Southwest COO Andrew Watterson will testify on Feb. 9 before the US Senate Commerce Committee after a holiday meltdown forced the budget carrier to cancel thousands of flights. The hearing titled "Strengthening Airline Operations and Consumer Protections" will also include Southwest Airlines Pilots Association President Captain Casey Murray, Sharon Pinkerton, a senior official with Airlines for America, an industry group, and Paul Hudson, who heads Flyers' Rights, a passenger advocacy organization. The committee had asked CE Bob Jordan to testify, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters, but Southwest told Reuters "unfortunately, the date that was selected for the hearing next week overlapped a previous commitment for Bob." Southwest said Jordan is slated to speak on Wednesday at an employee rally in Baltimore. The hearing will review causes and impacts of recent air travel disruptions including the Southwest December holiday operational woes that resulted in more than 16,000 flight cancellations.<br/>
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Call it the summer buffet of air travel. Frontier Airlines has announced its newest incentive to get travelers back in the air post-pandemic: An unlimited summer flight pass that costs $399. The all-you-can-fly plan allows Frontier customers to book “an unlimited number of flights” from May 2 to September 30, says the airline on its website. There are a few catches to the tantalizing deal. You shouldn’t bank on planning your flights ahead of time, for instance. You’ll need to book domestic flights the day before departure and international flights just 10 days before according to Frontier’s website. And there are a few “blackout periods” each month when flights will not be eligible for the “GoWild!” pass. You’ll also have to purchase add-ons separately – like seat selection or bags – and you won’t earn miles or status on the flights you book under the pass. And, on top of the price of the pass itself, for each flight booked you’ll have to pay “$0.01 in airfare plus applicable taxes, fees, and charges at the time of booking", according to Frontier's website.<br/>
InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of India's leading airline IndiGo, is seeking partnerships that will allow it to expand its international network, its chief executive said on Friday, after the company returned to profit. The airline's international capacity is already at 105% of pre COVID levels and it plans to grow this further in 2023, Pieter Elbers told analysts in a results call. "We will continue to explore strategic partnerships in the future that will allow added connectivity for our customers and provide us with more global visibility," he said, adding that international destinations are opening at higher levels than before the pandemic.IndiGo's code share agreement with Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic has increased connections to Europe, where the Indian carrier is adding capacity to meet growing demand for air travel. The global push by the airline, which holds the biggest share of the Indian market, coincides with efforts to expand by rivals.<br/>
An engine burst into flames on a tourist plane carrying 321 passengers in Thailand as the tyres exploded shortly after take-off, leaving the pilot to abruptly stop the departure. The emergency incident saw 309 passengers and 12 crew offloaded from the Russian tourist plane and transferred to a new aircraft. Footage shows the Boeing 767-306ER burst into sudden flames due to an “engine surge”. Landing gear was also set alight on the same right-hand side of the aircraft, causing the departure of the plane to be aborted.<br/>There is suspicion that Russian airlines are cutting corners on safety and have been operating without proper maintenance following tough sanctions imposed on the country following Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. A top Russian aviation official said Western-made airliners, which are not undergoing normal service in Russia due to sanctions, can be used until 2030. Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport, Alexander Neradko said: “I am confident that it has not become more dangerous to fly - and it has nothing to do with the presence or absence of original spare parts.” He demanded that the term “cannibalism” stopped being used to describe planes in Russia being kept in the air using spare parts from other aircrafts. “It appeared at the behest of those who have never worked in civil aviation and who are unaware of the fact that the practice of interchanging serviceable spare parts from jet to jet has always been widespread, even during the Soviet times,” he claimed. The 26-year-old aircraft operated by Azur Air was en route from Phuket International Airport to Moscow when the incident occurred.<br/>
Vietnam low-cost carrier Vietjet swung to an after-tax loss of D2.1t ($89.6m) in its 2022 financial year, compared with an after tax profit of D122b a year earlier. Revenue for the year rose threefold to VND39t on the back of the country’s recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic, according to a stock exchange filing. As for its Q4, after tax losses widened to VND2.4t from an after tax loss of VND93b a year earlier, although quarterly revenues quadrupled to VND11.8t. During 2022, Vietjet carried 20.5m passengers aboard 116,000 flights, with domestic passenger traffic 20% higher than in 2019, before the emergence of the coronavirus impact. The carrier also continues to expand its international network with a focus on adding Indian destinations, as well as Australia and Kazakhstan. It notes, however, that high fuel costs have been a challenge, as well as the supply chain issues affecting the industry. For 2023, it aims to keep expanding its international network, and specifies the reopening of China as an opportunity.<br/>