US aviation authorities are considering drastic measures to curb growth at United Airlines, including preventing the carrier from adding new routes, following a series of safety incidents. The FAA has discussed temporary actions it may take with the airline’s leadership in recent days, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In addition to route restrictions ahead of the all-important summer travel season, United may be barred from flying paying customers on newly delivered aircraft, said the people, who asked not to be identified describing the closed discussions. The FAA already is suspending United’s ability to approve and promote pilots to fly different aircraft models, two of the people said. The proposed clampdown would effectively pause growth for an unspecified period at one of the largest US airlines, underscoring the heightened scrutiny on commercial aviation safety following a near-catastrophe earlier this year involving a Boeing Co. plane. Since the January incident, in which a panel blew out in midair from an Alaska Airlines jet, United has endured multiple headline-grabbing mishaps. The renewed focus reflects stresses on commercial air travel after years of rapid growth coming out of the depths of the pandemic. United declined to comment on the potential restrictions. The FAA said late Saturday that it’s increasing oversight of United to ensure it’s complying with safety regulations. “Certification activities in process may be allowed to continue, but future projects may be delayed based on findings from oversight,” the FAA said. The agency plans to increase oversight of United in the coming weeks to review processes, manuals and facilities, the carrier told employees in a memo. Sasha Johnson, United’s vice president of corporate safety, said in the message that regulators and the company agree it needs “to ensure we are doing all we can to promote and drive safety compliance.”<br/>
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Colombia’s Avianca saw earnings rise in 2023 as it transported 31.9m passengers, the most in its history, while keeping costs in check. The Bogota-based carrier said on 22 March that revenue for 2023 rose 15%, to $4.8b, against the prior year, with EBITDAR also increasing 66% to 1.2b. During Q4, the company’s EBITDAR was $332m, on revenue of $1.23b, an 11.4% increase on the same period a year earlier. Costs rose 2.8% to $4.15b during the year and by 8.2% during th final quarter. “2023 was a historic year for us: we reached the highest numbers of passengers transported in Avianca’s history, as flying with Avianca is more accessible today due to the company’s competitive prices, which have remained stable relative to pre-pandemic levels in spite of the challenging macroeconomic environment,” says Frederico Pedreira, Avianca’s CE. Pedreira took over the role from Adrian Neuhauser in January, who stepped down to take the CE job at holding group Abra. Avianca’s capacity during Q4 of 2023, as measured in available seat kilometres, rose 31% over Q4 a year earlier. The airline transported 9m passengers during the final three months of the year, almost 43% more than during the same period in 2022.<br/>
Deutsche Lufthansa’s E325m investment in Italian carrier ITA Airways faces a potential veto from European Union merger watchdogs unless it fixes a list of competition concerns handed down by regulators. The EC said Monday in a so-called statement of objections it has concerns the deal could hamper competition on routes connecting Italy with central European countries, as well as flights between Italy and the US, Canada and Japan. The Brussels-based watchdog said the combination could also strengthen ITA’s dominant position at the Milan-Linate airport. Lufthansa and ITA Airways can now respond to the EU’s concerns with an offer to remedy the anticompetitive risks. The regulator has until June 6 to come to a final decision. Aside from warning about possible reasons for a veto, EU statements of objections typically flag potential ways forward to avoid such a scenario. In airline deals, this can include a remedy to share or give up routes to rival airlines, as well as a potential divestment of assets. “We will shortly submit a concept for remedies to the authority in order to address any remaining concerns,” Lufthansa said in an emailed statement. “We are ready to constructively find solutions that are compatible with the economic reality of a highly competitive Italian aviation market and remain confident that ITA will become part of the Lufthansa Group family before the end of this year.” The EU has increasingly been on the lookout for more robust airline concessions. A recent EU approval of Korean Air Lines’ 1.8t won bid for smaller rival Asiana Airlines involved remedies that included the divestment of Asiana’s cargo business, as well as a commitment to allow rival airline T’Way to provide flights on routes between Seoul and Barcelona, Paris, Frankfurt, and Rome. Under the terms of the Lufthansa deal with ITA Airways, Cologne-based airline would initially buy 41% of the successor to failed flagship Alitalia from the Italian state, with an option to acquire the rest later. The transaction marks the latest attempt to resurrect the Italian carrier, which officially ceased operations in 2021.<br/>
SAS and Turkish Airlines have decided to terminate their codeshare cooperation, effective from September 1. This means that flights previously available for booking with SAS route numbers operated by Turkish Airlines (and vice versa) will no longer be offered. The decision aims to minimise passenger disruptions amid potential future alliance changes. SAS, a founding member of the Star Alliance, recently announced plans to withdraw and join Sky Team, the same alliance as its new owner, Air France-KLM. Passengers with bookings on Turkish Airlines flights using SAS route numbers after September 1 will be rebooked onto the same flights but with Turkish route numbers.<br/>
Asiana Airlines has retired its last passenger Boeing 747-400 from service, after more than 30 years of operations. On 25 March, the aircraft (HL7428) operated its last flight, a 2h 9m sortie from Taipei’s Taoyuan airport to Seoul Incheon as flight OZ711. Before it departed Taipei and upon arrival in Seoul, the aircraft was given a water cannon salute, says Asiana, which first disclosed the retirement on 29 February. The aircraft was delivered to Asiana in June 1999 and began operating Seoul-New York flights. According to Asiana, the aircraft has logged close to 97,000 flight hours. It is powered by four GE Aviation CF6 turbofans, and is configured to seat 398 passengers in three classes. The 747 was parked in Seoul during the thick of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but briefly returned to service in the second half of 2020. Historically, Asiana operated a small number of passenger -400s, alongside -400M combi aircraft. Asiana would later convert its 747-400Ms to freighters to boost its cargo operations. <br/>
As the aviation scene is booming post-pandemic, international travel for Japan's two largest carriers, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, seemingly aims to dedicate all long-haul international operations to departing and arriving from the Tokyo Haneda Airport. Haneda is much closer to the center of Tokyo than Narita (seven miles vs. 44). Narita, however, won't go without, with both airlines looking at medium-haul strategies and new airline brands at Japan's largest airport. This summer, international routes from Narita are hovering just above a third of what they were pre-pandemic. With the Star Alliance member, All Nippon, facilitating just 116 weekly services over the peak travel season, over 18 routes. Before the onset of COVID-19, this sat at 294 weekly flights across 34 routes. The picture looks very different across the city at Haneda, with ANA establishing itself with 247 weekly flights across 24 routes, just shy of their pre-pandemic numbers at the airport, which were 285 routes on 30 routes. For oneworld member Japan Airlines, it's a similar pattern to ANA, with the airline planning less than half of its previous long-haul operations at Narita, with just 131 weekly flights this summer to 20 destinations, compared to 280 weekly flights and 31 routes back in 2019. At Haneda, however, 236 weekly flights to 24 destinations have almost doubled from 154 weekly flights to 15 destinations compared to before the pandemic. This will include the A350-1000 deployed on its route to Dallas/Fort Worth. Story has more.<br/>