An airplane departing from Raleigh-Durham International Airport returned to the airport shortly after takeoff when the flight crew reported striking a coyote on the runway. Southwest Airlines Flight #1221 had been on its way to Chicago Midway International Airport on Tuesday but returned to the North Carolina airport about 8 p.m. for an inspection, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority said it landed safely without incident. The flight crew had alerted the air traffic control tower of a potential wildlife strike during takeoff. Upon landing, the aircraft taxied to a nearby gate for a maintenance review, Southwest Airlines spokesperson Alyssa Foster said in a statement to The Associated Press. The aircraft was later cleared to continue the journey to Chicago. Foster said 149 passengers and six crew members were on board, and no one was injured. The FAA is continuing to investigate the incident.<br/>
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EasyJet CE Johan Lundgren believes consolidation in Europe is more likely to happen through legacy carrier retrenchments rather than merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, in part because of state support keeping failing carriers in operation. Asked about likely consolidation within Europe during the airline’s full-year results on 29 November, Lundgren played down likely activity. “I always said that I don’t believe M&A consolidation will happen to the extent perhaps that some people think, partly because of the structure of European airlines,” he said. “There are a number of… companies that should have gone bust, but have been supported by their respective gove rnments, so it is not clear there is a normal market rationale.” Italy is continuing its efforts to secure a buyer for ITA Airways, with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa among the interested parties. The former has also said it would be interested in looking at TAP Air Portugal, sale plans for which the Portuguese state is working on, while IAG is continuing its on-off pursuit of Air Europa having taken an initial 20% stake. EasyJet last year itself rejected a takeover approach, reportedly from budget rival Wizz Air; whilst recent comments from IAG chief executive Luis Gallego around consolidation prompted media speculation over potential interest in carriers including EasyJet. <br/>
Israeli carrier Israir has detailed its binding offer for Czech operator Smartwings, but has yet to discover whether it will be successful. Israir says the transaction, if accepted, would be valued at E44m which includes E8m for the entire share capital of Smartwings. Another E12m would be used for partial repayment of owner loans, plus another E24m for future of repayment loans attributed to Smartwings shareholder Unimex. Israir says the offer would involve exclusive negotiations for 120 days and allow for the sale of a portion of Smartwings to an additional partner. The carrier states that a purchase of Smartwings would provide options for Israeli passengers to reach “leading destinations” including Prague and Budapest, and enable better utilisation of aircraft. It would also provide advantages of scale, Israir adds. Israir disclosed the update as it unveiled third-quarter financial results, including revenues of $265m and a net profit of $18.2m for the nine months to 30 September, and an $11.9m profit for the quarter. The carrier has been rejigging its fleet, withdrawing ATR turboprops in favour of basing its operation on Airbus A320s. Israir has six A320s and has newly agreed to wet-lease another, plus a pair of Boeing 737-800s, for 2023.<br/>
Japan’s Peach Aviation, a low-cost arm of ANA Holdings, said it had cancelled 92 domestic flights between Dec. 27 and Jan. 13 as supply chain issues delay the delivery of new aircraft. Peach has an all-Airbus fleet of narrowbody planes. The announcement on Peach’s website dated Tuesday came hours after Reuters reported Airbus was preparing the ground for further delays to planned delivery dates of some medium-haul planes in 2023, even as it races to meet 2022 targets in the face of supply chain and labour problems. Airbus will have a clearer picture on 2022 deliveries by the end of November, but the supply chain environment “remains very complex”, CEO Guillaume Faury said Tuesday. <br/>
Capital A Berhad, the parent of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia, reported a narrower third-quarter operating loss on Wednesday, buoyed by a strong rebound in travel demand and the easing of pandemic-related restrictions in Southeast Asia. It also forecast a positive outlook for the upcoming years on strong sales momentum and reopening of travel restrictions, projecting stronger air passenger traffic in the next quarter. Capital A posted an operating loss of 563.9m ringgit ($127.00m) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to a loss of 893m ringgit in the year-ago period. It reported a sharp 563% increase in revenue to 1.96b ringgit from last year's 295.9m ringgit. Earlier, the firm reported it carried 9.9m passengers in Q3, a nearly 2,200% jump from a year ago, boosted by an upsurge in domestic demand and the resumption of international travel in Southeast Asian countries. "The group is taking all measures possible to return grounded fleet back into service, with a projection of 140 operational aircraft by the end of this year, and full operations by second quarter of 2023," it said in a filing. The company also plans to combine its AirAsia budget airline business with its long-haul offshoot AirAsia X as part of a corporate restructuring designed to shed its status as a financially-distressed firm, CEO Tony Fernandes said on Tuesday.<br/>