unaligned

Spirit Airlines has offered as much as a 43% cumulative weighted average pay raise to its pilots over two years, according to a union memo seen by Reuters. The deal is yet more evidence of the bargaining power pilots are enjoying as carriers staff up to meet booming travel demand. It comes a week after Delta Air Lines<br/> offered a 34% cumulative pay increase to its pilots over three years in a new contract. In a memo sent out to its members on Friday, Spirit’s pilot union said the deal will result in a 43% cumulative weighted average pay raise for first officer and a 25% wage increase for captain over two years. Overall, it would lead to a 34% cumulative weighted average increase in pay rates for Spirit pilots, the memo said. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents pilots at the ultra-low-cost carrier, said the new contract agreement represents an economic gain of $463 million, or 27% over the next two years, for the pilots. If ratified by the pilots, the two-year agreement will become effective on Jan. 1. A date for a union member vote on the offer was not immediately known. The pilot union has planned roadshows between Dec. 14-20 to generate support for the deal. The proposed contract also provides for higher training pay and increased contribution to 401(k). ALPA said the deal involves “zero concessions” on the part of Spirit pilots. “This agreement...stands in stark contrast to previous bargaining cycles at Spirit and other large jet carriers, where pilots have endured years of stagnating compensation while negotiating comprehensive pilot contracts,” said Spirit’s pilot union head Ryan Muller. ALPA said the proposed contract will cover 3,100 Spirit pilots.<br/>

JetBlue Airways CE Robin Hayes has received a two-year extension on his employment contract, the airline disclosed in a 9 December filing with the US SEC. The amendment does not change the terms of Hayes’ employment agreement with New York-based discounter JetBlue, which now extends through 1 September 2025. The airline’s board of directions approved the extension on 8 December, at the recommendation of its compensation committee, according to the filing. Hayes was named JetBlue’s CEO in February 2015, and first joined the company as executive vice-president in 2008 after a 19-year career with British Airways. Also on 9 December, JetBlue expanded its operating partnership with American Airlines with 11 new routes from Boston and New York as a pending decision in a federal antitrust trial challenging their so-called Northeast Alliance (NEA) looms. JetBlue is tentatively set to acquire rival discount airline Spirit Airlines in a $3.8b takeover bid that is pending federal regulatory approval. The low-cost carrier posted a profit of $57m and revenue of $2.6b in Q3 2022, up 30% from $2b in the same period of 2021, the airline reported on 25 October.<br/>

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris is exploring options to obtain sustainable aviation fuel, including a potential deal in the United States, the airline's top executive said in an interview following the company's investor day. "We have to work on developing supply in Mexico," CE Enrique Beltranena told Reuters, adding that the airline had flown with sustainable fuel just once due to the lack of local availability. "Really, SAF is an ethanol. And what we don't have in Mexico is a way of converting that ethanol, of mixing it to become jet fuel," he said. SAF can be made from feedstocks such as used cooking oils, crop residues and other waste products, and is expected to have the largest impact in lowering airlines' carbon emissions. It remains in scarce supply, however, and is costlier than traditional fuels. Volaris has been working to finalize a deal to obtain SAF in the United States, which would fuel US flights to Mexico, Beltranena said. More details would be available "within the next three months," he said.<br/>

Capital A, the parent of Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia, plans to launch a new airline in Cambodia with a domestic partner as it resumes expansion plans put on hold during the pandemic, its chief executive said on Friday. Capital A said AirAsia Cambodia, a joint venture with Sivilai Asia, would launch in the second half of 2023. AirAsia Cambodia is expected to have a fleet of 10 to 12 planes within a few years after it starts flying, Capital A CE Tony Fernandes told reporters in Phnom Penh. “We wanted our growth story to really start today in Cambodia. It was a long time coming,” he said in reference to the need to ground most of the carrier’s fleet of 210 planes when demand plunged during the pandemic. AirAsia Cambodia, to be led by Cambodian national Nam Vissoth, will focus on growing inbound tourism from places including China, South Korea, Southeast Asia and India, Fernandes said. The fully paid-up capital requirement will be $25m, with AirAsia to use internal funds for its share of the equity investment, Capital A said. Partner Sivilai was established in January as a consultancy that aims to operate hospitality businesses in Cambodia, it added. Capital A is also looking to start a new airline in Vietnam to join its existing carriers based in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, Fernandes told Reuters last week. <br/>

Cebu Air, the operator of low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific, has put the full transition of its ground support equipment (GSE) fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) in its long-term goals as it aims for zero carbon emission. “For us, it’s a long-term goal — [the] full transition of all of our on-ground equipment,” Cebu Pacific Chief Strategy Officer Jose Alejandro B. Reyes said. Cebu Pacific currently has around 700 pieces of internal combustion engine GSE that are being used throughout its network, said Reyes. “Medyo matagal ‘yung transition (The transition will be slow) because some equipment was just bought recently and some are still useful. But our target is to do the easier ones first which have a high impact,” he said.<br/>