US carrier Frontier Airlines is launching an all-you-can-fly pass, joining the many businesses adopting a Netflix-style subscriber model. The Denver-based airline sent the customers signed up to its mailing list an email on Wednesday announcing the “GoWild! Pass”, which it says will give buyers access to an “unlimited number of flights” to “all our destinations” for a year. The message reads: “Last year alone, five million seats flew empty, now they could be yours. With your new GoWild! Pass you will be able to get confirmed for your flight the day before you take off on one of your limitless adventures, beginning spring 2023. It’s first-come, first-served, so make sure you sign up for early access today and be the first to get the details and access to buy.” No information has been released about any terms and conditions, nor the cost of the pass.<br/>
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A labour union is raising concerns about Sunwing's proposal to hire temporary foreign workers to address Canada's pilot shortage in preparation for the winter travel surge, arguing the airline hasn't done enough to attract local employees<br/>Unifor, which represents 16,000 members across Canada's aviation sector, said Tuesday that Sunwing has not done enough to fill open positions locally or invest in training programs for Canadian pilots. "To attract the pilots that are in this country, to make them want to come to Sunwing and fly, they are looking for pay, they are looking for job security, they are looking for a future with a specific airline and I don't think Sunwing has done enough," said Barret Armann, president of Unifor Local 7378. A job posting for Sunwing pilots offered temporary foreign pilots from Europe a fixed rate of US$9,500 per month compared to Canadian first officers who are offered US$5,500 per month, while requiring less flight experience, said Armann. He said hiring temporary foreign workers for shorter periods of time will end up costing the airline more in the long run. Sunwing denounced the union's claims that the airline is hiring temporary foreign workers as a cheaper alternative to domestic pilots. "Assertions being made by Unifor Local 7378 that Sunwing Airlines' plans to hire seasonal foreign pilots as a `cheaper alternative' to hiring Canadian pilots is categorically untrue," said Len Corrado, president of Sunwing, in an emailed statement.<br/>
Sun Country Airlines posted a $10.7m profit in Q3 2022 despite higher operating costs and ongoing struggles to hire enough flight crews. The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based airline brought in an operating revenue of $221.7m, a 28% increase compared with $173.7mi in the three months ending 30 September last year. “Demand continues to be robust,” Jude Bricker, Sun Country’s CE, said during the airline’s Q3 earnings call on 1 November. “There’s no sign of a slowdown in the leisure space.” However, like many of its industry peers, the ultra-low cost carrier has been hobbled by a lack of qualified and current pilots – captains, specifically. “Last quarter, we were constrained primarily by first officers,” Bricker says. “This quarter, captain availability has become the restraining input.” Sun Country has hired 91 pilots in 2022 and has made “significant progress in expanding our pilot training pipeline”, Bricker says. Operating expenses were 35% higher year-on-year, the company says. The cost of jet fuel was 75% higher than in the third quarter 2021, as the airline paid an average of $3.93 per gallon. Additionally, the airline experienced an increase in non-fuel costs “largely driven by the fact that our aircraft utilisation remains lower than target and the impact of our new pilot agreement, which we signed at the end of last year”, Bricker says. Sun Country’s scheduled service revenue rose just over 27% to $102m from $80.2m last year, and its charter service produced revenue of $42.9m, a year-on-year increase of 27%. <br/>
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has tentatively granted Canadian discount airline Canada Jetlines a foreign air carrier permit, allowing it to operate routes to the United States. The Toronto-based start-up leisure carrier, which launched flights in September, said on 1 November that it is now awaiting FAA approvals before it begins flights across Canada’s southern border. “We are looking forward to expand our international network, as the US is a top market for Canadian travellers,” says Jetlines CE Eddy Doyle. “With the winter months fast approaching, we know sun destinations will be a priority for leisure travel and we intend to announce our first international destination later this month.” The carrier is aiming to grab a share of the so-called “snowbird” market – Canadian tourists who travel to southerly destinations during the northern hemisphere’s winter months, to escape the cold. In its 13 September filing with the DOT, Jetlines noted that it was “developing relationships with Melbourne-Orlando and Sarasota Bradenton International airports for Florida service”. Orlando and Sarasota are among several Florida destinations popular with Canadian tourists during the winter travel season. Thousands of these snowbirds flock to the warmer climate between November and April.<br/>
Scottish airline Loganair is to scrap its Londonderry to Edinburgh flights early next year. The airline has said the decision is due to "intensified low-fare competition from services at Belfast" and because of "higher fuel prices". The last flight will operate on 3 January 2023, Loganair has said. Loganair said because of this move it will increase flights on its Derry-Glasgow route, up to daily frequency in the peak summer months of 2023. A spokesperson for Loganair said the decision to keep flights running until next year is to ensure people's travel plans over the Christmas and New Year period are not affected by this change. The spokesperson said the airline remains "fully committed to the City of Derry Airport and the wider region" and to "Loganair's dedicated team of employees based at Derry".<br/>
Travel demand couldn’t be better for Emirates, with President Tim Clark describing flights as “full up” as far out as March. But the airline, and broader industry, is struggling to meet the demand amid persistent staffing and aircraft supply chain issues. “I see a capacity hole,” Clark said on the international travel outlook into the new year at the Ultratravel Forum in London on Monday. The airline has roughly 40 aircraft out of service for cabin modifications or due to staffing shortages, he said. And Emirates, one of the largest global connectors, is only hopeful, as Clark put it, that it can have its full fleet up and flying by next summer. Emirates is not constrained alone. The recovery of airlines around the world is hamstrung by some combination of staffing and aircraft availability. Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr said at the end of October that the airline industry would not return to the “overcapacities” it saw before the pandemic “anywhere soon,” because of the constraints “forced” on it. Executives at Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines have all cited similar trends. And those constraints add costs. Both staffing issues and aircraft delivery delays contribute to inefficiencies at airlines that, on top of high fuel prices, drive up operating expenses. For example, lack of staff or airport constraints can mean a carrier operates aircraft less than it normally would. That lower utilization translates higher unit costs excluding fuel. Clark did not comment on the cost situation at Emirates, which is privately held and does not disclose regular operating data.<br/>
A passenger who tried to have a sneaky smoke on a flight to Bangkok has accidentally started a blaze in the plane's toilet. The incident happened on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv, Israel last week. It appears the passenger couldn't wait for the plane to land so decided to ignore every safety briefing to light up in the toilet. Unfortunately for the unnamed flyer, the smoke alarm went off. In their panic, it seems they tried to put their cigarette down the rubbish bin and immediately set fire to the tissue and rubbish inside. The crew reacted straight away and put out the blaze with fire extinguishers, reports the Times of Israel. The airline confirmed that "a passenger on a flight to Bangkok was caught smoking in the plane's bathroom, and there was a fear of a fire breaking out in the cabin". "The air crew and the captains took care of the incident immediately and with caution by using the dedicated fire extinguishers." "The flight continued as scheduled and landed safely at Bangkok Airport." While the passenger faced no consequences on landing in Thailand as so little damage was done to the plane, they could face legal action once they return to Israel. <br/>
An Indian man who was injured during turbulence onboard a SpiceJet flight in May this year has died of his injuries, the airline has said. Akbar Ansari, 48, was on ventilator support for more than a month before passing away on 26 September, according to a statement issued by SpiceJet on Saturday. “A passenger who was injured during the severe turbulence encountered by SpiceJet flight on May 1, 2022 sadly passed away last month,” said the statement. It said that the airline had extended all possible assistance including taking care of the passenger’s medical and hospital expenses and added that “the compensation is being paid as per norms”. Ansari’s family members have alleged he did not receive proper treatment, reported The Indian Express. A resident of Jharkhand state’s Giridih district, he was among 18 people who were injured on the Mumbai-Durgapur flight on 1 May. Ansari was among the 15 passengers and three cabin crew members who were injured when the flight encountered turbulence. The flight had 195 people on board.<br/>