Spirit Airlines' top executive told a judge that the low-cost carrier suffered years of pandemic-fueled losses that show no signs of ending, which pushed the company into a merger with JetBlue Airways that the US government now wants to prevent. Higher costs for fuel, labor and maintenance compounded the impact of the loss of travelers after the Covid-19 outbreak, and Spirit is on track for its fourth consecutive annual loss, CEO Ted Christie testified Wednesday during the second day of an antitrust trial in Boston. “We’re expecting it to continue to get worse into 2025,” he said. Spirit’s share of the domestic airline market is “relatively insignificant” at under 3%, even after more than a decade of rapid growth, Christie said. Company executives hoped that accepting a $3.8b offer from JetBlue last year would create a company that could compete with the four top carriers, which get 80% of ticket revenue, he said. “What we’re really trying to do is establish a fifth viable competitor in what is a very dominant space by the big four airlines and in order to do that you have to gain scale,” the Spirit CEO said. JetBlue is the sixth-largest domestic carrier and Spirit is the seventh-largest. While still ranking well behind behemoths like Delta Air and American Airlines, a bulked-up JetBlue would leapfrog Alaska Airlines to become the fifth-largest carrier in the US. The US Justice Department sued last year to block the deal it says would kill JetBlue’s fastest growing competitor in the US and limit choices for passengers, especially in the market for ultra-low-cost air travel. It’s the latest effort to crack down on airline consolidation after decades of lax enforcement. But Christie said the Spirit-JetBlue combination won’t hurt the market the way the government claims, because “the dynamics of the industry have changed.” While Spirit helped to popularize the “unbundled” pricing model — tickets with extra fees for things like carry-on bags or snacks — many other airlines now offer that option, Christie said. “Larger airlines are more effectively competing for our type of product,” which is significantly impacting Spirit’s bottom line, he said. Still, a merger with JetBlue raised concerns among Spirit executives when it was first proposed. Christie and others were worried the deal wouldn’t get approved by federal regulators, mostly because of JetBlue’s alliance with American Airlines, which was dissolved after a federal judge agreed with antitrust enforcers that the alliance would reduce competition and boost fares for consumers.<br/>
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Southwest Airlines flight attendants would get 36% cumulative pay increases in a new five-year contract, according to details of the tentative agreement shared with crews Wednesday. The flight attendants are the latest aviation labor group to win proposed pay hikes after fraught years-long negotiations for new labor details. Pilots, flight attendants and other airline workers argued they went years without raises after the Covid-19 pandemic derailed talks and had pressed companies for higher compensation and better work rules as travel returned. The new labor deal includes a 20% raise in January at the deal’s signing and 3% after, plus retroactive raises going back to late 2019, according to a union message to flight attendants. The deal is still subject to ratification by the union’s members. Flight attendants are scheduled to start voting on the tentative agreement mid-November. If approved, Southwest will also increase pay for on-call flight attendants by 8% and provide overtime pay if they are called into work outside of their on-call window. Pilots and flight attendants have repeatedly complained about unpredictable schedules and difficulties getting assignments during flight disruptions. It was particularly pronounced during Southwest’s meltdown during the end-year holidays in 2022. Southwest declined to comment Wednesday. It is still negotiating with its pilots.<br/>
Southwest has requested gates in a new terminal planned for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport because it is unable to increase capacity at Love Field. The airline has been limited to flying in the Dallas area from Love Field under the Wright Amendment of 1979, but that restriction will lift in 2025, CEO Bob Jordan said Wednesday. Southwest has been talking with DFW officials about having a “modest presence” there and has also looked at other area airports, he said. “It’s our intent to continue to serve the whole metroplex as it grows,” Jordan said at a Dallas event on Tuesday. “And obviously if you’re constrained and the metroplex is growing, you need to look at other airports to do that.” COO Andrew Watterson said Wednesday at a separate event in Fort Worth that Southwest has put in a request with DFW airport for gates in its future terminal F. The airline isn’t making definitive plans until it has more information on the design of the new terminal project, he said, and this will be at least a couple of years away. Watterson said that one advantage of DFW is that it would allow for some international flights that Love Field cannot accommodate. Jordan said that the airline is operating 208 flights daily from its 18 of the 20 total gates at Love Field which is space-constrained by its location near downtown Dallas. Jordan said there’s enough demand to increase flights to 300 a day if it had more gates to use. Southwest currently is in negotiations with the city of Dallas to renew its lease at Love Field, he said. “It’s very important that we secure that access and we continue to be able to provide 208 flights a day to 65 cities here in Dallas,” he said. “At the same time, the metroplex is big and Dallas Love Field is constrained.”<br/>
Flair Airlines has tempered expectations for growing its aircraft fleet, saying it no longer expects to have 50 airliners in service by 2025. The Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) said it now expects to reach 50 aircraft by 2027, expanding the fleet in response to demand for ultra-low-cost travel. “If we think about what the 50 goal was about, it was more of a statement of our ambition and the potential for the airline, and for the ULCC industry in Canada,” said Stephen Jones, CEO of Flair, speaking in a virtual news conference Nov. 1, 2023. “It was always there to inspire people as to what the scale of this business can be, and we will get there. It’s just that it’ll be a year or two further out than what we expected. We’re very confident in the vision.” Flair currently operates a fleet of 20 Boeing 737 Max 8 and 737-800 airliners, according to the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register. Jones identified the 50-by-2025 goal when he became CEO in 2020, as Flair jockeyed with several other contenders, including WestJet’s since-shuttered Swoop subsidiary. The “Flair 50” goal took a hit in March 2023, when four Flair-operated Boeing 737 aircraft were detained without notice.<br/>
Norse Atlantic slumped the most in six months after the carrier said it was looking at raising an additional $45m to tide it over the slower winter months and to pay a “key supplier.” The stock plunged as much as 33% on Thursday in Oslo after Norse said it had hired Pareto Securities AS and SpareBank 1 Markets AS to advise on the carrier’s fundraising plan. The fledging transatlantic carrier also said it had been approached by possible suitors “seeking to explore industrial opportunities,” suggesting that it could sell a stake in the airline. Norse emerged in the midst of the pandemic and operates Boeing 787 jets from the failed transatlantic arm of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. The carrier said it had its first profitable quarter this summer although “an adverse working capital movement led to a reduction of available liquidity compared to the previous quarter.” BT Larsen & Co. and Scorpio Holdings Limited, the airline’s biggest shareholders, have expressed support in taking part in the planned fundraising, Norse said. <br/>
Israel's El Al Airlines said on Wednesday it was boosting cargo capacity to meet high demand for shipments of equipment to Israeli soldiers and families impacted by the war with Hamas. Israel's flag carrier, which has a fleet of 46 aircraft split between long and short haul, removed seats from one of its six Boeing 777-200 planes to add up to 50 tonnes of cargo per flight. It also added a Boeing 737 that was recently converted to cargo to its fleet and, with cargo capacity of 20 tonnes, will make two flights a day to various European destinations. It chose 222 as its flight number since it has a numerical value of Israel's slogan of "together we will win." El Al CE Dina Ben Tal Ganancia said the airline flew about a quarter of a million passengers to and from Israel in the first two weeks of the conflict that began on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched an attack from Gaza on the south of the country. Israel has since bombarded Gaza with the goal of eliminating the militant group. "With the decrease in demand for passenger flights, the need to fly cargo has increased," Ben Tal Ganancia said, noting that until now El Al has relied on cargo capacity of passenger planes. The airline, it said, has boosted cargo capacity on passenger aircraft and has flown more than 5,000 tonnes of cargo to Israel, including medical and vital equipment - some of which was donated by various organisations and Jewish communities around the world.<br/>
All eight Chinese carriers that flew into Sydney Airport pre-COVID have returned with the arrival of Sichuan Airlines. Sichuan Airlines flight 3U3883 from Chengdu touched down in Sydney on Monday on board an A330-300. With its return, nine airlines including Qantas will offer direct services between Sydney and mainland China, and it is estimated Sydney Airport’s China capacity will be 86% recovered in November. As of this month, Sydney Airport will have 85 return services to mainland China per week, with Sichuan Airlines the only carrier offering direct flights to Chengdu. The route is recommencing with three weekly return services after being paused in 2020, increasing to five from 19 November. According to Geoff Culbert, Sydney Airport CEO, the return of Sichuan, which first started services to Sydney in 2013, marks a major milestone in the airport’s post-COVID recovery. “The return of Sichuan Airlines comes at a time when capacity to China is nearing pre-COVID levels, something that seemed impossible at the start of the year,” he said. “We started the year with very few flights from China, but by November we’ll be 86% recovered, with more flights coming online in the coming months. The pace at which this market has returned has exceeded our expectations and will play a crucial role in supporting the recovery of tourism, business and student travel and the broader New South Wales economy.”<br/>
India's financial crime agency has seized properties worth 5.38b rupees (nearly $65m) as part of its probe into money laundering allegations against the now-defunct Jet Airways and founder Naresh Goyal, the agency said on Wednesday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it has seized 17 residential and commercial properties in London, Dubai and India that were registered in the names of various companies and people, including Goyal, his wife and son. Goyal has been in judicial custody since September when the ED arrested him in relation to the money laundering that was filed by state lender Canara Bank in May. Jet Airways had siphoned off loans from a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, the ED said. The agency doubled down on its claim that under Goyal's leadership, the airline had siphoned off funds under the garb of professional and consultancy fees to overseas entities and towards the expenses of Goyal and his family members. "Naresh Goyal implemented a massive financial fraud," it said on Wednesday. Goyal's lawyer told Reuters, "We are going through the charge sheet and are currently evaluating our options." Goyal founded Jet Airways in 1992 and led it to become India's second-largest carrier in India by market share. It shut down operations in April 2019 after running out of cash. <br/>
Budget airline AirAsia parent Capital A said Wednesday it plans to list its brand management business on the Nasdaq by entering into a deal with a special purpose acquisition company Aetherium Acquisition Corp. Under the deal, Aetherium Acquisition will acquire all the issued and outstanding share capital of Capital A International, resulting in the formation of a new listed entity, according to a stock exchange filing. Aetherium Acquisition will ascribe to Capital A International for an indicative equity value of $1b alongside additional net cash proceeds. Capital A International will acquire 100% of both Brand AA, the registered proprietor for all the rights in AirAsia brand, and aircraft leasing company Fleet Consolidated from Capital A, according to the filing. Capital A International intends to generate revenue from brand royalty and leasing of aircraft, the filing showed. "Upon the completion of the proposed business combination, the group will have exposure to the capital markets in the USA through NASDAQ," Capital A said in the filing. It added that the deal provides an opportunity to unlock the value of its AirAsia brand. Capital A expects to record a one-off gain from the proposed combination, it added. Aetherium, a blank-check firm, has $29.99m in its trust account, which is subject to underwriting fees, the filing showed.<br/>