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The pilot of the plane that crashed down in Brazil last week was buried Monday in Sao Paulo, becoming the first person laid to rest among the 62 victims, as authorities continue working to determine what exactly caused the accident. A hearse bearing the casket of Danilo Santos Romano rolled through the streets of Penha, a working class neighborhood of Sao Paulo’s east side, en route to the cemetery that lies beneath his apartment. Family members and friends walked behind the vehicle and dozens of shop owners who knew him as a regular customer gathered on the sidewalks to applaud as it passed. Romano was 35. Clesio Moura, one of the applauding shopkeepers, said he met the pilot two years ago. “He had lived abroad, worked for foreign companies, but was always humble,” Moura said. “We used to chat about soccer, he really wanted to have a child to take to the stadium one day. Danilo was full of life.” The crash Friday killed 58 passengers and four crew members. Footage of the plane plunging while in a flat spin horrified people around the world, and the cause of the accident has yet to be determined. Some experts have pointed to the possibility of severe icing on the wings, which caused pilots to lose control of the plane, but airports minister Silvio Costa Filho told reporters Friday that Romano and his copilot made no calls for an emergency landing, nor did they communicate any adverse weather conditions.<br/>

Azul posted a R$3.87b ($703m) loss for Q2 of the year after the devaluation of the Brazilian Real to the dollar, as well as higher fuel costs, hit the company’s earnings. The real depreciated against the US dollar by 11.7% during the period, resulting in an increase in lease liabilities and loans denominated in foreign currency, the company said on 12 August. Adjusted for the exchange rates as well as unrealised derivative results and other financial expenses, Azul says it lost R$744m during the second three-month period of the year. That’s 31% more than last year. Revenue during the three months that ended on 30 June reached R$4.2b, down 2.3% compared to the same period a year ago. The decline was primarily due to the impact of floods in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul in May and the temporary reduction of the airline’s international capacity. International capacity as measured in available seat kilometres fell by 8% in the first half of the year. “Without these impacts, we estimate that our top-line revenues would have been above” Q2 last year, CE John Rodgerson says. Expenses during the period were R$3.7b, up slightly over last year. The airline ended the quarter with 181 aircraft in its operating fleet, one airframe more than at the same point during 2023.<br/>

Ratings agencies S&P and Moody's downgraded JetBlue Airways after the carrier unveiled plans to raise more than $3b in debt, majority backed by its loyalty program, TrueBlue. Shares of the New York-based company plummeted 19%. JetBlue intends to raise $1.5b through a private offering of senior secured notes and an additional $1.25b via a term loan, secured by TrueBlue. It also plans to raise $400m through a convertible notes offering, primarily to refinance existing debt. S&P downgraded JetBlue's ratings from "B" to "B-", citing concerns about its financial health. The agency expects JetBlue's funds from operations to debt ratio — a leverage ratio used to assess financial risk — to remain in the low single digits through 2025, with negative net cash flow from business operations. Moody's downgraded JetBlue's corporate family rating to "B3" from "B2", stating that restoring the company's operating profit and cash flow to levels that would lead to materially stronger credit metrics would require several years.<br/>

A dispute over a cancelled Flair Airlines flight from Calgary to Vancouver last year – which the airline blamed on bird strikes that were never recorded in a federal database – hasn't ended yet. A spokesperson for Flair provided internal documentation to CTV News indicating "multiple bird strikes" did occur before the airline cancelled the Aug. 29 departure. Flair also confirmed it will be challenging the outcome of a case in B.C.'s small claims tribunal awarding $500 in compensation each to two passengers whose travel plans were disrupted. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson said Flair is doing so "not because we are so concerned about the nominal fee, but because we are not an airline that lies to its passengers." Passengers Olivia Donner and James Broadhurst filed for damages through the Civil Resolution Tribunal after their trip to Vancouver was delayed by one day. Under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, travellers can be entitled to compensation for delayed or cancelled flights – provided the disruption was caused by something within an airline's control. According to the CRT's decision, which was posted online last week, Flair initially blamed the cancellation on adverse weather before citing bird strikes as the cause. Donner and Broadhurt decided to do their own research, looking to the Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System – a database that tracks incidents ranging from bird strikes to medical emergences – and found no record of bird strikes on a Flair flight on Aug. 29.<br/>

Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa's first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) operator, has reported strong financial and operational results for Q2 and first half of 2024, as the airline continued to expand its network. Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED427m ($116.25m) during Q2 ending June 30, 2024 - 7% lower than the AED459m recorded in the same period in 2023. The airline achieved a turnover of AED1.65b, marking a 19% increase compared to Q2 last year. Between April and June 2024, over 4.5m passengers travelled with Air Arabia Group across its operating hubs, reflecting a 19% increase from the 3.8m passengers carried in the same quarter of the previous year. The airline’s average seat load factor — representing the percentage of available seats occupied — rose by 3%, reaching an impressive 79% during Q2 2024. Commenting on the results, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said: “The solid net profit recorded in Q2 was driven by robust passenger demand and revenue growth, underscoring the strong fundamentals of our business and the enduring appeal of our value-driven offerings to customers."<br/>

Brazilian planemaker Embraer said on Monday it had secured a firm order for eight E190-E2 regional jets from Virgin Australia. Reuters reported earlier in the day before the announcement that industry sources said Embraer was poised to secure the order winning a competition against the A220, the smallest model of Europe's Airbus. In a separate statement, Virgin Australia said the "significant investment" in Embraer aircraft would secure the future growth of its Western Australia-based regional and charter business, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA). The E190-E2 jets will join Virgin Australia's fleet starting in October 2025 and will ultimately replace its long-serving Fokker 100 fleet, the Australian carrier said. The companies did not say how much the order was worth. According to price estimates from consultancy Cirium Ascend, such an order would be worth just under $300m after typical industry discounts. Embraer said the order will be added to its Q3 book, with deliveries expected to start in the second half of 2025.<br/>