The British carrier Flybe, once the largest independent regional airline in Europe, canceled all flights on Saturday after filing for bankruptcy protection for a second time, marking what may be the final chapter for the chronically troubled company. “We are sad to announce that Flybe has been placed into administration,” the company said in a statement on its website in the early hours of Saturday morning. “Flybe has now ceased trading. All Flybe flights from and to the UK are canceled and will not be rescheduled.” The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but administrators have been appointed by Britain’s High Court to take over the company, the statement said. The Department for Transport, which oversees aviation policy in the United Kingdom, also did not immediately respond. Flybe, which at one point dominated the UK domestic flight market, had only restarted in April 2022 after becoming one of the first large-scale corporate casualties of the coronavirus outbreak. Like much of the global aviation industry, the airline was hit hard when travel plummeted and filed for bankruptcy in March 2020 with the loss of 2,400 jobs. The airline was rescued last year by Thyme Opco, a company linked to the US hedge fund Cyrus Capital. But the sudden news on Saturday that Flybe had folded again left passengers stranded, as the airline made clear it would not be able to arrange alternative flights. About 2,500 passengers were set to fly with the airline on Saturday, and around 75,000 passengers in total have now had their flights canceled, according to figures confirmed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the country’s regulatory civil aviation body. The authority posted on its website a list of other airlines offering Flybe customers special fares. “It is always sad to see an airline enter administration and we know that Flybe’s decision to stop trading will be distressing for all of its employees and customers,” Paul Smith, the authority’s consumer director, said in a statement.<br/>
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Staff who have lost their jobs due to the collapse of regional airline Flybe should apply for roles with EasyJet and Ryanair, say the two budget operators. Flybe went into administration on Saturday, putting 277 staff out of work. The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) said it had received phone calls in the early hours of Saturday morning from worried Flybe staff. But the union's leader, Martin Chalk, said there were jobs "out there". EasyJet said it had 250 vacancies for cabin crew. Ryanair posted a message on the careers section of its website saying that it had vacancies in all categories, including pilots, engineers and ground staff.<br/>
AirAsia Aviation Group is planning to operate Airbus A330s from Indonesia for medium- to long-haul operations, as it reiterates its commitment to growing its presence in the country. AirAsia Aviation chief Bo Lingam says the airline group hopes to introduce the widebodies this year, to allow its Indonesian unit to fly to points in Japan, South Korea, China and India. Lingam adds that Indonesia AirAsia will nearly double its fleet size this year, with 32 A320s in operation, up from the current fleet of 17 jets. He was speaking at a company visit to Jakarta, where Indonesia AirAsia is based. The comments follow similar comments made by Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes on 18 January, when he disclosed plans to base widebodies in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, operating them to Australia, Japan and South Korea. Capital A is the parent company of AirAsia Aviation. The A330s currently fly with AirAsia X, the group’s medium-haul, low-cost unit. Since emerging from restructuring, the carrier has been progressively bringing its A330s back into service. AirAsia last operated A330s to and from Indonesia about four years ago, under the Indonesia AirAsia X brand. The unit first launched operations in 2014, before being shuttered in 2019. Fernandes, who was in Indonesia with Lingam, says the group remains committed to its Indonesian business, stressing that AirAsia “always prioritises its commitment to Indonesia”. Lingam adds: “Our international operations are very strong in Indonesia, having carried nearly 5m passengers before COVID-19, which represents 30% of international tourists arriving in the country. We have created nearly two thousand jobs in Indonesia and generated over $3b in tourism revenue, which has strong growth potential this year, following a strong post-Covid-19 surge in travel demand.” In its full-year operational results, Indonesia AirAsia carried 3.2m passengers in 2022, four times the number it flew in 2021. The carrier saw a three-fold increase in capacity, while traffic jumped four times. <br/>
Cebu Pacific is hoping to rebound to profitability in the quarter to 31 March, though it remains wary of potential challenges including fuel costs. In a stock exchange filing on 26 January, the low-cost carrier clarified news reports citing president and commercial chief Alexander Lao that it aims to make a profit and return to full pre-pandemic capacity by end-March. Lao confirms that the airline “hopes for a full-year net income”, noting that the January-March quarter has traditionally been a strong period for airlines globally. He stressed that the airline’s return to profitability “will depend on a lot of factors”, such as fuel prices, which are slowly inching upwards, as well as the strengthening of the Philippine Peso. In the first quarter of 2022, Cebu Pacific reported an operating loss of Ps5.3b ($97.6m) amid a surge in coronavirus infections in the Philippines. For the rest of 2022, it gradually narrowed its losses on the back of a reopening of markets and an increase in demand from domestic and international travel. In the latest filing, Lao also confirms that the airline has set aside Ps42b for capital expenditure in 2023, “most of which” will be used for aircraft-related expenses. Cebu Pacific expects to take delivery of 10 jets through the year, comprising three Airbus A320neos, three A321neos, as well as four A330neos. <br/>