Canada Jetlines is grounding all flights and says it is temporarily ceasing airline operations effective immediately, making it the latest carrier to signal distress within Canada's troubled commercial airline industry. The airline, which flew mainly to sun destinations out of Toronto, said Thursday it has been unable to find the capital needed to stay afloat and plans to file for creditor protection. "The company ... pursued all available financing alternatives including strategic transactions and equity and debt financings," said spokeswoman Erica Dymond in a release. "Unfortunately despite these efforts, the company has been unable to obtain the financing required to continue operations at this time." Passengers with existing bookings should contact their credit card company to secure refunds, the company said. "Every effort is being made to assist passengers at this time." The shutdown follows the resignation of four executives on Monday, including CEO Brigitte Goersch. It marks yet another airline departure from Canadian skies after the closure of Lynx Air and budget carrier Swoop within the past year. Canada Jetlines, which is headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., serves Canadians flying within the country or to destinations in the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico. It launched its first flight in September 2022. The carrier provides charter flights to sports teams and companies and leases its fleet to other carriers in the summertime. Its former CEO Eddy Doyle characterized it as leisure airline, though it was originally conceived as an ultra low-cost carrier.<br/>
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Brazil’s Gol made a Q2 loss of R3.9b ($700m) as an unfavourable exchange rate hit the company’s earnings, and passenger capacity fell, denting revenues. However, the Sao Paulo-based airline said on 15 August that on an adjusted basis, excluding the impact of exchange rate fluctuations, as well as other financial expenses, including R336m from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection process it is currently undertaking, its loss during the period was R1b. Nonetheless, even taking the financial adjustments into account, Gol’s performance was worse than the same period of 2023 when it posted a net profit of R556m, or R416m on an adjusted basis. Q2 revenue came in at R3.9b, down 5% from last year, while operating expenses remained flat at R3.6b. Capacity as measured in ASKs fell 7.2% during the quarter, the company says, leading to a fall in passenger revenues of 6.5% to R3.4b. Like its competitor Azul, Gol also struggled with the closure of Salgado Filho International airport – which serves the city of Porto Alegre – in the state of Rio Grande do Sul after floods in May, resulting in cancellations of scheduled flights. To mitigate the impact and continue meeting customer demand, Gol instead began flying to nearby Canoas air base, in addition to increasing the frequency of flights to the cities of Caxias do Sul and Pelotas, it says.<br/>
El Al Israel Airlines reported a nearly 150% jump in profit on Thursday, taking advantage of its near-monopoly status with many foreign carriers having cancelled flights amid the war in Gaza and raising clients' ire over high fares. Separately, El Al announced a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 31 737 MAX aircraft worth as much as $2.5b to replace its aging short-haul fleet of Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 planes. Israel's flag carrier posted a Q2 net profit of $147m, up from $59m a year earlier, before the war with Hamas militants in Gaza that began on Oct. 7. With competition robust, it had often struggled to stay profitable pre-war. Revenue jumped 33% to $839m, while its passenger load factor rose to 92% from 87%, even as it expanded capacity by 8%. Its Tel Aviv-listed shares, however, fell 2% despite the results. El Al has been criticized by customers in Israel and abroad for price-gouging, as it has emerged as a near-monopoly since the Gaza war triggered by the Hamas attacks in Israel. El Al has benefited as rivals have frequently cancelled services due to the security situation. El Al rejected the criticism and accusations it was taking advantage of a passenger base with little travel option, saying that half of those who had bought tickets this year were paying less than in 2023.<br/>
El Al Israel Airlines said on Thursday it had signed a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 31 737 MAX aircraft worth as much as $2.5b. El Al, Israel's flag carrier with an all-Boeing fleet, said the agreement includes the purchase of 20 737 MAX airliners for $1.5b and options for 11 more. Delivery is expected to begin in 2028, although the carrier said it would consider bringing forward the operation of several 737 MAX aircraft to as early as 2027 through a dry lease. The new planes will replace the airline's current short-haul fleet of ageing Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 aircraft.<br/>
Iraqi Airways has renewed its partnership agreement with SITA, the leading provider of information technology services in the air transport sector, to maintain its track record of continuous innovation in passenger and baggage management systems. The partnership also aims at facilitating the provision of services to passengers on board the Green Bird and the rest of the partner airlines. Key in upgrading the travel experience will be the implementation of SITA’s Flex Hybrid system. This will speed up passenger processing at Baghdad and Basra airports, providing staff quick and secure access to airline systems and applications through cloud infrastructure with high flexibility and scalability to meet fluctuating demand. Iraqi Airways will also boost its baggage management capabilities with SITA Bag Manager Online, which offers advanced visibility of each bag’s journey. The solution tracks every bag that is loaded onto a plane, a ULD or a cart, matching each bag with departing passengers, tracking them in real time throughout the airport, and ensuring they are loaded onto the correct plane, offering passengers peace of mind and allowing staff to focus on more complex tasks.<br/>
Thai Lion Air is ramping up its fleet and returning to its routes as tourism demand grows, targeting 6-7m passengers and a profit for the first time post-pandemic. Nuntaporn Komonsittivate, head of commercial at Thai Lion Air, said its domestic and international routes have recovered by 60% as it now operates 20 jets, rising from 11 the past few years. She said the average load factor for domestic and international routes this year should be 85% and 75%, respectively. The airline also added new destinations this year: Penang, Malaysia and Ahmedabad, India. In the second half, Mrs Nuntaporn said Thai Lion Air plans to receive five aircraft of the same type, including Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-900ER, which should pave the way for new destinations such as India's Amritsar and Hong Kong.<br/>
A Chinese woman who refused to put her designer handbag under the seat in front of her when asked by a flight attendant caused a one-hour delay and had to be escorted off the plane. The incident attracted 4m views on Douyin and triggered heated discussions after a passenger posted a video clip of it. The passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, said the woman who was sitting in economy class insisted on putting her Louis Vuitton handbag next to her, instead of under the seat in front. The August 10 flight from an airport in Chongqing municipality in southwestern China was already departing and had to return to the boarding gate. Passengers applauded when police escorted the woman off the plane. The incident caused a delay of one hour and disrupted departure times of later flights. A Louis Vuitton handbag costs about US$3,000 in China and the economy class ticket for the flight from Chongqing to northern China’s Hebei province, operated by China Express Airlines, costs 800 yuan (US$110). The airline did not respond to questions about the case or reveal the outcome after speaking to the passenger. The offending passenger’s identity was not revealed. The incident has sparked heated debate on mainland social media. Some people criticised the passenger, while others said the flight attendant might have been overzealous in carrying out her duties. <br/>
The Federal Government is guaranteeing regional flight bookings for Rex while the airline remains in voluntary administration. In a statement, Transport Minister Catherine King announced that passengers on all regional flights booked through Rex since it entered administration at 9:31pm on 30 July will “either fly or get their money back”. “This will give customers confidence to continue booking regional flights with Rex – flights that allow them stay connected to family, friends, healthcare and other services – while also helping to maintain regional aviation in Australia,” she said. “My department will continue to work with the administrator on their plans for the continuation of services to regional communities. We also expect the administrator to honour and prioritise the entitlements of Rex employees. This guarantee is a message to regional Australia that we know how important reliable air services are to you and that we are not going to allow your communities to be left behind.” The move is another strong signal that the government does not want Rex to fail, given its importance to regional communities. “Rex operates one of Australia’s largest regional air networks and provides essential connectivity to move people and critical freight on 41 routes to regional and remote communities, including 21 routes that are only serviced by Rex,” said Minister King.<br/>