Passengers are calling on airlines to do more for customers stranded due to the latest wave of flight cancellations to impact Canadian travellers. A system-wide outage at WestJet on Saturday led to the cancellation of over 200 WestJet, Swoop and Sunwing flights over the weekend. The airline later said the problem was caused by a "cooling issue" in its primary data centre. WestJet said that it scheduled an additional 10 flights for waiting passengers on Monday. WestJet said in an emailed statement that it's asking passengers to refrain from contacting the airline until 72 hours before their upcoming flights to ensure staff are able to prioritize calls. Air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs said many of the affected passengers will be entitled to compensation. “We are hearing about chaos but I think what we should really be hearing is the passenger's rights in this situation." Lukacs said that cancellations due to a system-wide outage are within WestJet's control and that the airline is required to rebook passengers on new flights, even if they happen to be with another airline. Additionally, he noted WestJet will owe affected passengers compensation of up to $1,000 depending on the length of the delay under the federal Air Passenger Protection Regulations. <br/>
unaligned
Ryanair has given further evidence of its strong recovery from the pandemic, swinging to a first-half profit and raising its full-year passenger forecast. Europe’s biggest low-cost airline on Monday reported pre-tax profit of E1.42b for the six months to September 30, against a E100m loss in the same period last year. It also forecast a return to full-year profitability for the first time since the start of Covid-19 restrictions. It is expecting post-tax profits of between E1b and E1.2b for its 2022-23 fiscal year, with losses in the quieter second half of the year cancelling out some of the first-half profits. Ryanair has been relatively unaffected by the operational problems and the Heathrow airport passenger restrictions that affected some rivals over the summer. Its revenues for the half year were E6.62b, three times the E2.15b for the six months to September 30 last year, when airlines were still affected by coronavirus restrictions. The figure is 23 per cent higher than for the same period in 2019. It has also increased its forecast for passenger traffic for the year to March 31 to 168m, from 166.5m. CE Michael O’Leary said Ryanair was experiencing “surprisingly strong bookings” for the current, third quarter of the year. He said that he thought booking levels reflected a mixture of gains from rivals such as easyJet that have cut back operations and trading down by cost-conscious travellers. “There’s still a risk of adverse news on Covid or Ukraine,” O’Leary said. “But, without any negative developments, we’re seeing very strong forward bookings, which is unusual given the nervousness. There’s no evidence in our forward bookings of the nervousness about recession.”<br/>
Ryanair on Monday predicted it would eventually become Europe’s only major low-cost carrier, with Chief Executive Michael O’Leary claiming a widening gap on costs would make rivals easyJet and Wizz takeover targets. “Europe is inexorably moving towards a similar out-turn as North America where you will have three very large, somewhat higher cost, high-fare connecting carriers, and one very large low cost carrier” in Ryanair, O’Leary said. Wizz CE Jozsef Varadi, who has always maintained his cost base is comparable to Ryanair’s, last week said he did not see his airline as a takeover target. EasyJet, a hybrid player focused on undercutting legacy airlines at established airports which does not see itself as a direct competitor to Ryanair, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. O’Leary said both of the rival airlines “would be candidates for M&A over the next couple of years because ... they are stuck in a space where they are mid-airfare, mid-cost and they are not able to compete with us on cost or pricing.” Speaking on a call with analysts following the release of results for the first half of its financial year, O’Leary praised easyJet for establishing a “fortress-like” position in some expensive airports like London Gatwick and Paris Charles de Gaulle, Geneva and Zurich. But he said the British airline was being forced by Ryanair to retreat in other markets like Italy and Portugal. Wizz, O’Leary said, was making progress with expansion in the Middle East but was retreating in the face of Ryanair expansion in some parts of its core central and eastern Europe region.<br/>
French air accident investigators are being deployed to Tanzania to assist in the investigation of a passenger plane crash which killed at least 19 people on Sunday. A spokesperson for France’s BEA air accident investigation agency said on Monday it was sending a team to Tanzania along with technical advisers from Franco-Italian planemaker ATR , which built the ATR 42-500 turboprop. At least 19 people died when the plane crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on Sunday while trying to land at a nearby airport, the prime minister and airline said. Flight PW494, operated by Precision Air, hit the water during storms and heavy rain, state Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) reported. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said investigators had launched a probe into what had happened. Experts say most accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that take months to understand fully. Under international rules, the locally led investigation would usually include the participation of authorities in France, where the plane was designed, and Canada, where its Pratt & Whitney engines were developed.<br/>
Interglobe Aviation, the operator of India's top airline IndiGo, said on Monday it had grounded around 30 aircraft, or around 10% of its fleet, due to global supply chain disruptions. "While it is our immediate priority to deploy adequate capacity to serve our customers, we are actively engaged with our OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners to work on mitigation measures that should ensure the continuity of our network and operations," the company said. The airline had a fleet of 279 aircraft as of end of September. IndiGo said it was evaluating slowing down re-deliveries through lease extensions, exploring the re-induction of aircraft into the fleet, and evaluating wet lease options to mitigate the disruptions. In a 'wet lease' arrangement, the lessor maintains operational control of flights while providing aircraft and crew. IndiGo on Friday posted a bigger loss for the second quarter, hit by higher fuel prices and foreign exchange losses, but said it was optimistic about returning to operational profitability in the current quarter.<br/>
A new budget carrier, MYAirline, is slated to commence operations this month, drawing comparison with the entry of Malindo Air in 2013. Going by past experience, the entry of a new airline into Malaysia's aviation market should be positive for Malaysia Airlines Holdings and negative for low-cost airline group Capital A Bhd. Maybank Investment Bank Research noted that the last time a Malaysian airline commenced operations was with the launch of Malindo in 2013. "MAHB Malaysia passenger traffic surged 18% YoY while Capital A’s AirAsia Malaysia average fares fell 10% YoY in 2013. "Essentially, the entry of a new airline is positive for MAHB but negative for Capital A," the research house said in a report. However, it noted that industry capacity going forward will be more moderate despite the entry of MYAirline, leading to more moderate positive/negative impact to MAHB and Capital A this time around.<br/>
Philippine Airlines announced Monday that it will expand its direct flights between its hub in Cebu City and Mindanao with a new service to Cotabato City beginning Dec. 1. The Cebu-Cotabato flights are expected “support the revival of domestic tourism and business activities” in the country, PAL said in an e-mailed statement, adding that it is gearing up for the December peak holiday season by offering more flights out of Cebu to serve travelers in Visayas and Mindanao. “We hope to contribute positively to the economic development of Cotabato City and the Bangsamoro region by launching this new link to progressive Cotabato City,” PAL noted. “We want to do our part to connect families, encourage healthy business growth and spur holiday travel between these vital regions of the country.” Starting Dec. 1, PAL will offer twice weekly flights — every Monday and Thursday — between Cebu and Cotabato.<br/>
AirAsia X Bhd's has resumed its flight to Tokyo Haneda following the full reopening of the country’s border for international tourism. AAX said the thrice-weekly flights would be the airline’s first flight to Japan post-pandemic, ahead of its second route launch to Sapporo (Shin-Chitose) in December. In commemoration of the service resumption, AAX celebrated the flight with a send-off ceremony at KL International Airport. AAX is also offering great value fares from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo Haneda from RM699 all-in one way for economy and from RM2,599 on the premium flatbed. Fares are available for booking for the travel period between now till March 30, 2024. CEO Benyamin Ismail said Japan is a core destination and the company is thrilled to return to Tokyo as it has always been one of the most popular routes.<br/>
Rex pilots who fly its regional routes have agreed to a new industrial agreement after an “arduous” four-year negotiation. It follows the Australian Federation of Air Pilots voting for a series of work bans in June and Rex countering that the union had distributed “malicious, misleading and deceptive” material to its members. The airline’s HR manager, Paula Tran, called the talks “protracted” but said the final deal was a “fair and reasonable outcome”. Overall, 86% of pilots who fly its 61 Saab 340 turboprop aircraft to 58 regional destinations voted in favour of the new four-year deal. “These high endorsement rates demonstrate a very healthy culture of trust and collaboration between the company and its staff,” said Tran. “We wish to thank all our dedicated staff for going above and beyond at these difficult times and this support will help us maintain the strong, positive momentum we have achieved in recent months.” The agreement will now go to the Fair Work Commission, which is expected to ratify the deal imminently. Rex had earlier said the union’s action to seek stoppages in June was “beyond belief” and added its then-offer was “substantially better” than one accepted by the same union on behalf of QantasLink pilots in 2021.<br/>