unaligned

JetBlue Airways will open its first airport lounges in its more than two decades of flying, a major shift for the low-cost airline as it chases high-spending travelers. The lounges will open at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport late next year followed by Boston, JetBlue said Thursday. The airline is also planning to launch a new “premium” credit card with its partner, Barclays, taking a page from the likes of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines, which have generated billions through lucrative credit card deals. Customers who have the soon-to-be-announced premium credit card, those booked in JetBlue’s Mint business class for trans-Atlantic travel and high-level frequent flyer status holders will be able to access the lounges, the company said. JetBlue said its 8,000-square-foot lounge in Terminal 5 of New York’s JFK Airport is slated to open late next year, and an 11,000-sqare-foot space in Boston Logan International Airport’s Terminal C will open shortly after. JetBlue has been racing to scale back costs and return to steady profitability, including by deferring dozens of new Airbus jetliners. The airline has slashed dozens of routes this year and has been looking for ways to better deploy its aircraft that are equipped with its Mint cabin, which features lie-flat seats, higher-end dining and other perks. Entry to the lounges will not include, at least immediately, travelers on other Mint routes such as transcontinental flights, Jayne O’Brien, JetBlue’s head of marketing and customer support, told CNBC.<br/>

The top executive at JetBlue Airways Corp. called out federal antitrust authorities for policies she says have exacerbated competitive imbalances and made it harder for small airlines to turn a profit. CEO Joanna Geraghty said in an interview that the US Department of Justice has been “a bit short-sighted” when evaluating corporate acquisitions in recent years. JetBlue has had two tie-ups dashed by regulators recently, including a planned acquisition of Spirit Airlines Inc. that fell apart earlier this year. The comments come days after rival Alaska Air Group Inc. was allowed to complete its purchase of Hawaiian Holdings Inc., the first significant merger in the US airline industry in years. Still, the deal isn’t likely to alter the broader dynamics in the industry, which is dominated by four large carriers. “If you look today at the airlines that are profitable and those that aren’t,” regulators are “playing right into the hands of the big guys,” Geraghty told Bloomberg Thursday. “That really requires them to take a look at their antitrust policies and make sure that they’re not so focused on a textbook approach and much more on a practical, real life approach.” JetBlue’s deal for Spirit was scuttled by a federal judge earlier this year after the Biden administration said the tie-up would eliminate a deep discount carrier and harm consumers by reducing competition and increasing fares. An alliance with American Airlines Group Inc. that focused on New York and Boston met the same fate and was dismantled. Geraghty is currently leading a rebuilding of JetBlue, which hasn’t been consistently profitable for four years, in part due to a focus on securing growth through the deals. Spirit is struggling financially and recently furloughed some pilots. Geraghty said regulators fail to understand the human impact of their decisions to block some mergers. “The textbook DOJ person needs to look those people in the eye and realize their decisions have impacted people’s lives,” she said.<br/>

A draft decision by the planning regulator that would significantly cut night-time flights to and from Dublin Airport would implement an unworkable system of noise regulation at the airport and have a detrimental effect on the Irish economy, Aer Lingus has said. In a statement on Thursday morning the airline added to the growing sense of concern in aviation circles about An Bord Pleanála’s (ABP’s) draft ruling in a planning appeal brought by local residents and environmentalists. The appellants are hoping to overturn a 2022 Fingal County Council decision to grant Dublin Airport operator DAA permission to replace the cap on night-time flights with a more flexible noise quota system. However, in its draft decision, which has been put back out for public submissions and observations until the end of December, the board said the company must drastically cut the number of night-time flights from the north runway, which opened in 2022. The planning regulator said arriving and departing night flights – between 11pm and 7am – should be restricted to just 13,000 annually, or 36 flights per night, a significant decrease of 20,000 from the more than 36,000 night-time hour flights in 2023.<br/>

SpiceJet Ltd.’s $358m share sale attracted bids from several large investors including Tata Mutual Fund, people familiar with the matter said, providing a lifeline to the Indian airline that has furloughed staff and delayed tax payments. The carrier, based in Gurugram near New Delhi, also received interest from Authum Investment and Think Investments besides a slew of other institutional investors, the people said, asking not to be identified because the process is private. The qualified institutional placement was offered at an indicative price of 61.60 rupees ($0.74) per share, terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg News showed, a discount of about 21% to Monday’s close to raise as much as 30b rupees ($358m). SpiceJet slid 11% over the next two days and closed 1.1% lower on Thursday in Mumbai. The Economic Times were among local media that reported earlier in the day that SpiceJet’s share sale was oversubscribed, drawing interest from investors such as Tata Mutual Fund and Think Investments. SpiceJet didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Tata Mutual, which is run by Tata Asset Management, declined to comment. Representatives for Authum and Think didn’t immediately respond to emailed queries. SpiceJet didn’t respond to a request for comment. The budget airline owes payments to airports, has placed staff on leave without pay and withheld mandatory social security payments since January 2022. Auditors of SpiceJet, which has plunged to sixth in domestic market-share rankings from second three years ago, have raised concerns about tax payments. India’s aviation regulator is also increasing scrutiny on the carrier. <br/>

AirAsia and Airbus have entered a memorandum of understanding to explore initiatives that will reduce aviation’s carbon emissions in Southeast Asia. The MOU will see the companies work together to explore the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using alternative feedstocks. The two will also explore more efficient air traffic management and assess the possible application of learnings from the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management (SESAR) project for Southeast Asia. “AirAsia will be a key partner of Airbus in [Southeast Asia] to test the feasibility of SAF output developed using alternative feedstock and technologies, as well as ground-breaking ATM initiatives supported by Airbus’ innovation teams,” says Yap Mun Ching, the chief sustainability officer of AirAsia parent Capital A. The MOU announcement, which took place at the Bali air show on 19 September, comes after Capital A CE Tony Fernandes stressed the group’s commitment to sustainability, stating that improvements in air traffic management, pushback, and taxiing can help the sector save fuel. Sustainability was a theme at the inaugural Bali air show, with various feedstocks, such as cooking oil and palm oil, discussed in relation to the production of SAF. Indonesian officials feel that Indonesia, with its vast agricultural resources, is well placed to be a regional leader in SAF production. A key consideration of the Indonesia government, however, is that the production of SAF should not impact the production of food.<br/>