An agreement between Azul and Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes to connect their flight networks is the first step toward the companies consolidating, according to one person familiar with the matter. Conversations among creditors and shareholders pertaining to a merger between the firms are still ongoing, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Shares of both airlines jumped on Friday on the back of a codeshare agreement connecting their networks in Brazil that was announced in a filing late on Thursday. Azul’s shares jumped as much as 10% in Sao Paulo trading on Friday — the biggest intraday gain since September — while Gol’s stock soared as much as 19%. Azul declined to comment. A representative for Gol didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Folha de S. Paulo earlier reported the codeshare agreement is a first step toward a potential merger. Azul is said to be in talks for a merger with Gol. In one scenario under consideration, Gol’s holding company Abra Group Ltd. would contribute its shares of the airlines company to Azul in exchange for a stake in the combined entity. Sao Paulo-based Gol filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year after carrying out a dozen debt exchanges. Azul’s CEO John Peter Rodgerson declined earlier this month to comment on “active” M&A processes, but said that the company has always been a “big believer” in consolidation. The new partnership between the two companies is positive for Azul, according to Itau BBA analyst Gabriel Rezende, as it highlights the “positive competitive environment” in the sector and could unlock additional revenue for the airline, he wrote in a note to clients.<br/>
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A pilots’ pay row at Aer Lingus is poised to continue after union leaders called on members to reject a Labour Court proposal aimed at brokering a temporary agreement with the company. The Labour Court recommended backdated pay increases totalling 9.25% and that the sides take deadlocked issues back to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) for further talks. The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association union (Ialpa) leadership wrote to members on Friday afternoon saying it had decided unanimously to recommend that they reject the court’s interim recommendations. The latest twist in the ongoing dispute will create uncertainty for holidaymakers in advance of the busy summer travel season. Aer Lingus earlier said it “accepts the content of the recommendation that was issued and will look to take the interim steps outlined within it.” Neither side commented after Ialpa’s executive circulated members. The union confirmed it would begin a vote on the recommendations on Tuesday.<br/>
Russian investigators have opened an inquiry after an aircraft struck and seriously injured a ground worker as it started taxiing at Ekaterinburg’s Koltsovo airport. The Airbus A320, operated by Ural Airlines, had been conducting a service from Ekaterinburg to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on 19 May. “When beginning to move, the forward landing-gear hit the legs of an aircraft-release technician,” says the Sverdlovsk transport prosecutor’s office. It states that the worker – an employee of Ural Airlines – received serious injuries and was hospitalised as a result. Surveillance video circulating on social media, purporting to show the event, indicates the aircraft had been stationary with the worker standing beneath the nose and around 2m ahead of the nose-gear. The aircraft stops a few moments after striking the worker. Flight U62985 subsequently departed 3h 24min behind schedule. Preliminary information indicates that the A320 involved was registered RA-73832. Investigators have initiated a criminal probe into the occurrence, the prosecutor’s office states.<br/>