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Southwest Tuesday said it was making "solid progress" in efforts to return operations to normal after cancelling nearly 16,000 flights in the week ended Dec. 29 due to bad weather and meltdown of its crew scheduling system. The White House said Southwest "failed its customers" and added that the government would seek to fine the low-cost Texas-based airline if it does not appropriately reimburse customers for their losses. Southwest said that during the New Year holiday weekend ending Sunday it operated 11,092 flights, or 99.1% of scheduled flights. The airline said it intends that "nearly all baggage delayed during the recent holiday travel week to be shipped or delivered by midweek." Southwest had canceled 59, or just 1% of its flights on Tuesday, according to FlightAware. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Transportation Department will hold Southwest accountable for to its commitments to compensate customers whose flights were disrupted since Dec. 24 and is closely monitoring the airline. "Southwest Airlines failed its customers -- point blank," Jean-Pierre, adding the Transportation Department "will seek fines from Southwest if it doesn't cover" required costs. Jean-Pierre added that "our administration is going to continue to press for long-term solutions." The airline said it was reaching out by email to every ticketed customer "significantly impacted last week to offer a tailored gesture of goodwill and another heartfelt apology that redoubles our commitment to Customer."<br/>

Southwest says it’s sparing nothing in an operations review after a Christmastime meltdown stranded tens of thousands of passengers. But that’s not likely to include junking its network or losing its top executive. CEO Bob Jordan is pledging that no aspect will escape scrutiny, including the airline’s unique point-to-point route network that can limit the flexibility of its planes and crew deployment during disruptions. Jordan, who took the top job less than a year ago, told employees that he considers himself accountable for the meltdown and that Southwest may need to make adjustments to its network. “As we look backwards once we’re through this, everything is on the table,” Jordan told reporters on a conference call. He qualified those remarks by saying it’s his “gut feeling” the point-to-point system will remain in place with possible tweaks, and analysts say Jordan’s job is likely secure as he works to win back the good graces of investors and passengers. “It’s hard for me to see that any kind of heads need to roll,” said Savanthi Syth, a Raymond James Financial Inc. analyst. The airline’s outdated scheduling system is shouldering most of the blame for now, with Southwest saying it will make technology investments in that area a priority going forward. The computer software was overwhelmed when last week’s massive winter storm disrupted operations at many key airports. Analysts say the airline has historically invested too little and too late in technology compared with its peers. That reflects Southwest’s roots as a scrappy, cost-conscious Texas upstart that has rapidly grown into the largest domestic carrier in terms of passengers flown. A second meltdown in less than two years shows how vulnerable the airline’s operations have become when its network is stressed, and could constrain growth until solutions are identified.<br/>

The White House said Southwest Airlines should bear full responsibility for massive holiday travel disruptions that stranded thousands of passengers across the US, and would be held accountable by the administration. “Southwest Airlines failed its customers, point blank,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing on Tuesday. “While every major airline faced challenges from a pre-Christmas storm that wreaked havoc on the aviation system, all major airlines except for one, which is Southwest clearly, were able to recover quickly.” The airline suffered a holiday meltdown blamed on an outdated scheduling system that failed to keep pace when a winter storm stretching across much of the continental US disrupted airport operations. Southwest canceled more than 15,700 flights from Dec. 22 through Dec. 29, or almost 51% of its total, according to FlightAware data. “Southwest Airlines acknowledged all cancellations starting December 24 were controllable, in other words, not weather-related,” Jean-Pierre said. “So, that means the airline assumes responsibility based on Southwest’s prior commitments to customers.” The US Department of Transportation “will hold them accountable to their commitments to make their customers whole,” she said. Spokespeople for Southwest didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier Tuesday, Southwest said it improved operations over the New Year holiday weekend, with 11,092 flights during that period, a system completion rate of 99.1%. The company said nearly all baggage that was delayed during the travel disruptions would be shipped or delivered by midweek and that it was processing customer requests for refunds and reimbursements. <br/>

Southwest has been sued by a passenger who said it failed to provide refunds to passengers left stranded when an operational meltdown led the carrier to cancel more than 15,000 flights late last month. In a proposed class action filed on Dec. 30 in New Orleans federal court, Eric Capdeville accused Southwest of breach of contract after a fierce winter storm that swept across the United States shortly before Christmas upended the carrier's schedule. Though Southwest has promised to reimburse passengers for expenses, Capdeville said it offered only a credit to him and his daughter after scrapping their Dec. 27 flight to Portland, Oregon from New Orleans and being unable to book alternative travel. Affected passengers "cannot use their airline tickets through no fault of their own and they are not getting the benefit of their bargain with defendant," the complaint said. Capdeville, a Marrero, Louisiana resident, is seeking damages for passengers on Southwest flights canceled since Dec. 24, and who did not receive refunds or expense reimbursements. In a statement on Tuesday, Southwest had no comment on the lawsuit, but said it had "several high priority efforts underway to do right by our customers, including processing refunds from canceled flights, and reimbursing customers for expenses incurred as a result of the irregular operations." Capdeville's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment. <br/>

Brazilian airline Gol SA expects to report a loss in Q4 2022, it said on Tuesday. The firm expects a loss of 2.3 reais per share, or $1.2 per American Depositary Shares. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin for the quarter is expected to be approximately 20%, Gol said in a securities filing.<br/>

Sunwing says it has completed all of its scheduled recovery flights to bring home passengers stranded in Mexico after winter storms disrupted its operations during the holidays. The travel company says in a statement that its teams have worked around the clock to return its affected customers home. Some travellers from Saskatchewan say the airline has left them at airports in other provinces, while one says her flight from Mexico made it to Regina with dozens of empty seats. Sunwing announced last week that it was suspending flights from the Saskatoon and Regina airports for a month due to extenuating circumstances. The federal transport minister's office says issues faced by Sunwing customers are unacceptable. Valérie Glazer, a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra's office, says in a statement that the government understands the delays and cancellations have been frustrating for travellers. Glazer says passengers have rights that must be respected by airlines. "As of Sept. 8, new regulations are in effect under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations," the statement said. "They apply to flights that are cancelled or delayed for reasons beyond the air carrier's control, such as major weather events or pandemics." She said Transport Canada and the minister's office have been in contact with the airline and continue to work with airports to ensure people can travel safely and securely.<br/>

Central European budget carrier Wizz Air carried 15% more passengers in the last calendar year than it did in 2019, its previous high point. Since April 2022, Wizz exceeded 2019 passenger levels by a double-digit percentage each month as Covid restrictions in Europe were eased. The carrier ended the year particularly strongly: Wizz transported 4.2m passengers in December, a 27% increase on the same month in 2019 – and a 58% jump on December 2021. This meant that despite an Omicron-hit Q1, Wizz carried almost 6m more passengers on a booked seat basis last year than in did in 2019, flying 45.7m customers. Load factor has also moved closer to pre-pandemic levels. Wizz’s load factor in December was 84.5% and 86.7% for the calendar year. While that is a more than 11 percentage point improvement on 2021, is still down on the 93.6% level enjoyed in the 2019 calendar year. Wizz was among the most aggressive European carriers in restoring and expanding capacity after the pandemic and, while operational challenges curbed some of its original capacity expansion during the year, it still expects to be operating 35% more capacity than pre-pandemic this winter.<br/>

Eswatini Air has received its air operator's certificate and plans to announce a launch date as soon as it has secured the necessary foreign operator permits from South Africa and Zimbabwe. This has been announced by state-owned parent Royal Eswatini National Airways. "The next step is to obtain related operating permits from aeronautical authorities of the foreign countries we plan to operate to, and soon thereafter, a date for commencement of our operations will be announced", said RENAC CEO Qiniso Dhlamini. As reported, a protracted certification process with the Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority had delayed Eswatini Air's planned debut in June 2022. Initial destinations to be served from the Southern African kingdom's Manzini King Mswati III Int'l - using two ex-HOP! (France) 50-seater EMB-145EPs bought from Air France - include Durban King Shaka, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo and Cape Town in South Africa, and Harare Int'l, Zimbabwe. The aircraft underwent maintenance in Johannesburg, including avionic upgrades and rebranding. "Continuous market potential analyses will be conducted to assess additional destinations to be added to the airline's route network. The date for the launch of operations will be announced in due course, to be followed by the opening of our systems [for] bookings and ticket purchases," RENAC said.<br/>

The chairman of Middle East Airlines on Tuesday threatened to draft in hunters to shoot seagulls posing a threat to flight safety at Beirut airport if the Lebanese government failed to address the issue. Mohamad El-Hout, head of Lebanon’s national carrier, said he was giving the state a choice between “the intervention of security forces or permitting the MEA to bring in hunters.” Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport has seen a steady proliferation of the birds drawn to the nearby Costa Brava landfill site. Since the waste tip was opened in 2016, the number of seagulls soaring around the city airport has increased dramatically, raising plane accident concerns over birds being sucked into aircraft engines. El-Hout called on Lebanon’s interior minister to act, otherwise he would have to resort to the solution used in 2017 when the airline recruited 125 hunters and gave them the ammunition to kill more than 10,000 seagulls. The then Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos failed to deliver on a promise to deal with the problem after local media reported a MEA flight encountering a flock of birds as it landed on the airport’s west runway. Fenianos had suggested installing extra devices around the airport to emit bird of prey calls to scare off the gulls, a solution welcomed by environmental groups. Activists and environmental groups have long protested against the landfill and called on authorities to close the site to solve the bird issue altogether and avoid an “extermination campaign.” On the seagull problem, You Stink activist Lucien Bourjeily, said: “We call for eliminating the main reason behind this crisis, which is the Costa Brava landfill.”<br/>

Israeli operator Israir has signed a binding agreement to sell a pair of ATR 72-500s, which will leave it with an all-Airbus A320 fleet. The carrier says it sealed the agreement on 29 December, adding that they will be transferred to a “foreign airline”, without elaborating on its identity. Israir says the purchase transaction will amount to $13m. Completion of the sale remains subject to a series of customary conditions, including obtaining legal approvals, conducting inspections and test flights. Israir says the deadline for completion is 28 February. The agreement includes commitment from the buyer to hand over deposits. The airline is intending to retrain its ATR 72 pilots to convert them to the A320. It will have six of the twinjets in its fleet once the turboprops are gone. Israir says the fleet re-organisation has the potential to improve the carrier’s efficiency. Israir is expecting to receive another A320 this year, taking the fleet to seven, and is also likely to use wet-lease agreements to meet demand.<br/>

Airbus has acquired a new operator in China with Xiamen Airlines taking delivery of its first A321-200N from the European manufacturer on New Year's Day. To date, Xiamen Airlines has been a Boeing operator, with 162 aircraft from the US manufacturer now in service. In an January 1 apron delivery ceremony well attended by Xiamen Airlines, Airbus, and Chinese government officials, Airbus China CEO George Xu said B-32CU was the manufacturer's first made-in-China A321neo. "The commissioning of the first A321 aircraft underlines Airbus's commitment to China, and it marks a new milestone in the industrial cooperation with our Chinese partners," he said. Airbus order data shows Xiamen Airlines ordered twenty-five A320-200Ns and fifteen A321-200Ns in September after facing challenges with capacity shortfalls across its existing fleet and long delivery delays at Boeing. ch-aviation fleets advanced data shows Xiamen Airlines currently operates nine B737-700s, ten B737-8s (all inactive), 131 B737-800s, six B787-8s, and six B787-9s.<br/>

The Lion Air Group hopes to add approximately 80 new aircraft to its fleet in 2023 and expand operations to new markets in South Asia, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan. Lion Air Group's Daniel Putut Kuncoro Adi told a conference in Jakarta on December 28, 2022, that the entity added 43 new aircraft in the last year. He said those new planes were only around 50% of the new aircraft the group needs, with those incoming in 2023 making up the shortfall. Lion Air Group airlines include Lion Air, Wings Air (Indonesia), Super Air Jet, Batik Air, Batik Air Malaysia, and Thai Lion Air. Across the entire group, the company operates 317 aircraft. Its Indonesia-based airlines operate 287 aircraft, with Lion Air claiming 111 of that number. Kuncoro Adi did not say which carriers the incoming aircraft this year would be distributed to, however, the various airlines had been steadily returning aircraft to service over 2022 as passenger demand increased. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, all six Lion Air Group airlines now only have limited numbers of aircraft categorised as inactive, with that categorisation including planes removed from service for scheduled maintenance reasons as well as market demand reasons. The latest orders data indicates that Lion Air Indonesia has 113 A320-200Ns and sixty-five A321-200Ns on order with Airbus while Lion Air's undelivered Boeing orders comprise 230 B737 MAX.<br/>