Delta CE Ed Bastian says the airline has issued $6b in refunds since 2020 for canceled or significantly changed flights and detailed steps it has taken to improve customer service. "Since the beginning of 2020 we’ve refunded over 11m tickets totaling $6b, of which 20% has taken place in 2022," Bastian wrote Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a letter made public on Wednesday. He also disclosed Delta automatically deposited an extra 10,000 miles in the frequent flyer accounts of travelers who experienced travel interruptions between May 1 and July 7. Some in Congress have pressed airlines to do more to boost refunds. Buttigieg said recently the department has completed 10 air carrier investigations into refund practices and is pursuing enforcement actions and has proposed new rules on ticket refunds. Bastian said "Delta’s 2022 capacity restoration compared to 2019 is the lowest among our competitors." He added Delta "currently have 91% of 2019 active pilots covering 86% of 2019 departures." The FAA disclosed earlier this month that in May, Delta pilots missed 19,985 days due to sickness, up 45% from 13,786 days in May 2019. In June, pilot sick days rose 50% from June 2019. Delta also reported in May its flight attendants missed 43,908 days due to sickness, up 23%, the FAA said. The FAA on Aug. 12 said Delta could temporarily cut some flights at New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The FAA said as a condition of approval that Delta "should offer customers a refund or rebook them on Delta or another carrier as needed for canceled flights at the three airports."<br/>
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Low-cost Avelo Airlines will become the first passenger carrier to connect Binghamton, New York to the popular Florida vacatino destinations of Fort Myers and Orlando. The Houston-based carrier said on 31 August that the flights will begin on 16 November, just ahead of the start of the winter travel season. Binghamton is a small city near the Pennsylvania border with a population of less than 50,000, according to the US Census Bureau. Travellers from the region currently must commute to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International airport in Pennsylvania – about 112km (70mi) away – to catch a non-stop flight to Orlando. Alternatively, multiple carriers offer non-stop flights from Syracuse, New York to Fort Myers. Delta Air Lines is the only other commercial carrier to operate flights from Greater Binghamton airport, with daily flights to its mid-west hub Detriot. Avelo, which launched revenue service in April 2021, hopes the route will attract northern holiday-makers looking to escape to a warmer climate during the harsh winter months. So far, the carrier has operated more than 8,500 flights and transported about 1 million passengers, the company says. A major component of Avelo’s strategy is “flying unserved routes to primarily underserved communities across the country,” Avelo adds. “At least one airport on every Avelo flight is a small home-town airport.”<br/>
LATAM Airlines Wednesday turned back two challenges to its bankruptcy reorganization plan, putting the carrier a step closer to emerging from Chapter 11 after seeking protection from creditors in the early months of the pandemic. LATAM said it was pleased by a US bankruptcy court's decision confirming its reorganization plan in which two groups of creditors lost their appeals. LATAM, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020, won court approval to exit Chapter 11 in June. Its reorganization plan would inject about $8 billion into the airline through a combination of capital increase, issue of convertible bonds and new debt. The appeal against the approved plan came from the TLA Claimholder Group, which has shares in subsidary LATAM Airlines Brasil, and a group of unsecured claimants comprising Avenue Capital Management II, Corre Partners Management, CQS (US), HSBC Bank Plc, Invictus Global Management, Livello Capital Management LP and Pentwater Capital Management LP.<br/>The groups' appeals were opposed by other shareholder entities and the airline itself. The appeals had challenged LATAM's so-called backstop agreement with a creditor group that had agreed to guarantee certain financing if no one else steps up to provide it. Under the deal, the 15 backstop creditors would receive $734m in fees to ensure that $5.4b in stock and debt offerings are fully financed.<br/>
Virgin Atlantic is to extend its Indian reach through a codeshare agreement with budget airline IndiGo. The new partnership will enable onward travel from Virgin’s flights from London Heathrow to Delhi and Mumbai. It will initially cover seven cities in India, comprising Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa. “IndiGo is India’s largest airline and its extensive network will offer Virgin Atlantic customers even more choice when travelling between the UK and India,” says Virgin chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen. Jarvinen adds that the partnership will result in “seamless connections” for onward travel across the carrier’s US network. Virgin states that a second phase will add a further nine destinations. These will include Kochi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Pune, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Vadodara, Indore and Vishakhapatnam. Virgin says the codeshare will take effect from 27 September, although it remains subject to regulatory approval.<br/>
Jet Airways India is in advanced talks to order about 50 Airbus SE A220 aircraft, according to people familiar with the matter, marking what could be a fresh beginning for the bankrupt carrier that’s attempting to make a comeback. Deliveries of the new aircraft will start in 2025, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are confidential. A deal for 50 such planes would probably be valued at around $1.8 billion after usual discounts, according to figures from leading aircraft appraiser Avitas. It’s unclear whether the planes will be bought outright by the airline or leased, or a mixture of both, the people said. The deal is still being finalized and is yet to be signed, they added. The airline, once India’s top private carrier, is undergoing a court-monitored restructuring and seeking to reenter a market notorious for cut-throat fare wars and some of the world’s costliest jet-fuel prices. IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., is the clear leader, controlling over 50% of the domestic market while more than half a dozen carriers fight for the rest. Jet Airways, planning to return with a mix of premium and no-frills services, is also in separate talks with Boeing Co. and Airbus to potentially place a “sizable” order from the 737 Max or A320neo families of jets, the people familiar with the matter said. <br/>
India's SpiceJet said Wednesday its CFO Sanjeev Taneja had resigned, as the low-cost carrier posted a wider quarterly loss and faces increased scrutiny over mid-air incidents. The cash-strapped airline has struggled to make timely payments to vendors and lessors, prompting some to deregister planes. Meanwhile, some banks have internally categorised loans to SpiceJet as "high risk" though the airline has not defaulted. It has also been pulled up by the country's aviation regulator over "poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions", with the watchdog slashing its approved fleet to 50% this summer. But the airline's managing director, Ajay Singh, said despite "the complex operating environment and highest ever input costs", SpiceJet had been able to sustain its operations and would soon engage investment banks to raise up to $200 million. He said in the company's results statement that SpiceJet would add more Boeing 737-8 MAX planes to take advantage of strong air travel demand. It had already agreed to buy some planes from Boeing and planned sale and lease-back deals with lessors. "As we move ahead we are encouraged with the strong travel demand and our focus for the next year would be to induct more fuel efficient Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft and concentrate on our regional and international routes," Singh said.<br/>