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A Boeing 747 en route from New York JFK to Liege, Belgium, was forced to turn around on November 9 after a horse got loose in the cargo hold. The horse, which partially escaped its stall while airborne, had to be euthanized due to the extent of its injuries, according to two people familiar with the episode. The cargo flight operated by charter airline Air Atlanta Icelandic had climbed to around 31,000 feet when the crew contacted Air Traffic Control in Boston to report that the horse had escaped. “We don’t have a problem (…) flying-wise,” one of the pilots says in a video reconstruction by YouTube channel “You Can See ATC,” but “we cannot get the horse back secured.” A representative from Air Atlanta Icelandic told CNN that the information in the “You Can See ATC” video is correct. The horse was among 15 being transported to Liege — an import hub for Europe — when turbulence struck shortly after takeoff, according to John Cuticelli, the head of the corporation responsible for operating animal quarantine and export at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The horse became spooked and jumped halfway over the high front barrier of the stall and became hung up, with his front legs on one side of the barrier and his hind legs trapped on the inside of the stall. “The horse jumped and managed to get its two front legs over the (front) barrier and then got jammed,” Cuticelli said. “It’s only the second time in all the years I’ve been doing this that I’ve ever seen that happen. And we do thousands of horses a year. A very unfortunate event — but that horse was spooked.”<br/>

Airfare to popular international leisure destinations should cost less this winter and next summer than a year ago as carriers add capacity, the CEO of Canada's WestJet Airlines told Reuters on Wednesday. For North American carriers, prices for international travel soared over the past year as pent-up demand for leisure flights after pandemic-related lockdowns outstripped supply. But Onex Corp-backed WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, and other carriers are adding more capacity on routes to Europe and the Asia Pacific region. "Last year, our observation was that there was probably more demand than the industry could serve. That's why we also saw pricing going up quite substantially," WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said in an interview on the sidelines of an Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) conference in Montreal. "This winter is going to be different. I think this winter we'll have a better supply-to-demand balance, which will give more affordability to Canadians," von Hoensbroech added. WestJet expects to fly almost half of the seats to sun destinations after acquiring leisure carrier Sunwing this year. WestJet, which competes with larger rival Air Canada, sees strong demand for winter travel, although there has been "some trading down happening from higher-end vacations to more-affordable vacations," von Hoensbroech said. "We see strong bookings, slightly softer than what we saw last winter," von Hoensbroech added. Similarly, von Hoensbroech predicted more "balanced pricing" on travel to Europe next summer as more capacity comes online following an exceptional season in 2023. "I would expect next summer there would be a different demand-to-supply equation on transatlantic," von Hoensbroech said.<br/>

WestJet announced Wednesday it will soon offer direct flights from Calgary to Iceland. The airline also said it is enhancing its 787 Dreamliner hub, increasing frequencies for international routes and adding daily exclusive service to Japan. “Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to affordably connecting Canadians from coast-to-coast to some of the world’s most popular destinations,” John Weatherill, WestJet Group executive vice-president and CCO, said in a news release. Beginning in May 2024, WestJet will offer a four-times-weekly service to Reykjavik (Keflavik), Iceland. The release added it will be the only airline providing direct connectivity to Iceland from Calgary. “In consultation with local partners, we agreed to announce our intention to begin service to Keflavik in May; we will continue to closely monitor volcanic activity in the region and follow the recommendations of local authorities,” said Weatherill. The service is set to be enhanced by the airline’s interline agreement with Icelandair, which will enable guests to travel across Icelandair and WestJet’s network via one boarding pass, with the convenience of a single check-in, with baggage tagged and checked to their final destination.<br/>

WestJet announced Wednesday it will launch a direct flight from St. John's to London this spring, with a helping hand from Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers. Starting May 1 and ending on Oct. 25, flights will be taking off three times a week between St. John's to London's Gatwick airport. The announcement gives the airport its first direct routes to Europe since 2019. "With this expansion, we are reopening St. John's to the world, and the world to St. John's," said Andrew Gibbons, WestJet's vice-president of external affairs. "Also we are addressing the great injustice of having to go west to go east." The flight from St. John's will depart at 12:15 a.m. NT and arrive 9 a.m. GMT. The return flight will depart 11 a.m. GMT and land in St. John's at 1:15 p.m. NT.<br/>

Airbus sought a compromise to try to unblock dozens of A350 orders from Dubai's Emirates late on Wednesday, buoyed by a deal for 11 of the most popular version of the jet with Ethiopian Airlines, industry sources said. Dubai Airshow talks to rescue a delayed order for long-haul jets, potentially switching to the A350-900 version, looked set to drag into Thursday amid the fallout from a clash with Rolls-Royce over engine performance on the larger A350-1000. Emirates and its suppliers had no immediate comment. The sources said there was no guarantee of a deal before the show ends on Friday. Backroom engine negotiations that are often said to drive big-ticket airplane orders at the industry's marquee events have been grabbing headlines this week, after a public spat between the Dubai carrier and Rolls-Royce. Emirates Airline President Tim Clark warned Airbus and Rolls-Royce on Tuesday that increased engine downtime in harsh Gulf conditions - as well as higher prices for servicing - stood in the way of an order for between 35 and 50 A350-1000 jets. Rolls-Royce said it was taking steps to improve durability of Trent XWB-97 jet engines that power the A350-1000, but rejected Clark's suggestion that the engines were "defective". As buggies shuttled executives between Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Emirates chalets in fading light on Wednesday, sources said differences were narrowing. One said the parties were "close" but not enough to pull off a turnaround on Wednesday. One possible compromise, they said, could involve Emirates making a further purchase of A350-900s while Rolls-Royce studies ways of improving engine durability on the larger A350-1000. Clark on Tuesday described the A350-900, the most widely sold version of the long-haul family, as a "very good airplane". Emirates has already ordered 50 A350-900s, the first of which is due to arrive in mid-2024.<br/>

Emirates is aiming to keep 116 Airbus A380s in service over the next few years, with the effort supported by a series of maintenance agreements disclosed by the carrier. The carrier is the largest operator of the type, and eventually placed total orders for 123 before Airbus discontinued production. While a few of the A380s have been withdrawn from the fleet, Emirates president Tim Clark says he is committed to “keep them going as long as possible”. “We have to keep a careful eye on [the supply chain], so we’re cannibalising some of the early aircraft and storing the parts,” he said, speaking during the Dubai air show. “We’ll try to keep 116 going for as long as we can. Back-end of the next decade, it’ll drop to 90.” He says the fleet will decline as the Boeing 777-9 takes over the high-capacity long-haul task, “unless I can persuade [Airbus] to build another [A380] – I’ve been banging on about it, and each time they consign me to the loony bin.” Emirates says it is “doubling down” its investment to “maximise fleet performance and reliability” of its A380s, signing agreements worth around $1.5b with several companies at the show. It says the agreements are intended to “optimise” the A380s’ lifespan and “unlock additional operational efficiency gains”. “Our continued commitment to and confidence in the A380 are why we’re investing heavily to keep the fleet in optimal shape and pristine condition,” says Clark. “The A380 will remain core to our network and customer proposition for the next decade, and we want to ensure our fleet is in tip-top shape.” Safran is to provide nose landing-gear services, while Collins Aerospace has signed a long-term agreement for main landing-gear overhaul. Emirates says 116 A380s will be supplied with wheels and carbon brakes by Honeywell, with maintenance conducted at the airline’s maintenance facilities in Dubai. <br/>

Officials from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban on Wednesday welcomed the resumption of FlyDubai flights to Kabul’s international airport two years after stopping service following the collapse of the Western-backed government. All international airlines halted flights to Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces departed after two decades of war. A United Arab Emirates-based FlyDubai flight landed in Kabul on Wednesday. FlyDubai, the sister carrier of long-haul airline Emirates, now will make two flights a day to Kabul. The office of the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, Abdul Ghani Baradar, in a statement Wednesday described the flight resumption as “indicative of the restoration of Afghanistan’s airspace to a secure and conventional state, accommodating various types of flights.” However, nearly all Western carriers are avoiding flying in Afghan airspace. “It shows that all airports in Afghanistan are now equipped to deliver requisite facilities and adhere to standard services,” said. FlyDubai, when asked for comment, referred to an October statement announcing that flights would resume. It did not discuss any of the security concerns related to operating in the country. In May last year, the Taliban signed a deal allowing an Emirati company to manage three airports in Afghanistan. Under the agreement, the Abu Dhabi-based firm GAAC Solutions would manage the airports in Herat, Kabul and Kandahar.<br/>

South Korean low-cost operators T’way Air, Jin Air and Jeju Air continued a profitable streak in their Q3 earnings, helped by strong international travel demand. On a year-on-year basis, the three carriers swung back to the black on the back of a significant increase in revenues. They attributed the improvement to the easing of pandemic restrictions both within South Korea, as well as key markets like China and Japan. For the three months ended 30 September, T’way Air posted an operating profit of W33.5b ($25.6m), improving on the W32.6b loss it posted in the year-ago period, and despite “unfavourable macro-environmental factors”. The carrier’s revenues more than doubled year on year to W345b, as its operations surpassed pre-pandemic levels. T’way carried close to 1.5m passengers systemwide during the quarter, a 26% jump on the passenger volume seen in Q3 2019. The airline’s Southeast Asian and Japanese markets were the largest revenue contributors during the quarter, making up about two-thirds the carrier’s revenue. T’way reported a net profit of W14.3b, against a net loss of W57.6b in the year-ago period. As for Jin Air, it swung to an operating profit of W32.7b, compared to the W17.5b loss in the year. Revenue for the quarter rose 85% year on year to W323b, with international revenues accounting for almost three-quarters of its takings. Like its compatriots, Southeast Asia and Japan markets made up a significant portion of Jin’s revenue. The sister unit of Korean Air reported a net profit of almost W92b, an improvement against the net loss of W101b last year. Jeju Air, meanwhile, reported an operating profit of W44.4b, compared to the W61b loss in the year-ago period. The carrier doubled its quarterly revenue to W437b, outpacing a 55% rise in costs to W350b. In their outlook, the three low-cost carriers expect demand to continue through the year-end, particularly on Southeast Asia routes. Jin Air adds that Japanese flights are expected to remain popular given the weaker Japanese Yen.<br/>