Travellers found themselves facing long lineups and cancelled flights on Sunday after a system-wide outage at WestJet airlines over the weekend. The Calgary-based airline said it has resolved Saturday's outage, which affected its entire network, but cautioned further disruptions are expected in the days ahead. COO Diederik Pen released a statement on Sunday saying the outage was caused by a "cooling issue" in its primary data centre, and more than 200 flights had to be cancelled. "Unfortunately, due to the scope of yesterday’s network impact, we continue to see residual disruptions. Further delays and cancellations in the coming days will be required, as we work diligently to recover our operations," Pen said in the statement. He said all systems were back online, but noted the airline is "still experiencing some instability." Passengers, however, faced hours-long lineups to re-book cancelled flights, and some had already been through the process more than once. <br/>
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Canadian regional carrier Porter Airlines is expanding with a C$65m ($48.2mi) facilities upgrade at Ottawa International airport. Porter and the Ottawa International Airport Authority are building two airport hangars covering about 13,935sq m (150,000sq ft) to accommodate the carrier’s growing fleet of new Embraer E195-E2s and older De Havilland Dash 8-400 turboprops, the airline said on 1 November. The airline is eyeing a significant North American expansion with up to 100 E195-E2s on order, in addition to its 29 Dash 8-400s. “Porter’s imminent introduction of the E195-E2 to its fleet provides the ability to operate throughout North America, including to the west coast, southern US, Mexico and the Caribbean,” the airline says. Based at Toronto’s secondary airport Billy Bishop Toronto City, Porter will make Ottawa its maintenance centre for the Embraer airframes and hire some 200 local employees. Meanwhile, the project will support about 150 construction jobs, the company says. The hangars are scheduled to be completed in Q1 of 2024 and will be supported by a predominantly electric fleet of vehicles for towing and serving aircraft. <br/>
Norwegian budget carrier Flyr is looking to reinforce its financial position with share placements which would potentially raise NKr530m ($50m). This scheme comprises a private placement for NKr430m and a possible subsequent placement, for those unable to participate in the private issue, aimed at raising another NKr 100m. Flyr says its financial situation is “very strained” and that it has a “near-term liquidity need”. The airline disclosed in October that it was considering options to prop up its balance sheet and was seeking discussions with investors. Flyr has been trying to cut costs and is cutting back operations for the winter season. It is revisiting the market to “re-establish” its financial position and support the company through the winter, as well as prepare it for summer 2023 ramp-up. Flyr conducted a NKr250m equity raise in Q2, but in June it shelved plans for a further placement of shares because its stock price – around NKr1 at the time – had fallen below the NKr1.20 offer price. The stock price has continued to slide, losing around 90% of its value since June, and the carrier is proposing a subscription price of just NKr0.01 for both of the new placements – which would involve issuing up to 53b new shares.<br/>
Scottish airline Loganair is set to complete the renewal of its aircraft fleet next year, after signing a series of multi-million pound deals. The company has ordered eight new ATR turboprops, replacing its remaining eight Saab 340B passenger aircraft. The Saab aircraft will be phased out by next July, joining unspecified new operators in North America following a $12m (GBP10.7m) deal. Loganair currently operates 42 aircraft across 70 routes in its network. It already has 15 of the ATR "next-generation" turboprops in service. The airline said the new ATR turboprops would bring a substantial reduction in carbon emissions per seat compared with the Saab 340 aircraft, which operate on Loganair's Highland and Island routes. The completed ATR fleet will have an average age of eight years and provide more passenger seats on each flight, in addition to more cargo and mail hold space for its charter services. Loganair CE Jonathan Hinkles said: "The Saab 340s have served us, and our customers, superbly well over the last two decades but it's time for us to transition to a new generation of aircraft. Our multi-million-pound investment in ATR aircraft will safeguard connectivity for future generations within the Highlands and Islands air network, on which so many communities depend."<br/>
A plane crashed Sunday morning into Lake Victoria as it approached an airport in Tanzania, killing 19 people on board, the country’s prime minister said. A senior policeman said it was raining when the aircraft plunged into the water. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa raised the death toll up from the three dead announced previously. Local authorities said earlier Sunday that 26 of the 43 people on the Precision Air flight from the coastal city of Dar es Salaam were rescued and taken to a hospital. It was not clear if the new death toll included people who died at the hospital. Photos showed the plane, which was headed to Bukoba Airport, mostly submerged in the lake. Precision Air is a Tanzanian airline company. “We have managed to save quite a number of people,” Kagera province police commander William Mwampaghale told journalists. “When the aircraft was about 100 meters (328 feet) midair, it encountered problems and bad weather. It was raining and the plane plunged into the water,” he said. Mwampaghale said the rescue efforts were continuing.<br/>
El Al has repaid a state loan of $45 million advanced to the carrier as part of a financial support package. The airline, which had indicated in September that it would be repaying the loan two years ahead of schedule, says the transaction was completed on 2 November. This repayment was agreed in a new framework pact with the Israeli government. The pact postponed the deadline for a $62 million share issue to April next year, after which the company will be allowed to transfer an equivalent sum, or more, from profit realised during the sale of its loyalty programme. El Al has committed not to make a dividend distribution until the end of 2025, and any distribution for the three years covering 2026-28 will not exceed 30% of net profit. Under the agreement, the government will also ease some of the conditions for major transactions below a certain threshold. But El Al’s commitment prohibiting sale or encumbrance of airport slots, without prior government approval, will remain in effect until the end of 2030.<br/>
Israeli leisure carrier Israir has identified Czech budget operator Smartwings as the target of a takeover offer. Israir, which was acquired by an investment firm last year, had disclosed earlier this year that it was participating in a private process with a view to acquiring the entire share capital of a European carrier. While it had not originally named the carrier, it has newly identified the target as Smartwings. Israir made the shortlist of candidates and says it is submitting an offer to enter a non-binding memorandum of understanding to purchase the company, following due diligence. The proposal involves purchasing Smartwings, which it values at E44m ($44m), from the current shareholders and assuming part of a loan granted by the shareholders. Israir says an acquisition will depend on various issues including raising the necessary funds to finance the purchase and securing regulatory approval to complete the transaction. While Smartwings presents an opportunity to expand Israir’s activities, the Israeli company stresses that it is not the only participant in the tender and it cannot currently assess its chances of success. Smartwings operates some 40 leased aircraft on leisure routes and also operates wet-lease services.<br/>
InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of India's top airline IndiGo, on Friday said it is looking at 'wet leasing' planes to meet growing demand for air travel as supply chain disruption leads to delays in the delivery of new aircraft. A 'wet lease' arrangement is one where the lessor maintains operational control of flights while providing aircraft and crew. The airline has been extending some of its existing leases and postponing the return of aircraft, its new Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers said during an analyst call after IndiGo reported a second quarter loss. "Another element which is under discussion today, and we are still in the final stages of clarifying, is a possible wet lease operation," Elbers said, adding that the market was recovering very rapidly. Demand for air travel both within India and to international destinations has recovered to near pre-Covid levels. IndiGo said it was optimistic about returning to operational profitability in the current quarter after its loss for the July-Sept period widened due to high fuel expenses and foreign exchange losses.<br/>
Despite soaring oil prices and weakening currencies, the outlook for aviation remains positive due to “extremely strong” demand, said Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia parent company Capital A. “We’re looking to add 20 more aircraft to the fleet for the first time in a long, long time even before Covid,” he said on Friday. What would be a “problem,” however, is getting the aviation group’s fleet back out of maintenance, Fernandes added. “In AirAsia we have 205 aircrafts and in AirAsia X we have about 20 aircrafts … getting slots and obviously getting them ready for service has been a big challenge.” The positive outlook comes in spite of negative market reactions to Fernandes’ resignation as AirAsia X’s Group CEO this week. AirAsia X is the long-haul budget flight arm of AirAsia. AirAsia X shares dropped after the Oct. 31 announcement, and losses since the development still stood at about 5% as of Friday morning. “Unfortunately, whatever I do gets blown out of proportion. I went in there [AirAsia X] for a short period … I just went in there to kickstart an airline that would have been heavily restructured and was in hibernation,” Fernandes said. AirAsia X slipped into PN17 status in October 2021, a designation issued by Bursa Malaysia<br/> to financially distressed firms. These firms can be delisted, should their financial position fail to improve. “I think we’re coming out of PN17. While I was very against it, I thought it was harsh to put us into PN17 … actually we’ve turned a negative into positive.” In his four-month tenure, Fernandes created a cargo business in AirAsia X, which he said has contributed “about 20% to the airline’s revenue during the pandemic” and will continue to play a vital role in its recovery. He added that AirAsia X now has “very strong footing” and better cost structure.<br/>
Jetstar Asia will be moving its operations to Changi Airport Terminal 4 (T4) by 25 March 2023. Changi Airport Group (CAG) and Jetstar said Friday that the agreement follows the completion of a joint study by both parties. The parties said, "With 17 gates to support narrow body aircraft, T4 provides ample gate capacity to support Jetstar Asia's narrow body aircraft fleet and offers room for the airline to expand. It also reduces the need for the airline to have bussing operations to remote stands." CAG's managing director of air hub development, Lim Ching Kiat, said, "CAG values Jetstar Asia as an airline partner and we are pleased to reaffirm our strategic partnership. We have been working very closely with Jetstar Asia over the past few months to study intensively the potential impact of its move on passenger experience and its business. Following the completion of our joint study, which included operational trials, we are glad to have reached agreement. Jetstar Asia's move will enable Changi Airport to optimise the use of its aircraft gates in order to meet increasing travel demand, especially during the early morning peak period. It will also create headroom for Jetstar Asia and other airlines to grow at Changi."<br/>