Andrew Watterson knows the cost of flight disruptions. The COO of Southwest found himself in the eye of a storm after a blizzard last December forced the company to cancel almost 17,000 flights, disrupting travel plans for about 2m customers. With this week's US Thanksgiving holiday kicking off the holiday travel season, Watterson can ill afford another fiasco. His counterparts at other carriers are also under pressure to deliver a smooth operation in a period when passenger traffic is expected to hit all-time highs. Airlines have taken measures to beef up winter operations including investments in weather forecast technology and de-icing equipment, and increased staffing and training. The high-profile operational meltdown cost Southwest more than $1b and prompted scrutiny from US Congress and other government agencies. Watterson himself faced criticism from US lawmakers for the debacle. However, in an interview with Reuters, the executive cited Southwest's technology upgrades and investments made since the Dallas-based carrier's meltdown to help deal with any weather event this year.<br/>"We are now so much better prepared," he said. The expected record travel comes at a time when airlines are grappling with a shortage of air-traffic controllers, congested airspace and limitations on runways and airport gates, forcing many companies to cut flights. Southwest attributed its service breakdown last Christmas to a "historic" winter storm, both in size and scale, that caused frozen jet bridges and icy aircraft engines. Its problems, however, were compounded by a dated system for scheduling of crews.<br/>
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Emirates President Tim Clark said he may not reconsider Airbus SE’s largest A350 model until the end of the decade because he wants to see evidence that the engine that powers the variant meet the airline’s specifications. Speaking at an event in London, Clark said he’d need to be convinced that the Trent XWB-97 engine on the A350-1000 has “the durability we’d need,” ideally by studying its performance in a rival’s fleet. If satisfied, Emirates would consider the plane “at the back end of the decade,” he said. Clark openly criticized engine maker Rolls-Royce last week at the Dubai Airshow, calling the powerplant on the largest A350 variant “defective” because the maintenance cycles were too short. Emirates ended up ordering just 15 of the smaller A350-900 variant at the event, far below the as many as 50 A350-1000s Clark had said he’d want. Rolls-Royce is the sole engine manufacturer on the A350. Despite Clark’s criticism, the -1000 variant has been especially popular with airlines this year, who have bought it in record numbers to benefit from low fuel consumption and its ability to fly long distances. Airbus and Rolls-Royce have defended the model, saying it works just fine, and that reliability will improve over time. <br/>
Nine more airlines have applied for air operator certificates (AOC) to operate commercial services in Thailand, indicating the Thai aviation industry is recovering, according to Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) director Suthipong Kongpool. The nine airlines are: Asian Aerospace Services Co Ltd, applying for non-scheduled services; Siam Seaplane Co Ltd, for non-scheduled service; Really Cool Airlines Co Ltd, for scheduled and non-scheduled services; Avanti Air Charter, for non-scheduled services; M-Landarch Co Ltd, for scheduled and non-scheduled services; Bangkok Helicopter Services Co Ltd, for non-scheduled services; Pattaya Airways Co Ltd, for non-scheduled and cargo transport services; Asia Atlantic Airlines, for non-scheduled services; and P80 Air Ltd, for scheduled and non-scheduled services. Suthipong said in issuing AOCs to applicants the CAAT takes into consideration their business plan, financial status, safety and service standards. The CAAT believed the aviation industry was returning to levels seen before the arrival of Covid-19 in Thailand. The number of passengers carried in 2023 was expected to reach 127m by year's end - 63.03m international and 64.43m domestic passengers - compared to about 160m in 2019.<br/>
BBN Airlines Indonesia has secured an additional four aircraft, bolstering the ACMI operator's fleet to six and marking its move into passenger operations. The carrier, which presently flies two B737-800(BCF)s, is getting one B737-400(SF) and three B737-800s. "Since ACMI providers are still a rarity in Asia, BBN Airlines Indonesia is expected to give an extra boost to support the ever-growing aviation needs in Indonesia," BBN Airlines Indonesia Chairman Martynas Grigas said. "This expansion will allow us to better serve our customers and meet the growing demand from airline, logistics, and tour operator companies.” BBN Airlines Indonesia is a subsidiary of Avia Solutions Group. In addition to BBN Indonesia, a relatively new startup having acquired its Indonesian air operator's certificate in September, the entity's airline brands include Avion Express, Avion Express Malta, SmartLynx Airlines, SmartLynx Airlines Estonia, SmartLynx Airlines Malta, Air Explore, and KlasJet. ASG claims to have 192 aircraft operating worldwide, including A320, A330, B737, B777, and CRJ200 types. The four new aircraft will undergo a redelivery check at FL Technics Indonesia, also an ASG-owned business, before deploying into revenue operations at the beginning of next year. The aircraft will be used for both domestic and international routes, with a focus on China to Denpasar.<br/>
PAL will expand flight frequencies between Manila and Toronto, increasing its capacity by 50% to meet growing travel demand. The Lucio Tan-led airline said it would introduce a third weekly nonstop flight on its Manila-Toronto route beginning April 5, 2024. "Our expansion of flights to Toronto highlights the importance of the Canadian market in the Philippine Airlines network," PAL CCO Eric David Anderson said. "We want to make it easier for businesses to establish commercial relations, for Canadians to plan holiday trips to the Philippines, and for Filipino-Canadians to visit their families back in the homeland," he added. "Canada is among the top ten sources of foreign tourists to the Philippines, with more than 180,000 Canadians visiting the Philippines during the first ten months of 2023. Additionally, the new frequencies will bolster connectivity between Southeast Asia and Canada via PAL's Manila hub." With three weekly frequencies to choose from, passengers gain more flexibility to organize their travel plans.<br/>