Allegiant Air and the union representing its flight attendants have reached a deal that stands to make the airline’s cabin crew among the best payed in the US low-cost airline segment. The Transport Workers Union and airline disclosed on 9 June having tentatively agreed to the terms of a five-year contract the union says will provide Allegiant’s flight attendants with raises of 15.5-40% starting 1 July. The deal requires ratification by flight attendants, but if approved will “catapult our work group to the top of the low-cost carriers and greatly improve the quality of life for everyone”, says the union’s Allegiant group president Christa Gifford. Allegiant confirms it has reached the agreement, which covers its roughly 1,900 flight attendants. The deal would provide “significant increases to wages and deadhead pay, and includes improvements to retirement benefits, sick accrual, bonus flight-hour calculations, vacation pay, annual vacation allocation and flex time”, says Allegiant. In addition to the pay raises, Allegiant’s flight attendants will receive 3% annual wage increases and better company contributions to retirement plans under the agreement, says the union. “Individual hourly pay increases over the life of the five-year agreement range from 49% to 107%,” it adds.<br/>
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Onex Corp's WestJet and pilots at its budget carrier Swoop ratified a new four-year agreement for pay hikes and job security, the Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) said on Friday. As negotiated in the agreement, WestJet said it will begin integrating the ultra-low-cost airline into its mainline operations by the end of October. "This integration will enhance our ability to serve a broader spectrum of guests," WestJet said in a statement on Friday. "Instead of only 16 aircraft serving the ultra-low-cost market, each aircraft, in our 180-strong fleet, will offer ultra-affordable travel options through to a premium inflight experience." The deal is expected to put pressure on Air Canada as the larger rival faces a call from its pilots to narrow the earnings gap with higher-paid aviators in the United States. North American pilots are pressing for higher salaries and better scheduling after U.S. aviators made big gains in a recent deal with Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), which delivers a 34% pay increase over four years.<br/>
The privatisation of a controlling stake in SATA Internacional is attracting interest from European airlines and private equity funds, increasing the chances of a successful sale, the small Azorean carrier's new CEO, Teresa Goncalves, said on Friday. The regional government of the Azores is selling between 51% and 85% of the capital of SATA Internacional, which operates 19 routes from the Portuguese archipelago in the mid-Atlantic to the rest of the country, Europe, the United States, Canada and Cape Verde. The privatisation - imposed by the European Commission in exchange for approving a state bailout of E453m in June 2022 - was launched on March 23. The airline said two weeks ago that the deadline for 'binding offers', initially scheduled for June 20, was postponed until the end of July due to "great demand for the tender dossier by more than 31 entities". Goncalves, who took over as CEO in early April after just over three years as the firm's CFO, told Reuters there are approximately 10 entities that are routinely reviewing the reserved data the company shares with interested parties. "We are in a very favourable geographical position, which is attractive. I'm very optimistic about the privatisation," she said in an interview. Goncalves added that among the interested parties were European airlines and private equity funds - something she said "improves the prospects" of the sale, along with other companies such as travel agencies. She declined to identify the interested parties, citing confidentiality.<br/>
Swedish regional carrier Vastflyg is claiming to be the first airline to use sustainable aviation fuel exclusively on its flights. Vastflyg will use a mixture of Neste MY renewable fuel on all services including its scheduled routes from Trollhattan airport to Stockholm Bromma and Visby. Biofuel can contribute a maximum proportion of 50% to the fuel blend. Neste says the blend supplied to Trollhattan will be around 30-40%. “By using a high blend of sustainable aviation fuel, we will immediately reduce our greenhouse-gas emissions for all flights,” says Vastflyg CE Anna Petre. “We will also use the biofuel mixture for our charter flights, which makes Vastflyg a better choice for climate-conscious travellers.”<br/>Trollhattan-Vanersborg airport will also be offering only sustainable fuel blends to operators from mid-June, as part of the switch. “Small steps can lead to big changes and that is exactly what we think this investment shows,” says the airport’s chief, Anna Rahnangen. The Neste MY renewable fuel is wholly produced from such sources as waste cooking oil and animal fat. Neste’s renewable aviation vice-president for Europe, Alexander Kueper, describes the decisions taken by the airline and airport as “a big and brave step”. “It shows their commitment to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from air travel and is a role model for other airports and airlines worldwide,” he adds. Vastflyg uses Saab 340 regional turboprop aircraft, operated on its behalf by Estonian carrier NyxAir.<br/>
Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flyadeal is looking at options to bolster its capacity after a strong post-Covid recovery. The Saudia low-cost unit, which launched in services in 2017 using Airbus A320s, has been in the process of taking next-generation Airbus narrowbodies after switching from an earlier Boeing 737 Max commitment in 2019. ”We went into Covid with 11 aircraft, we came out of it with 27, because our order book started delivering,” Flyadeal chief executive Con Korfiatis told FlightGlobal during the IATA AGM in Istanbul. ”Fantastic idea at the time, [but] when Covid came along we tried to delay things as much as we could, but could only do small things. So the capacity came and honestly for a period of time it was too much. ”But as things came back, it took off and we filled that capacity quickly and we have gone from having a bit of over-capacity a bit more than 12 months ago, to now we are short of aircraft. ”We’ve been taking aircraft through last year into this year, we still are, and the demand is growing very nicely, and we are short [of] capacity. We are thinking of leasing some aircraft short-term, exercising options we already have with Airbus, we are thinking about a campaign to add even more aircraft to the orderbook.” Flyadeal initially signed for 30 A320neos and took options on 20 more. It took delivery of its first A320neo in July 2021 and now operates 17 of the CFM International Leap-1A-powered jets, alongside 11 A320s in a fleet of 28. ”We’ve got four more aircraft coming this year, so we are at 32 this year,” Korfiatis says. ”Our order book is for another five the next two years, but we are looking to go to the market for additional capacity from 2024 onwards as well – where that will be from [is] to be determined.” He says long-term the intent is to have a fleet of at least 100 aircraft by 2030. ”Maybe by then a small sub-fleet of widebodies as well,” he says. The carrier currently wet-leases widebody capacity for Haj services.<br/>
India's SpiceJetwill add 10 Boeing 737 aircraft to its fleet between September and October to cater to the growing passenger traffic, the low-cost carrier said on Friday. The planes will include five 737 Max aircraft, the Gurugram-based airline said, without disclosing the list price. As of June 2023, its fleet comprised 91 aircraft, according to the SpiceJet website. It was not immediately clear if the figure included the 25 planes it had grounded. The low-cost carrier is trying to revive the grounded fleet, the latest being a partnership with FTAI Aviation (FTAI.O) for the lease of 20 engines. SpiceJet said the grounded planes will resume services soon. "The induction of these planes, which coincides with the peak travel season in India, will help us launch new routes and strengthen our presence on existing ones," SpiceJet said.<br/>