unaligned

A federal judge considering the US Justice Department's bid to block JetBlue Airways' proposed $3.8b acquisition of Spirit Airlines raised the possibility on Tuesday of letting the deal proceed if JetBlue divests more assets as the antitrust trial wrapped up. US District Judge William Young told a JetBlue lawyer that he expected airline fares would rise if no-frills, ultra-low-cost Spirit no longer was around to "undercut everyone else" and drive down prices. But the judge, who will decide the case in the non-jury trial in Boston, told both sides that he was having "trouble" with the Justice Department's request for a permanent injunction blocking a deal in a "dynamic industry facing unique opportunities and challenges in the post-COVID environment." Young raised the prospect of further divestitures by JetBlue, which has already agreed to sell-off gates and slots at airports in New York City, Boston, Newark, New Jersey and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to try to address US regulators' concerns. Lawyers for both sides delivered closing arguments in a trial that began on Oct. 31. The Justice Department, six US states and the District of Columbia sued in March to challenge the merger as unlawfully harmful to competition in the airline industry. Young said he had "seen cases where a court has decided the divestitures were close but not sufficient and then has proceeded to say this would pass muster if there were this divestiture or that divestiture."<br/>

Frontier Airlines has settled a lawsuit filed by female pilots who accused the airline of discriminating against pregnant or breastfeeding employees. In the agreement announced Tuesday, Frontier will let pilots pump breast milk in the cockpit during “noncritical phases” of flights. The Denver-based airline also agreed to let pilots who are breastfeeding reduce their flying time and treat pregnancy and breastfeeding the same as other medical conditions if they make pilots unable to fly. The settlement was announced by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The agency lodged charges against Frontier in 2018, after several pilots sued the airline. Aditi Fruitwala, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit, said the settlement should send a message to airlines and other employers about making reasonable accommodations to pregnant and breastfeeding employees. “We’re hopeful this will inspire more change and stronger protections for workers across the airline industry,” Fruitwala said. Frontier’s vice president for labor relations, Jacalyn Peter, said the airline is “at the forefront of accommodating the needs of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in the airline industry.” She said advances in wearable lactation technology made it possible to reach a settlement that maintains safety. Last year, Frontier settled a similar lawsuit by flight attendants. The employees said Frontier forced them to take unpaid leave for pregnancy-related absences and didn’t let them pump breast milk while working. Frontier did not admit liability in settling the lawsuits. In the case involving Denver-based pilots, the airline also agreed to comply with a current union agreement letting pregnant pilots fly if they have medical approval. The airline also agreed to continue to let breastfeeding pilots reduce their schedules to 50 hours of flying per month, and to update and make available a list of lactation facilities at airports.<br/>

Mexican airline Volaris said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Pratt & Whitney on compensation for each GTF motor pulled from its fleet for inspections. The carrier said in a filing to Mexico's main stock exchange the motor inspections - required due to a rare powder metal defect discovered in some of the engines - had reduced its capacity in November.<br/>

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes plans to restructure its balance sheet yet again as it buckles under a heavy debt load and the high costs of operating an airline in Brazil. Gol hired Seabury Capital to help review its debt and other financial obligations, and free up cash by renegotiating its deals with lessors, the company said in a filing Friday. The move triggered a downgrade to CCC- from CCC+ by S&P Global Ratings, which warned of room for a further cut amid refinancing risks. The hiring follows a string of corporate actions that have raised questions about the Sao Paulo-based low-cost carrier’s ability to navigate an air travel industry that was upended by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company avoided bankruptcy protection as many of its peers went through Chapter 11 reorganizations. But it has been forced to carry out 10 liability management processes or capital raises since early 2020, the company said in March. Gol’s latest move could “prompt a broader discussion of the company’s capital structure, given weak prospects for cash flow generation and the dependence on refinancing in the next two years,” S&P analysts Amalia Bulacios and Luisa Vilhena wrote in a note Tuesday. This year, it announced a debt restructuring with Abra Group, a holding firm created to control operations of Gol and Avianca Group International. All that’s done little to reassure investors: Gol’s dollar bonds due in 2025, which trade for about 41 cents on the dollar, have handed investors a 2.6% loss this year. Debt from other carriers in the region on average have seen returns of more than 18%, according to a Bloomberg bond index. The latest announcement “suggests that the carrier still faces significant financial challenges,” Citigroup Inc. analyst Stephen Trent wrote in note. The company’s entrance into the Abra structure “was no panacea,” he added. While shares have gained 13% this year, they have underperformed returns for competitor Azul SA by roughly 30 percentage points.<br/>

Chile’s Sky Airline has applied to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide air service to the United States alongside its Peruvian subsidiary, which has been flying to the USA since 2022. Sky applied with the DOT on 1 December, saying it will begin service “upon receipt of aircraft with the range necessary to do so on a nonstop basis to and from Chile”. “Currently Sky Chile has 28 Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft in its fleet,” the application reads. “With an all-neo fleet, Sky Chile is one of the most environmentally responsible airlines in the world. Additionally, Sky Chile has 10 ultra-long-range Airbus A321XLR aircraft on order.” “Sky Chile is scheduled to become the first Latin America-based operator of this aircraft type, which will allow Sky Chile to launch nonstop flights between Chile and the United States,” the airline says. It does not say what routes it will serve, or give a timeline for potential new flights. Currently Sky Airline Peru, the carrier’s Peruvian subsidiary, operates daily flights between that country’s capital Lima and Miami. In addition, the two carriers – which operate under common ownership and control – have asked the DOT for permission to operate under a single flight code, saying that doing so will “increase consumer awareness of their respective commercial air services”. The approval ”will position the joint applicants to offer more effective competition to larger incumbents in US-South America markets for air services”.<br/>

Entering a new phase of its ongoing North American expansion, Porter Airlines plans to launch flights from Montreal to Western Canada next year with its growing fleet of Embraer 195-E2s. The Toronto-based carrier disclosed on 4 December that it would kick off daily round-trip flights from Montreal to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver starting in April and May, complementing its existing service to those cities from Toronto and Ottawa. “Montreal has been an important part of Porter’s network since 2006, and our presence continues to grow,” says Kevin Jackson, the carrier’s CCO. ”We’re building out [Montreal-Trudeau International airport] with popular destinations and strategic partnerships, so travellers can connect coast-to-coast.” The expansion will further connect Porter’s extensive regional network in Eastern Canada to major West Coast hubs, the airline says. It will also increase the flow of domestic air travellers feeding into Montreal-based partner airline Air Transat’s international network, which covers an increasing number of cities in the Caribbean, Europe and Africa. Air Transat and Porter recently announced a joint venture aimed at competing with Air Canada and WestJet. The airlines will coordinate flight schedules and routes in a combined effort to expand their respective networks. <br/>

For years now, numerous flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have been taking care of passengers on flights from Lahore or Islamabad to Toronto, but not on the return trip. Instead, they deplane at Pearson and are never heard from again. In the latest incident, aviation news site Simple Flying reports that a flight attendant named Ayaz arrived several days ago from Lahore on flight PK-784. “On its scheduled return to Islamabad, the steward did not show up in Toronto,” the site said, quoting sources familiar with the matter. “The flight of the national flag carrier had to return to Islamabad without the crew member.” It’s been less than a month since the last reported incident. On Nov. 13, Pakistan-based Ary News reported that two flight attendants had “slipped away” after arriving on flight PK-772 from Islamabad to Toronto. Crew members named Khalid and Fida did not show up for their return flight. Similar cases involved crew named Muntazir in July, and Ijaz and Ramzan, both in October 2022. In all, there have been at least eight missing crew over the past two years, but other disappearances go back to at least 2018. The pattern is the same: the crew member leaves the plane with his or her colleagues but fails to show up for their scheduled return flight. Police and immigration officials are notified, and a PIA spokesperson confirms the incident and says they have contacted authorities and are investigating. The problem is not unique to Toronto. An April 2019 report notes a crew member named Shazia who vanished after a Lahore-to-Paris flight. Sources said she had left a letter of resignation in her hotel room, although the airline disputed that. Last month the airline announced it was implementing stricter measures to keep track of its employees on flights to Canada and Europe. It set an age limit for flight attendants on those routes, requiring them to be 50 or older, presumably on the assumption that younger people might be more likely to stray. It is also expected to require more frequent check-ins and better communications from staff members during layovers.<br/>

Ryanair is to start flying to destinations from Norwich International Airport from next year. The budget airline will run services to Malta, Faro in Portugal and Alicante in Spain, according to an aviation analyst, external. Ryanair would not confirm the destinations, but said it would reveal more details on Wednesday. It is the first time the carrier has operated from Norwich. It already operates from three airports around London - Gatwick, Luton and Stansted.<br/>

In a recent meeting of the Knesset’s Economic Committee, the dire financial situation of Israeli airlines came to the forefront, with revelations that approximately $155m has been refunded to customers due to canceled flights during the ongoing conflict. This information was disclosed by the committee on Monday, shedding light on the impact of the war and the need for a delay in the enforcement of the Tibi Law. The Tibi Law, officially known as the Aviation Services Law, mandates compensation for flight cancellations. However, the current situation has prompted discussions about the necessity of amending the law, considering the exceptional circumstances of the ongoing conflict. Committee chairman MK David Bitan urged the ministries of finance and transportation to devise a comprehensive assistance plan for the struggling aviation industry within the next two weeks. The committee meeting aimed to address the exclusion of the aviation sector from general compensation arrangements, sparking concerns about the financial viability of Israeli airlines. El Al’s Vice President of Commerce and International Affairs, Shlomi Zafrani, highlighted the airline’s pivotal role in maintaining airport operations during the conflict. “If El Al had not existed, the airport would have almost closed down, we fly almost 80% of those passing through the airport,” he said.<br/>

Capital A Berhad, the parent firm of AirAsia Philippines, said it would continue to expand its funding sources including through an initial public offering (IPO) for its operations in the Philippines. In a media release, the Malaysian multinational company said fund-raising efforts are continuing after the group secured debt financing amounting to $179m from Bangkok Bank and Citibank. “The impending revenue bond of $200m from the international credit market will be the first capital raise earmarked for the expansion of the airline, which will be followed by an equity raising including potential IPO issuance for AirAsia Philippines,” the group said. The company said it expects its lease liabilities to be restructured by December, adding that the group recorded revenues of 4.2b Malaysian ringgit. “In the coming months, the Group anticipates making significant announcements regarding asset disposals and public listings, positioning the company on a solid foundation for future growth,” it said. “As we approach the final quarter, we are expecting a revenue upswing, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. This optimistic outlook is based on robust travel demand during the peak season, which enables us to command premium fares and boost ancillary income,” said Bo Lingam, CEO of AirAsia’s aviation group. The financial performance of AirAsia Philippines and the overall market conditions are among the factors that could affect investors’ appetite for the planned IPO of AirAsia Philippines, analysts said.<br/>