Southwest Airlines pilots’ union said Thursday it sought to be released from federal mediation for a new labor contract, laying the groundwork for a potential strike as talks with the carrier haven’t yet yielded an agreement. The airline and union, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, have been in contract talks for more than three years and negotiations have been tense. The Dallas-based carrier’s pilots voted to authorize the union to call a possible strike last month, a poll that the union called on the heels of a holiday meltdown at the end of last year. “Regrettably, I must inform you that SWAPA and Southwest have been unable to meaningfully resolve numerous important, outstanding issues, and that further mediation will likely not result in any additional agreements between the parties,” Jody R. Reven, the negotiating committee’s chairman, wrote to the National Mediation Board on Thursday, according to a letter seen by CNBC. The union said Southwest has refused to engage “in substantive discussions or offer ratifiable proposals” on issues like better pay, work rules, quality-of-life improvements and fatigue mitigation, according to a letter the union sent to the National Mediation Board. Southwest’s vice president, labor relations, Adam Carlisle, said in a statement that the company disagrees with the need to be released from mediation. “We’ve continued meeting regularly with SWAPA and, in fact, made an industry-leading compensation proposal and scheduling adjustments to address workplace quality-of-life issues for our Pilots,” he said. “We feel confident that mediation will continue driving us even closer to a final agreement that will benefit both our Pilots and Southwest Airlines.”<br/>
unaligned
JetBlue Airways is raising questions about US air traffic control actions, joining United Airlines Holdings in blaming federal regulators for worsening congestion on a heavy travel week ahead of the Independence Day holiday. Government officials dismissed the carriers’ complaints as baseless, saying weather has led to elevated flight cancellations and delays that left thousands of customers stranded in airports. JetBlue and United also claim the Federal Aviation Administration is partly responsible for hiccups around some of the busiest airports, including New York and Denver. The finger pointing comes as the airline industry braces for a busy flight schedule this weekend that promises to test their resilience after severe disruptions last summer. Carriers have increased “buffers” in their operations by adding reserve crews, but face more airspace congestion and a shortage of air traffic controllers in some cities. “We are working with the FAA to better understand what led to the significant and unexpected ATC restrictions this week that affected thousands of flights across carriers,” JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty told employees in a Wednesday night message. “The severity and lengthy duration of the latest programs were worse than we have seen in the past with similar weather.” That came on the heels of complaints lodged by United CEO Scott Kirby in a staff memo earlier this week that blamed operational woes on an alleged shortfall of air traffic controllers. The CEO told employees “the FAA frankly failed us” by forcing it to trim flights at Newark Liberty International Airport last weekend, affecting 150,000 customers and prompting delays, cancellations and diversions. <br/>
Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine are to move to the International Court of Justice in their bid to hold Iran accountable for the downing of an airliner by Iranian forces in 2020 that killed several people, they said on Thursday. Most of the 176 people killed when Iran shot down the Ukrainian jet near Tehran in January 2020 were citizens from those four countries, which created a coordination group that seeks to hold Iran to account. Iran says its Revolutionary Guards accidentally shot down the Boeing 737 jet and blamed a misaligned radar and an error by the air defense operator at a time when tensions were high between Tehran and Washington. The four counties had earlier sought for Iran to submit to arbitration under the rules of the 1971 Montreal Convention, an international treaty which requires states to prevent and punish offences against civil aviation. The deadline for a settlement passed on Thursday. Iran had also separately filed a complaint against Canada at the United Nation's top court, accusing Canada of violating international obligations by allowing people to seek damages against Tehran. Ottawa said it was analyzing Iran's application and "will take the appropriate next steps as per the International Court of Justice's procedures." Last year, an Ontario court awarded C$107m ($81m, plus interest, to the families of six people who died when the Iranian Revolutionary Guards downed the Ukraine International Airlines plane.<br/>
Ryanair Holdings’s main gateway to Paris descended into chaos on Thursday because of a strike by air-traffic controllers, forcing Europe’s largest low-cost carrier to cancel all flights at Paris-Beauvais airport. The Irish airline scrapped about 130 flights, according to a spokesperson. All other flights at the airport were called off as well. Budget carriers EasyJet Plc and Wizz Air Holdings Plc also operate at Paris-Beauvais, located about 105 kilometers north of the French capital. France’s Civil Aviation Authority had demanded a 50% cutback in flights at Paris-Beauvais on Thursday, expecting some walkouts. But “zero air traffic controllers” showed up there or at Brest and Carcassonne airports, a spokesman for the authority said by phone. Air traffic controllers are protesting planned labor changes that could lead to job cuts at smaller French airports. Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports were operating as planned and weren’t affected. “Normal business will resume on Friday,” Beauvais said on its website. EasyJet said it canceled two flights at Beauvais. Other walkouts by French air traffic controllers, to protest government pension reform, have led to thousands of flight cancellations since the start of the year, raising worries for summer travel and further denting the image of France, which has been hit by weeks of protests. The labor action by French air traffic controllers has also caused delays for planes flying over the country to reach other destinations, according to Ryanair. It has urged passengers to sign an online petition urging European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to intervene and “keep EU skies open.” <br/>
Proposed UK long-haul start-up Global Airlines has agreed terms to acquire three Airbus A380s, adding to an initial aircraft disclosed last month. Global Airlines is aiming to commence transatlantic operations using the double-deck type from spring next year. The company is claiming “significant backing” from investors as well as the parent firm Holiday Swap. It had revealed at the end of May that it was acquiring an A380 from Doric Aviation, and that it planned to take three more. Global Airlines has not detailed the value of the transactions, although it indicated that the first A380 was picked up for an “eight-figure” sum. The A380’s catalogue price had been around $450m while the jet was in production. Airbus stopped delivering A380s in 2021. Global Airlines says it is “developing plans for their refit and return to service”. It adds that it aims to “reinvigorate the flying experience” with the “unrivalled spaciousness” of the A380. “The A380 is the best aircraft in the sky, and we will continue to look for further acquisition opportunities,” says entrepreneur James Asquith, the would-be carrier’s CE. Global Airlines has been gradually recruiting personnel to senior positions. Its latest appointments include former XL Airways COO and SR Technics managing director Pierre Madrange, as well as Capt Ian Black – both will join an advisory board to provide airline operational management support. London City airport corporate affairs director Liam McKay is also transferring to the company. Global Airlines has already identified Richard Stephenson as its CCO, while it has named several other figures to key roles – including former US Air Force assistance secretary Kevin Billings as advisory board chair, and ex-Emirates pilot Cees van Dooren as A380 project manager. Former Rolls-Royce chief customer officer Jacqueline Sutton and ex-EasyJet captain Emma Henderson will also join the advisory board.<br/>
Kenya’s first low-cost airline Jambojet is leasing used planes as it seeks savings in the face of severe cost pressures from a weaker local currency and high fuel prices, its CE said on Thursday. The Kenya Airways owned no-frills carrier is set to receive its eighth DeHavilland Dash 8-400 plane next month, followed by the potential delivery of a ninth inQ1 next year, CEO Karanja Ndegwa told Reuters. “We used to get the new ones just also as we build our maintenance capabilities but over time, the ones that we are getting now, they are not new,” he said. Jambojet is leasing planes that have been in service for at least two years, which are coming with shorter lease terms compared with new ones, Ndegwa said. The company expects passenger numbers to grow by a fifth this year to 1.2m, he said, mainly due to demand on local routes by business travellers. “We are on our way there,” he said, adding that the airline was also benefiting from a recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic. The nine-year old airline carried 719,000 passengers in 2019, before its business was severely curtailed by the pandemic over the next two years. In 2022, it transported 1m passengers. But like other businesses in the East African country, the company is feeling the pressure from a steep weakening of the shilling currency against the dollar.<br/>