Mexican airline Interjet, which was declared bankrupt by a judge last week, owes around $1.5b in back taxes, the head of Mexico's tax administration service said Tuesday. Interjet stopped flying at the end of 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic tanked travel demand and dealt a critical blow to the company's already-battered finances. Since then, it has received complaints from customers who had flights canceled and from its union, which alleges employees went months without pay before Interjet went offline. However, the tax authority, SAT, is its largest creditor. "The total amount (of debt owed) to SAT at the moment is approximately 30b mexican pesos ($1.5b)," said its chief, Raquel Buenrostro, at a conference. Buenrostro added that the airline could reduce that total by 19b pesos if it presents certain tax documentation. Interjet has around six months to reach an agreement with creditors as part of its bankruptcy process, judicial documents showed last week.<br/>
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North American airline pilots continue to make collective bargaining maneuvers as discussions are set to begin between WestJet pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) and the Calgary-based carrier. The leadership of WestJet’s ALPA pilot group, or master executive council (MEC), on 2 September said that it wants the airline to “recognize the pilots’ professionalism and contributions to the success of the airline” with its next collective agreement. The airline pilot union is seeking a new deal “consistent with contracts of similar pilot groups within North America,” ALPA says. ALPA cited the sacrifices of WestJet pilots – which included a nearly 70% reduction in pay and almost half of pilots being furloughed during the coronavirus crisis, the group says – as being critical to the success of the airline as it recovers from the pandemic. “We have done our part to help the company remain competitive and expect a new contract that will help attract and retain experienced, qualified pilots who will look at WestJet as a career destination,” says Dave Kingston, chair of the MEC. <br/>
Romania’s environment minister has called a decision by Blue Air to suspend flights “unjustified” after blocking the carrier’s accounts in a row about the recovery of a 28.7m lei ($5.9m) debt. Short-haul operator Blue Air has suspended flights from Romanian airports until 12 September saying the “unforeseen situation” for the ministry to sieze its accounts means it is unable to pay current costs necessary for operations. Blue Air says the freezing comes at the same time as statements from the country’s national authority for consumer protection (ANPC), which it claims has led to a “significant dismantling of passenger confidence” in Blue Air. This, it says, has caused a reduction in ticket sales, increased pressure for pre-payment from suppliers and the blocking of talks with potential new investors. ”The irresponsible statements and actions of a representative of the Romanian State, as well as the untimely decision to freeze all the company’s bank accounts, have put Blue Air in the undesirable situation of having to reduce its operations for the immediate future, to facilitate the completion of the impact analysis from investors and the obtaining of the necessary authorizations for discussions with investors,” the airline says. In a statement Romania’s environment minister Barna Tanzos confirm has Romania has blocked the airline’s accounts after beginning enforcement proceedings over the debt relating to the country’s environment fund administration (AFM). <br/>
Flights between Aberdeen and Oslo - seen as important for the energy sector - have been reinstated. The direct route was operated by Scandinavian Airlines but was left vacant amid the pandemic. Loganair has now introduced six year-round flights per week to Oslo Gardermoen Airport from Sunday to Friday. The route between Aberdeen and the Norwegian capital will use Loganair's 49-seat Embraer 145 Regional aircraft. Luke Lovegrove, COO at Loganair, said: "We're delighted to restore the important Aberdeen-Oslo route - we know it's been hugely missed by the business community and are confident it will support growth and strengthen ties between the north-east of Scotland and Norway."<br/>
Jetstar has blamed a freak series of events including a lightning and bird strike for grounding multiple 787s. On Tuesday, it emerged the problems also led the budget airline to cancel flights to Phuket and Japan alongside its earlier cancellations to Bali. According to Flightradar, the aircraft recently out of operation include Dreamliners VKA, VKB, VKI and VJK, while VKL hasn’t flown since June. Jetstar chief pilot Jeremy Schmidt revealed, “Unfortunately, our Boeing 787 fleet has been impacted by a number of issues, including a lightning strike, a bird strike, damage from an item on the runway and delays sourcing a specific spare part for one of our aircraft due to global supply chain challenges. The part has to be road freighted across the US. Jetstar is hoping to have seven in operation by the end of Tuesday, while four will remain grounded. Next week, three more should have returned to service. The Qantas Group has tried to alleviate the issue by putting passengers on “special flights” to Melbourne as well as regular Qantas services.<br/>
Jetstar ceded market share to rivals Regional Express (Rex) and Virgin Australia in July, as Australia’s domestic passenger numbers rose sharply in July. In its latest domestic market analysis, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says Jetstar’s market share in July fell five percentage points from April to 23%, as a result of “relatively larger reduction in capacity compared to other airlines”. The ACCC notes that it was not usual for the low-cost unit of Qantas to lose market share in April and July – both school holiday months – during pre-pandemic years. “Jetstar did not see a similar boost in passengers in July 2022 as it had historically and in April 2022,” says the commission. Rex, meanwhile, saw its domestic market share rise to around 5%, as it reported a rise in passenger numbers on routes linking larger cities. Virgin Australia also saw its market share inch up one percentage point to 33% in July. Qantas increased its share of the market to the highest so far this year, at 39%, up from April’s 37%. The ACCC notes that the loss of Jetstar’s market share meant that the Qantas Group’s share slipped to 62% in the month. The ACCC’s latest analysis comes as Australia’s travel recovery gets into full swing, though much of the industry has been plagued by operational woes, including delays and lack of manpower. The commission notes that about 4.7m domestic passengers flew in July, the highest level since the start of the pandemic.<br/>
Low-cost airline Bonza has been making headlines by promising to deliver cheap flights between regional cities in Australia. But nearly a year on, passengers are yet to board a flight, with the carrier still awaiting regulatory approval. Bonza’s CE Tim Jordan isn’t sure when the airline will receive the OK from Casa, admitting it may not be this year. Nevertheless, the airline’s boss told Guardian Australia things were beginning to progress at a “greater pace”.Questions linger about the feasibility of Bonza’s promise to bring European-style cheap air travel to destinations with far less demand – particularly as the business faces a plethora of issues and inflationary pressures driving prices to all-time highs. Bonza aims to fly between 17 regional destinations including Newcastle, Townsville and Toowoomba. Jordan said it will operate routes that will deliver value to regional populations and create a new class of travel in the Australian market. “Our competitor is not the other airlines, our competitor is the couch or the car – this is about people seeing a price for $59 or $69 and going, ‘You know what? Let’s go,’” Jordan said.<br/>