Spirit Airlines on Friday said it has canceled a portion of its scheduled flights to perform a "necessary" inspection of a small section" of 25 planes. The company said the action is being taken out of "an abundance of caution," and said the impact on its network is expected to last for several days. The ultra-low-cost carrier did not provide details of the inspections. It also did not share a timeline for their completion. "We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to take care of affected guests," Spirit said. Data from flight-tracking website FlightAware shows that the airline had canceled 11% of its flights on Friday.<br/>
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Mexico’s aviation regulator is still awaiting details of aircraft for the planned new state-run airline which will operate under the former Mexicana brand. Earlier this year the Mexican government disclosed plans for a new carrier overseen by the country’s defence ministry that will use the Mexicana brand, more than a decade after the original operator collapsed. The new operation, which is set to operate a fleet of 10 Boeing 737s, has been slated to to begin operations from the start of December. Asked about the certification of the new carrier during a press conference on 22 October in Cancun ahead of the opening of this year’s ALTA AGM & Airline Leaders Forum, general director of Mexico’s civil aviation regulator (AFAC), Miguel Vallin, said that it is so far still to receive details of aircraft registered for the carrier. “So far it’s registration has not be been presented. We just require this information so we can do the proper [certification] process,” he says, adding that the new airline cannot begin to sell tickets until this process is completed. The airline has outlined a proposed route network of 20 domestic destinations it plans to serve out of Mexico City’s secondary Felipe Angeles international airport, though no schedule has yet been disclosed. Vallin reiterates the aim of the carrier is to reduce the costs of air travel in the country and to boost connectivity to key cities, particularly cities in the north, “so we can guarantee more connectivity and better prices”, he says. ”The intention is the airline will begin at the start of the December. We are working on it, this is why we bought the Mexicana brand,” he says. ”But the issue of aircraft and registration – this is an issue for the airline.”<br/>
Canadian discount store operator Dollarama said on Friday it had appointed Patrick Bui as its CFO. Bui, who will take charge from Dec. 18, 2023, is currently the CFO of Canadian airline operator Transat AT, which also confirmed he will step down from his role on Dec. 15. He has previously worked as an investment banker and adviser at RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley, and was also the CFO at renewable-energy producer Kruger Energy. Bui replaces J.P. Towner, who has been the discount store operator's finance chief since March 2021. Dollarama reported a bumper quarter in September and raised its annual expectations, benefiting from robust demand for cheaper offerings amid higher prices of essentials in Canada.<br/>
Icelandair achieved its highest-ever quarterly revenue during the seasonally strong July-September period, even as the weakness of cargo markets weighed on its results. Total Q3 revenue of $560m was up 17% year on year amid “continued strong demand in the tourist market to Iceland, especially from North America”, said Icelandair CE Bogi Nils Bogason during an earnings call on 20 October. Yield improvements were seen in all passenger markets and cabins, he says. Bookings data indicates that the “good” passenger demand is continuing to the end of this year and into 2024, he adds, with no signs of that demand or fares softening. The strong passenger revenue performance in Q3 helped it achieve EBIT of $112m and a net profit of $84m for the period, with both measures up significantly year on year. Icelandair says the 1.5m passengers it flew during the quarter also represent a record performance, as did the 49 destinations it served. The airline acknowledges higher fuel and staffing costs – notably since securing fresh agreements with pilot and cabin crew unions in recent months – but says these are factored in to its projections. The carrier expects to grow its passenger capacity by around 10% next year, with expansion focused on high-performing North American markets. It notes that higher North American traffic should also boost demand on its European network, through more connecting passengers. Cargo is a different story, however, with that sector weighing on the airline’s profitability and capping its full-year EBIT margin forecast at 3.3-4.3%, having contributed an EBIT loss of $15m across the first nine months of the year.<br/>
Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) will reduce flights after changes to its insurance cover, Chairman Mohamad El-Hout said in a televised interview on Friday. Only eight of its 22 aircraft will operate as of next week due to changes in insurance, he added. <br/>
Omani low-cost carrier SalamAir has appointed Ahmed Mohammed Al-Shidhani as acting CE following the departure of Mohamed Ahmed. No reason was given for the change. The move follows Oman Air stating in August that it expects to develop closer ties with SalamAir under a restructuring plan outlined by the flag carrier’s chairman. Acting CE Al-Shidhani had previously served as the airline’s director of flight operations since April 2018. Before that he worked at Oman Air for 14 years. Former Air Arabia executive Ahmed had been SalamAir’s CE since late 2017, having replaced founding CE Francois Bouteiller a few months after the airline’s launch.<br/>
Airbus delivered on Friday an aircraft assembled in north China's Tianjin Municipality to a Chinese airline. Tibet Airlines received its first A319neo aircraft assembled in Airbus' Final Assembly Line (FAL Asia) in Tianjin, which will be deployed on the airline's plateau routes. The A319neo aircraft is the shortened-fuselage member of Airbus' game-changing A320neo product line. This aircraft can seat as many as 160 passengers in a high-density layout, with a range of up to 3,750 nautical miles. Inaugurated in 2008, the FAL Asia in Tianjin was the first Airbus commercial aircraft assembly line outside Europe. Over the past 15 years, Airbus has delivered more than 630 A320 family aircraft assembled at the FAL Asia. As of September this year, the A320neo family has received over 9,700 orders from more than 130 customers worldwide.<br/>
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan’s national flag carrier, was forced on Sunday to cancel 70 out of its 81 scheduled domestic and international flights, a PIA spokesperson said, citing a severe shortage of fuel. The statement came a day after the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) said it had received an advance payment of Rs220 million ($789,804) for the supply of fuel on Saturday and Sunday, along with a list of 39 PIA aircraft. However, the PIA spokesperson said only four aircraft were fueled on Sunday, severely affecting flight operations. PIA flights witnessed cancelations and delays this week after PSO suspended its supply of fuel to the airline on Monday over unpaid dues. The national flag carrier, slated for privatization by the government, has amassed substantial losses and unpaid dues amounting to hundreds of billions of rupees in recent years. The airline’s request for Rs23b ($76m) in operational support was declined by the government, prompting caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to initiate a restructuring plan to stabilize the airline’s finances. “On Sunday, only 11 flights could operate out of 81 scheduled flights due to fuel challenges,” PIA spokesperson Abdulllah Khan told Arab News, adding the airline had been making advance payments to PSO for fuel supply. “The Pakistan International Airlines made a payment of Rs220 million on Friday which could last the weekend, but it did not. And on Sunday, we were refused fuel which resulted in massive cancelations.” Khan said there were “slim chances of a full restoration of flight operations” considering the way fuel was being supplied and amid PSO’s refusal to allow any credit line or relaxation to “a fellow government organization.” <br/>
A Nepalese insurance company has acquired a 49% stake in Yeti Airlines. Kathmandu-based Asian Life Insurance paid NPR1.75 billion Nepalese rupees (US$13.2m) for the shareholding, which comes ahead of an expected IPO on the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE). The Nepali-language Bizness News outlet reports on the transaction, which ch-aviation has independently verified. The insurance company paid a 70% premium on the shares, held by the Sherpa family, which had a paper value of NPR100 (US$0.75). Asian Life Insurance will take over the day-to-day running of the airline and has recently installed Subhas Sapkota as the carrier's new CEO. Angchiring Sherpa founded Yeti Airlines in 1998. The airline now flies to 12 destinations within Nepal using a fleet of five ATR72-500s and three Twin Otters - two DHC-6-400s and one DHC-6-300 all operated by subsidiary Tara Air. Yeti Airlines has never been profitable, but it supplements and is cross-subsidised by the Sherpa family's extensive business interests in the tourism and hospitality sectors. In addition to Yeti Airlines, the Sherpa's have interests in trekking businesses, hotels, and are general sales agents for Thai Lion Air, Malindo Air, and Kuwait Airways. Angchiring Sherpa was killed in a helicopter accident in February 2019, and his brother, Lakpa Sonam Sherpa, now fronts the family's interests. ch-aviation understands the family is keen to cash out of the loss-making airline and was a willing seller to Asian Life Insurance and is actively promoting the impending IPO.<br/>
AirAsia parent Capital A has embraced partnerships with other carriers in a departure from its strategy of going it alone as CEO Tony Fernandes faces one of his biggest turnaround challenges yet. Capital A announced on Oct. 2 that Teleport, its cargo transport business, and China's SF Airlines had agreed to share each other's Southeast Asian and Chinese networks in a bid to capture growing cross-border e-commerce demand. This deal followed a strategic partnership announced in September with Garuda Indonesia that allows passengers to plan itineraries with transfers between AirAsia and Citilink, the Indonesian flag carrier's low-cost arm. The plan includes expanding ties to code-sharing services, not only with Citilink's flights but also Garuda's, Capital A told Nikkei. In June, Capital A added Citilink to a list of rival carriers that the Malaysian low-cost carrier makes available for its customers to book. The alliance with Garuda is a bitter pill to swallow for a company that had prided itself on defying the odds. Yet since entering Indonesia, AirAsia has struggled to break into a market dominated by budget airline rival Lion Air. Fernandes built AirAsia from a bankrupt Malaysian airline he acquired in 2001 for 1 ringgit ($0.21 at current rates), battling regulators to create Southeast Asia's first full-fledged low-cost carrier. As Malaysia's relatively small population of 33m people limited domestic growth potential, he expanded by branching out into nearby countries. But outsiders can have a tough time in the heavily regulated airline industry. AirAsia suffered from thin profit margins even before the COVID-19 pandemic amid stiff competition. After the pandemic struck, it decided to withdraw from Japan and India. Now Fernandes is trying to pull Capital A out of a deep dive. Story has more.<br/>
Malaysian stock exchange Bursa Malaysia has rejected AirAsia X’s application to officially exit its status as a financially distressed entity, dealing a blow to the carrier’s recovery plans. In a filing dated 19 October, AirAsia X – the medium-haul sister unit to the AirAsia group of carriers – adds that it has been granted up to 17 January 2024 to submit its business regularisation plans. The decision by Bursa comes more than three months since the carrier first submitted an application for the removal of the so-called Practice Note 17 (PN17) status – a categorisation for troubled businesses. The airline in July this year also submitted to be exempted from having to submit a business regularisation plan, a requirement for PN17 status companies. In justifying why it should have its PN17 status removed, AirAsia X cited a “more sound and viable financial position” after undergoing a wide-ranging business restructuring. The airline had been under PN17 status for more than two years. In its latest comments, AirAsia X says it will “consider all available options…including the possibility of an appeal”. The move appears to follow tighter regulatory scrutiny of airline finances in Malaysia, after the sudden collapse of start-up carrier MYAirline on 12 October, amid “financial pressures”. Neither Bursa Malaysia nor AirAsia X provided reasons for the rejection. Capital A is also under PN17 status, and has been given an extension until the year-end to submit its business regularisation plan. <br/>