Frontier Airlines announced a major streamlining of its fare offerings on Friday, as well as other customer-friendly changes that it said are meant to improve the experience of purchasing tickets and flying on the ultra low-cost carrier. "Today marks the beginning of a new era for Frontier – one with transparency in our prices, no change fees and the lowest total price," Barry Biffle, Frontier’s CEO, said in a statement. "This is 'The New Frontier' and we are committed to offering more than the lowest fares – we deliver the best price for all the options you want and the customer support you need, when you need it. No gimmicks, just really low prices and good customer service." Story lists changes that go into effect on Friday.<br/>
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Hundreds of long-serving Virgin Atlantic cabin crew are suing the airline for unfair dismissal, claiming that the airline used Covid redundancies to target older staff. An employment tribunal in London will start examining more than 200 cases next month, at which former crew will argue that Sir Richard Branson’s airline unfairly made them redundant while retaining cheaper new hires. Virgin grounded most of its fleet, alongside most other airlines, from March 2020, when the Covid pandemic led to lockdowns and global travel restrictions. The airline quickly cut 3,000 jobs, eventually losing more than 40% of its 10,000-strong workforce, and established a “holding pool” for staff who were made redundant to be potentially hired again when flights resumed. However, according to one claim, disclosure documents show that Virgin retained 350 new cabin crew via the pool, some with as little as one week’s training, while onboard managers, who were 45 on average with 20 years’ experience, were made redundant. <br/>
Once a gloomy consensus clouds an industry, it can be slow to lift. Departing easyJet CE Johan Lundgren and his fellow European airline chiefs should know. Lundgren said this week that he would end his seven-year tenure in early 2025. Today his legacy is a share price still about 60% below pre-pandemic levels despite a recovery in revenues and earnings, plus the resumption of dividend payments. EasyJet trades at a 13% discount to its pre-Covid price to forward earnings valuation. It is not flying solo: many European airlines have de-rated and look undervalued. Pandemic-era capital raises partly explain unflattering share price performances. But investors are also scarred by multiple crises and fear recent robust trading will be as good as it gets. Lundgren’s successor, current finance director Kenton Jarvis, will have to focus on immaculate delivery to convince investors of easyJet’s growth story. Lundgren’s time at the top was rarely without drama. EasyJet twice raised equity to get through the pandemic. He faced questions over his strategy, including whether he should have been more aggressive in a grab for market share post-pandemic. But he leaves an airline in a robust state, even though some investors might argue that easyJet’s investment grade balance sheet is largely thanks to their benevolence following its larger than expected GBP1.2b rights issue in 2021. EasyJet should also avoid the worst of the snarl-up in plane deliveries that will constrain capacity in the next few years, and should support higher ticket prices. It will receive 10 fewer Airbus planes in 2025 than hoped but is not dependent on troubled Boeing. A three-to-five-year aim of generating more than £1bn in headline pre-tax profit remains on track. That would be more than double 2019 levels. At least a quarter is expected to come from easyJet’s holiday business — Lundgren’s brainchild which operates a smart risk and asset-light model. EasyJet does not even block book rooms in advance.<br/>
Libya's Berniq Airways said on Friday it has signed an agreement with Airbus to purchase six A320neo and A321neo aircraft. Berniq did not disclose the cost or a timeline for delivery. "It is worth noting that this agreement will be followed by several other agreements in several areas, the most important of which are training, maintenance and safety," Berniq said. The company posted photos of the signing, saying it was held in Toulouse, France, on Thursday. Berniq is headquartered in Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi. The private company was founded in 2018 and began operations in 2021. It operates domestic flights from Benghazi to Labraq in the east, and to Tripoli, Misrata and Zintan in the west. It also operates daily and weekly flights to Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Libya slid into chaos after the fall of the former regime of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. Three years later, a civil war broke out between armed factions vying for power and divided the country between eastern and western administrations.<br/>
Nigerian investigators have disclosed that the crew of a Dana Air Boeing MD-82, involved in a runway excursion while landing at Lagos, had received a nose-gear fault indication during approach, and conducted a flypast to check its status. Although the crew cycled the landing-gear, and executed an emergency checklist, the cockpit warning light remained, says the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau. Observation from tower controllers during the flypast suggested the nose-gear was extended. The MD-82 crew proceeded complete the go-around, realign with the approach, and land on runway 18L. Ground spoilers did not deploy automatically, the inquiry states in preliminary findings. The captain, who testified that the landing was “soft”, deployed the speedbrakes and engaged reverse-thrust, before lowering the nose. “At this point, the crew stated that severe vibration was accompanied by a loud noise from the [nose-gear] area,” says the inquiry. After the aircraft decelerated to 80kt the nose-gear collapsed and the captain experienced a loss of directional control. The jet veered to the left and exited the runway about nearly 2,100m from the threshold. It continued through a grass verge, crossing a paved link taxiway, and stopped 2,343 m from the threshold, about 36m from the runway centreline. Weather conditions included a 5kt wind from the north – equating to a tailwind for 18L – and the runway surface was damp. Story has more.<br/>
South Korean low-cost carrier T’way Air is accelerating its expansion into Europe by opening branches in the continent’s major cities starting with Rome, Italy. This move comes as T’way Air takes over four European routes from Korea’s flagship carrier Korean Air Lines. According to industry sources on Sunday, T’way Air completed the registration of its Rome branch in March 2024, shortly after the company’s board approved the Italian office’s establishment. The registration process in Italy was swiftly finalized, marking a significant milestone for the airline. In addition to Rome, T’way Air also registered a branch in Zagreb, Croatia, in May 2024. These steps represent T’way Air’s first foray into setting up offices in Europe, which will enhance its international reach and provide better services to its customers traveling between Korea and Europe.<br/>
Pak Ethanol Pvt. said a consortium it’s leading to buy a majority stake in Pakistan’s flagship air carrier includes several global aviation firms. Members of the consortium bidding for Pakistan International Airlines include Switzerland’s Swiss Aviation Group AG, Austria’s Airport Competence GmbH, Australia’s Pearl Asset Management, as well as Pakistan’s Serene Air and Air Sial Ltd., the ethanol maker said Saturday. Pakistan has sought bids to sell a majority stake in the carrier, which has failed to make a profit in almost two decades. The sale is a step toward the government’s goal to undertake economic reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout and Pakistan’s intentions to seek a new loan from the lender by July. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who returned to power in March, has said it’s not sustainable for the government to bail out the loss-making airline. “We are confident that this unique blend of national and international collaboration will enable us to restore PIA to its former glory, ensuring it remains a symbol of national pride and a leader in the global aviation market,” Pak Ethanol said in the statement. <br/>
Philippine Airlines will lease two Airbus A330-200s from charter operator Wamos Air, as it faces “additional maintenance requirements” on the back of a global supply chain crunch. The two A330s will begin operating on behalf of PAL from 1 June, and will fly for a five-month period. PAL intends to operate the pair of leased jets to Sydney and Melbourne, which are currently operated by A330-300s. The airline flies daily to Sydney, while Melbourne sees five flights a week. Airline president Stanley Ng says: “We have additional maintenance requirements during this period due to global supply chain issues that continue to impact the industry. We see the need to temporarily add these aircraft to ensure that we have sufficient capacity to meet the demand that we are anticipating across our network.” Wamos Air has a fleet of four A330-200s, all of which can operate in the two-class configuration of the leased PAL jets. Wamos also has A330-300s in its fleet, with six examples in operation. As for PAL, it has 11 A330-300s in its fleet, which operate a mix of international and domestic flights. <br/>