Southwest pilots were denied a request to halt contract talks with the carrier, a step that could have brought them closer to a strike. The National Mediation Board rejected the plea from the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, signaling on Wednesday it didn’t agree with the union’s view that further meetings would be fruitless. “I’m disappointed but not surprised” by the decision, Casey Murray, union president, said in an interview. “We are further away today than the day we filed for release, which is truly the definition of an impasse.” Southwest had argued against the request, which was filed on June 29. Negotiations are scheduled to resume next week in Denver. Major US airlines are under pressure to secure new contracts with pilots and other worker unions to help settle expected higher labor costs. Labor vies with fuel as the top expense for airlines, and pilots are the highest paid among union workers. Aviators at American Airlines Group Inc. will vote on a tentative agreement this month, while United Airlines Holdings Inc. has reached a preliminary accord with pilots. Delta Air Lines Inc. workers secured a new agreement earlier this year. “We remain confident in the mediation process and feel strongly that it will drive us to a final agreement that rewards our pilots and supports our business,” said Adam Carlisle, Southwest’s vice president of labor relations. The National Mediation board oversees negotiations between airlines and their unions. Talks between Southwest and its pilots began more than three years ago, and were joined by a mediator in September 2022. Important issues remain unresolved, according to the union.<br/>
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The US DOT on Wednesday said its comprehensive investigation into Southwest's December meltdown is ongoing. Southwest canceled 16,700 flights impacting more than 2m passengers after its crew scheduling software failed to handle staffing changes. The department first disclosed in January it was reviewing whether Southwest executives "engaged in unrealistic scheduling of flights which under federal law is considered an unfair and deceptive practice." USDOT said Wednesday it is continuing its "rigorous and comprehensive investigation." Southwest in a securities filing last week said it could face fines or penalties resulting from the USDOT or other governmental agencies. Southwest did not immediately comment on Wednesday. The department added on Wednesday that it is "is currently investigating several domestic airlines for unrealistic scheduling of flights." In late June and early July, United Airlines had higher cancellations that it blamed in part on air traffic control staffing issues. It is not clear if USDOT is formally investigating those flight cancellations. "It was another scenario where you had the rest of the system seem to recover and one player struggling - so certainly something we're looking at it," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Reuters last month. Buttigieg also said in July the department was investigating why Delta passengers remained on board a plane at the Las Vegas airport that sat on the tarmac in extreme heat that some passengers said topped 100 degrees.<br/>
Allegiant Travel Company, parent of Allegiant Air, reports making a profit of $88.5m in Q2 “in the face of high demand and operational complexity”. The airline company earned $4.4m during the three months ending 30 June last year. The Las Vegas-based ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) reported on 2 August that it generated $684m of revenue in the second quarter, up 8.6% from $630m in 2022. “Our second quarter saw continued strong domestic leisure travel demand and capture that remain near our historic highs in 2020,” Greg Anderson, Allegiant’s CFO, says during the company’s quarterly earnings call. Meanwhile, the carrier’s costs were down 8.8% year-on-year, to $550m from $604m. Allegiant reports a second-quarter controllable completion rate of 99.7%, which had dipped to 97% in June last year amid the chaotic 2022 summer travel season. “This year’s controllable completion rates being far above last year’s level means we’re keeping and recognising a much greater portion of book revenue year to date,” Anderson says. The airline is having difficulty with its planned expansion into Mexico, however, as the US Department of Transportation (DOT) recently suspended its review of a proposed joint venture between Allegiant and Mexico’s Viva Aerobus. Influenced by capacity restrictions at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International airport, the decision “does not affect the merits of our application”, Anderson says, adding that “we have readied the areas within our control to be able to launch” if the deal is approved. The transborder commercial collaboration between the two ULCCs has been repeatedly delayed since it was first disclosed in late 2021. Allegiant reports that deliveries of its first two Boeing 737 Max aircraft have been delayed by about a month, pushing one delivery into 2024. The carrier is still expecting to take its first Max jet at the end of 2023, and to begin operating the type early next year. “Our 2023 capacity plans are not impacted by this delay,” says chief revenue officer Drew Wells.<br/>
LATAM Airlines expects "record" net earnings in 2023 after posting stronger second-quarter results and improved forecasts, company executives said on Wednesday, hoping to bolster investor confidence after the company's exit from bankruptcy in November. Speaking at a news conference, the Santiago-based airline's chief financial officer, Ramiro Alfonsin, said the company had enjoyed a strong first half of the year. "Without a doubt we are foreseeing a much better financial situation and very good profitability in 2023," he told reporters. The company on Wednesday also raised its 2023 forecasts for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs to between $2.35b and $2.50b from $2b-$2.2b It also raised its revenue forecasts for the year to between $11.3b and $11.6b, from $11b-$11.5b, according to its quarterly report filing. Alfonsin added that the company was expecting to hit pre-pandemic level results for the year and record EBITDAR. LATAM Airlines, South America's largest airline, operates units across the continent, with routes across the world.<br/>
Investors in Wizz Air approved plans to give the company’s chief executive an additional two years to unlock a bonus of GBP100m, despite a sizeable opposition at the low-cost carrier’s annual meeting. Almost 30% of the airline’s free float was cast against a resolution to give József Váradi until 2028 to obtain the one-off award if Wizz Air’s share price hits GBP120. Shares were trading just under GBP24 on Wednesday. The amendment was approved with 74% of the eligible votes supporting the resolution. Wizz Air said its board believed Váradi was “central to delivering [the airline’s] recovery in the coming years” and the changes to remuneration plans were “in the best interests of the company, its shareholders and other stakeholders”. However, the proposal had encountered significant opposition from proxy advisers prior to the meeting in Switzerland. Institutional Shareholder Services said the plan was “not fully in line with UK good practice”, while Pirc said the plans were “highly excessive” and “not considered to be acceptable”. Pirc argued that a share price was “often outside the control of individual directors and is often more effected by larger market changes”. Just under two-thirds of the votes at Wizz’s AGM in 2021 were cast in favour of the bonus scheme, with about a third voting against, despite criticism from shareholder advisory groups. This was because the vote was open only to a small proportion of investors after the airline was forced to water down the voting rights of shareholders from outside the European Economic Area, in order to comply with EU rules around airline ownership following Brexit. Wizz Air’s largest shareholder is US private equity firm Indigo Partners, which focuses on air transport and owns 24% of the company. Indigo’s founder William Franke has been chair of Wizz Air for almost two decades.<br/>
Airbus has won an order from Wizz Air for 75 additional A321neo aircraft, the European planemaker said on Wednesday. The "firm contract" signed by the companies takes Wizz Air's total orders for the A321neo to 434 aircraft, Airbus said. Jet orders are booming and plane manufacturers are racing to boost production and keep up as strong demand for travel post-COVID prompts airlines to expand their fleets. The A321neo is the largest single-aisle jet and has been leading in a race against rival Boeing's (BA.N) 737 MAX model to meet demand for more capacity and range. In the statement released by Airbus, Wizz Air's Chief executive József Váradi referenced the A321neo’s "economic efficiency" and "low carbon footprint." Also on Wednesday, American Airlines said it was in talks with Airbus and Boeing over a new narrowbody jet order.<br/>
Ryanair flew 18.7m passengers in July, shattering previous monthly records, as Brits sought to escape the rain at home despite dangerous heat in much of Europe. The total was up 11% from July 2022 and marked the first time the Irish carrier has flown 18 million passengers in a month. Its flights were 96% sold, the same load factor as in July 2022. Ryanair operated 102,000 flights in the month, while 800 were cancelled, mostly because of strikes. Peel Hunt analyst Alexander Paterson called the statistics “extremely encouraging”. Fellow low-cost airline Wizz Air’s passenger numbers also increased, to just over 6m, 20% more than in July 2022. It also said its CO2 emissions per passenger were down for the month, and were lower than its rivals.<br/>
Turkmenistan's flagship airline has suspended flights to Moscow, it said on Wednesday, citing safety concerns after Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital. "Due to the situation in the Moscow air zone, and based on a risk assessment in order to ensure flight safety, all Turkmenistan Airlines flights on the Ashgabat-Moscow-Ashgabat route will be suspended," the airline said. Turkmenistan Airlines said it would now fly instead to Kazan, which is more than 700 km east of Moscow. Russia says it has shot down Ukrainian drones near and over Moscow in the past few days, though there are no reports of anybody being hurt. A high-rise building in Moscow's business district that houses three Russian government ministries was struck by a drone on Tuesday for the second time in three days. Ukraine has drawn satisfaction from the attacks, though without directly claiming responsibility for them. The drone attacks prompted Vnukovo, one of Moscow's airports, to close briefly but it later resumed full operations.<br/>
IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, reported a bigger-than-expected net profit for the first quarter through June as travel demand grew and fuel costs declined. Net income was 30.87b rupees ($374m), compared with a 10.7 billion rupees loss in the same period a year earlier, parent InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. said in a stock exchange filing Wednesday. Analysts had forecast net income of 17.6b rupees, on average. IndiGo’s market share in India has grown to about 63%, in part as it takes space left by insolvent Go Airlines India Ltd., which stopped flying in May. It carried 23.4 million passengers in the three months through June, up 12% from the quarter before, according to the aviation regulator. Revenue rose 30% to 166.83b rupees from a year earlier. Total costs stood at 140.7b rupees, while fuel costs declined 13%. The carrier had a fleet of 316 aircraft as of June 30, it said in the filing. <br/>
ANA Holdings’s new economy-class brand AirJapan will start operating from Feb. 9 with flights between Tokyo Narita and Bangkok. The medium-haul carrier aims to cater to leisure and business travelers with different services and fare options, ANA said in a statement Wednesday. “Simple” one-way tickets on the route start at ¥15,500 ($109) before tax, it said. Flight changes and refunds aren’t allowed after tickets are purchased. AirJapan will use Boeing 787-8 aircraft with 324 economy-class seats for the route, which is subject to regulatory approval. Other services to Southeast Asia and Oceania are expected to be announced next year, AirJapan President Hideki Mineguchi said at at briefing in Tokyo. ANA also owns low-cost carrier Peach. The flight time between Tokyo and Bangkok typically takes about 7 hours. <br/>