Clarity has yet to emerge as to why a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 was not aligned with the runway during final approach to New York LaGuardia, following a service from Nashville. The aircraft, arriving as flight WN147 on 23 March, had already conducted one missed approach to runway 4. Its crew informed LaGuardia tower controllers that they had opted to go around because the aircraft had been “too fast, too high with the tailwind”, according to air-ground radio exchange archived by LiveATC. The aircraft was vectored for a second approach to the same runway. Meteorological data from LaGuardia indicates weather conditions including low overcast cloud, with a base of just 600ft, reduced visibility, and winds from the northeast. The Southwest 737 carried out an ILS approach to runway 4, with its crew receiving landing clearance and a runway visibility update. It had been sequenced immediately behind a JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 whose crew chose to execute a missed approach, informing the tower that it appeared to have encountered “some windshear”. About 3min later an urgent go-around instruction was directed at the Southwest aircraft, which was instructed to fly the runway heading and climb to 2,000ft. Tower controllers then asked the crew why the aircraft was “not on the approach”, to which the crew responded that they were “trying to work things out”. While the extent of the deviation has yet to be confirmed, the air traffic control exchange captured a remark, apparently from the tower, that the aircraft “was not aligned with the runway at all – he was, like, east on final, he was not going to land [on] the runway”. Story has more.<br/>
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Icelandic budget carrier Play will aim to raise up to IcKr500m ($3.6m) in a public offering next month, to support funding already promised under subscription commitments. The airline will open the offer period on 9 April and it will run to 11 April. Play is prepared to issue up to 111.1m shares at IcKr4.5, potentially generating IcKr500m. The carrier disclosed in February that it was seeking IcKr3-4b to underpin its cash position, and that it had received commitments from a number of shareholders. Play states that its annual general meeting on 21 March authorised increasing the company’s capital by up to 1.2b shares. It says 1b shares will be placed to meet investor commitments amounting to IcKr4.5b. The authorised increase will also cover the public offering. Any unused portions of the authorisation will expire, adds the carrier. Arctica Finance is overseeing the issue and listing of the new shares.<br/>
UK leisure carrier Jet2 is to establish a new base at Bournemouth, on the south coast, and unveiled a batch of destinations to be served in summer next year. The decision brings the number of UK bases for the holiday airline to 12. Jet2 says it will initially base two aircraft at Bournemouth and commence services on 1 April 2025, with Tenerife the first destination. It will operate to 16 destinations primarily in the Mediterranean region – including cities in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Turkey – as well as the Canary Islands. The new base “significantly expands” the company’s footprint, it says.<br/>
The chief of Emirates, one of Boeing’s largest clients, has said the crisis-stricken US aircraft maker should ensure its new CE has engineering experience to restore safety standards. A day after Boeing CE Dave Calhoun announced he would step down, Sir Tim Clark also said he backed efforts by the US group’s largest labour union to win a seat on the board. “To fix Boeing’s issues the company needs a strong engineering lead as its head coupled to a governance model which prioritises safety and quality,” Clark said Tuesday. “Some serious lateral thinking” was needed, the airline boss added. Boeing on Monday unveiled a wide-ranging reshuffle of its leadership in a bid to get to grips with an escalating reputational crisis after a 737 Max door panel blew off mid-flight in January. Calhoun, 66, is to leave at the end of the year, while board chair Larry Kellner said he would depart in May. Stan Deal, head of the commercial planes division since 2019, was immediately replaced by COO Stephanie Pope. Boeing has faced growing frustration from its airline customers, after the company was forced to slow production of the 737 Max as it sought to resolve manufacturing flaws. Emirates in November placed an order for 95 wide-body Boeing 777 and 787 jets, used for long-haul flights, valued at $52bn at list prices. “Whether, yet again, this changing of the guard will resolve Boeing’s issues only time will tell, but time, unfortunately, is not on their side,” Clark said. Industry executives and analysts have welcomed the management overhaul but all eyes are now on the next board chair, Steve Mollenkopf, who will lead a CE search. Pope, who is an obvious contender, has a background in finance. Dave Gitlin, a Boeing director who is CE of Carrier, which manufactures heating and cooling systems, has a background in aerospace, previously holding roles at Collins Aerospace and United Technologies. A third possible contender is Patrick Shanahan, head of Boeing’s supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which supplied the door plug that blew out during the Alaska Airlines flight in January.<br/>
Indian budget carrier SpiceJet said on Tuesday it had agreed with Export Development Canada (EDC) to settle liabilities worth around $91m, allowing it to take ownership of 13 of 15 Bombardier Q400 aircraft financed by the Canadian trade finance agency. Shares of SpiceJet ended 3.9% higher on Tuesday after rising as much as 7.2%. "This settlement marks the biggest breakthrough in SpiceJet's financial restructuring efforts to date," the airline said. SpiceJet has over the last few months reached settlements with multiple leasing companies, including AerCap, the world's largest aircraft lessor, as the company looks to restore its grounded fleet and return to full capacity. The settlement is also the latest in a series of cost-saving exercises at the cash-strapped airline, which said these would result in savings of $68m. Last month, the company cut jobs, saying it would save $12m annually. The liabilities were from a loan taken from EDC for the purchase of 15 Q400 aircraft in 2011, the airline said. The export credit agency provided financing in the range of C$250m to C$500m to support the sale of Canada-based Bombardier Inc'ssale of Q400 aircraft to SpiceJet, EDC said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The EDC, however, did not disclose the settlement amount.<br/>
Cebu Pacific has confirmed it is in the “closing stages” of negotiations for the order of up to 150 narrowbody aircraft, with a likely announcement “a month of two away”. Airline chief Mike Szucs says the Philippine operator has been making “good progress” in its ongoing campaign for new narrowbodies. Speaking at the airline’s annual results briefing, Szucs states: “[There’s] a clear understanding of what we expect. We think the the aircraft types either from Boeing or indeed from Airbus are fit for purpose…and we now absolutely want to make sure that we get the best economic outcome for us, for our stakeholders and ultimately for the customers.” The airline in October 2023 confirmed plans to order up to 150 narrowbodies, in what what could be the Philippine’s largest aircraft commitment. It then issued a request for proposals (RFP) to the two airframers, with a deadline of end-2023. Szucs says it is “important for us to ensure we get very competitive pricing” on the new aircraft, adding that “we can pass that [cost] benefit on to our customers over the years to come”. Earlier media reports have indicated that the deal could be worth at least $12b, according to list prices. Cebu is an all-Airbus operator, with a fleet of A320 family aircraft, as well as A330s. <br/>
Following the implementation of the permanent visa-free scheme between Thailand and China, Thai AirAsia has reported that bookings from Thailand to destinations in mainland China have experienced a threefold increase. The company expects Thai passengers to account for a 20% share of all passengers travelling on Chinese routes this year. Tansita Akrarittipirom, director of commercial operations at Thai AirAsia, said the number of Thai passengers recorded on all of the airline's routes between Thailand and China prior to the pandemic stood at just 10% of all passengers, with 90% of the passengers being Chinese. She said so far this month the number of outbound passengers has increased threefold from January to 18,000. Due to the popularity of Thai tourism among Chinese people, the inbound market would continue to dominate the airline's routes between Thailand and China, thanks to China's vast population, said Tansita. <br/>