Canadian discount airline Lynx Air will shut down on Monday and suggested that it could cancel many flights over the weekend too, leaving customers scrambling to make new travel plans. Lynx announced the shutdown late Thursday and told customers to contact their credit-card company about getting a refund for canceled flights. The Calgary, Alberta, airline said it could not help with refunds. Canada’s transport minister, Pablo Rodriguez, said he was following Lynx’s announcement that it was filing for restructuring. He said he expected Lynx to help passengers get home and fully refund customers. The shutdown will take effect early Monday. On its website, the airline said, “we will continue to operate the majority of our flights through this weekend.” The airline said it put “tremendous work” into growth after launching the Lynx brand two years ago, but that inflation, fuel costs, competition and other factors “have ultimately proven too steep a mountain for our organization to overcome.” Lynx, previously known as Enerjet, made its first flight in April 2022 and competed for leisure travelers against Air Canada and its Rouge subsidiary, WestJet and Flair Airlines. Just a week ago, Lynx posted on X that it was adding a third country to its network with flights between Toronto and Cancun, Mexico.<br/>
unaligned
Canadian airline company Chorus Aviation’s 2023 profit more than doubled year on year to C$106m as all three segments of the company posted gains. For the full year, revenue at Nova Scotia-based Chorus rose 5% to C$1.68b, up from C$1.59b in 2022. Chorus owns Canadian regional airlines Jazz Aviation (an Air Canada feeder carrier) and Voyageur Airways, plus aircraft lessor Falko Regional Aircraft. “Jazz continued to generate predictable earnings and cash flows under its long-term contract with Air Canada, while Voyageur made meaningful strides with two consecutive years of record growth in parts sales, defence and specialty MRO segments,” says CE Colin Copp. “With the recovery in regional aircraft leasing markets and related improvements in airline credits, Falko successfully completed 57 aircraft transactions in 2023 and signed letters of intent for a further thirty aircraft transactions,” Copp adds. ”Falco continues to be the market leader in the regional aircraft leasing and asset management business.”<br/>
Ryanair is demanding compensation from Boeing for worsening aircraft delivery delays that have forced the airline to lower its forecasts for passenger numbers and warn it is on the cusp of cancelling some flights this summer. Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CE, said he was “genuinely not sure” how many 737 Max aircraft Boeing will deliver in time for the peak summer months, noting the US aerospace company was plunged into a manufacturing “shit show” after the fuselage blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Boeing has encountered intense scrutiny over the incident, and the US aviation regulator has blocked it from expanding production of the 737 Max, its most popular plane. Alaska Airlines and Panama’s Copa Airlines have called for Boeing to compensate for the losses caused by the accident and the subsequent grounding of planes. O’Leary’s comments show Boeing could face more compensation claims for the delays across its production process. “There is a debate with Boeing as to whether we’re entitled to some compensation for these delayed deliveries,” O’Leary said at a press conference on Friday. He said the discussions centred on whether the production issues constituted “excusable delays”, which would not be liable for compensation as laid out in the contract with Boeing. “We’ve been very firm with the view it’s inexcusable,” he adding: “Our growth has been constrained because at this point in time we don’t really know how many aircraft we are going to get . . . there is a shit show going on in [Boeing’s main production line] Seattle,” he said. Ryanair had expected to receive 57 737 Max-8 aircraft by June to deploy over the peak summer months, but has been regularly revising down its estimates as manufacturing issues have gripped Boeing.<br/>
Icelandic budget carrier Play is to hold talks with other investors after its largest shareholders subscribed to new shares worth IcKr2.58b ($18.7m). The airline, in early February, stated that it was seeking new share capital of IcKr3-4b to reinforce its cash position. It has since secured binding commitments to 574.9m shares with a subscription price of IcKr4.5, giving a total injection of IcKr2.58b. Play says that – having obtained this commitment – it will conduct discussions with other investors from its current shareholder base, as well as potential other investors, to increase the overall level of funding. CE Birgir Jonsson says the airline has received “strong support” and a “clear message” from investors. “Participation of our strong shareholder base in this planned capital increase creates a firm foundation for achieving the goals set by the company,” he adds. “We see clear signs of improvement in our operations and our current cash position is more than adequate, despite our steep growth and repeated setbacks in our operational environment.” He says the additional funding will strengthen the carrier against “unexpected storms” and provide it with the means to take advantage of growth opportunities. Play says the subscriptions depend on the carrier’s shareholders’ agreeing to increase the company’s capital at its 21 March annual general meeting, and on its receiving total subscriptions for shares worth at least IcKr3b.<br/>
A survey of over 10,000 UK flights has named - and shamed - the best and worst airlines flying internationally. Poor performance and unpaid refunds have landed one carrier bottom again. The Hungarian Wizz Air was determined to be the worst choice of economy airline for a second year by passengers polled, with poor performance and GBP1.24m in unpaid refunds to passengers. In October Which? polled passengers on 10,755 international flights for flight satisfaction. The annual survey pits airlines against one another on a variety of factors, including on-time records, cancellation rate and customer score. While Wizz had an abysmal 44% passenger satisfaction score, it was Lufthansa that dropped to the bottom of the long-haul league table. The German flag carrier had a satisfaction record of just 56%, with a high 2.5% last-minute cancellations contributing to this. Despite having a far better on-time record than Australians Qantas (at just 44%), Which?’s respondents were unimpressed by Lufhansa’s in-flight catering and comfort. Singapore Airlines, meanwhile, was top of the 17 long-haul with no recorded last-minute cancellations, top scores for food and drink and one of the most generous economy seat pitch at 81-86.4 centimetres. Wizz Airlines, however, earned its place at the bottom of the table after ongoing disputes with customers.<br/>
Scottish regional carrier Loganair has appointed Luke Farajallah as its new CE following the recent departure of Jonathan Hinkles. Hinkles stepped down from his position in late January after more than seven years with the airline. “We are pleased to welcome Luke Farajallah to Loganair as our new CEO,” says Loganair executive chairman Peter Simpson. “His commitment to operational excellence and resilience aligns perfectly with our mission to continually improve the services we offer to our valued customers.” Farajallah’s experience includes 17 years at British Airways through to 2004, spending his final year as senior manager of the airline’s operations at Heathrow airport. He spent nearly three years as COO at Wizz Air through to 2009, and went on to hold the same role at now-defunct carriers Spanair and Flybe, among other positions. He most recently spent almost four years as CE of UK-based support services provider Specialist Aviation, leaving that role in December 2023.<br/>
The restructuring plan of now-bankrupt Blue Air failed to ensure the long-term viability of the carrier and so violated EU state aid rules, the European Commission has announced, adding that Romania must now recover the RON163.8m lei (US$35.6m) provided to it, plus interest. The European Union executive body’s decision comes after it decided in April 2023 to investigate the viability of Blue Air's restructuring plan and the aid measures implemented to support it. Blue Air was grappling with financial troubles from 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak. It received approval from the Brussels in August 2020 for two aid measures amounting to around RON300.8m (US$65.4m) to counteract the adverse effects of the pandemic. This included a public guarantee of approximately RON137m (US$29.8m), and a RON163.8m public guarantee on a rescue loan to address liquidity needs. In agreement with the Commission, Bucharest committed to submitting either a liquidation or a comprehensive restructuring plan for Blue Air if the public guarantee on the rescue loan exceeded six months from its disbursement in October 2020. It submitted a plan in April 2021, which was subsequently updated multiple times.<br/>
UAE national carrier Etihad Airways has announced the arrival of three new Boeing 787-9 aircraft this weekend. These aircraft will begin operations this month, helping Etihad to expand in line with its ambitious roadmap which will see the flag-carrier fly to 125 destinations with more than 160 aircraft by 2030. Welcoming the latest additions to its expanding fleet at Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport, Etihad said the 787-9s will further bolster Etihad’s fleet as it launches additional destinations over the coming months. Etihad will begin flying to Boston, its fourth US gateway, on March 31, and will add Nairobi and Bali to the network as well as summer routes to Nice, Malaga, Mykonos and Santorini, said a statement from UAE carrier. The arrival of the three new Dreamliners follows the new Boeing 787-10 received in October 2023, which added further capacity to support Etihad’s network expansion. The UAE national airline added new routes to Osaka, Copenhagen and Dusseldorf in Q4 of 2023, as well as Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram in the South Indian state of Kerala on New Year’s Day. Etihad has also expanded across multiple markets with additional flight frequencies and improved connectivity across the network, it stated.<br/>
India's Go First has received two financial bids as part of its bankruptcy process, said two bankers who attended a meeting of the airline's creditors held on Friday. Budget carrier SpiceJet's managing director, Ajay Singh, and Busy Bee Airways have jointly submitted a bid of 16b rupees ($193.10m) for the airline, the bankers said. "The plan includes additional fund infusion to restart the airline's operations," said a banker with a state-run bank that has exposure to Go First. The bankers did not wish to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. Go First's resolution professional, who conducts the bankruptcy process, Singh and Spicejet did not respond to emails seeking comment. "Our bid for launching the airline remains confidential, guarded by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) until a successful bidder is announced," Nishant Pitti, majority shareholder of Busy Bee Airways, said. The airline has also received a financial bid from Sharjah-based Sky One Airways which is lower than the competing bid, one of the bankers said, without disclosing the amount. Sky One Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Due diligence on the bids is expected to be completed next month, the second banker, also with a state-run bank, said. Go First filed for bankruptcy in May last year. Its bankruptcy filing lists Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank and Deutsche Bank among creditors to which the carrier owes a total of 65.21b rupees.<br/>
Brunei-based airline startup GallopAir hopes to start operations by the end of 2024 should Brunei's aviation regulator approve the regional jet made by Chinese state-owned planemaker COMAC it wants to fly in time, the carrier's CE said. In an interview on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow, GallopAir CEO Cham Chi said COMAC was exploring setting up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in Brunei as it seeks more international customers for home-grown planes competing with the dominant Western manufacturers Airbus and Boeing. COMAC declined to be interviewed by Reuters. GallopAir, backed by Chinese investors, currently has no aircraft. However it last year placed the first overseas order for COMAC's C919 narrow-body airliner and the second foreign order for the Chinese planemaker's smaller and older ARJ21 regional jet. The only C919s currently in operation are four with China Eastern Airlines. Outside China, Indonesian low-cost carrier TransNusa operates two ARJ21 aircraft. "When we started negotiating with COMAC they said if a customer can order more than 30 aircraft we can configure to put MRO in the customer country," Chi said. The aviation industry has been watching with curiosity whether a country outside China will allow operations by the single-aisle C919. The C919's design - a 158-192 seat challenger to Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX 8 models - is only certified in China.<br/>