bankruptcy in the past six months.<br/>
It’s not easy to wipe the trademark grin off Richard Branson’s face, but one way is to ask the British billionaire about the challenges facing his home country. Speaking in Texas about Virgin Atlantic Airways’ bid to tap Austin’s tech boom with its first flights to the state, Branson’s ebullience fades when the conversation switches to the economic squeeze and travel chaos in the UK. “I don’t want to get drawn into the British economy and politics or else I’ll end up on Brexit and heaven knows what,” the entrepreneur says. Branson, 71, was one of the most prominent business voices of the campaign to keep Britain inside the European Union, telling now-Prime Minister Boris Johnson the plan would be a “disaster.” With UK flights in turmoil amid a labor crunch that’s been linked to Brexit, the Virgin Group founder says his fears are being borne out. “I made my thoughts clear on Brexit,” he says. “I don’t change one word. And sadly quite a few of the things that I’ve said in the past may be coming about.” Wrangling with the EU over the terms of the UK’s departure continues, with the status of Northern Ireland a lingering flash-point. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecasts the UK will be the worst-performing economy in the developed world apart from heavily sanctioned Russia in 2023, with zero growth in gross domestic product. The war in Ukraine has had a knock-on effect on the economy, sending fuel bills to record highs and inflation to a forecast 10%. But Britain is also in the grip of a labor crisis that’s been blamed partly on the loss of EU workers after Brexit, as well as the upheaval of the Covid-19 pandemic.<br/>Airlines and airports have seen a particularly severe crunch, suffering flight cancellations and hours-long delays as they struggle to fill vital roles in security and baggage handling. Story has more.<br/>
Low cost airline Ryanair’s Spanish cabin staff will go on strike on six days in late June and early July, its main unions said on Monday. The staff will walk out on June 24, 25, 26 and 30 and on July 1 and 2, as they are unhappy with working conditions and pay, USO union said. “We have to resume mobilisation so that the reality of our situation is known and Ryanair is forced to abide by basic labour laws,” said Lidia Arasanz, the general secretary of USO’s Ryanair section. Staff of Dublin-based Ryanair, the largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger numbers, have walked out in other European countries such as Belgium and Italy. With most COVID-related travel restrictions lifted in many countries in recent months, demand for summer travel has bounced back, leaving airlines and airport operators struggling to hire staff fast enough to handle the flow of passengers and offer them attractive working conditions.<br/>
Oman Air, the Sultanate of Oman's flag carrier, has amended its summer schedule to reflect increased frequency to 8 Indian destinations including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kozhikode, Kochi, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Oman Air will now fly seven times a week to Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kozhikode and Kochi and three times a week to Goa. Between Muscat and its operational India destinations, the airline introduced wide-body service, including the B787 Dreamliner and Airbus A330 in addition to the Boeing 737. Guests should check omanair.com for the most up-to-date flight schedules and times, as they are subject to change, an airline statement said. <br/>