Financially struggling Mesa Air Group has reached new agreements with partner United Airlines and continues selling off spare aircraft and engines as the company risks being de-listed from the US stock market. The parent of US regional carrier Mesa Airlines disclosed on 18 January that it has amended its capacity purchase agreement with United to “significantly improve Mesa’s operating income and liquidity”. Under the new agreements, United has increased Mesa’s block-hour rate retroactively to 1 October 2023 and extending through 31 December 2024, which Mesa estimates will generate $63.5m of additional revenue. United has extinguished $12.6m of Mesa’s debt in exchange for that airline’s equity investment in privately held Heart Aerospace, originally purchased for $5m. Mesa also released its investment in publicly traded air taxi developer Archer Aviation as collateral. The Phoenix-based company has also been selling off aircraft in an attempt to firm its financial footing. Since September, Mesa has sold or agreed to sell 29 of its “excess” Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft and dozens of engines for a combined $198m, which is being used to pay down $174m in debt. CE Jonathan Ornstein says the aircraft sales and agreements with United will generate more contract revenue and increase the company’s margins. <br/>
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Frontier Airlines is planning to open a crew base at Luis Munoz Marin International airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico starting this Northern Hemisphere summer. The Denver-based ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) said on 17 January that the base will support 90 pilots and 200 flight attendants within its first year of operations. The base will open in June. Frontier has more than doubled its seat capacity to the US island territory since 2019 and now operates to 14 cities from San Juan. It claims to be “the fastest-growing airline in Puerto Rico”. The carrier also flies to the Puerto Rican cities of Aguadilla and Ponce. Its base in San Juan will be Frontier’s 13th, including a trio of bases in the Midwestern USA – in Chicago, Cleveland and Cincinnati – that it plans to open in the spring. <br/>
Lufthansa is pulling flight capacity from other countries to meet booming travel demand in India, which is now the German airline's fastest-growing major market, Chief Commercial Officer Heiko Reitz said on Thursday. Lufthansa's, opens new tab flight capacity to India is 14% higher than pre-COVID levels, even as it has yet to see a full recovery in some other markets, Reitz told Reuters on the sidelines of the "Wings India" event in Hyderabad. "India is growing faster than the rest of our other destinations. We are taking our capacity from other markets and putting it into India," he added. Lufthansa Group, which includes Swiss Air, currently operates 64 weekly flights to India, up from 56 before the pandemic.<br/>India is the world's fifth-largest civil aviation market and domestic passenger traffic is expected to more than double to 350m travellers by 2030, from 152m in 2023, while the number of international travellers will grow to 160m. India's airlines have placed record plane orders and the country's total aircraft fleet is expected to increase to more than 2,000 by 2030 from around 700 currently. The government is investing $12b in building new airports and refurbishing existing ones. To tap into this growth, Lufthansa plans to bring back its Airbus A380 aircraft to India, a market where it will compete with a resurgent Air India, whose new owners Tata Group are investing billions of dollars to buy new planes and upgrade their services.<br/>
Turkish Airlines, a global leader in aviation, has hailed a major move made by Türkiye to extend visa-free entry to the nationals of the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. Tourists from these countries can now spend 90 out of 180 days in Türkiye without a visa. The new visa exemption rule is set to bolster ties between Türkiye and these countries, and further strengthen the country’s tourist numbers from 2024, Turkish Airlines noted. The decision, issued through a presidential decree, is an initiative set to promote cultural exchanges between Türkiye and the respective nations, while most importantly encouraging tourists to explore the country’s rich history, ancient wonders and vibrant heritage, it said. Türkiye is also providing e-visa options to expatriates living in GCC countries. Eligible travellers can apply to the Türkiye electronic visa (e-visa) system. Nationals of Algeria, Egypt, India, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines and Yemen holding a valid visa or valid residence permit from one of the Schengen countries, the US, UK or Ireland can apply for the e-visa. <br/>
Türkiye's flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, is the country's most valuable brand, contributing US$56b to the national economy in 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday. In a video speech sent to THY's management summit in Istanbul, Erdogan said, "Turkish Airlines is not only Türkiye's most valuable brand but has also made a name for itself with its contributions to our country's economy." "According to 2023 figures, Turkish Airlines has contributed $56b to the Turkish economy and has strengthened its leadership in this field with service exports of around $16b dollars," he stated. The Turkish leader also noted that the company's success gives a boost to the tourism sector and is one of the most important driving forces in increasing the number of tourists traveling to Türkiye.<br/>
One of Ethiopian Airlines’ De Havilland Dash 8-400s appears to have suffered a landing-gear collapse during a runway excursion, following a domestic flight. The aircraft had been operating flight ET106 from Addis Ababa to Mekele in the north of the country on 18 January. Ethiopian Airlines states that the aircraft experienced the excursion after landing at around 14:10. “All passengers and crew were disembarked safely with no injuries,” it adds, although it has not disclosed numbers.<br/>