US regional carrier ExpressJet Airlines said on Tuesday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and ceased all flight operations, blaming market and economic conditions.<br/>
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WestJet has launched a legal battle, seeking to appeal a Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ruling that ordered the airline to compensate a passenger $1,000 for a flight disruption caused by a crew shortage. When issuing its ruling in July, the CTA clarified that, in general, airlines can't deny passengers compensation for flight disruptions caused by staffing shortages. In a motion filed in the Federal Court of Appeal on Aug. 10, WestJet argues that the CTA's ruling was flawed, because it was based on a misinterpretation of Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). The court has yet to decide if WestJet can proceed with its appeal. Consumer advocate John Lawford said if WestJet gets the green light and is victorious, it may pave the way for all airlines to justifiably deny compensation based on any flight disruption caused by staffing shortages. "It would give the companies a pretty clear right," said Lawford, a lawyer and executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. Lawford also suggested WestJet's request to appeal the CTA's ruling is indicative of where the airlines stand on Canada's air passenger compensation rules. "The airlines are trying to interpret those regulations in a very aggressive sense so that they can, in effect, carve themselves out an exception to paying whenever they can," he said. "That's in their financial best interests." Following numerous complaints from air passengers that they were unfairly denied compensation, the CTA ruling in July was supposed to help clear the air on compensation regulations. The ruling was based on a case involving passenger Owen Lareau who was set to take a WestJet flight on July 18, 2021 from Regina back home to Ottawa. <br/>
Hungary’s government has ordered an investigation of domestic low-cost carrier Wizz Air over what it calls possible breaches of consumer protection laws, the second such investigation it has launched against an airline since June. The probe, ordered by Hungary’s Ministry of Justice comes after the ministry said it received an increase in complaints against the Budapest-based airline over its failure to provide information and assistance to customers whose flights are delayed or cancelled, according to Hungary’s state news agency MTI. Other complaints included Wizz Air failing to provide accommodation and rebooking for affected passengers, failure to respond to consumer complaints within 30 days and operating a paid customer service line, which violates Hungarian law and consumer rights, the ministry said. It is the second investigation against an airline launched by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government since June, when it announced it would impose windfall taxes on industries from banking to insurance to airlines that have enjoyed “extra profits” arising from soaring demand after the pandemic — a claim some companies have contested. Earlier this month, Hungary accused budget carrier Ryanair of consumer protection violations and fined it more than three-quarters of a million euros after the company raised ticket prices to cope with the new tax, which Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has called “highway robbery” and “idiotic.”<br/>
Ryanair Tuesday nudged up its full-year forecast for passenger numbers after adding more flights to its UK winter schedule in response to cuts by IAG-owned rival British Airways. Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers expects to fly 166.5m passengers in the year to the end of March, up from a previous target of 165m, after it added more than 1m seats to and from 20 UK airports. British Airways said on Monday it was cancelling some flights up to the end of October following Heathrow airport's decision to cap capacity to tackle widespread disruption. Airlines and airports across Europe have struggled to cope with the rebound in post-lockdown travel, with many failing to recruit enough staff to handle check-ins and baggage. However Ryanair, which made a point of keeping its pilots and crew up-to-date with their flying hours during the pandemic and does not fly from Heathrow, carried its highest-ever number of passengers in a month in both June and July. It has been taking advantage of cancellations by rivals, particularly in the UK, by adding extra flights. The Irish airline flew 97m passengers in its last financial year and a record 149m before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.<br/>
Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet is looking to raise funds worth 20b rupees ($250.53m), television channel ET Now tweeted on Tuesday. Shares of the airline rose as much as 6% after the tweet, but pared some of the gains and were trading at 46.80 rupees as of 0907 GMT. SpiceJet is pursuing multiple ways to raise funds including government lending schemes, stake or equity sale, according to the tweet twtr.in/3L0p. Recently, three Indian banks internally categorised loans to SpiceJet as being at “high risk” though the airline has not defaulted. The domestic airline has been under the scanner lately, following incidents of technical snags that prompted India’s aviation regulator to order it to halve its approved fleet this summer for eight weeks.<br/>