Recently re-branded US start-up New Pacific Airlines plans to double the size of its burgeoning networks with two new destinations – Reno, Nevada and Nashville, Tennessee. Since launching operations in July, the Anchorage, Alaska-based carrier formerly known as Northern Pacific Airways has been flying thrice weekly between Ontario – near Los Angeles – and Las Vegas, catering to leisure travel between the popular vacation destinations. Flights from Ontario to Reno are available for booking starting on 16 November, while the Ontario-Nashville route will launch 17 November, according to the carrier’s website. Both routes will be flown twice weekly. ”By offering these popular domestic routes, we can fine-tune our operations, perfect our in-flight amenities and ensure that every aspect of your journey exceeds expectations,” New Pacific says. On 8 September, the carrier re-branded itself to New Pacific Airlines from Northern Pacific Airways rather than fight a lawsuit brought by BNSF Railway. The railway company sued to protect the trademark of one of its predecessors, Northern Pacific Railways, which merged with other lines in 1970 and eventually became BNSF. Originally, New Pacific had planned to operate flights across the Pacific Ocean, using Anchorage for optional stopovers – much like Icelandair uses its headquarters in Reykjavik for transatlantic flights. Rob McKinney, the airline’s CE, told FlightGlobal in July that he still hopes to launch flights from Anchorage to Japan and South Korea next year. ”While our ambitions to connect Asia and North America remains our end goal, we seek to expand throughout the US and North America in the meantime,” the carrier says. Cirium fleets data show that New Pacific currently has one Boeing 757-200 in service and three of the type in storage. <br/>
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Spanish airline Volotea has hired investment banks Morgan Stanley and Barclays to ready a possible listing of its shares on the Madrid stock market, Expansion newspaper reported on Monday, citing unidentified market sources. The decision to list the shares was not made yet, the newspaper said, but the company's management wants to be ready when a market opportunity arises. Volotea, a low-cost airline connecting middle-sized cities mainly in Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Germany, told Reuters the two investment banks are its regular advisers. "A listing on the stock market is a natural step we have always considered, but we will announce it when it happens, like we have always said," a company spokeswoman said. Barclays declined to comment and Morgan Stanley did not respond to requests for comment.<br/>
Swiss carrier Edelweiss is to introduce six Airbus A350-900s, formerly operated by Latin American carrier LATAM, to replace its fleet of five A340-300s. Edelweiss will introduce the twinjets from summer 2025 and complete the renewal by the end of 2026. It states that the first four aircraft will temporarily retain the LATAM interior configuration, comprising 339 seats in three classes. These include 30 lie-flat business seats, and 63 seats in the premium-economy cabin. Edelweiss says this decision is the result of “worldwide material shortages” and reduced maintenance capacity. But it adds that it will install a “completely new” cabin interior at a later date. “This will once again significantly enhance comfort and the travel experience for all guests,” it says. “Edelweiss is investing a three-digit million sum for this.” Edelweiss says the switch to A350s, with the type’s longer range, will enable it to offer new holiday destinations. CE Bernd Bauer says the aircraft will be deployed on the whole Edelweiss network from Zurich, including some 20 destinations in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Indian Ocean.<br/>
Air Belgium is to cancel all its scheduled flights from October, to focus on other activity, and file for court-authorised restructuring in order to reduce debts. The airline says its passenger operations are “proving to be chronically unprofitable” and it will instead focus solely on wet-lease and freight services. Air Belgium says it has been “weakened” by the combined impact of the pandemic, the Ukrainian conflict, rising fuel prices and inflation. “All these factors have had a very severe impact on the profitability of the business and on the cashflow,” it adds. Although the airline had been forecasting profitability by January next year, it says the difficult environment and continuing financial pressures are forcing the company to rethink its strategy. It states that its board has opted to overhaul the company’s development strategy and is to concentrate on its “growth-generating” wet-lease and cargo businesses. The airline will “discontinue” its own passenger business, which has struggled against increasing competition, on 3 October. It had already stopped flights to the Caribbean over its inability to match substantially lower fares offered by French airlines, and has been focusing on South Africa and Mauritius. “After numerous studies, Air Belgium’s [board] reached the conclusion that turning a profit on this front would require substantial investments in addition to those already made in recent years, which has not been possible,” the carrier says. Air Belgium has asked the business court to initiate judicial restructuring proceedings. “The court will examine the application in the coming days,” says the carrier. “If it concurs to open such proceedings, the company will be able to negotiate agreements with its creditors so as to reduce its debt.” <br/>
A new airline is set to launch out of Haifa and is expected to bring down the cost of pricey short-haul flights for residents of northern Israel. Transportation Minister Miri Regev has approved plans for the new commercial airline, dubbed “Air Haifa,” Channel 12 reported on Tuesday. The airline’s destinations will include nearby tourist locales Eilat, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. Flights are expected to begin next year. The cost of flights from Haifa to Cyprus, a popular tourist destination, is about twice as expensive as the same trip from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Channel 12 said. The new airline is expected to lessen the disparity. A website for Air Haifa says it will “operate nonstop low-cost services to a variety of regional destinations.” Haifa Airport, a small facility on the outskirts of the city, hosts commercial flights from the Israeli companies Arkia and Israir. Helicopters, flight schools and other commercial aircraft also operate out of the airport.<br/>
Kuwait Airways CE Maen Razouqi has submitted his resignation from that role but will remain until a successor is named, a resignation letter and a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday. The CEO resigned due to disagreements with the state-owned airline’s new chairman over governance principles, the source and the letter said.<br/>
Passengers looking to travel across the domestic and international networks of AirAsia India and Air India Express can now book their journey on a single PNR. The interline arrangement is a significant step towards the eventual merger of the two airlines as they prepare to bring their operational procedures closer. Air India Express and AirAsia India have started interline bookings, making it easier for passengers looking to travel to the destinations served by both airlines. This allows the guests to get a single itinerary across both airlines and a single PNR. This facility is available on bookings made not just on the common website but through third-party travel partners as well. Passengers flying on both airlines on a single itinerary can check in all the way up to their final destination and receive a boarding pass for each leg of their journey at the point of origin. Because such an arrangement would typically involve a domestic and an international flight, the baggage can be labeled to the final destinations, but the passenger would need to complete the customs and immigration formalities at the connecting airport. Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express and AirAsia India, commented, “…The network footprint stretches across India, Gulf & the Middle East, and Southeast Asia and will be further strengthened with our forthcoming fleet expansion. The interline arrangement enables guests to seamlessly book and connect across sectors operated by the two airlines, as if it were already one network.”<br/>
Philippine Airlines has adopted a new booking platform powered by the Expedia Group that is now live in the US, Canada, Australia and Philippines. "We are thrilled to introduce PAL Holidays, our new one-stop booking platform that simplifies and enhances the travel planning process for our passengers," PAL Vice President Bud Britanico said. "By partnering with Expedia, we are confident that our customers will enjoy unparalleled access to a superior range of great offers for hotels, experiences, and transport that can go together with the Philippine Airlines flights that they book," he added. "PAL Holidays reflects our dedication to providing exceptional travel experiences, and we look forward to serving our customers in a more convenient and efficient way." Expedia Group's White Label Template technology was said to have been designed to help passengers plan and book their entire journey — including PAL flights, hotels, transportation, and travel activities — all in one convenient location. PAL Holidays will provide travelers access to over 900,000 properties across the globe. The airline said the wide selection of accommodations, from budget-friendly options to luxurious resorts, would ensure that there was something for every traveler's preference and budget. "We are thrilled to team up with Philippine Airlines for PAL Holidays," Expedia Group Senior Vice President Greg Schulze said. "We share the same vision of transforming and easing the way travelers plan and book their journeys. With our combined expertise and service, we are excited to offer a seamless travel platform that will be of great help to travelers."<br/>
AirAsia is planning to reactivate 29 more aircraft, which will mark the complete mobilisation of its targeted fleet reactivation plan of 204 by year-end. “We are slowly coming out from the Covid-19 pandemic. We still have 29 aircraft to bring back. In my eyes, the pandemic will be over for us when we have all the aircraft back. Throughout this pandemic period, we have been rebuilding and restructuring to turn the negative situation into a positive one,” Capital A Bhd CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes told a press conference Monday. The low-cost airline had recently announced its plans to reactivate all 204 of its Airbus A320 aircraft by the end of the year with the support of engine maker CFM International. AirAsia had stated that it was looking to expand to above 300 aircraft in the next five years. Fernandes said spare parts and engine availability had been an issue due to disruptions in the supply chain, which also contributed to flight delays. However, he said supply chain would return to normalcy by 2024.<br/>