A Southwest Airlines flight to Florida was forced to turn back to Cuba on Sunday morning after the plane hit birds, which took out one engine, shortly after takeoff. Southwest Flight 3923 returned to Havana and passengers evacuated on the slides of the plane due to smoke in the cabin, according to a Southwest spokesperson. The plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, took bird strikes to the nose and engine, the company said. “The customers and crew were bussed to the terminal and will be accommodated on another flight to Fort Lauderdale,” according to a statement from Brandy King, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines. “We commend the swift, professional actions of our pilots and flight attendants in responding to this event. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and have reached out to address their needs and offer support.” The flight was originally scheduled to fly to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida but was canceled.<br/>
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Latvian carrier Air Baltic has returned to full-year operating profit, with a surplus of E32m, although its net result remained negative with a loss of E54m. Air Baltic generated revenues of just over E500m – a level similar to that achieved in the pre-crisis 2019 – and it says the results reveal “strong positive business indicators”. This is despite passenger numbers reaching only 3.3m which, while an improvement on the previous year, were still substantially down on the pre-pandemic figure of 5m. Air Baltic’s EBITDAR result of nearly E130m was higher than the E125m of 2019. CE Martin Gauss insists the airline is “on the way back to persistent profitability”. “We are filled with strength, ideas, and determination and we continue the successful course we have taken which will help Air Baltic reach its [initial public offering] in 2024,” he adds. Air Baltic has been building up its fleet which exclusively comprises Airbus A220-300s, of which it has 39, and the carrier operates a network covering over 70 destinations from its Baltic stations.<br/>
Spanish carrier Air Nostrum’s joint-venture tie-up with Irish operator CityJet has been re-cleared by European competition regulators, more than three years after initially being approved. The two airlines disclosed plans to combine and form a new regional airline group in 2018, operating under a holding company and aiming to offer wet-lease services. Fortress Investment Group, overseeing CityJet, and Air Investment Valencia for Air Nostrum had notified the European Commission of the transaction in June 2019. The tie-up was approved the following month, with no competition concerns arising given the sufficient number of competitors in the wet-lease sector. But the Commission states that it was notified again of the transaction in January this year, as the deal had “not been yet executed”. It has concluded that, since the competitive landscape and market have remained “broadly the same”, the agreement still does not raise any competition issues. Air Nostrum has a fleet of around 40 aircraft, while CityJet has about 20. Both primarily operate Bombardier CRJ variants. Air Investment Valencia’s interests include not only Air Nostrum but Mediterranean operator Melair, and consulting firm Inversiones Lineas Aereas Inernacionales.<br/>
Indian budget carrier IndiGo is in talks with both Boeing and its current supplier Airbus to order more than 500 passenger jets, potentially smashing an industry record set by domestic rival Air India a few weeks ago, industry sources said. India's largest airline has until now been an exclusive buyer of narrow-body jets from Airbus and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said last month that IndiGo was close to ordering several hundred planes from the European planemaker. But negotiations to keep renewing the budget carrier's fleet from the end of the decade have also broadened to include mid-sized wide-body jets, sparking a contest between Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and the upgraded Airbus A330neo, the sources said. IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, is also comparing the A320neo with the Boeing 737 MAX as it weighs a major new order for narrow-body jets, they added. The split between wide- and narrow-body jets was not immediately clear. An IndiGo representative told Reuters the airline is constantly in talks with manufacturers as it plans its next phase of growth. "However, we haven't finalised anything till now." Airbus declined to comment on any talks, saying it is "always in contact with existing and potential customers". Boeing had no immediate comment. IndiGo, which counts a 55% share of the domestic market, is widely expected to maintain Airbus as its supplier of narrow-body jets to squeeze out further economies of scale.<br/>
Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines announced on Friday an order for 15 Boeing 737-9 airplanes, according to a company statement, with these planes to be gradually added to GBA's fleet between 2024 and 2027. The statement was issued ahead of a signing ceremony in Hong Kong attended by Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Bill Wong Cho Bau, the chairman of Greater Bay Airlines. The agreement includes a "commitment" for five 787 Dreamliners from Boeing to support GBA's plans for international long-haul services, the statement added. No price was given for the deal at the ceremony, but Wong said he expected the new Boeing aircraft to be added to GBA's fleet between 2024 and 2027. GBA, which launched last year, operates a fleet of three 737-800 jets, with flights to four destinations, including Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul. "The airline also plans to bring in a number of additional 737-800s to meet its expansion needs before the arrival of the 737-9," the statement added. The fledgling airline's CEO, Stanley Hui, had said this year that he planned to boost its fleet of planes as travel ramps up after years of COVID-19 restrictions.<br/>
Philippine Airlines has signed a new interline agreement with Emirates that is expected to boost connectivity for both carriers' passengers. "The Philippines is one of our strongest consumer markets and we're pleased to sign a new interline agreement with the country's flag carrier," said Adnan Kazim, Emirates' CCO. "The partnership with Philippine Airlines will help open new links for trade and tourism that will drive more inbound traffic into the market, and expand Emirates' footprint in East Asia," he added. "We look forward to serving our partner airline's customers with additional travel choices to Emirates destinations across the Middle East, Europe as well as the Americas, and to expanding our cooperation with plans to include additional points via Cebu in the coming months." The reciprocal partnership, which is now in effect, provides Emirates' passengers access to 19 domestic destinations operated by PAL including Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Cotabato, Davao, Iloilo, and Kalibo as well as two Asian regional points via Manila. PAL passengers also benefit from access to Emirates' global network and will be able to seamlessly connect to 21 cities operated by the latter beyond Dubai to European destinations such as London, Rome, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Paris and Kuwait, as well as to Jeddah and other points in the Middle East and Africa.<br/>