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United Airlines postponed on Friday its investor day which was scheduled for early next month, amid a review by the US FAA following multiple safety incidents. The legacy carrier now expects to hold the conference in early fall, it said in an email to the invitees seen by Reuters. The FAA had initiated a review of the carrier in March to check its compliance with safety regulations after a series of incidents. "Right now, our entire team is focused on cooperating with the FAA to review our safety protocols," the company said. "It would simply send the wrong message to our team to have an exciting investor day focused primarily on financial results," United added. On March 15, an external panel was missing from one of its Boeing BA.N 737-800 aircraft when it landed in Oregon. A Boeing 737 MAX from its fleet rolled onto the grass in Houston on March 8 and another Boeing 777-200 had to be diverted to Los Angeles on March 7 after losing a tire during takeoff from San Francisco.<br/>

China's big three state-owned airlines are lagging behind as domestic and Asian competitors dramatically improve their bottom lines following the end of COVID-19 travel restrictions. China Southern Airlines, Air China and China Eastern Airlines recently logged total net losses of 13.3b yuan ($1.87b) for 2023, even though aggregate revenue jumped more than twofold on the year to 427.6b yuan as each one beat its pre-pandemic figure. All three have now posted net losses for four straight years. Their struggles to return to the black stand in sharp contrast to smaller domestic rivals as well as regional peers. Three Shanghai-listed second-tier carriers -- Hainan Airlines, Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines -- have yet to report their full-year results but issued profit guidance saying that they would post positive net figures between 300m yuan and 2.4b yuan for 2023. That would improve on the smaller trio's 27.4b yuan in aggregate net losses for 2022. And it would put them well above the big three's losses for 2023, which ranged from 1b yuan to over 8b yuan. The carriers' diverging fortunes likely reflect the nature of China's post-COVID travel market, which has been heavily geared to domestic trips rather than the international journeys the big players count on more for profits. While Chinese consumers have stayed closer to home amid a sluggish economy, total entries to China by foreign nationals last year were only about a third of the pre-pandemic level in 2019. "China's ongoing complex adjustments of its flight resources, with shifts between international and domestic flights and between passenger and air cargo ones, during and post-pandemic have posed challenges to earnings projections," Karen Li at J.P. Morgan analyzed in a recent report. As demand for domestic passenger flights rebounded faster, the CAAC prioritized that portion of services. Elsewhere, major Asian carriers that compete with China's big three on international routes have been making turnarounds or big leaps.<br/>

Pilots at another Tata Group-owned airline joined crew at Vistara in voicing concerns about being overworked and underpaid, threatening to prolong the travel chaos that’s plagued India this week. “The concerns expressed by the Vistara pilots are not isolated incidents but rather indicative of systemic issues” across Tata’s aviation business, the Indian Pilots’ Guild, which represents crew at Air India Ltd., wrote in a letter to Tata Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran. The letter was also addressed to the CEOs of Vistara, Air India and low-cost unit Air India Express. The pilots said they’re made to rack up maximum flying hours, face difficulties in having leave approved and deal with unstable rosters, according to the letter dated April 4. The work culture at Tata’s airlines is “hostile and intimidating” and some crew reported feeling threatened, which poses a significant safety risk, it said. The group asked Tata’s top management to open a dialog with pilots and address their grievances. Representatives for Air India and Tata didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg News’ requests for comment on the letter. Until now, Vistara has been the focus after the airline, co-owned by Tata and Singapore Airlines Ltd., canceled more than 140 flights since Monday as pilots called out sick en masse over pay cuts and fatigue concerns. While Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan addressed concerns on Wednesday, the revelation that crew at India’s flag carrier share the same complaints is a major blow to Tata’s five-year plan to transform Air India into a world-class airline. The complaints also signal the challenges that lie ahead for the merger of Air India and Vistara, which is expected to be completed by year end. One of the major concerns of Vistara’s pilots was that their guaranteed pay will be cut to 40 flying hours from 70 hours a month to align its salary structure with Air India. <br/>

Asiana Airlines' unionized pilots said Friday they have brought a wage dispute with the air carrier to the state labor relations commission for arbitration after failing to reach an agreement. "We declared the breakdown of talks as of noon," an official from the labor union of Asiana Airlines pilots told Yonhap News Agency. The union had pushed for an 8.5% increase in basic salary with additional bonuses, while the management countered with a 7.5% increase in basic salary, along with a rise in flight allowance. The latest development came after the pilot union previously engaged in a work-to-rule protest last year amid prolonged wage negotiations with management. Asiana Airlines, Korea's second-largest full-service air carrier, said it will keep talking with the labor union and make constant efforts to reach an agreement. <br/>

MBK Partners' Special Situations Fund is expected to participate in an acquisition bid for Asiana Airlines' cargo business by teaming up with a domestic low-cost carrier (LLC), according to company officials and industry watchers, Sunday. The Special Situations Fund II is the Asia-focused private equity firm's second flagship fund with a size of 2.1t won ($1.8b) established in 2021. Yet, it is largely undecided which domestic carriers will be partnering with the private equity fund for the acquisition bid. "It's a deal that's out in the market, and the Special Situations Fund is reviewing whether to join the acquisition deal. But nothing has been decided for now," an official from MBK Partners said Sunday. Early last month, UBS, the lead advisor for the sale, announced the shortlist of four LCCs — Jeju Air, Air Premia, Eastar Jet and Air Incheon — as potential buyers of the airline's cargo business. Given that only businesses with Air Operator Certificate (AOC) accreditation are eligible to participate in the bidding process, MBK Partners is required to join hands with one of the shortlisted carriers, if the private equity fund aims to enter the bid. Considering the limited financing capabilities of the shortlisted candidates, some of the low-cost carriers are mulling over the possibility of partnering with multiple financial investors with ample cash to strengthen their funding power to win the bidding.<br/>