Ryanair, Jet2.com and Tui have been rated as the worst major airlines operating in the UK for website accessibility. Regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which commissioned the analysis, said there is “still a way to go” for the industry to provide a smooth digital experience for all passengers. Its Airline Digital Accessibility Report, shared with the PA news agency, reviewed the websites of the 11 largest carriers operating in the UK. They were each given a score for their compliance with a set of technical accessibility standards relating to users with impairments to their vision, hearing, mobility (such as people who struggle to use a mouse or keyboard) and thinking and understanding (such as those with dyslexia, autism or learning difficulties). A focus group of consumers with accessibility needs then provided insights on the ease of using the websites for making bookings. British Airways was the highest ranked airline, scoring nine out of 10 for accessibility and seven out of 10 for ease of use. At the other end of the scale was Ryanair, Jet2.com and Tui, which all scored one out of 10 for accessibility and two out of 10 for ease of use. The trio each said they were committed to improving their websites. The report stated that some elements of Ryanair’s website “make navigation and interaction very hard”.<br/>
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Icelandic budget carrier Play is illustrating its stronger focus on ancillary revenues with the recruitment of Ryanair’s former head of ancillary revenues Emilio Chacon Monsant. Play’s first-half ancillary income reached $26.5m – against $9m for the same period last year – compared with fare revenues of $74.5m. The airline says it has placed “significant emphasis” on increasing the ancillary stream and Q2 showed “ongoing growth” in this field. Play launched a bundled fares product in February and it says this helped generate a 19% rise in average ancillary revenues per passenger. Recruiting Chacon Monsant is a “great acquisition”, given his experience, says CCO Sonja Arnorsdottir. As well as serving with Ryanair in Dublin for more than three years, Chacon Monsant has overseen ancillary revenue developed at Grupo Aeromexico and worked in a similar role at Avianca. “Play has been in a steep ramp-up phase for the past two years but now has the all-important pillars to move into its next phase,” he states. “It is in a perfect position to make great things happen.” Play says Chacon Monsant will be tasked with integrating procedures between the airline’s department in order to tap opportunities to generate ancillary income.<br/>
Saudi Arabia’s newest airline, Riyadh Air, plans to focus on the niche market for flights to and from the kingdom rather than competing with its Gulf neighbours’ vast hubs, its CE has said, in an explanation of its “super aggressive” growth plans. Tony Douglas was speaking after the airline in March announced its first aircraft order, for at least 39 Boeing 787 wide-body jets, with options for 33 more. Riyadh Air is also in talks with manufacturers for a fleet of narrow-body jets, which Douglas said should allow Riyadh Air to serve more than 100 destinations by the end of the decade. However, Douglas, a former CE of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad airline, said Riyadh Air would not use the aircraft to take on directly Qatar Airways or Dubai’s Emirates, the region’s top two carriers. Both airlines, as well as Etihad, have grown by offering connecting flights through their huge home airports to and from destinations in other parts of the world. Douglas said Riyadh Air would instead focus on carrying passengers going to and from Saudi Arabia, which has been wooing tourists and investors. “If we look at our closest neighbour, Qatar, obviously Qatar Airways have got an incredible international network, global reach, and a population of give or take 2mn people,” he said. Qatar’s population was “relatively small” and Qatar Airways did a “brilliant job” of offering its home country “world-class connectivity”, Douglas added. But he said: “A very substantial percentage of that traffic is transfer. Very little of it proportionally is point-to-point.” Riyadh Air is owned by Saudi Arabia’s PIF sovereign wealth fund. However, the airline’s creation has led to questions about whether the kingdom needs another carrier alongside Saudia, the existing flag-carrier, and the budget airline Flynas. The $650bn PIF, which is chaired by day-to-day ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has taken on an outsized role in the economy, with involvement in everything from video gaming to tourism, sports, electric vehicle manufacturing, camel milk production and nicotine vapes.<br/>
Taiwan startup Starlux Airlines, founded in 2018 after a succession feud at now-competitor EVA Air, is riding its luxury-forward approach to growth. The international-only carrier has rapidly expanded its service network since beginning operations in 2020. Starlux uses Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport as a hub to serve 18 destinations around the world, including in Southeast Asia and Japan. COVID-19 kept the company in the red in the beginning. But the carrier reported a net profit of roughly 300m New Taiwan dollars ($9.4m) in the January-June period of 2023, its first for a six-month period. Sales came to NT$9.8b, 15 times the year-earlier figure. Founder Chang Kuo-wei is the fourth son of the late Chang Yung-far, who founded Evergreen Group, which owns EVA Air. Chang Kuo-wei served as EVA's chairman for a time. But when Chang Yung-far died in 2016, a succession feud broke out among his sons, and Chang Kuo-wei was forced out of EVA, prompting him to launch a new airline himself. At a news conference announcing the launch of Starlux in 2018, Chang Kuo-wei sounded confident that the airline would grow quickly because of his own experience in the industry. As a full-service carrier, it jumped directly into the fray in a Taiwanese market dominated by EVA and China Airlines. Competition among Taiwanese full-service airlines is fierce, with midtier carrier Far Eastern Air Transport forced to cease operations over financial difficulties in 2019. Entering the market was a gamble -- but Chang Kuo-wei, a certified pilot who knows the industry inside and out, had a plan. Story has more.<br/>
From fan blades to escape slides, critical parts are missing from at least two planes of India's bankrupt Go First airline, its Ireland-based lessor ACG Aircraft Leasing has told a court as it seeks to recover aircraft. Go First and many of its foreign lessors have been locked in a legal dispute for months after the airline was granted bankruptcy protection in India in May. Bankruptcy froze its assets and has prohibited the recovery of more than 50 grounded Airbus planes. The lessors have so far unsuccessfully argued in Indian courts to get their planes back, citing concerns that parts could go missing and hurt their assets. Lessors are allowed only occasional inspection of Go First planes. ACG is seeking to take back planes by highlighting that inspections showed parts were missing, but the court has yet to decide on the matter, a person familiar with the case said on Saturday.<br/>In a non-public filing dated July 28 and reviewed by Reuters, ACG submitted pictures and details to the Delhi High Court, listing missing parts from two Airbus A320 planes it inspected. These included the captain's "side stick" used to fly the aircraft, a tiller that helps steer it while on the ground, engine fan blades that were "completely missing", a partly missing toilet seat and an escape slide that had been removed. The filing does not say who took out the parts or how they went missing. Go First, whose lessors also include Standard Chartered's Pembroke Aircraft Leasing, SMBC Aviation and BOC Aviation, did not respond to a request for comment. It has previously said it aims to resume operations and raise investor funds, but the operations remain grounded. The world's second-largest aircraft lessor, SMBC, warned in May that India's decision to block leasing firms from reclaiming Go planes would jolt the market and spark a confidence crisis.<br/>
Virgin Australia is rolling out its baggage tracking service on almost 70% of its checked flights following a successful trial, becoming the first Australian airline to offer the service. As of Monday, baggage tracking is now available on select Virgin flights departing most airports on the eastern seaboard, as well as Launceston, Hobart and Adelaide. Perth flights are expected to have baggage tracking available soon. Tracking is available through the Virgin Australia app, which will send push notifications at various stages including when a bag is checked in, transferred to an international partner airline, and available for collection; the app will also advise which carousel the bag can be picked up from. “We know the potential of lost baggage is a concern for travellers globally and anticipate this announcement will give many guests that extra level of comfort knowing where their bag is at every step of the journey,” said Virgin Australia Group Chief Customer and Digital Officer, Paul Jones. “We are also proud to be able to launch this new feature while having some of the lowest figures in the market when it comes to mishandled or lost bags, with a mishandled baggage rate of just 1.5 per 1,000 guests – five times better than the last recorded industry average.”<br/>