Aer Lingus flights cancelled due to a pilots' strike will remain cancelled, despite the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA) suspending its industrial action, the airline has said. It comes as IALPA president Mark Tighe described a pay-rise recommendation by the Irish Labour Court as a "significant win" for the union. Hundreds of Aer Lingus flights cancelled because of strike action last month and a work-to-rule which began two weeks ago, as part of a long-running dispute over pay. The executive of IALPA met on Wednesday and is recommending that members accept a Labour Court proposal to increase pilots' pay by 17.75% and that industrial action be suspended.<br/>However, an Aer Lingus spokesperson said on Thursday that "unfortunately, those flights already cancelled will remain that way", Irish broadcaster RTÉ reports.<br/>
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The CE of Jet2 vowed customers would face only “modest” price increases this summer as the low-cost airline and tour operator reported record earnings on the back of a continued travel boom. The UK low-cost airline and tour operator posted a 43% rise in annual pre-tax profits on Thursday to GBP529.5mn thanks to a surge in demand, with profits, revenue and passenger numbers all hitting new highs. The Leeds-based company — which flies from 12 UK airports to more than 70 destinations — said it expected demand to remain robust, but pledged to keep prices “attractive” over the peak summer months, in part to adjust to a trend in which customers were leaving it later to book trips. Jet2 said “passengers are currently booking much closer to departure and therefore, pricing for our flight-only and package holiday products must remain attractive”. The cost of the group’s package holidays rose 11% last year to GBP830 on average, as it raised fares to offset rising input cost inflation. Flight-only net ticket yield per passenger increased 14% to GBP114.23. On Thursday, Jet2 said it was “mindful” of the economic pressures on customers, and it was only planning a “modest increase” to summer prices. CE Steve Heapy said: “Demand is as strong as ever . . . People just want to get away and escape the terrible weather they’ve seen in the UK, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.” But he said customers booking at a later stage meant the group’s load factor (a measure of seats filled) was lower year on year, currently standing at 73.4%, down from 75.2%. Jet2 posted a 24% increase in turnover to GBP6.3b, and said “future confidence” in the strength of demand had led it to exercise its remaining purchase rights for Airbus aircraft, with 146 A321neo planes to be delivered by 2035.<br/>
Fire broke out on the front landing gear of a Saudia plane in Pakistan, prompting passengers to evacuate using slides. The incident occurred on an aircraft that had flown passengers from Riyadh to Peshawar, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement on Thursday. All 276 passengers and 21 crew were safely evacuated and fire services quickly extinguished the fire and prevented a major incident, according to the statement. The aircraft, a seven year old Airbus A330-300, is now undergoing comprehensive inspections and subsequent tests to ensure its safety, Saudia said in response to questions from Bloomberg.<br/>
Air Incheon, set to become South Korea's second-biggest freight carrier once a deal to buy Asiana Airlines' cargo unit is finalised, will consider both Boeing and Airbus freighters to refresh the widebody fleet, its CEO said. The EU competition regulator last month approved Air Incheon, a small cargo-only carrier with four Boeing 737s, as the preferred bidder to buy Asiana's cargo business, as a condition of approval for it to merge with Korean Air Lines. The purchase for an undisclosed sum would transfer Asiana's fleet, staff, customers and traffic rights to Air Incheon, which is based at Incheon airport, South Korea's main international gateway and the world's fifth-busiest cargo airport. Asiana operates 11 Boeing 767 and 747 freighters to 25 cities in 12 countries. The acquisition will include the rights to fly to major Chinese export hubs like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and to the U.S., Air Incheon CEO Stanley Seunghwan Lee said this week.<br/>