unaligned

Southwest expects Boeing's 737 MAX 7 plane will get certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration by April, allowing the carrier to start flying the aircraft in October and November 2024, a company executive told Reuters. Dallas-based Southwest is the largest customer of the plane, the smallest model in Boeing's MAX family. Last month, it unveiled new orders for an additional 108 MAX 7 planes for deliveries through 2031. "For our internal planning purposes, we assume it'll be certified in April and then flying for us in the October-November time frame," Andrew Watterson, COO at Southwest, said late Thursday. He said, however, that the April estimate includes a buffer and certification could still happen this year or in early 2024 as Boeing is making progress with the FAA resolving open items on certification. "We don't want a delay to affect our plans so we put padding in there," Watterson said. "We're getting closer and closer," Watterson said of the certification work. "We're towards the end here." Boeing has said it expects MAX 7 certification by the end of this year. In October, company executives said its schedule remained unchanged, with CEO Dave Calhoun saying the company will give the FAA "all the flexibility they need" to make the call.<br/>

If the best things in life are free, you won't find many of them on a Ryanair flight - and its social media accounts aren't shy to say so. On TikTok, Insta and X, the company's become known for ripping into its passengers and its own reputation. Being rude and obnoxious to your customers might not seem like the best approach, but the brand's viral burns have earned it 2.1m followers on TikTok - half a million more than EasyJet, Jet2, Tui, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Etihad combined. And while corporate LOLs might make a lack of legroom easier to swallow, is there another reason brands want us to see the funny side? One man who knows is Michael Corcoran. He was the head of Ryanair's social media until he recently announced his resignation on - where else? - X. Hundreds of people replied praising him for turning the Irish airline into an online star, and shared some of their greatest hits. Examples included talking planes roasting customers, and the company telling complaining passengers to "bring their own plane" next time they fly. And there were more than a few references to 11A - the notoriously unpopular airline seat number with its own meme.<br/>

Middle East carriers look set to order tens of billions of dollars of long-haul jets at the opening of the Dubai Airshow on Monday, as Emirates renews confidence in the delayed Boeing 777X while facing new competition from rivals like Turkish Airlines. Hosts Emirates and low-cost cousin flyDubai are expected to stamp their mark early on the world's second-largest aerospace event, industry sources said, despite concerns about a drop in the economically key travel sector due to Mideast tensions. That includes a new order for several dozen Boeing 777X jets, they said, in a boost for the programme amid ongoing uncertainty over the schedule for the world's largest twin-engined jet, currently expected in 2025 after a five-year delay. People familiar with the flagship programme have said the risks are weighted toward further delays as Boeing first gauges the impact of tighter certification rules on other projects. Boeing said on Friday there was no change to its schedule. Emirates is the world's largest user of wide-body jets, including Airbus A380 superjumbos and current-generation Boeing 777s. It has publicly said it is considering more orders of the upgraded 777X as well as the Airbus A350 and smaller Boeing 787. Of these, the 787 is least likely to feature immediately. FlyDubai flies Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody jets, which compete with the Airbus A320neo, and is set to order more planes in that category this week, sources said.<br/>

Riyadh Air, the new Saudi Arabian airline launched by Public Investment Fund, is close to an order for as many as 100 Boeing 737 Max jets, said a Bloomberg report. The new carrier aims to add short-haul aircraft to its line-up, according to people familiar with the matter, the report said. The carrier is considering placing a firm orders for 50 jets along with a similar number of options at the Dubai Air Show that begins on Monday, said the people, asking not to be named as the discussions are confidential. Final discussions are ongoing, and the number could change slightly, the people said. In May, Bloomberg reported that US aerospace powerhouse Boeing was courting the Saudi airline for a 150-strong 737 MAX order, taking advantage of Airbus' growing A321neo backlog limiting deliveries before 2029. If selected, the roughly $8b order may boost Boeing's balance sheet following setbacks to its 737 MAX and 787 programs.<br/>

Pakistan’s privatisation ministry has picked a consortium led by Ernst & Young as financial advisor for the planned sale of struggling national carrier Pakistan International Airlines. In a statement following a 10 November meeting of the ministry’s privatisation commission board it says the Ernst & Young consortium was chosen out of eight potential advisors. The consortium also comprises Dubai-based Bauer Aviation Advisory, Haidermota, Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer, Nutshell and Knight Frank. Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif in late June announced his government’s intention to put PIA through another round of restructuring and in August it was formally added to the government’s “active privatisation projects”. PIA has long weighed on public finances, racking up billions of rupees in losses over the past 20 years, after last making a full-year net profit in 2004. It was profitable at an operating level in Q1 of this year, but noted that it was continuing to face liquidity problems and was also suffering from the weakness of the Pakistani rupee.<br/>

Scoot will take delivery of its first Embraer E190-E2 jet in March next year, as it focuses on building up its short-haul network. Leslie Thng, the low-cost operator’s CEO, says Scoot will take delivery of another four E2s through 2024, and that the type will be deployed on “a mix of new and existing destinations”. Thng, who was speaking at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines’ Assembly of Presidents in Singapore, declines to comment where Scoot will be launching flights to, except to reiterate that these details would be disclosed “when we are ready to”. His comments are the latest updates from the airline on its incoming fleet of E2s. The Singapore Airlines Group unit announced in February it would be taking nine E190-E2s on lease from lessor Azorra. The jets will seat 112 passengers in a single-class layout – the smallest aircraft in the SIA Group’s fleet. Scoot had touted the “business case” for the regional jets in its fleet. In a wide-ranging interview in March, Thng said the E2s will “give us additional growth opportunities to continue to expand our network, which will provide us with the network connectivity that we have been building”. He reiterated those sentiments in his latest remarks, noting that the E2s “are a good fit for us…to actually expand into thinner routes in the region”. Asked if the airline was looking at growing its long-haul network - Scoot flies to Athens and Berlin in Europe, as well as Jeddah in Saudi Arabia - Thng says the airline’s “short-term focus” is to induct the new E2s and deploying them to the Southeast Asian market. “[Scoot’s] focus will be to continue to increase our destinations that we can offer [with the E2s] in this region. [Southeast Asia] is a massive market…[and is] something that we should continue to invest in,” he adds.<br/>

Philippine Airlines president Stanley Ng has told Aviation Daily that he expects up to two more A321neo to be grounded due to the "maintenance backlogs for Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines" in a worst-case scenario. The carrier has identified four engines that could be affected by recently discovered powder metal issues with some of the engine's components. PAL currently operates five of its eight A321neo, with three out of six A321-200Ns on the ground in Manila while both of its A321-200NX are still in service. Ng also told Aviation Daily during the recent AAPA Assembly of Presidents in Singapore that the delivery timetable for its remaining thirteen A321neo is still unclear, with the Filipino carrier having to, therefore, rely on its A320ceo family fleet as a backup solution as and when other neo aircraft get grounded. Together with subsidiary PAL Express, it operates fifteen A320-200s and twenty-two A321-200s. The longest stage length routes in its current A321neo network, based on ch-aviation schedules data, are Manila to Brisbane International and Perth International with scheduled block times exceeding seven hours, routes where it could not easily replace its neo family aircraft with older generation ceo aircraft.<br/>

Jetstar has unveiled a multi-million-dollar cabin product upgrade for its Boeing 787-8 fleet, as it hints at expanding operations to South Asia and Africa. The low-cost arm of Australia’s Qantas says the upgrade will see new economy- and business-class seats – both to be manufactured by Recaro – as well as onboard wi-fi connectivity and a dedicated crew rest area.<br/>The first aircraft with the refreshed cabin will enter service in late-2025; retrofit works will be carried out during scheduled heavy maintenance. Jetstar will also more than double the number of business-class seats on its 787s – from the current 21 seats to 44. The airline says the move is “in response to growing customer demand for more choice and extra comfort when flying long-haul”. As a result, the total seat count on Jetstar’s 787s will now be 325, 10 fewer seats than the current configuration. The new Recaro seats in both classes will feature seat-back device holders, as well as power outlets. The addition of a crew rest area on the aircraft unlocks ”the possibility of exciting new destinations like Sri Lanka and India”, says airline chief Stephanie Tully. Jetstar stresses that it has not made a decision on which new destinations it will deploy the type on. Adds Tully: “This multi-million-dollar fleet revamp will allow us to offer our customers more choice, comfort and amenities when flying longer distances internationally.” According to Cirium fleets data, Jetstar has an in-service fleet of 11 787-8s, which are all powered by GEnx-1B engines. The aircraft, which operate medium- to long-haul flights to cities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok and Honolulu, are between eight and 10 years old.<br/>

Travellers could be hit with unexpected disruptions as Virgin Australia’s cabin crew and ground workers close in on strike action over claims of “poverty pay” and “unsustainable” conditions. On Monday, the Virgin cabin crew members of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) will apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for a protected action ballot, which, if granted, means they can vote to take industrial action that they have been threatening to do over claims of “poverty pay, job insecurity and unsafe conditions”. The TWU national secretary, Michael Kaine, said that “Virgin workers above and below the wing have remained loyal, worked hard to rebuild the airline and seen it back into profit” but that its private equity owners Bain Capital “have not held up their end of the bargain to correct rock-bottom pay, improve work-life balance and fix unsafe rostering”. Kaine said cabin, ground crew and pilot members have “all reported fears of mistakes being made due to their unsustainable working conditions, made worse by high turnover, fatigue-related absenteeism and juggling second or third jobs”. “We need to see a considerable shift in Virgin’s bargaining approach to ensure a fair, sustainable enterprise agreement offer and avoid last resort strikes.” If the FWC approves the cabin crew’s application, it means several sections of Virgin’s workforce could be on the cusp of taking industrial action. Ground crew need to provide just three days’ notice before going on strike. A Virgin Australia spokesperson said that since the cabin crew’s agreement expired less than two weeks ago, the airline “has continued to bargain in good faith, and with a clear commitment to relevant unions of our intention to reach an amicable solution on a new agreement”.<br/>