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United Airlines Wednesday extended the cancellation of its daily flight from Newark, New Jersey to Tel Aviv in Israel up to May 9, saying it was completing a safety assessment. "We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make decisions on all upcoming flights with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews," United said. United on April 19 cancelled its flights to Israel until May 2 due to security concerns after Israel's apparent strike on Iran that followed an Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel. United was the first US carrier to resume its daily non-stop service between New York and Tel Aviv on March 2, while Delta Air Lines plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv on June 7.<br/>

Colombia’s Avianca reported a $13m profit in Q1, reversing last year’s $12m loss for the first three months of the year. The Bogota-based carrier said on 30 April that revenue during the three months ended 31 March reached $1.27b, up more than 16% on the same period in 2023. Passenger revenue alone rose to $786m, from $631m last year. Operating profit, or EBITDAR, came in at $272m, up 39% from $233m in the same period of 2023, while the EBITDAR margin remained stable at 21.5%. “We continue to deliver strong results in a quarter that is not one of the strongest of the year,” says CE Frederico Pedreira. It was the first set of results under Pedreira, who rose to the role of CE in January. “In the first quarter, we introduced a new, more simplified and flexible fare scheme that allows our customers to fly according to their needs, and we continued to expand our network and improve our connectivity with the launch of new routes, including the reopening of Bogota-Paris, after 20 years, as well as Bogota-Montreal,” he adds.<br/>

SAS was a founding member of the Star Alliance 27 years ago. The airline, the largest operator in the Nordics, will switch to SkyTeam on September 1. This date was officially announced on April 29. However, SAS disclosed in early April that it'd leave Star on August 31, so it was hardly surprising it would join SkyTeam the next day. This is what SAS CEO Anko van der Werff said about moving alliances. SAS is in US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is undergoing Swedish reorganization, and has obtained 19.9% equity from Air France-KLM amid broader ownership changes. Changing alliances goes hand-in-hand with such dramatic developments, as the carrier aims to become a leaner, meaner, and more competitive operator, which is undeniably needed. Werff said that SAS is actively reducing costs, being much more open-minded, thinking more like a low-cost carrier, and trying to act faster in its decisions. It is quite a change for the confessed conservative carrier. Analyzing OAG indicates that SAS is Star's ninth-largest airline based on May 2024 flights. It is the third-largest European member after Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. Werff said, "Leaving Star was a huge decision for us. We have been in that alliance for nearly three decades and have lots of sound relationships. It has been a very long time. However, I've always had a challenge with Star as we are not in a joint-venture [transatlantic or otherwise] and no equity [from Star carriers]. Star was almost setting us back in time." Despite being a long-term Star carrier, a problem that has afflicted SAS is isolation – not just geographical. Dutch national Werff used the example of the former KLM-Northwest partnership. "They didn't think in their own colors. KLM didn't think blue, Northwest red. They thought in purple. They were seamless. We want to get to that stage of partnership and thinking." Story has more.<br/>

Ethiopian Airlines expects to carry 30% more passengers in the year ended June from the year before, its CE told Reuters on Wednesday, buoyed by new routes and a rebound in global travel. Africa's biggest airline, however, faces risks from delayed aircraft deliveries and the grounding of some planes due to engine shortages caused by supply chain disruptions, Mesfin Tasew Bekele said in an interview. "We have a lot of challenges. For example, today we have aircraft shortage since the manufacturers, particularly Boeing, are delaying aircraft deliveries," he said. The delivery problems mainly affect narrow-body passenger jets from Boeing, he said, while the grounding is affecting wide-body aircraft used for long-haul travel. Ethiopian, which carried 13.9m passengers in the year ended June 2023, does not operate the variant of Boeing's MAX jets that suffered a panel blow-out earlier this year, Mesfin said, and it is confident Boeing can deal with safety concerns. "We believe that Boeing is in a good position to fix all these," he said. Ethiopian is operating a fleet of 146 Boeing, Airbus and De Havilland planes, below the ideal level of 150, Mesfin said, due to the delivery delays. It has firm orders for 70 Boeing and Airbus planes and options to buy 54 more, part of a plan to double its fleet and route network by 2035. The growth plan is expected to boost annual revenue and passenger numbers by 400% and 440% respectively by the target year.<br/>

Air India has extended its suspension of its flights to Israel for a third time, due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The airline used to fly from Delhi to the Israeli capital Tel Aviv three times a week, but along with the majority of global airlines, it cancelled the service following the Hamas attack on 7 October and subsequent Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The Boeing 787 flights will not operate until at least 15 May, according to a company statement shared on social media – which did not mention the conflict by name. “In view of the ongoing situation in parts of the Middle East, we have extended the temporary suspension of our flights to and from Tel Aviv to 15 May 2024. “We are continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to our passengers who have confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv during this period, with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges. Safety of our guests and crew remains our foremost priority,” it said.<br/>

Air India is doubling down on its flights from Delhi to Phuket after seeing strong demand for the service. The airline already operates a daily flight on the sector and will soon add six additional weekly flights as it looks to expand its presence in the Southeast Asia region. Air India has announced that it will start operating a second service between Delhi and Phuket in Thailand starting June 1. This service will be in addition to Air India’s daily flights already in operation between the two destinations. The carrier has planned the second flight strategically, offering passengers a convenient late morning departure from Delhi and helping to link guests arriving from Europe with the popular beach destination. Air India first launched service to Phuket four times a week in December 2023. Just a month later, it turned this into a daily service and will now operate almost double daily flights between Delhi and Phuket.<br/>

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is proposing to authorise a unilateral code-sharing agreement between Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand. Both carriers are seeking authorisation for Virgin Australia to place its code on Air New Zealand’s trans-Tasman flights from Australia to New Zealand. “The codeshare rights are provided on the condition that Air New Zealand specifies the fares at which Virgin Australia may market and resupply those itineraries,” the ACCC states. In proposing to approve the partnership, the competition regulator says the arrangement “has the potential” to increase ticketing choices for travellers to New Zealand. Under the partnership, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand are looking to jointly provide businesses with discounts, as well as other marketing offers, for Virgin Australia-operated flights between Australia and New Zealand. The ACCC also notes the proposed codeshare arrangement will not apply to flights where both airlines’ networks overlap. Virgin Australia currently flies to Queenstown in New Zealand from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Air New Zealand has a larger trans-Tasman network, with flights to Australia from Wellington, Queenstown, Auckland and Christchurch. Commission deputy chair Mike Keogh adds: “We consider it unlikely that any significant increase in passenger demand for trans-Tasman services due to this code sharing arrangement would raise airfares.” The ACCC has also proposed to allow Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand to commence commercial planning for the marketing and sale of Virgin Australia trans-Tasman flights. The commission is seeking submissions on its draft determination until 8 May, before it makes its decision.<br/>