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JetBlue Airways will defend its proposed $3.8b acquisition of Spirit Airlines in US district court one week later than expected. Previously set for 16 October, the Boston trial is now scheduled for 23 October “due to criminal trials to be held prior to the commencement of this matter”, according to a recent filing with the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Interested parties in the federal antitrust case include American Airlines and a trio of ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) that compete with Spirit – Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines and Sun Country Airlines. The states of California, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina are listed as plaintiffs alongside the District of Columbia. The court trial will be overseen by Boston-based US District Judge William Young, who said earlier this year that the trial should not go longer than 20 days, and that he intends to rule on the case by the end of 2023. The DOJ sued in March to block JetBlue’s proposed $3.8b acquisition of Spirit, arguing the deal would eliminate one of the largest ultra-low-cost carriers, to the detriment of consumers seeking affordable air travel. JetBlue views itself as the USA’s sixth-largest airline, accounting for “less than 5% of capacity in the national airline market”, it says in a 10 October court filing. It maintains that acquiring Spirit’s pilots and narrowbody Airbus jets would allow it to increase competitive pressure on major US carriers. ”Armed with a larger footprint and fleet, the new JetBlue will force its larger rivals to compete harder to win the business of the travelling public, injecting substantial system-wide competition into an industry in need of a competitive shake up,” JetBlue argues. JetBlue also says there is no lack of competition among US low-cost carriers. <br/>

EasyJet has struck a deal to expand its fleet through the purchase of more than 150 new aircraft and outlined plans to restart shareholder payouts following record profits over the summer. The UK-based airline on Thursday announced a deal with Airbus for 157 new short-haul aircraft for delivery from 2029, alongside purchase rights for a further 100 in an agreement worth $19.9bn, although airlines typically negotiate substantial discounts. It brings the total number of planes it has on order to 315 by 2034 and follows a forecast for record pre-tax profits of between £850mn and £870mn for the six months between April and September. “This will enable easyJet’s fleet modernisation and growth to continue . . . while providing substantial benefits including cost efficiencies and sustainability improvements,” said CE Johan Lundgren. The airline made the announcement as it forecast pre-tax profit of between GBP440m and GBP460m for the financial year ending in September. EasyJet shares fell 4% to 419p by lunchtime in London as investors remained sceptical over the company’s profit targets. The company’s shares have lagged behind many of its rivals, declining 14% over the past six months despite strong profitability over the summer and confident outlooks from management. “EasyJet believes it has a road to much higher profitability than the street does,” Bernstein analyst Alex Irving said. The new plane orders will allow easyJet to replace older aircraft with larger and more fuel-efficient models, and promote “disciplined growth” over the next decade, the company said. EasyJet joins a growing list of airlines placing orders with Airbus and Boeing to fuel growth over the next decade and beyond. Ryanair signed a deal to buy more than 300 Boeing planes earlier this year, while Air India announced an order for 470 planes from Airbus and Boeing, one of the biggest aviation orders in history. But the booming order book has led to supply chain problems and left manufacturers struggling to deliver aircraft to their customers. EasyJet said it expected supply chain bottlenecks at Airbus and Boeing to continue into the 2030s, and that it needed to place an order now to “ensure a supply of future delivery slots”.<br/>

The CE of easyJet said the British airline wanted to restart flights to Israel as soon as possible but it could not currently say when this would happen. "That is obviously something that we want to do as soon as possible but we cannot say now when that is," CEO Johan Lundgren told reporters on Thursday. EasyJet suspended flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday until next Tuesday and said it would continue to evaluate the situation on a daily basis. British Airways had continued to fly to Tel Aviv until Wednesday, when it suspended the route, hours after one of its planes diverted back to London due to security concerns just before it was due to arrive at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. Lundgren said the situation in Israel had not impacted demand for flights to neighbouring countries like Egypt or Turkey.<br/>

British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group on Thursday won a lawsuit against US train operator Brightline over a cancelled branding deal, with a judge at London's High Court awarding $115m in damages. Virgin Group sued Brightline after the latter cancelled a deal to use the Virgin brand in 2020, just over 18 months after it was signed. Brightline said it terminated the deal because the Virgin brand had been hit by negative press coverage of Branson's 2020 claim that UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic would need a bailout from the British government to survive the pandemic. But Virgin argued its brand was not materially damaged by the group's handling of COVID-19, meaning Brightline could not cancel the deal without paying an exit fee of up to $200m. The company also sought unpaid royalties and Brightline's lawyers said in court filings for the trial in July that Virgin's lawsuit was valued at $250m. Judge Mark Pelling ruled in Virgin's favour on Thursday, saying in a written ruling that "Brightline has failed to prove that the (Virgin) brand had ceased to be a brand of international high repute" when it cancelled the deal. A Virgin Group spokesperson said: "The Virgin brand has been a symbol of global innovation, exceptional customer experience and entrepreneurship for more than 50 years. Today's court judgment demonstrates the strength of our business and brand following Brightline's attempts to breach a long-term licensing agreement."<br/>

The Netherlands will continue repatriation flights to get citizens out of Israel as long as necessary, Dutch news agency ANP reported on Thursday, citing the government. A first Dutch military plane from Israel landed in the Netherlands on Wednesday evening and a second one flies to Israel on Thursday, after Dutch airline KLM retracted an offer to operate a repatriation flight due to safety concerns.<br/>

Norwegian Air cancelled a planned evacuation flight from Tel Aviv to Oslo on Thursday due to a lack of insurance cover, the carrier said. The airline had been due to fly Norwegians and other Nordic citizens stranded in Israel out of the country on Thursday evening. The flight had already been postponed from Wednesday. “The reason is that the insurance company that Norwegian and a number of other airlines use no longer cover flights to Tel Aviv,” Norwegian said. The airlines industry in recent days faced a warning over insurance cover in the wake of the weekend attacks on Israel by Hamas militants. Norwegian said it was working with Norway’s foreign ministry to find other solutions. On Tuesday it cancelled regular flights from the Swedish and Danish capitals to Tel Aviv until Dec. 19.<br/>

Condor plans two special flights to evacuate German citizens from Israel on Sunday, the airline told Reuters, adding that it was in close coordination with the German foreign ministry. The two Airbus planes, with a capacity of just under 500 passengers in total, are to depart from the Jordanian city of Aqaba near the Israeli border, a spokesperson for the airline said on Thursday. <br/>

Cypriot carrier Cyprus Airways said on Thursday it has suspended its Larnaca-Tel Aviv route, effective immediately. The Cypriot airline had daily flights to Israel, and had in recent days added extra flights to deal with increasing demand.<br/>

Israel's El Al Airlines will on Saturday break a more than 40-year policy of not flying on the Jewish Sabbath, to bring reservists home from around the world to serve in the war against Hamas. El Al has not flown on the Sabbath since 1982 but it received permission from rabbis who said that preservation of life overrode other religious laws. Israel's flag carrier said it would operate one flight from New York, two from Bangkok and one from Madrid, to collect reservists who received military call-up orders as well as other members of the security forces and medical and rescue teams. The flights will be free of charge for soldiers and paid for by El Al and large financial institutions in the United States, the carrier said. Israel has called up around 360,000 reservists to join its war against Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched a large-scale attack on Saturday, crossing into Israel and rampaging through communities. Israel has responded with massive air strikes on the Gaza Strip.<br/>

Low-cost carrier flydubai announced flights to Kabul on Thursday, becoming the first international airline to resume services since a chaotic withdrawal by US forces from the country in 2021. Twice-daily flights will begin on Nov 15, the Dubai-based airline said. Taliban authorities swiftly returned to power after the hasty US evacuation. “flydubai... announced today the resumption of flights to Kabul International Airport,” said a statement on the carrier’s website. An airlift of more than 120,000 people from the Kabul airport marked the end of a 20-year occupation by US forces following the September 11, 2001 attacks. A suicide bombing on the airport’s perimeter, targeting crowds who were desperate to flee the country, killed more than 170 people. The full operation of Kabul’s airport – which was trashed during the mass evacuation of civilians – is seen as crucial to reviving Afghanistan’s shattered economy. Currently, Afghanistan’s Kam Air and Ariana Afghan Airlines operate limited services from Kabul to destinations including Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad and Istanbul. Last year, a United Arab Emirates company, GAAC, signed a contract to manage Afghanistan’s air traffic, an agreement that was expected to bring back international airlines.<br/>

Russian operator Aeroflot Group has reached another settlement over leased foreign aircraft, through a deal with CDB Aviation. The agreement with the Irish-based lessor covers four aircraft, but financial terms have not been revealed. Aeroflot says that, as a result of the settlement, the lessor has “ceased its claims” against parties under Russian insurance policies and Aeroflot’s leasing agreements. Ownership of the aircraft has passed to the insurance firm NSK which paid the settlement sum. Aeroflot Group adds that it is continuing negotiations to resolve other claims from lessors of foreign-made aircraft. It has already disclosed similar agreements with AerCap and SMBC Aviation Capital. Aeroflot has not identified the aircraft involved in the settlement with CDB Aviation, but the lessor stated in May 2021 that it was delivering three Airbus A320neos and an A321neo to the carrier on long-term lease. Sanctions imposed on Russian entities as a result of the Ukrainian conflict prompted the Russian government to retain and re-register dozens of foreign-built aircraft on lease to the country’s operators.<br/>

Go First's former owner, the Wadia Group, has not shown an intent to bid for the grounded Indian airline and has stayed away from the insolvency process so far amid an ongoing legal tussle, three sources told Reuters. Cash-strapped Go First filed for bankruptcy in May, blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of about half its fleet. Two banking sources said on Thursday the conglomerate has not submitted an expression of interest (EoI) - the first step towards making financial bids - for the airline or hinted at any plans to do so despite a company executive telling Reuters in May that the group had no plans to exit. "They have not been in touch with banks for the last one month," said a banker with a state-run lender which has loaned money to Go First. A third source involved in the insolvency process said while the law does not prohibit the Wadia Group from joining the process at a later stage, there was no current indication it would do so. None of the sources wanted to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The Wadia Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. On Wednesday, Reuters reported Go First has received an EoI from power generation company Jindal Power. The absence of the Wadia Group from the process would limit choices for creditors to find qualified investors. <br/>

Singapore low-cost airline Scoot said Thursday that one of its planes made a U-turn back to the city-state an hour after taking off for Perth due to a bomb threat and then landed safely. Scoot, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines Group, said Flight TR16 departed at 4:11 p.m (0811 GMT) from Singapore’s Changi Airport with 363 passengers and 11 crew members. “About one hour into the flight, a precautionary decision was made to turn the aircraft back to Singapore due to a bomb threat,” the airline said in a statement. An air force jet was deployed to escort the plane back to the airport, and emergency services were also activated, according to Scoot. The aircraft landed safely in Singapore at 6:27 p.m. (1027 GMT) and security checks were carried out, the airline said, adding that it could not provide more details because an investigation was ongoing. “Scoot sincerely apologies for the disruption and inconvenience caused. The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority, and we will continue to provide assistance to our customers,” the airline said. The Singapore Straits Times quoted an unidentified passenger as saying that passengers were informed the aircraft was experiencing “minor issues.” He told the daily that he didn’t see any passengers behaving suspiciously but said police came on board to escort two people off the plane after it landed.<br/>

Budget carrier AirAsia, a part of the Capital A Bhd group, is seeking a $400m loan, half of it from private credit funds, to refinance debt, according to people familiar with the matter. The loan will be in the form of a revenue bond, with investors to be paid out of ticket sales from ten AirAsia flight routes, the people said, declining to be identified because the matter is private. A representative of the company declined to comment. Capital A is no stranger to private credit. An engineering and maintenance subsidiary Asia Digital Engineering in April secured a $100m investment from private-credit provider OCP Asia Ltd., according to a statement at the time. Asia still accounts for a small percentage of the $1.5t global private credit market, but major players such as Blackstone Inc. are targeting growth in the region. With global airline capacity returning to levels seen before the pandemic and industry earnings rebounding, the aviation industry has become a target for private credit lenders.<br/>

MYAirline Sdn Bhd, which has suspended its operations, says it is “exploring all avenues to reactivate its operations and fly the skies again”. The low-cost airline said it would “continue to issue further updates when they are available”. “We respectfully ask for patience from all stakeholders while we evaluate all options. We acknowledge the anger and frustration faced by our passengers and all affected parties and MYAirline unequivocally admits its responsibility for this fiasco which was caused by our abrupt notice,” it said in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported. The airline said its board of directors and the entire team “humbly apologise to all passengers, the Transport Ministry, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), airports of Thailand, the Malaysian Aviation Commission, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand and all affected parties for this turn of events”. “Due to the deep financial constraints that we are facing at present, we are unable to offer the affected passengers at the airports any immediate service recovery options. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to AirAsia, Batik Air and Malaysian Airlines Group as well as to MAHB for assisting affected passengers in the meantime,” it added.<br/>