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Aer Lingus is experiencing a “softness” in demand for short-haul business routes, with a particular drop-off in travel between Ireland and Britain, the airline’s chief executive Lynne Embleton said on Friday. Embleton was speaking after International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns Aer Lingus, published its results for the three months to March 31st. “Where we do see some weakness is in people travelling for business purposes, particularly short-haul, and particularly between Britain and Ireland actually, where we are seeing numbers down for people who are travelling for overnight or short business trips,” she said. “We’re seeing really good strength in short-haul leisure, particularly around the Mediterranean. We’ve got new routes to Greece and Italy this year, and they are going really, really well.” On whether inflation and rising interest would exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis and hit passenger numbers, Ms Embleton said travel has recovered from the Covid-19 crisis and that current high rates of travel would not be a flash in the pan. “We’ve put almost 20 per cent more fleets across the Atlantic than we had before the pandemic, and our passenger numbers have been keeping pace with that,” she said. “The strength is the rebound from pre-pandemic in Ireland, but also really strong demand from the rest and the exchange rate really helps that. We’re bringing a lot of Americans over to Ireland, and we’re seeing that in our load factors.""<br/>

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the ultra-low-fare national airline of the UAE, is launching an ambitious recruitment drive with a Go Pink campaign, in response to the continuous regional growth of the airline. <br/> Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is a joint venture between ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy, and Wizz Air Holdings, the fastest growing European ultra-low-cost airline, operating a fleet of 181 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. The national airline and the second largest carrier in Abu Dhabi by seat capacity, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, currently has 400 aviation professionals employed locally with financial stability opening many exciting opportunities for recruitment and career growth within the organisation. The Go Pink campaign will kick off on May 9 with a virtual open day for pilots and interested candidates can apply through the following link Pilots open day link, said the statement from Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. The airline has also called upon pilots and cabin crew of crisis-hit Indian ultra-low-cost airline Go First to apply for their dream jobs in the Wizz team, it added. <br/>

Lessors are seeking to take back possession of at least 20 Airbus jets operated by Go Airlines India, further complicating the insolvent carrier’s attempts to start flying again, even as a local bankruptcy court contemplates whether the company should get any respite. Lessors including Dublin’s GY Aviation Lease, SMBC Aviation Capital, and Pembroke Aircraft Leasing have applied to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday to de-register the planes, including brand new A320neo jets, information posted on the regulator’s website showed. The regulator should typically deregister the planes within five working days of a request, meaning the clock is ticking for the airline controlled by billionaire Nusli Wadia’s group. India in 2008 acceded to the so-called Cape Town Convention, which defines the rights of aircraft owners and lessors during payment defaults. While the agreement allows for the return of equipment quickly, India’s enforcement hasn’t been swift in past airline failures and woes, sometimes leading to increased lease rates for local carriers and court cases. Go Air — now re-branded as Go First — filed for insolvency protection Tuesday, blaming failing Pratt & Whitney engines for grounding about half its fleet of Airbus aircraft at a time when demand for travel is soaring. The National Company Law Tribunal on Thursday didn’t provide a judgment on an insolvency resolution case filed by the airline seeking to restrain lessors from taking back its aircraft. The airline said it had to ground 30.5% of its Airbus A320neo fleet in 2020, 25.6% in 2021, and 33.9% in 2022, as Pratt failed to provide new engines and spares. That added up to a total equivalent of more than 47 years of potential flying time between January 2020 to February 2023 when aircraft were forced to be on the ground. “The bigger issue here is more about this engine which has been breaking consecutively,” Mark Martin, founder of Dubai-based Martin Consulting LLC, said Friday. “This problem is an industry problem and the first victim is Go Air. Never in the history of aviation has an airline gone belly up and gone under because of a component failing so severely.” <br/>

Go Airlines India, which went under citing Pratt & Whitney engine failures, is optimistic about resuming flights within seven days if the bankruptcy court restrains lessors from taking back its aircraft. The airline, controlled by billionaire Nusli Wadia’s group, has enough funds to sustain operations on a cash-and-carry model for about 10 days, Chief Executive Officer Kaushik Khona said in an interview Saturday. Go Air is also seeking to request for an outstanding emergency credit it is eligible under the Indian government’s program to offer life-support to pandemic-hit industries, he said. “We will hundred percent be able to save the airline” if the court starts the insolvency resolution process “immediately,” said Khona. “All our stakeholders, including oil suppliers, service providers are aligned to the fact that we have been continuously cooperating and transparent with them.” Go Air — now re-branded as Go First — filed for insolvency protection on Tuesday after half of its Airbus SE A320neo fleet were grounded with engine snags, setting the airline back by 108b rupees ($1.3b) in lost revenue and additional expenses. It has sought a moratorium from India’s bankruptcy court to restrain lessors from taking back its aircraft and creditors from cashing guarantees and letters of credit, the chief executive said. The court is yet to deliver its final ruling after it heard the case on Thursday, but lessors such as Dublin’s GY Aviation Lease, SMBC Aviation Capital and Pembroke Aircraft Leasing started moving in to take back possession of at least 20 Airbus jets. Problems with Pratt engines have affected the airline industry worldwide ahead of the peak summer travel season. Deutsche Lufthansa AG has a third of its A220 fleet temporarily grounded in Zurich because of issues with Pratt engines. Turkish Airlines has sought leased engines and support from Pratt to repair its grounded A320neo aircraft.<br/>

India's federal investigating agency is searching the premises of Jet Airways and the residence of founder Naresh Goyal in Mumbai as part of a probe into a 5.39b rupee ($66m) bank fraud case, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) source said on Friday. The searches came days after Canara Bank filed a complaint against the airline, Goyal, his wife and a former airline director for "causing wrongful loss" to the lender, according to a May 3 first information report seen by Reuters. Jet Airways did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Goyal could not be immediately reached. Canara Bank alleged that funds were diverted for purposes unrelated to the airline's operations. Once India's biggest private airline, Jet ran out of cash in April 2019 and filed for bankruptcy. It was supposed to resume operations by the first quarter of 2022 under its new owners. However, it is deadlocked with creditors over the resolution plan to lift the airline out of bankruptcy.<br/>

Asia-Pacific low-cost carriers have continued to boost their route networks in recent days, including Zipair Tokyo’s launch of a Manila service and Greater Bay Airlines’ inauguration of a new Osaka route. Zipair aims to commence a daily Tokyo Narita-Manila service from 1 July, operating it until 28 October. “In recent years, the Republic of the Philippines is experiencing a strong economic growth and the carrier is expecting to see robust travel demand between the two countries,” says the carrier, which operates Boeing 787-8s. Hong Kong start-up Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) recently inaugurated a new Hong Kong-Osaka Kansai service, which it will operate three-times-weekly. Cirium fleets data shows that GBA operates a trio of 737-800s and has orders for 15 737 Max 9s. Two other Asia-Pacific low-cost carriers have also inaugurated new services. HK Express inaugurated a new daily service between Hong Kong and Hanoi on 28 April, adding to its Da Nang and Nha Trang services. HK Express operates 26 A320 family aircraft. Singapore-based Jetstar Asia also inaugurated a Singapore-Haikou service, marking its return to China. Jetstar Asia will operate the service four-times-weekly. “China is a critical market for Singaporeans, and we’re excited to connect both countries, enhance tourism and travel and reunite family and friends,” says Jetstar Asia chief executive Barathan Pasupathi. “Haikou was the first Chinese city Jetstar Asia flew to in 2009 and today, Hainan Island is one of the few Chinese destinations where most visitors can stay for up to 30 days without a visa and so we’re seeing strong demand for this service.” Vietnam’s Vietjet also announced that it will boost capacity to Melbourne and Sydney from Ho Chi Minh City. From 17 September, it will operate four-times-weekly to the two Australian cities, up from three times weekly. Story has more.<br/>

Cebu Pacific returned to the black in its first quarter earnings, helped by a strong rebound in passenger revenues, as it anticipates returning to pre-pandemic international capacity by end-June. For the three months to 31 March, the low-cost operator reported an operating profit of around Ps1.2b ($21.7m) – its first profit since the start of the pandemic – reversing the Ps5.3b loss posted in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter tripled year on year to nearly Ps21b, led by a four-fold jump in passenger revenues. Cebu Pacific flew 4.8m passengers in Q1, more than twice compared to the same period last year, with the number flights up 94% year on year. Costs rose 63% to Ps19.6b, in line with an increase in flying activity. Still, Cebu Pacific says it improved its profit margin through “increased utilisation of aircraft and operating systems, coupled with higher productivity of crew and personnel”. It disclosed a net profit of Ps1.1b, compared to the Ps7.6b net loss in the year-ago. The airline says it expects system-wide capacity to exceed pre-pandemic levels in the current quarter, which ends 30 June, “supported by an optimistic outlook as the tourism industry continues to recover, plus the strengthening of its Clark and Cebu hubs”. International capacity will hit 2019 levels in the same quarter, on the back of key markets in North Asia reopening. Airline chief Mike Szucs previously told FlightGlobal the airline expects to turn profitable in the first quarter. It is also banking on opportunities to outstrip its pre-crisis financial performance in the years ahead as it emerges from the pandemic.<br/>