unaligned

US ultra-low-cost carrier Sun Country Airlines plans to launch new routes from its base in Minneapolis to Montreal and Toronto in June 2024. The proposed twice-weekly flights are pending final regulatory approval, Sun Country said on 17 October. The carrier did not specify whether the routes will be seasonal. In addition to its planned Canadian expansion, Sun Country intends to add eight new seasonal domestic routes from Minneapolis to Albuquerque (New Mexico), Billings (Montana), Boise (Idaho), Grand Rapids (Michigan), Missoula (Montana), Oakland (California), Syracuse (New York) and Washington, DC. Most of the routes will be operated twice weekly, except for flights to Dulles International airport outside of Washington, DC, which will be operated four times weekly. “We have more than doubled our non-stop destinations for customers flying out of [Minneapolis-St Paul] in the last five years and we are thrilled to offer these unique new offerings spanning the continent from Quebec to New Mexico,” says Grant Whitney, chief revenue officer for Sun Country. The planned network expansion would see Sun Country operating 120 routes to 104 airports in Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and the USA. Sun Country operates an all-Boeing fleet of 737NGs and currently has 55 aircraft in service, according to Cirium fleets data.<br/>

Ryanair Holdings Plc suffered a setback in its latest effort to challenge the European Union’s approval of government aid to rival airlines at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, including more than E272m for Alitalia SpA. The EU’s General Court dismissed a series of separate cases brought by Ryanair on Wednesday, without providing the full reasoning of the court. Ryanair appealed European Commission approvals in 2020 for E199.45m and E73m in Italian support to the nation’s ailing carrier. It also challenged EU nods for E290m in Belgian aid for Deutsche Lufthansa unit Brussels Airlines as well as a E250m measure to help Air Baltic Corp and E30m to support Nordica. The Dublin-based low-cost carrier has had mixed results across the more than 24 challenges it’s filed in the bloc’s courts seeking to topple EU approvals for pandemic aid it deemed unfair or disproportionate. Ryanair on Wednesday “noted” the rulings in a statement without saying whether it will appeal. “Belgium, Italy, Estonia and Latvia decided to only support their respective flag carriers, even though other airlines operating in their respective markets suffered similar damage as a result of the pandemic,” Ryanair said. A lower EU court in May toppled the EU’s approval of a E6b German recapitalization for Lufthansa, which the airline is challenging. <br/>

Ryanair is aiming to double its business in the fast-growing Polish market and expand across eastern Europe over the next decade, executives said, taking on rival Wizz Air and opening a new front in the battle of the budget airlines. As part of its strategy, Ryanair, whose low fares have helped it dominate markets in Ireland, Italy and much of western Europe, aims to beef up its presence at eastern European airports. It already operates from more than a dozen Polish airports, including nine bases, CEO Michael O'Leary told Reuters, often negotiating special deals to secure lower fees - crucial in the contest to keep costs down, and fares too. "Whenever we come up against Wizz, we tend to have significantly lower fares and have much lower costs," he said. As an example of the strategy, he cited Albania, where Ryanair plans to open 25 new routes this winter to take on Wizz in its eastern European heartland. But Hungary-based Wizz is not standing still. It plans to operate at least twice as many planes as it currently has in central and eastern Europe by 2038 and is shortly set to announce 35 new aircraft in Poland alone, CE Jozsef Varadi told Reuters. "We're looking at double-digit growth year-on-year, over the next seven or eight years" in the region, Varadi said. With nearly 40m people, Poland is by far emerging Europe's biggest country, where rising disposable incomes have fuelled a demand for travel that makes the region an attractive prospect as western European markets mature.<br/>

Middle East carrier Emirates has struck a major deal with Neste to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) during 2024 and 2025. It marks the latest move by the Dubai-based carrier to secure SAF, after it last month reached an agreement with energy firm Shell Aviation covering the supply of blended sustainable aviation fuel at its Dubai hub. Under the agreement with Neste, Emirates is taking SAF blended with jet fuel for flights departing Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changi airports. Neste this year opened a major new SAF production facility in Singapore. Emirates is taking 3,000,000 gal of fuel, with a blended ratio of over 30% of neat SAF. The airline says it marks the largest volume of SAF to be uplifted by a Middle East airline to date. Emirates Airline president Tim Clark says: ”Today’s announcement is a milestone for Emirates and represents the acceleration of SAF procurement for our operations. It’s also one of the many initiatives we are focused on to reduce our carbon emissions. Our ongoing partnership with Neste also demonstrates our active engagement and support of the rapidly developing SAF industry, and we hope that the robust demand coming from Emirates and other airlines encourages the scaling up of SAF and other emerging clean propulsion technologies.” It is the latest in a series of sustainable aviation and renewable energy initiatives announced by the UAE over the past year – including a national SAF roadmap launched in January – and comes ahead of Dubai hosting next month’s UN COP28 Climate Change Conference.<br/>

Air India Express has launched its new branding, weeks after taking delivery of its first two Boeing 737 Max jets, as Air India Group continues its transformation and growth under Tata Group ownership. The livery was unveiled on 18 October, with the merger of Air India Express and AirAsia India under the former’s name “now in the final stages”, says Air India CE Campbell Wilson. The new branding incorporates an “energetic and premium colour palette”, the airline says, with aircraft having “a variable tailfin design inspired by the rich art and crafts heritage of the country”. Air India Express managing director Aloke Singh explains that with a total of 50 Max aircraft due for delivery over the next 15 months, the low-cost carrier will almost double in size from the 58 aircraft – 28 737s and 28 Airbus A320s – it has today, on its way to a 170-aircraft target within the next five years. The Max deliveries – which Cirium fleets data indicates began in late September with the arrival of two units – come from Air India’s huge orders for more than 500 aircraft, including 190 Max jets, that were firmed at this year’s Paris air show. Of the integrated carrier’s current fleet, the A320s come from the AirAsia India side of the business, with the pre-merger Air India Express being a 737 operator. The combination of the two low-cost units was announced as part of an overhaul of the Air India Group initiated under the ownership of Tata. Mainline carrier Air India unveiled its new livery on an Airbus A350 earlier this month.<br/>

Pakistan's embattled national airline carrier this week cancelled dozens of domestic and international flights because it could not afford to pay its fuel bills, officials said Wednesday. State-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), long accused of being bloated and poorly run, has found funds drying up as the government struggles with a balance of payments crisis caused by crippling debt repayments. Athar Awan, a deputy spokesman for PIA, said 48 international and domestic flights were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday "due to non-availability of fuel". "The reason for the disruption in fuel supply is non-payment of dues because PIA is facing a financial crisis and cannot pay the dues to Pakistan State Oil on time," a PIA official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP. Decades of mismanagement and instability have hobbled Pakistan's economy, and this year Islamabad was forced into yet another bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avert default. The interim government has said it will sell off the airline as part of a wider privatisation plan for state-run companies. "The process of privatisation for the national airline should be made more transparent and expedited to prevent further financial losses to the national exchequer," caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said in a statement last week. A senior official at Pakistan State Oil (PSO) said the state-owned fuel supplier was "providing fuel for only flights that PIA has prioritised". He, too, was speaking on condition of anonymity. PIA had agreed this week to pay the oil firm 100m Pakistani rupees (around $360,000) every day to cover its dues, the PSO official said. "On Wednesday PSO received a payment of 150m rupees in return 26 flights were refuelled", the official added.<br/>