Spirit Airlines CE Ted Christie had been dismissive of the possibility that regulators would allow his low-cost US airline to be sold to JetBlue Airways Corp for the last four months. "You don't need to be an antitrust attorney to see the issues here," Christie stated in several media interviews after JetBlue unveiled its bid in April, gatecrashing a deal he had clinched in February to sell Spirit to Frontier Group. Christie argued that Spirit would cease to be a budget airline under JetBlue, driving up airfares. Yet this week he agreed to sell Spirit to JetBlue for $3.8b in cash, noting in a statement that he was "thrilled to unite with JetBlue" and that he would work to "complete the transaction." It was a reversal driven not by a change of conviction but by Spirit's failure to persuade its shareholders that they would be better off if they sold the company to Frontier for $2.7b in cash and stock, according to six people familiar with the matter who gave an account of the deal discussions on condition of anonymity. Christie had tried to convince Spirit shareholders that the shares they would receive in Frontier would significantly go up in value in the next two years and more than make up for Frontier's bid being over $1 billion lower than JetBlue's. He also argued that the Frontier deal was more likely to be approved by antitrust regulators. His pitch was not successful and he was forced to postpone the Spirit shareholder vote on the Frontier deal four times in a bid to muster more support from investors. He secured some small financial sweeteners from Frontier to their deal, but those were not enough to change Spirit shareholders' mind.<br/>
unaligned
Transat, parent of Canadian leisure airline Air Transat, has secured an additional payroll loan worth up to C$150m from the Canadian federal government. The Montreal-based carrier will take the loan through the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) established in May 2020 to assist Canadian companies amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “Transat will receive up to $150 million to protect Canadian jobs and ensure operations can continue, despite the company’s ongoing capital operating challenges as a result of the pandemic,” the Canadian Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (CEEFC) said on 29 July. CEEFC is the federal organisation responsible for administering the assistance loans. ”The amount consists of $100 million up front in LEEFF loans, and another $50 million loan contingent on Transat raising third-party funding (matched dollar for dollar up to $50 million),” the agency adds. Transat shut down twice during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, for several months each time, after the government of Canada imposed travel restrictions. The government did not offer sector-specific aid to airlines but instead set up the LEEFF programme to assist the country’s largest companies. Additionally, Air Transat has reached an agreement to defer the repayment date of another loan by one year, until April 2024, the company says. “This complementary financing and the changes to the existing agreements strengthen our treasury position and reinforce our financial resilience,” says Transat chief executive Annick Guerard. “This important financing milestone, combined with sales that have been doing well in recent months, will give us the financial flexibility to deploy our strategic plan with optimism and confidence.”<br/>
Long-haul low-cost operator Norse Atlantic Airways has tied up with three other budget carriers to extend its network through connecting services. Norse Atlantic is linking with EasyJet and Norwegian in Europe, as well as Spirit Airlines in the USA, to broaden its reach either side of its transatlantic operations. It describes the arrangement as a “virtual interline agreement” whereby online flight search engine Dohop provides over 600 weekly connections at Norse’s main stations. The agreement enables EasyJet and Norwegian passengers to access European services connecting to Norse flights at London Gatwick, Berlin and Oslo. For the US network similar connections with Spirit Airlines flights will be made through Norse’s operations to Los Angeles, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Although the connections would offer “ample time” for transfer, Norse says that passengers would need to pass through customs and re-check their baggage before boarding a connecting service. CE Bjorn Tore Larsen believes the tie-ups will “further boost transatlantic travel”, adding that Norse is in discussions with other airline partners to expand its connections via the booking platform.<br/>
Spain-based pilots at easyJet will go on strike for nine days in August to demand better working conditions, the SEPLA union said on Friday. The union is demanding that the budget airline reestablish pilots' working conditions from before the COVID-19 pandemic and provide its pilots with a new multi-year contract deal. EasyJet said it was aware of an upcoming pilot strike at its bases in Barcelona, Malaga and Palma in Mallorca. "We are disappointed with this action at this critical time for the industry," the company said in a statement, adding that negotiations with SEPLA are ongoing. Airlines face labour disputes this summer as a steep rebound in tourism has led to staff shortages while soaring inflation encourages cabin crews and pilots to demand higher wages and better conditions. On Thursday, Spain-based cabin crew at easyJet suspended a planned strike scheduled this weekend after reaching a deal with the airline that includes higher salaries, the USO union said.<br/>
Hope is being regained that Thai tourism can attract 1 million Russian tourists this year as Aeroflot will resume direct flights to Phuket this winter after a pause of several months due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict. As of July 26, the number of Russian visitors to Thailand stood at 76,739. Most entered the country during the first quarter before Russia's invasion of Ukraine escalated, which prompted the EU to impose aviation sanctions against Russia. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn said Aeroflot has confirmed the resumption of the Moscow to Phuket service in the winter schedule, starting from Oct 30 with a daily service. Aeroflot and several other Russian carriers suspended flights to the island since March this year. "In discussions with tour operators focusing on this market, they are confident about demand to Thailand. The only problem is the lack of connectivity. If Aeroflot can resume direct services as planned, while more airlines could follow in the next few months, we can still anticipate an influx of tourists in the final quarter," said Yuthasak.<br/>
A Dubai-based lessor of SpiceJet has asked India's aviation regulator to deregister three of the budget airline's planes as SpiceJet struggles with high costs and maintenance challenges. The United Arab Emirates aeronautics firm AWAS did not specify why it was seeking to deregister the three Boeing 737s in Friday's notification, published by India's aviation regulator. SpiceJet told Reuters it was returning older aircraft in a phased manner, including these three aircraft, as a part of modernization plan. "These returns have been planned and will not have any impact on our operations," a company spokesman said by email. SpiceJet returned 12 old Boeing aircraft to lessors last year, the statement said. India's director general of civil aviation on Wednesday ordered SpiceJet to halve its departures for eight weeks after technical problems raised safety concerns. <br/>
An Airbus A320 aircraft operated by IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, slid off the runway onto grass while taxiing for takeoff in Jorhat, the carrier said. The flight to Kolkata was canceled and the aircraft is being inspected in Jorhat, a city in the northeastern state of Assam. IndiGo, which is operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., said initial examinations showed no abnormalities with the plane. There has been a spate of non-fatal incidents recently involving airlines in India. The country’s aviation regulator said this week that carriers don’t have enough certified staff to fix faults and are invoking a clause that allows flights to operate even when some equipment is faulty, though not a threat to airworthiness. Airlines are also improperly identifying the cause of problems, it said. <br/>
A Nok Air Boeing 737-800 slid off the runway while landing at the Mae Fah Luang international airport in the northern province of Chiang Rai in heavy rain on Saturday night but nobody was hurt. The airport will remain closed until Wednesday. According to an announcement issued by the airline on Saturday, Nok Air Flight DD108 (Don Mueang - Chiang Rai) with 164 passengers and six crew members on board departed from Don Mueang airport at 8.03pm and arrived at Mae Fah Luang airport at 9.06pm. While landing, the aircraft slid off the runway because of the heavy rain but the pilots managed to safely bring the aircraft to a halt. All of the passengers and crew members were safely moved to the passenger building. Nobody was injured. An investigation was underway into the incident. Nok Air said on Sunday that all flights to Chiang Rai were cancelled. The Mae Fah Luang airport also said the runway would be closed on Sunday between 6am and 10pm due to the incident. It later extended the closure until Wednesday in order to complete an investigation of the incident and clear the runway area. <br/>
Indonesia-based Lion Air Group is to restore and expand its international network as border restrictions ease, with the group eyeing long-haul flights to Istanbul. In a statement dated 29 July, the group – comprising Lion Air, Batik Air Indonesia, Batik Air Malaysia, as well as Thai Lion Air – notes the “positive developments” in near- to medium-term air travel recovery amid rising demand. It adds that it took into account several factors in its international expansion plans, including looking at routes with “high growth rates”, as well as tapping into business and premium travel segments. The extensive network list largely comprises direct and connecting flights within Southeast Asia from its major hubs of Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali, as well as Medan. Another area of focus for the group is in South Asia, where group unit Batik Air Malaysia has rolled out a series of flights to in recent weeks. Other areas where Lion Air Group intends to expand to include East Asia, and the Middle East. As for Europe, Lion Air Group lists Istanbul as a destination it intends to operate to from Indonesia. More curiously, the group’s statement omits any mention of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft when discussing the fleet to support the network expansion. It is the second time the airline group has left out the narrowbody, which is operated by Malaysian unit Batik Air Malaysia, in its fleet plans. <br/>
Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways has appointed a new chief executive following the departure of founding chief executive Dang Tat Thang. The carrier’s new leader, Nguyen Manh Quan, has served as deputy general director since June 2020, says Bamboo. During his career Nguyen has mainly served in government agencies, with stints at state-owned Vietnam Airlines, Noi Bai Aviation, and Thien Minh Aviation. According to VN Express, a local news outlet, Dang is also surrendering his post as vice chairman of property developer FLC Group, which owns Bamboo Airways. The report says that Bamboo seeks new investors, owing to legal challenges faced by FLC. Earlier this year, FLC chairman Trinh Van Quyet was arrested in Vietnam for alleged stock manipulation. The arrest of an FLC accountant followed a week later. Media reports suggested that the accountant, Trinh Thi Minh Hue, is Trinh Van Quyet’s sister. Cirium fleets data indicates that Bamboo has 29 in-service aircraft, comprising three Boeing 787-9s, 21 A320 family jets, and five Embraer E190s. Longer term, the carrier has ambitions to grow to 100 aircraft by 2028.<br/>
Bonza has confirmed that its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft has landed on the Sunshine Coast on Monday morning, as the budget startup speeds towards its commercial launch in “late” September. It comes after Australian Aviation reported on Saturday that the jet, VH-UJT, had departed Boeing Field in Seattle, and was making its way towards Australia, via Honolulu and Nadi, as flight AB001. It also comes just weeks after the jet took its first flight sporting freshly-painted Bonza livery last month, as it was ferried from Southern Logistics Airport in Victorville back to Boeing Field. “We are beyond excited to welcome our first aircraft to Sunshine Coast Airport and with so much buzz around the country for Bonza, we hope today is also exciting for the communities we’ll be flying to,” said Bonza CEO Tim Jordan. Our team of legends have been working hard behind the scenes to reach this significant milestone and so it was important that we were all here to welcome flight AB 001 together,” said Tim Jordan, CEO of Bonza. “We are now one important step closer to connecting more Australians with convenient low cost travel options to more destinations for holidays and to visit loved ones.” Bonza is still in the process of securing its Air Operators Certificate, with the process expected to be soon wrapped up in light of the delivery of its first aircraft – a key step in the AOC process. The airline appears on-track for a “late” September launch, where it will begin operating 27 point-to-point routes to 17 destinations throughout Australia from its dual bases in Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast.<br/>