Ryanair delivered a petition signed by 1.1m EU passengers to the European Commission on Wednesday, demanding overflights be protected from air traffic control (ATC) strikes, particularly in France, to help avoid travel disruption. Earlier this month, the trade group Airlines for Europe, which represents companies such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM as well as Ryanair, also called on the Commission to take action. CEO Michael O'Leary told reporters France's location meant the cancellation of flights merely passing through its airspace during local strikes was particularly disruptive and polluting. "The next French strike is due June 6-7 and our flights are full and we're being forced to cancel flights. There is a simple solution for this. Other member states have laws that protect overflights," O'Leary said, referring to Greece, Italy and Spain. Ryanair said it called on the Commission to protect 100% of overflights, require a 21-day notice of strike action and a 72-hour notice of employee participation in ATC strikes, among other measures. "The Commission is liaising actively with relevant member states to assess whether and how service continuity for overflights could be improved in the event of strikes," a spokesperson for the Commission said. The spokesperson said the Commission had already called on member states to preserve 100% continuity of service for flights crossing strike-affected countries. "The Commission has a lot of soft power. They can lean on France. It doesn't need to be a law. We don't want legislation because it'll take 25 years here in Brussels... Does the EU have anything in its armoury to embarrass France?" O'Leary said. "We met with the French government and asked for reforms but we got shrugged shoulders," he added.<br/>
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Israeli leisure operator Israir Group is attributing a strong Q1 performance to increased demand and the expansion of its Airbus fleet. The company’s revenues in the three months to 31 March – totalling $94m – amounted to a two-thirds increase on last year’s figure, and double the level of pre-crisis 2019. It generated a pre-tax profit of $2.5m and a net profit of $2.8m. Israir Group says it recorded a “sharp rise” in demand for its products, both during the quarter and into the summer season. It says the economic environment – a strengthening of the US dollar exchange rate and a decline in disposable income – has not yet affected this demand. Israir Group has shifted to a uniform Airbus A320 fleet, taking its fleet to six 182-seat aircraft, after divesting its 74-seat ATR 72 turboprops. The company says the increase in seat capacity has contributed to its stronger performance. Load factor for the operator rose during the quarter, from 74% to 82%, while its artificial intelligence-driven yield-management system has helped it capitalise on increased fares. Israir Group has acquired a 50% share in the Cypriot-based maintenance firm Bird Aviation, and says the company generated a profit of around $400,000 in Q1. Bird has already conducted checks on two aircraft in the Israir fleet.<br/>
A Japanese domestic airline has started a month-long “all-you-can-fly” service from Tokyo, seeing an opportunity to cash in as work routines undergo a dramatic shift in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Star Flyer Inc.’s “Star Pass” targets commuters wanting unlimited flights between the capital’s Haneda Airport and Kitakyushu — a city near Fukuoka where the carrier is based, on Japan’s southern Kyushu island — for remote work and leisure. For ¥40,000 ($286), people under 26 can make as many trips as they want during a 30-day period that will end on June 13. Users older than 26 pay ¥150,000. The flight passes are an attempt to bolster business after Covid, which saw domestic travel all but grind to a halt as the country encouraged people to suspend travel for work and leisure during peak infection periods. They also cater to people who would prefer to work from home or as digital nomads rather than return to office life. Still, it’s unclear how much of an impact the promotion will have on Star Flyer’s bottom line. The carrier — which operates five routes to southern, western and central Japanese prefectures — took a particularly hard hit during the pandemic, with operating profit for the financial year that ended in March in the red for the third consecutive period. Star Flyer’s shares fell 11% last year, while ANA Holdings Inc. rose 16% and Japan Airlines Co. was up 23%. This year, stock in Star Flyer is up about 7%. The airline, which announced the campaign on April 14, said it had 550 applicants for the passes and issued 90 through a lottery. It declined to comment on how many of those who’d won actually bought passes. <br/>
AirAsia Aviation swung back to the black in their Q1 earnings on the back of strong international travel growth, as it eyes a “return to normalcy” this year. For the three months to 31 March, the airline unit of Malaysia-based Capital A, reported positive EBITDA of around MYR501m ($109m), reversing the MYR270m loss in the year-ago period. Revenue for the airline group jumped more than three-fold year on year to MYR2.2b, helped by a rise in domestic and international travel, as well as a rise in airfares. Capital A also notes the figure is about 85% that of the revenue reported in the same quarter of pre-pandemic 2019. The group, which has units in Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia, carried close to 8.6m passengers during the quarter, more than twice the numbers reported in 2022. Traffic nearly tripled, while capacity grew two-fold year on year. Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, notes: “Our aviation business has achieved promising improvement, driven by the stabilisation of operational costs thanks to lower fuel prices and maintenance expenses.” The airline group has about 157 aircraft in operation now, and says it is on track to fully returning to service its fleet of over 200 jets by the July-September quarter. It also intends to “reallocate aircraft to operating countries that has stronger demand” though it did not elaborate further. However, it flags ongoing supply chain issues that are posing a challenge to the delivery of its new aircraft. The group has over 300 Airbus A321neos on order, and is expected to take delivery of the first two examples in 2024. It states that three aircraft meant to be delivered in 2024 have been deferred to 2025, while five aircraft due in 2026 have been pushed back two years. On network, AirAsia Aviation is expected to grow its group network beyond its pre-pandemic size, operating 290 routes by the end of the year, 25 more than 2019’s network. Its airline units will also fully reinstate their China operations before the end of the year. AirAsia Aviation had previously indicated its China capacity is likely to surpass pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, with its Malaysian and Thai units leading the ramp-up.<br/>