Southwest Airlines customer service employees overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year collective bargaining agreement that includes an immediate 13.1% wage increase, the IAM union said on Thursday. The agreement covers 8,300 customer representatives and service agents and includes a 25.1% general wage increase over four years, which IAM said will put its members at the top of the airline industry’s pay scale for customer service employees. The labor deal also includes other benefits such as higher bonuses and improved mandatory overtime protections for all employees. Adam Carlisle, Southwest vice president of labor relations, said in a statement the company is "extremely pleased we can reward them with this new contract, which demonstrates the value they bring to Southwest and is designed to give us additional efficiencies to operate our airline." Airlines are still working to hire more employees to address rising travel demand following the sharp decline after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.<br/>
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Transat AT, the parent company of Canadian leisure airline Air Transat, gained ground financially but still posted a loss of C$126m ($92.2m) in the company’s fiscal Q4. For comparison, the Montreal-based holiday specialist lost C$121m in the same three months in 2021, which ended on 31 October. “We are clearly on the road to recovery,” Annick Guerard, CE of Air Transat, said on15 December. “Our results are improving and our confidence is growing. With each quarter, we have seen more robust sales, increased activity and improvement in our financial situation. This momentum is continuing.” With travel abroad acting as “a main factor driving Air Transat’s recovery”, Guerard says, the company reported Q4 revenue of C$573m – compared with C$62.8m during the Covid-19-stunted Q4 in 2021, during which Canada’s pandemic-related restrictions were still in full effect. For the full fiscal year, the leisure carrier reports revenue of C$1.6b, up from 2021 revenue of C$125m. As for the airline’s 2023 outlook, “the trend is clear and booking patterns are encouraging”, Guerard says. “As indicated by our yield, consumers are ready to travel approximately 15% more than they did in winter 2019.” The airline anticipates its 2023 capacity will reach 90% of 2019 levels. “However, in eastern Canadian markets, where we are concentrating our activities, we will actually deploy a capacity close to 7% more than in 2019,” Guerard says. Notably, the airline did not specify a timeframe for returning to profitability during the earnings call. Though “the present financial situation is far from ideal”, Guerard says, Air Transat is still pursuing growth and modernising its fleet of Airbus A321s and A330s. “Our fleet renewal efforts speak to our confidence moving forward.” At the end of November, the company placed orders for two more A321LRs, in addition to orders for four A321XLRs which had been announced at the end of the company’s Q3. Delivery of the jets, expected through 2027, will allow Air Transat to increase the frequency of its transatlantic flights without sacrificing capacity. “Today, we have 23 of these next-generation aircraft in our fleet or on order,” Guerard says. “This modernised fleet continues to provide us with increased operational efficiency, especially in context of our fuel costs.” Fuel prices were up 61%, or C$72.6m, in 2022 over the previous year. Also, with new codeshare agreements struck in recent months with Porter Airlines and WestJet, Air Transat’s network of available destinations has grown to more than 300, Guerard says. Air Transat had C$423m in unrestricted liquidity as of 31 October, down from C$603m on the same date the previous year.<br/>
Thirty jobs are at risk at Irish airline Aer Lingus as it considers permanently axing its Belfast to Heathrow due to Brexit issues. The airline said if the decision is implemented on 26 March, it would lead to the closure of its Belfast base. Belfast staff were told on Wednesday, with the possibility of redundancy or transfer to other bases discussed. Aer Lingus Regional flights, which are operated by Emerald Airlines would not be affected, Aer Lingus has said. Emerald Airlines took over Aer Lingus' regional routes after Stobart Air collapsed in 2021. Passengers booked on the Belfast City Airport to Heathrow route up until 25 March will be unaffected if the closure proceeds. Anyone with tickets for the route after that date will be contacted by Aer Lingus before the end of January.<br/>
Italian soccer champions AC Milan have extended a long-standing sponsorship deal with Emirates, the Serie A club and the airline said in a joint statement on Thursday. Bought this year by investment firm RedBird Capital Partners in a E1.2b deal, former European champions AC Milan won the Italian Serie A title for the first time in 11 years in May. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed but people familiar with the matter told Reuters the contract will bring at least E90m into the club coffers over three years, more than doubling the annual value of the previous deal. The United Arab Emirates’ flag carrier has been AC Milan’s sponsor since 2007 and its logo has been emblazoned on the shirts worn by Rossoneri players since 2010. The new deal will also continue to include high profile Emirates branding across the San Siro stadium, as well as hospitality, ticketing and other marketing rights, the statement said. Emirates has established a number of longstanding partnerships with top soccer clubs in Europe, including Real Madrid and Arsenal. AC Milan also announced it plans to open a new office in Dubai as part of its efforts to further develop its commercial presence in the Middle East area where it says it has more than 2.5m fans.<br/>
Administrators of grounded budget carrier Mango Airlines believe the sale of the airline has moved a step forward after existing owner South African Airways dropped its concerns about a planned transaction. Sipho Sono, who has been acting as the business rescue practitioner since Mango was placed in a formal financial restructuring in the summer of 2021, had in August said talks with a preferred bidder had made “substantial progress”, including the bidder providing confirmation of funds. However, the disposal of SAA’s shares in Mango requires the South African flag carrier to file a formal application to the country’s public enterprises ministry, and SAA had raised some concerns when it made its formal application. In a fresh update, Sono says the issues raised by SAA have now been resolved and an updated application submitted to the minister on 28 November. “With those issues now out of the way, the business rescue practitioner anticipates that the minister will consider the application imminently, and if satisfied, approve the disposal,” he says. No details of the potential bidder have been released. Mango, which suspended flights in late July 2021 amid its financial difficulties, will need to have the suspension of its operating licence lifted before it can resume flights. The airline’s operating licence was suspended in August after not operating for over a year, but Sono says that once the investor process is completed it will be in “good stead” to meet the conditions for the licence.<br/>
Israeli flag-carrier El Al’s primary shareholder is seeking to conduct a debt-for-equity swap involving a loan to the airline. Kanfei Nesharim holds 39% of the El Al share capital – and 54% on a fully-diluted basis – according to the company’s Q3 financial statement. El Al says its board of directors has “received an offer” from Kanfei Nesharim which includes partial conversion to equity of loans amounting to $70m. It states that an independent board committee has been established to examine the proposal. “No agreements have been reached between the parties,” it adds. Another 41% of El Al is floated, while the Israeli government has 13% and Knafaim Holdings holds the 7% balance.<br/>
Embraer has signed up Ruili Airlines as the first Chinese carrier in its Energia Advisory Group, as it seeks to develop sustainable aircraft for the future. The pact will see Kunming-based Ruili and Embraer working to define performance and design requirements related to Embraer’s proposed Energia Aircraft, namely a pair of 19-30 seat aircraft that are envisaged as using hybrid electric and hydrogen electric propulsion technologies, says Embraer. “The partnership between Embraer and Ruili Airlines is a significant step for the Energia project,” says Arjan Meijer, president and CE of Embraer Commercial Aviation. “We look for partners around the globe to share their innovative ideas and operational insights, adding their expertise to the sustainable aviation mission. Ruili Airlines’ perspective will be invaluable in the development of the Energia family of aircraft.” In November 2021, Embraer unveiled a family of four low- or zero-emission concept aircraft for the regional market that it hopes to fly over the coming decades, including hybrid-, all-electric and hydrogen-powered models. Cirium fleets data indicates that Ruili’s fleet comprises 15 Boeing 737-800s and seven 737-700s. It also has orders for 38 737 Max 8/9 aircraft.<br/>
Virgin Australia has emerged a much stronger airline from the Covid-19 pandemic than it was at the outset of the crisis. A court-led restructuring of Australia’s second largest carrier created a leaner and, executives hope, a much more profitable airline. One of the biggest changes to the Brisbane-based airline was its decision to axe its longhaul network with the disposal of its fleet of Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 widebody aircraft. Instead, Virgin Australia would focus on domestic Australia and near-international flying opportunities — Bali and New Zealand, for example — with an all-Boeing 737 fleet. That shift has proved a dramatic success: CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said in October that the airline was back in the black and on track to a profit for the full year ending in June 2023. An initial public offering could come as soon as next year. Hence at first glance, it is a bit of a head scratcher why Virgin Australia on Wednesday unveiled plans to resume flights to Japan, a longhaul market from Australia if there ever was one. The airline will connect Tokyo’s popular and close-in Haneda Airport to Cairns daily from June 28 with — you may have guessed it — a 737. That’s a long flight on a 737 by any stretch of the imagination, even the Max 8 that Virgin Australia plans to fly on the route. At 3,627 miles, the Cairns-Tokyo route will be the sixth longest 737 Max flight in the world, according to Great Circle Mapper and Diio by Cirium schedules. The longest is Malindo Air’s nonstop between Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne, Australia, at 3,918 miles. But budget airlines like Malindo are not Virgin Australia’s main competition. It competes for passengers with the likes of Qantas Airways domestically or ANA on flights to Japan, and both of those airlines fly larger, more comfortable widebody aircraft — Airbus A330s and Boeing 787s to be precise — on Australia-Japan routes. And Qantas’ budget arm, Jetstar Airways, already flies the Tokyo-Cairns route with a 787, Diio data show. Story has more. <br/>