Flair Airlines has taken its share of lumps through the frantic post-pandemic travel surge, but the Edmonton-based airline’s CEO, Stephen Jones, said the ultra-low-cost (ULC) carrier is back on a growth trajectory. In a brief media appearance in Winnipeg on Wednesday touting the airline’s economic impact in Winnipeg, Jones said the seizure of four of its leased Boeing 737’s in March is “well and truly in the rear view mirror.” In fact, it just added two brand new Boeing 737 Max aircrafts, bringing its fleet up to 21. Although the airline has been in operation in one form or another since 2005 when it was just a charter company — it launched as an ULC carrier as NewLeaf out of Winnipeg in 2016 — it was ground virtually to a halt during and immediately after the pandemic. In April 2021 it was only flying one plane. It’s now up to 21 and Jones is out there trying to show the market it is back with a renewed commitment to operational excellence. Among other things it’s established what it believes is the industry-leading level of transparency, releasing monthly performance metrics including on-time performance, which for June was at the credible levels of 77.4 per cent (on-time within 15 minutes of scheduled times) and load factors which were at 89 per cent meaning Flair is filling up its planes. But it’s certainly not been smooth sailing. Story has more.<br/>
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Two passengers and two flight attendants were injured when a plane plunged nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) during severe turbulence Wednesday while flying from North Carolina to Florida, officials said. The Allegiant flight was traveling from Asheville Regional Airport to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, where it landed normally and taxied to the gate under its own power, the airline said in a statement. The plane was carrying 179 passengers and six crew members. The Airbus A320 dropped about 5,000 feet (1,524 meters), from an elevation of about 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) to 13,000 feet (3,962 meters), in less than two minutes, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Airport paramedics met the plane to assess the four injured people, Allegiant said. They were taken to a nearby hospital, but officials didn’t immediately provide details about their injuries. Allegiant said it was working with the FAA and the NTSB to investigate.<br/>
Brazilian airline Azul announced on Wednesday it is launching a public offering of senior secured notes due 2028, fulfilling its pledge to raise additional capital as it moves forward with a broader restructuring plan. Azul, Brazil's largest airline in number of flights and cities served, said in a statement it will pledge certain receivables from loyalty program TudoAzul and travel package business Azul Viagens as collateral in the offering. The carrier had previously reached a deal with aircraft lessors to give them equity and tradable debt in exchange for lower payments, and last month announced exchange offers to delay the maturity of bonds expiring in 2024 and 2026. CE John Rodgerson had told Reuters in an interview after those deals that Azul was ready to raise additional cash to "grow again", as it plans to consolidate its long-term structuring and open new routes this year. Azul did not immediately disclose the size of the offering. Sao-Paulo traded shares in the firm were down 2% after the announcement, underperforming the 1.3% jump on benchmark stock index Bovespa but still up more than 70% year-to-date. "This offering represents an important milestone for Azul," CFO Alex Malfitani said. "It brings us to the conclusion of a well-executed structuring management plan to optimize our capital structure and improve our liquidity." "Azul is now set into a new chapter of accelerated growth, new business opportunities and expansion of our domestic and international operations," he added.<br/>
Fledgling operator Green Africa is expanding its turboprop fleet with an ATR 72-500 damp-leased from specialist Jump Air. Green Africa, based in the Nigerian city of Lagos, commenced services on local routes just under two years ago. It says it has agreed a partnership with Lithuanian charter carrier Jump Air, which emerged in Vilnius in 2020 and uses an ATR fleet. Jump Air is to provide an ATR 72-500 as “bridge capacity”, says Green Africa, expanding the airline’s fleet to four. The additional turboprop will enter service in the third quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval. Green Africa chief Babawande Afolabi says the airline is preparing for its next expansion phase, and that the Jump Air aircraft will “help strengthen” its current routes while “spreading the reach” of the carrier.<br/>
Budget carrier SpiceJet said on Wednesday top shareholder Ajay Singh would infuse 5b rupees ($60.85m) into the troubled airline as it looks to return to full operations. SpiceJet has been scrambling to raise funds and restore operations for about a fourth of its fleet that has been grounded amid a string of weak quarterly results and fierce competition in the sector. The fund infusion also comes at a time when Indian budget carriers are looking to take advantage of the gap left by crisis-hit rival Go First. SpiceJet said it will issue shares, convertible securities or share warrants on a preferential basis to Singh. The deal will also open up further credit facilities of 2.06b rupees to the airline under the government's emergency credit line guarantee scheme. Singh, also SpiceJet's managing director, holds a 50.6% stake in the company, as per exchange data. "This investment will allow the airline to accelerate its growth plans and capture new opportunities in the market, grow its revenue and profits," Singh said in a press release. SpiceJet had announced plans in February to raise fresh capital of $300m from an issue of securities to qualified institutional buyers and converted around $100m in dues to an aircraft lessor into equity. SpiceJet is also battling some lessors who are seeking to de-register its aircraft and initiate bankruptcy proceedings against the airline. It is also locked in a legal dispute with a former investor for dues worth $46m.<br/>