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JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines are seeking an expedited appeal aimed at reversing a lower court ruling that blocked their $3.8b merger. The airlines in a joint court filing asked the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the decision that they argue “disregards the benefits of the transaction to the majority of the flying public.” The airlines said if the appeal is not expedited, the court may have no opportunity to review the decision because the merger agreement includes an outside closing date of July 24. “If the merger agreement terminates before this Court can issue its decision” benefits from the deal will be lost, they argued. On Friday, JetBlue raised doubts about the merger deal, saying it might be unable to meet certain conditions required as part of the agreement for unspecified reasons. JetBlue said it continues to evaluate options under the agreement and, unless the agreement is terminated, it would abide by its merger obligations. In response, Spirit said Friday there was no basis for terminating the merger agreement. It said it would continue to abide by its obligations and was expecting JetBlue to do the same. Without the JetBlue deal, Spirit faces a rough road ahead as the ultra-low-cost carrier has grappled with weak demand in its key markets as it seeks to return to sustainable profitability. Some analysts have even suggested the company could face bankruptcy if it cannot shore up finances.<br/>

JetBlue Airways Corp. is evaluating deeper cost cuts, delaying aircraft and reworking its flight network in an effort to return to profitability in the wake of the near-collapse of its planned purchase of Spirit Airlines Inc. The initiatives, detailed Tuesday in the carrier’s latest financial report, show how incoming CEO Joanna Geraghty aims to bring clarity to JetBlue’s uncertain future. The company forecast a bigger decline in revenue than Wall Street had expected this quarter, even as JetBlue’s sales and earnings beat estimates for the end of last year. The report highlights the challenges facing many US carriers, including persistently high costs, uneven domestic travel demand, sluggish supply chains and maintenance delays. JetBlue joined Southwest Airlines Co. and Alaska Air Group Inc. in slowing 2024 growth plans in response, with flying capacity down in the low-single digits this year. The quarterly report was the final one for CEO Robin Hayes, who said earlier this month that he would step down Feb. 12. Geraghty will become the first woman to lead a major US air carrier when she assumes the post. JetBlue, which has long been hindered by high costs, is taking “aggressive action” to return to profit, Geraghty said in a statement. It’s evaluating deeper cuts beyond its existing expense-reduction plan that it says will provide savings of as much as $200m by the end of this year. It has also begun $300m in steps to boost revenue, including shifting more flights to leisure destinations like the Caribbean and the Bahamas and expanded flights to Europe to capitalize on current demand trends.<br/>

Southwest Airlines is willing to wait until 2026 or 2027 if necessary to take delivery of Boeing 737 MAX 7 aircraft, a senior executive said on Tuesday after safety concerns were likely to delay production. Southwest, the largest customer of the MAX 7, has already switched dozens of MAX 7 orders due for delivery in 2024 to the larger MAX 8 to avoid delays. Vice President Treasurer Dean Jenkins said the airline would continue with this policy until the Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab plane is ready. On Monday, Boeing withdrew a request for a key safety exemption that could have allowed the FAA to speed up certification. "We understand Boeing's position and the FAA's position. ... We just have to roll with the punches," he told journalists on the sidelines of the Airline Economics conference in Dublin. "But we really want the aircraft." A harrowing mid-air cabin blowout on Jan. 5 has turned into a full-blown safety and reputational crisis for Boeing that will slow plane production and risks it ceding further market share to Airbus. Southwest's rival United Airlines has approached Airbus about buying more A321neo jets to fill a potential void left by delays to Boeing's larger 737 MAX 10, which is expected to be certified after the MAX 7.<br/>

Aer Lingus says a pay offer rejected by pilots took account of extra summer leave and other entitlements agreed by their union in 2019. The carrier and the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) — part of trade union Fórsa — are due at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in mid-February after cockpit crew rejected an 8.5% wage increase offered through the company’s pay tribunal. Aer Lingus maintains that the offer took into account extra summer leave and other entitlements that Ialpa negotiated in 2019, when it agreed that pilots would “compensate” it for those concessions in the next deal negotiated through the pay tribunal system. “As such, the funding of that 2019 agreement was to be addressed in the current tribunal recommendations with the agreement of pilots,” the airline added. The company noted that the tribunal, chaired by senior counsel Gerard Durcan, recommended that pilots get a 12.25% pay increase, which is what Aer Lingus agreed with cabin crew. The tribunal then deducted 3.75% to fund the cost of the 2019 agreement “as agreed by pilots”, noted Aer Lingus. Story has more details.<br/>

Ryanair will take as many Boeing MAX 10 aircraft as it can get, the airline's CEO told Reuters on Tuesday, reiterating his confidence in the U.S. planemaker. Boeing, long a symbol of America's manufacturing prowess, is in the crosshairs of regulators, politicians and airlines following a harrowing mid-air cabin panel blowout on a passenger-filled 737 MAX 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines earlier this month. On Monday, Boeing said it was withdrawing a request for a key safety exemption that could have allowed U.S. regulators to speed up certification of its coming 737 MAX 7, in the latest fallout from the planemaker's ongoing crisis. "Boeing make great aircraft, we're very confident, we have orders for 400 of those aircraft," Michael O’Leary said. "Some of the U.S. airlines were saying last week 'we might not take some of those aircraft' - I said yesterday if the American carriers don't want to take the MAX 10, we'll take them, we'll take as many as we can get, as fast as we can get."<br/>

Ryanair is hoping that Poland's new pro-European government will support its growth plans in the country which assume a doubling in size over the next 6-8 years, CEO Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday. A new government headed by former European Council President Donald Tusk took power in Poland in December after 8 years of nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party rule. "I think the previous government were interested in holding down that growth. They didn't want Ryanair to expand, so we ran into a lot of political interference," O'Leary said. "We hope the new government will be more outward looking...the more Poland looks toward the EU...the better that will be for Poland, the Polish economy and for Ryanair's growth in Poland." The company said it plans to raise passenger numbers in Poland - the largest country in the European Union's eastern wing - by 10% to 18m this year. It announced 30 new routes from the country for a total of 300. "We have ambitious plans to double in size in Poland over the next 6-8 years but what we need here is increased infrastructure," O'Leary said.<br/>He said Ryanair had not yet met with the new government but hopes an agreement on its growth plans could be reached this year.<br/>

EasyJet has become the first airline to use a new system aimed at optimising flight paths through satellite technology. The European Space Agency (ESA) said the Luton-based carrier will reduce fuel usage and flight times through its involvement in the Iris programme. The system, developed in partnership with communications company Viasat, digitally connects pilots with air traffic controllers (ATC) via satellites. This is designed to enable the creation of more efficient flight routes as satellites offer “secure, reliable and fast high-bandwidth links”, ESA said. Airlines traditionally use radio frequencies to communicate with ATC. EasyJet is using the Iris system on routes such as between London Southend and Alicante, and between Birmingham and Amsterdam. It has fitted the Iris system to a single plane, but is planning to deploy the technology on 10 more aircraft over the coming months. Hugh McConnellogue, director of operations and navigation at easyJet, said: “More efficient use of airspace is a critical way we can tackle the industry’s emissions right now. Adopting Iris technology on these aircraft will enable easyJet to fly more directly and efficiently, thereby reducing carbon emissions as well as enhancing our on-time performance – which in turn improves our customers’ experiences. We are thrilled to see Iris flying with a leading airline such as easyJet, a crucial step on our pathway to reducing emissions and easing congestion in European skies We’re thrilled to be paving the way in this area whilst working towards our goal to achieve our net-zero ambitions by 2050, as outlined in our roadmap.”<br/>

Efforts to privatise the Kazakh regional carrier Qazaq Air appear to have foundered, three weeks after the government restarted a sale process. Sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna states that the sale has not gone ahead owing to a “lack” of applications that meet the conditions for the tender. The fund had attempted to privatise the airline in August last year, aiming to sell between 49% and 100% of the airline through a two-stage competition. But the scheme was ruled invalid in November and, at the beginning of January, Samruk-Kazyna unveiled a new process. It had set a 29 January deadline for participation in the first stage. Successful applicants would have been put forward for to a second stage and invited to submit formal proposals. Samruk-Kazyna has yet to disclose whether it will persist in the privatisation effort. Qazaq Air was set up in 2015 and is based in Astana. The airline operates a fleet of De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops.<br/>

The government of the state of Lagos in southwestern Nigeria has proposed establishing an airline and building an airport at Lekki. Multiple Nigerian outlets are reporting on comments made by State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at a public forum last week. He said planning and work on the financing model had been underway for several months. "Over the last five months, the Deputy Governor and I have been working to put a concise plan together for the establishment of an airline, but we did not make the plan open because of the need to get adequate knowledge about the operational procedures of airlines," the governor told the forum. “The business plan is viable, and there is no issue about financing. The conversation has gone to an advanced stage but we need to get the proper information on operations before we go ahead to implement the plan." He said the next steps were to secure federal government approval and set up "operational contingencies." According to ch-aviation PRO airports data, Lagos, the primary airport in the state of the same name, is Nigeria's second busiest. A total of 35 airlines use the airport, connecting it to 56 destinations in 35 countries.<br/>

Cebu Pacific, operated by Cebu Air, Inc., expects to complete its aircraft purchase by the first half of the year, its president said on Tuesday. “I think what we had initially said was maybe by the first quarter, but then first half was our latest guidance,” Alexander G. Lao, Cebu Pacific president and CCO told reporters. The budget carrier earlier said that it plans to order over 100 narrow-body aircraft from Boeing or Airbus, worth roughly $12b. “The process is really going back and forth with the key suppliers. It’s not just Airbus and Boeing, but it’s also the engine manufacturers; because, clearly, we have to make an engine selection with those aircraft,” Lao said. “We expect to hopefully come to a decision by the first half. Before the first half of the year ends. So, the process is ongoing [but] there is no hard deadline. It is not like we’re chasing,” he added.<br/>