Canadian regional carrier Porter Airlines is further expanding westward with a new transcontinental route from Ottawa to Vancouver starting 26 July. To be operated with Porter’s growing fleet of 132-seat Embraer 195-E2s, the new route will provide ”another way to travel between Porter’s extensive regional Eastern Canada network and British Columbia”, the Toronto-based carrier said on 8 May. It is the carrier’s first direct route from Ottawa to western Canada. “Ottawa is positioned as a critical part of Porter’s growing North American network,” says Kevin Jackson, executive vice-president and chief commercial officer of Porter Airlines. “We will continue building our presence in Ottawa and providing a superior level of service and travel options for economy travellers.” As configured by Porter, the E195-E2s have a two-by-two seating configuration with “no middle seat”, the company says. In December 2022, Porter took delivery of its first two E195-E2s, an aircraft that has allowed the carrier’s network to expand to western Canada. In recent months, Porter has launched flights from Toronto Pearson International airport to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Porter plans to operate five daily round-trip flights between Toronto and Vancouver during August 2023. “Travellers can count on even more flights being added to these markets, as well as entirely new destinations being announced in the coming months,” Jackson says. Porter is currently operating nine E195-E2s and 29 De Havilland Dash 8-400s, according to Cirium fleets data. The carrier has firm orders for 41 additional E195-E2s and purchase rights for 50 more, for a total list-price value of $7.38b. <br/>
unaligned
Boeing is close to a major order from Ryanair Holdings for about 150 of its largest 737 Max aircraft, an important endorsement from a key customer that adds crucial sales momentum for the jet intended to counter Airbus’ popular A321neo. The deal, poised to be announced as early as Tuesday, would be for the 737 Max 10 model, with the possible addition of 50 options, according to people familiar with the deliberations, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential negotiations. Boeing declined to comment, while Dublin-based Ryanair wasn’t immediately available to comment. Reuters reported earlier on Monday that the discount specialist is close to signing a major aircraft order with Boeing for more 737 Max aircraft, citing two unidentified people familiar with the matter. Ryanair is Boeing’s biggest customer in Europe, having built is entire fleet of short-haul aircraft around the workhorse model. CEO Michael O’Leary said in late March that the airline had resumed talks with Boeing for as many as 200 narrow-body aircraft, with potential delivery slated for the period between 2027 and 2031. Other airlines that have committed to the 737 Max 10 include Delta, United Airlines and British-Airways parent IAG. The aircraft competes with Airbus’s bestselling A321neo, as carriers move increasingly to the biggest versions of the most widely flown narrow-body jets. Ryanair previously topped up its order for the 737 Max 8 version with a special high-density configuration to a total of 210 aircraft. It has already received about 100 of the airliner.<br/>
On May 8th, Ryanair announced via Twitter that it would no longer allow customers to contact the airline's customer service department on the social media platform. By disabling Twitter direct messaging, the airline has limited the number of methods passengers may use to contact customer service. The airline claims that it did so due to recent changes in the network's policies. Ryanair is not the first airline to do this, nor is it likely to be the last. The tweet from Ryanair stated that direct messaging to customer service on Twitter is now unavailable without indicating for how long it will be out of use. It is unlikely that the airline will reopen this communication method without Twitter making considerable changes to recently implemented policies. The airline has yet to release details concerning the effects recent changes in Twitter's policies have had on its services. However, Ryanair has likely disabled the messaging services due to changes in the social media platform's API (application programming interfaces) conditions. The API changes adjusted the platform's account tiers, assigning companies such as airlines top-tier accounts, otherwise known as Enterprise accounts. Other airlines have reported that the new terms and conditions have prevented them from utilizing external protected messaging systems. Without these protections, airlines cannot safely discuss personal information with customers. Simple Flying has reached out to Ryanair concerning its choice to remove access to customer service personnel via Twitter direct message. This article will be updated once a response has been received.<br/>
Emirates Airline says it aims to return to nearly pre-COVID capacity by next March as demand for air travel in Asia outstrips what airlines are offering. Emirates CCO Adnan Kazim said global travel demand is exceeding pre-COVID levels. "We have restored 85% travel capacity in China [compared with pre-COVID], and the Chinese market can take up to five daily Emirates flights or more. We are operating at 85% capacity on our main global routes, and we aim to ramp up to 90% by summer 2023," he added. Kazim said Emirates' operations have ramped up more slowly in Asia than Europe and the Middle East, because of the more gradual lifting of COVID restrictions in that region. Emirates is now seeing strong demand in mainland China, while Hong Kong is gradually picking up in terms of capacity recovery for the carrier. "Airline competition in Asia is healthy and strong, and there is more demand in Asia than what airlines are offering," he said. Emirates operates 440 daily flights, or 3,080 departures per week, from its hub in Dubai, equating to 1.3m seats each week. "By the end of this financial year [on March 31, 2024] we aim to operate at almost full capacity and full flight frequency," Kazim said. The carrier has been serving China for nearly two decades and has established its presence in the Chinese market through strategic partnerships. It offers passengers connectivity to eight domestic points via Guangzhou through a codeshare agreement with China Southern Airlines, while providing customers of its partner airline with access to additional destinations in the Middle East and Africa. Kazim said Emirates is facing higher costs -- in terms of fuel, catering, ground handling and overflight fares, or fees charged by countries to traverse their airspace -- but said the airline is trying to avoid passing on full cost increases to customers. Finding skilled workers has also been a challenge for the industry since the pandemic, he added.<br/>
Beleaguered Go Airlines India has been asked to stop selling tickets after it filed for insolvency amid what it called repeated failures of Pratt and Whitney aircraft engines. The Indian aviation regulator said in a statement Monday it will decide in 15 days whether the airline’s operating license should be continued or not. By abruptly canceling flights, the airline failed to provide “service in a safe, efficient and reliable manner,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Go Air, which has half of its Airbus. fleet on the ground, had to change and swap 510 faulty Pratt-built GTF engines between 2016 and February this year, it said. The powerplants failed prematurely and shut down as the combustor deteriorated faster than expected. The airline has lost 108b rupees ($1.3b) due to the planes being out of service. The aviation regulator’s website showed that 13 lessors, including Dublin-based Sky High XCV Leasing Ltd. and ACG Aircraft Leasing Ireland Ltd., are seeking to take back the airline’s Airbus aircraft. Last week, lessors including GY Aviation Lease, SMBC Aviation Capital and Pembroke Aircraft applied to the regulator to deregister at least 20 jets. Such a move will hurt Go Air’s revival plans. Chief Executive Officer Kaushik Khona on Saturday said he is hopeful of resuming flights within seven days if the bankruptcy court restricts lessors from seizing planes. Carriers globally have been hit by a shortage of engines and spare parts. <br/>
The Macau SAR government is preparing to open up Macau International Airport to more competition with legislation that will end a longstanding arrangement that gives Air Macau (NX, Macau International) exclusive access to the airport's slots, requires other airlines to negotiate with it, and pay above market rates to fly in. In 1995, Air Macau signed a 25-year contract with the SAR government, agreeing to provide passenger, cargo, and mail services in and out of Macau International Airport. In exchange, the airline obtained monopoly rights at the airport over the contract's lifespan, and no other scheduled carrier could base there. In 2019, Air Macau was told that its monopoly at the airport would end when the contract expired in 2020. However, the onset of Covid-19 saw the contract extended for three years, until the end of 2023. But late last week, Macau-based media were reporting that the SAR government has already prepared legislation to open up the airport to competition, and will submit that legislation to the local Legislative Assembly in the the upcoming weeks. The successful breaking up of a casino monopoly in Macau 20 years ago is reportedly the template for ending Air Macau's reign at the airport.<br/>
The FAA has lifted the flight suspension that grounded Asia Pacific Airlines services. The airline has recently operated proving flights with one of their B757-200(PCF)s before resuming operations on one route on May 6. The FAA revoked the operating authority of Asia Pacific Airlines in early February, saying "the carrier was unable to demonstrate that its pilots were properly trained," a claim the carrier fiercely rejected. Nonetheless, the airline's fleet of three B757-200(PCF)s and one B757-200(PF) stayed on the ground for three months, causing enormous disruptions across several isolated Southwest Pacific countries that relied on the airline to ferry essential freight in and out. "The FAA restored the operating certificate for Aero Micronesia Inc., doing business as Asia Pacific, on Thursday, May 4," an FAA spokesperson said. "The carrier completed the steps we laid out with respect to training and record-keeping."<br/>