Air-France KLM’s Transavia unit is scrapping 210 flights this summer as a shortage of planes limits passenger capacity during the peak travel season. The low-cost airline was waiting to lease Boeing Co. 737 aircraft that were previously operated by Blue Air, a bankrupt Romanian airline, but late delivery and paperwork issues meant the planes couldn’t be deployed, the Dutch news agency ANP reported. The lack of aircraft dents Transavia’s capacity in through July and August, the peak of the European summer travel season. Plane shortages will also hit the airline in June, forcing it to cancel more than 330 flights, Aviation 24 reported previously. Discount carriers including Ryanair and EasyJet have seen a surge in demand this summer as people travel more post-pandemic. However, issues ranging from delivery delays of new aircraft to engine availability has kept many airlines from fielding a fleet as large as they originally planned. The flights were eliminated to create “full certainty” for the high season, said Leon Bogaard, a Transavia spokesman. “This was our final adjustment to our flight schedule.” Bogaard declined to comment on reasons for the plane shortages. The carrier said it has transferred nearly all passengers with canceled flights onto other Transavia flights.<br/>
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In order to meet the growing travel demand between Riyadh and Dubai, flyadeal is going to increase daily flights to the emirate, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The Kingdom’s low-cost airline has increased the total number of flights operating between King Khalid International Airport and Dubai International Airport to five flights daily, with an average weekly frequency of 33. According to Con Korfiatis, CEO of flyadeal, the new flights between Riyadh and Dubai are part of the company’s strategy to broaden its network and strengthen its position in the UAE market. This move boosts the Kingdom’s travel sector by connecting it to more international destinations worldwide and offering quality services to tourists and guests. According to the SPA, flyadeal recently announced an increase in destinations to 36 domestic and international sectors by June. In June last year, the airline expanded its scope of operations by connecting to Amman in Jordan, Tbilisi in Georgia, Azerbaijan’s Baku, Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt and Khartoum. <br/>
Pratt & Whitney has no engines currently available for India's Go First airline, which also has no rights over them, the counsel for the U.S. firm told a Delaware court on Thursday as the two companies engaged in a raging dispute over the supplies. The Indian airline has approached the Delaware court to enforce an arbitration order it won in Singapore against Pratt & Whitney, which it blames for its financial troubles and argues the U.S. firm failed to supply engines on time. Pratt says those claims are without merit. Go First has been granted bankruptcy protection in India with a court-appointed administrator trying to revive the airline. This has also sparked a bitter tussle with many of Go First's lessors as they have terminated their lease agreements and are trying to repossess the planes. During a court hearing on Thursday, which Reuters accessed via a court-assigned teleconferencing system, a lawyer for Pratt argued Go First no more has a right over the engines after termination of leases. "There are no engines available to be sent to Go First ... these leases have been terminated and they (engines) cannot be sent because Go First has no right to them," said the Pratt & Whitney counsel. Go First counsel argued that position was incorrect, saying the bankruptcy process in India provides a freeze on any repossession of planes by any lessor, and so it continues to have a right over them and the engines. The Indian airline's counsel added the engines were critical to its revival. The Singapore arbitrator on March 30 had ordered Pratt to assist Go First and supply serviceable spare engines to the airline, which has said it grounded half of its 54 Airbus A320neo planes due to engine issues.<br/>
Malaysia’s regional carrier SKS Airways has committed to leasing 10 Embraer E195-E2 single-aisle jets in a deal worth more than US$840m from Azorra. The deal was announced at the official signing ceremony between SKS Airways, Embraer Commercial Aviation and Azorra at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition 2023 (Lima’23) here yesterday. SKS Airways director Datuk Rohman Ahmad said the 10 aircraft would form the core of the airline’s expansion plans and would be based at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor. “The delivery of the first E195-E2 to SKS Airways is scheduled for January 2024, making SKS Airways the first operator of the Embraer E195-E2 in South-East Asia,” he said. He added that the airline launched commercial operations in January 2022. <br/>
PAL Holdings, Inc. has appointed Lucio C. Tan III as its president, taking over the post of his grandfather, Lucio C. Tan, who retained his role as chairman and CEO. “As the newly designated President of PAL Holdings, I am committed to providing stability and upholding the highest level of integrity within the company,” said Tan III Thursday. “I look forward to working closely with the Philippine Airlines (PAL) team, under the leadership of its president and COO, Stanley K. Ng, to ensure a collaborative and cohesive approach in serving the best interests of our customers,” he said. At the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Thursday, Tan III delivered the chairman’s message, which cited a need to rebuild PAL’s product and fleet. “We face major challenges just the same. We must resolve many operational and supply problems that hinder PAL from extending the best possible service to its customers,” he said.<br/>