Canada's government said on Friday it approved airline WestJet Group's acquisition of smaller rival Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations, subject to strict terms and conditions. Those terms include requirements to maintain capacity on routes most affected by the merger and improving baggage handling for better passenger experience, Transport Canada, the country's aviation regulator, said in a statement. WestJet, a low-cost carrier, is owned by private equity firm Onex Corp.<br/>
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Passengers travelling with Flair Airlines were "impacted" on Saturday after four of its leased aircraft were seized in Toronto, Edmonton and Waterloo, Ont., in what the company described as a "commercial dispute." A statement from the air carrier called the move by "a New York-based hedge fund" to take the aircraft "extreme and unusual." It said Flair would use "additional fleet capacity" to lessen the effects on passengers, adding it did not foresee any major disruptions to its route map. Company spokesman Mike Arnot said a number of Flair flights were cancelled Saturday morning, but the company had three spare aircraft to backfill those flights. Arnot says passengers travelling in the next 72 hours will either be accommodated on Flair flights or another airline at Flair's expense if a Flair flight isn't available. An update from the company later Saturday added that customers can also rebook their own travel and receive a reimbursement within seven days. A person familiar with the matter but who was not authorized to speak publicly about it said the payments for the affected planes were only a few days behind and the amount owed was small relative to Flair's overall revenue. "We are truly very sorry passengers were impacted today, and are taking steps to get them on their way with minimal disruption. This includes repositioning our spare aircraft to support operations," the company's statement said.<br/>
Canada’s Transat, which sells vacation packages, said it’s “moving toward a gradual return to profitability,” underpinned by strong demand and high prices. The Montreal-based company, which owns and operates the airline Air Transat, gave its assessment during an earnings call with investors on Thursday. For its fiscal first quarter — covering the offpeak months of November, December, and January — Transat reported a negative 6 percent operating margin. Losses are not uncommon for Canadian travel companies during winters; Air Canada recently reported a negative 1 percent operating margin for its October-to-December quarter. (Note that Air Canada and Transat agreed to merge in 2019, but the deal collapsed in 2021, after European Union competition regulators signaled their disapproval). Transat’s bookings for the upcoming spring and summer seasons look strong, enough so for CEO Annick Guérard to declare: “Transat is on an upswing and is headed for a return to profitability.” She added: “These results are especially encouraging since the first quarter, which falls in the shoulder period, is usually the lowest of the year.” The company aims for a positive operating margin of between 4 and 6% for the full fiscal year that ends in October. During the fiscal Q1, capacity was roughly back to 2019 levels, while load factors reached a healthy 85%. During winters, much of Air Transat’s flying is to southern sunshine destinations in Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean. During summers, it pivots to a more Europe-focused schedule. <br/>
GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes has gained access to US$451m of cash after the Brazilian airline closed a USD1.4 billion private placement with its controlling shareholder, Abra Group, of its senior secured notes due in 2028. The transaction represents one of the largest completed liability management and comprehensive refinancing transactions in the airline industry and emerging markets, the airline said in a stock market filing. It also represents the tenth liability management or capital raising that GOL has completed since the onset of Covid-19. The airline reported significant improvements in its capital structure and its credit profile due to the access to cash and a reduction in annual interest payments. The issuance on March 3, 2023, included US$451m in cash for specific uses subject to certain conditions and approvals, and the contribution and retirement of US$1.077m in face value of GOL's outstanding bonds. This represents 83% of the bonds maturing in 2024, 47% of the bonds maturing in 2025, 61% of the bonds maturing in 2026, and 10% of the perpetuals. These bonds have been cancelled, representing a discount to par of US$312.6m. Pro forma for the transaction, the net debt of GOL will be reduced by over US$100m, resulting in more than US$30m in annual interest expense savings.<br/>
Icelandic low-cost airline Play’s chief executive, Birgir Jonsson, appears prepared to turn off the seat-belt sign nearly two years after the carrier embarked on its rapid ascent through an uncertain and tempestuous air transport sector. Since it launched services in June 2021, Play has expanded to nearly 40 destinations – with Scottish city Glasgow the latest addition – while building a fleet of 10 Airbus single-aisle jets, and Jonsson believes the company needs a plateau phase. “I think this year we’ll reach the scale we need to utilise fixed costs,” he tells FlightGlobal. “This is really the year where Play is born as a company which is out of the start-up phase, out of the incubation period.” Play only implemented its full network in June last year, he says, with US flights enabling the carrier to shift from point-to-point services to a transatlantic bridge model between Europe and North America. “That’s really the driver for the business,” says Jonsson. Play expects to start turning in positive earnings this year, and Jonsson believes it would have generated a “decent financial return” last year but for the unexpected $35 million impact of higher fuel prices – particularly given the near-80% average load factor, achieved despite persistent pandemic effects. “We needed quite a steep growth. From zero to 100 is a steep curve,” he says. “But we’re not in love with the growth. We needed growth to get to the scale and utilise the full benefits of the network. We needed a certain number of US destinations to feed into the European destinations, and needed a certain number of aircraft for that.”<br/>
A controversial new cut in air passenger tax due next month was passed after the airline industry told the government it would lead to a new era of “ultra low” prices for domestic flights in the UK, with one airline predicting a 31% rise in passengers, industry documents reveal. The new cut in air passenger duty (APD) for domestic flights was approved by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor, halving the price to GBP6.50 from 1 April. The rail industry has warned the move could increase carbon emissions by 27,000 tonnes a year and result in 220,000 fewer rail journeys a year. Industry submissions obtained under freedom of information laws by openDemocracy reveal how the airlines lobbied for the duty cut to boost air travel in the UK, despite a drive to cut carbon emissions. Ryanair in its submission to the March 2021 consultation said it would be able to offer more domestic flights at low prices, pointing out that in Spain internal flights could be booked for as little as E5. The low-cost airline has unveiled a number of new UK domestic routes since the cut in duty was announced, including London Stansted to Cornwall. The airline also rejected a frequent flyer tax which would have progressively increased the fees for each flight taken. It argued it would be “likely only to punish passengers that have an ongoing practical requirement to fly frequently”. EasyJet said in its submission: “Our analysis shows that if domestic APD is reduced by 50%, this would support an overall 31% increase in domestic volume, to 10.6 million passengers.” BA’s owner, International Airlines Group, told the Treasury that “positive outcomes could include new routes, increased frequency and larger aircraft on existing routes as well as lower fares”. International flights will see an increase in duties from April. <br/>
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman formally announced on Sunday the creation of a new national airline, Riyadh Air, with industry veteran Tony Douglas as its chief executive, as the kingdom moves to compete with regional transport and travel hubs. Riyadh Air will serve more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030, making use of the kingdom’s location between Asia, Africa and Europe, state news agency SPA said. The new airline is expected to add $20b to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP growth and create more than 200,000 jobs both directly and indirectly, it said. The announcement may lead to a tougher battle for passengers, going head-to-head with regional giants Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines as the travel industry recovers from the pandemic. Riyadh Air is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has more than $600b in assets and is the main driver of the kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy and wean itself off oil. In October, Saudi Arabia was in advanced negotiations to order almost 40 A350 jets from Airbus, with Boeing also lobbying for a slice of the kingdom’s transportation expansion, industry sources had told Reuters. The head of state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) told Reuters at the time that it was in talks with Boeing and Airbus on orders both for itself and a planned new carrier.<br/>
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is close to a deal to order Boeing commercial jets for the fleet of a new national airline, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. The aircraft order is valued at $35b, the report said, adding that the deal could be announced as soon as Sunday during an official launch of the national airline. The deal includes wide-body jets which are often used for long international flights, the report added. In October, Saudi Arabia was in advanced negotiations to order almost 40 A350 jets from Airbus, with Boeing also lobbying for a slice of the kingdom's transportation expansion, industry sources had told Reuters. The head of state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) had then told Reuters that it was in talks with Boeing and Airbus on orders both for itself and a planned new carrier, RIA. <br/>