unaligned

Spirit Airlines delayed about 40% of its flights Thursday morning as the discount carrier grappled with a temporary glitch that affected its mobile app and website. The company said in a statement midday that it was working to resume normal operations after resolving “a network issue between third party services.” Access to its app, website and airport kiosks has been restored, Spirit said. There were 365 delayed Spirit flights as of 11:48 a.m. New York time, according to FlightAware.com. About 3% of its flights were canceled. Spirit had warned passengers earlier on Twitter to expect long lines at airports and to arrive early for their flights.<br/>

Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said on Thursday that an industry-wide shortage of pilots is expected to last for three years due to the challenges carriers face in training new aviators. Jordan, speaking at the Bernstein Conference, said the Dallas-based airline has about 40 planes that it currently cannot fly because of pilot constraints. "The constraint is really the ability to put them through the training center because it's full," he said. Analysts at Jefferies estimate the United States is 10,000 pilots short. American Airlines has said it has as much as 50 underused mainline jets and about 150 regional aircraft grounded as the company does not have enough trained pilots. Jordan expects the supply of pilots to improve by the end of the year, allowing the airline to get the planes off the ground. The company is also grappling with Boeing's aircraft delivery delays, forcing it to rein in capacity growth plans. Southwest, one of the biggest customers of Boeing's MAX planes, expects 70 deliveries of the 737-8 jet this year instead of the planned 90 after the U.S. planemaker disclosed a manufacturing issue with some of the workhorse aircraft. Jordan said Southwest needs a "stable" jet delivery schedule to plan its capacity. "The biggest thing that we're working on is reflowing the order book with Boeing, so that the deliveries are steady, measured, known, we can count on them," he said.<br/>

Southwest Airlines said on Thursday it continues to expect a strong adjusted profit for the full year as travelers fly more for leisure, leading to more ticket sales. The carrier also reiterated its profit forecast for the second quarter, as summer bookings were boosted by the Memorial Day weekend. The forecast comes a day after American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) raised its second-quarter profit outlook on lower jet fuel costs and high travel demand. Leisure travel demand and yields continue to be strong in the quarter, Southwest said in a regulatory filing. Dallas, Texas-based Southwest however expects revenue per seat flown one mile to fall 8% to 10% in the quarter through June, compared to the previous forecast of a fall of 8% to 11%. The airline said it has not made any material revisions to its 2023 fleet or capacity plans compared with previous guidance, reflecting its expectation to receive about 70 Boeing 737-8 aircraft deliveries.<br/>

JetBlue Airways agreed to sell Spirit Airlines’ operations at New York’s LaGuardia Airport to rival carrier Frontier. The deal is contingent upon JetBlue closing a planned $3.8b acquisition of Spirit, according to a statement Thursday. JetBlue had earlier pledged to divest some assets to help secure federal approval of the acquisition, which has been challenged by the US Justice Department over concerns it would hurt consumers and reduce industry competition. The sale is something of a consolation for Frontier, which had agreed to acquire fellow ultra-discount carrier Spirit before JetBlue came in with a higher offer. Spirit shareholders backed the JetBlue bid after it added a series of sweeteners, including special dividends. The agreement will let Frontier “significantly expand” its LaGuardia operations, CEO Barry Biffle said. Spirit’s holdings at LaGuardia include six gates and 22 takeoff and landing slots. The flying rights are highly sought within the industry because they’re limited and difficult to acquire. JetBlue also agreed previously to give up some Spirit assets in Boston and Florida. JetBlue is offering concessions because of the overlap of its operations and Spirit’s in certain markets. A combination of the carriers is the only way it can gain the size and heft to compete with the nation’s three largest airlines that control about 80% of the market, JetBlue has argued.<br/>

Argentine flag carrier Aerolineas Argentinas will begin operating flights to the USA from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery – the first intercontinental connections to depart from Buenos Aires’ downtown airport, rather than the much larger Ezeiza Ministro Pistorini International airport on the outskirts of the city. The airline said on 1 June that the flights to North America will launch on 7 August. It is planning a thrice-weekly connection to New York’s John F Kennedy International airport, as well as a four-times-weekly flight to Miami using its Airbus A330-200E aircraft. “This flight will allow tourists to connect to the main tourist destinations within Argentina during the peak hours of daily departures and with minimum connection times,” the airline says. Aeroparque is located near the centre of Buenos Aires, while Ezeiza, the primary airport which caters to international tourists entering or leaving the country, is about 40km southeast of the Argentine capital. Travellers arriving at Ezeiza with connections to other destinations in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as some flights to Colombia, Paraguay, Chile or Brazil, often have to take ground transportation to the other airport – a trip that can take up to three hours depending on traffic. “In this way we improve our products, [and] we strengthen our role by bringing more tourists from the United States who can connect with all the domestic flights in our network and with minimum connection times,” Aerolineas CE Pablo Ceriani says. The company recently took delivery of a new A330-200E, the largest type in its fleet, and is expecting one more to join this year. All told, the carrier’s A330 fleet will be 10-strong. The aircraft are configured with 24 business class seats and 248 seats in economy class. <br/>