Allegiant Air's pilots have voted in favor of authorizing a strike action if the carrier fails to reach a fair agreement, the Teamsters union said on Thursday. The union, which represents 1,300 pilots of the low-cost U.S. carrier, said 97.4% of the Allegiant Air pilots voted for authorizing a strike. "Allegiant pilots are some of the most overworked and underpaid in the airline industry," the union said in a statement, adding that they are seeking industry-standard compensation and improvements to scheduling. Teamsters said the union and Allegiant are currently in mediation sessions conducted by the federal National Mediation Board (NMB). Allegiant Air did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. With a market capitalization of $1.3b, the Nevada-based airline reported a fall in third-quarter revenues to $562.2m, from $565.4m a year earlier.<br/>
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Flair Airlines has departed the Ottawa International Airport, citing "insufficient demand to compensate for the airport's high fees." Ottawa no longer appears as a destination on the Flair Airlines website. The capital was not listed on Flair Airlines summer 2024 schedule when it was released in November 2023 and was not on Flair's fall and winter 2024/spring 2025 schedule announced in August. "We announced our intent to exit Ottawa several months ago due to insufficient demand to compensate for the airport’s high fees," a Flair Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa Wednesday night. "We hope to reengage with the airport authority under its newly appointed CEO." On Monday, the Ottawa International Airport Authority announced the hiring of Susan Margles as the new president and CEO. "We welcome Susan Margles as the new CEO of the Ottawa International Airport and look forward to working with her, with hopes of starting constructive conversations on how we can work together to serve more Canadians," the airline said. "While Ottawa is not part of our immediate schedule, we’ll revisit opportunities as our fleet expands. All affected passengers have been accommodated.” In a statement, the Ottawa International Airport (YOW) says, "YOW prides itself on keeping its aeronautical fees as low as possible, as paid by all airlines."<br/>
LATAM Airlines Group profit during the third quarter of 2024 rose to $301m as the company managed to hold costs in check and profited from greater demand for air travel. The Santiago, Chile-based carrier says that adjusted for foreign exchange and other gains, profit came in at $339m, up 25% from the same three months last year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and restructuring (EBITDAR) increased 14% to $828m. “The continuation of strong operational results from previous periods and consistent focus on cost containment have been the driving force behind the financial performance the group is highlighting this third quarter,” the company says. Revenue reached $3.3b, up 7.6% from the same period in 2023, while costs rose 6.8% to $2.83b. Aviation fuel, wages and benefits, and maintenance expenses all rose during the third quarter. “This [revenue] growth was primarily driven by a 6.3% increase in passenger revenues compared to the third quarter of last year,” the company says. “On the other hand, cargo revenues increased by 15.7% during the quarter and have shown year-over-year growth now for two consecutive quarters, marking an upward trajectory.” The carrier increased capacity as measured in available seat kilometres by 15.1%.<br/>
Profits at Wizz Air fell by more than a fifth over the summer season as one of Europe’s largest low-cost carriers grapples with the grounding of its aircraft due to engine problems. The London-listed airline said on Thursday that net profit for the six months to the end of September fell 21.3% compared with the previous year to E315.2mn, sending shares down by almost 5% in early trading on Thursday. Difficulties with its Pratt & Whitney engines have hampered Wizz Air for more than a year and forced it to ease ambitious growth plans. Wizz is not alone — the aviation supply chain has struggled to produce enough aircraft to meet overall demand since the Covid-19 pandemic. Rival Ryanair on Monday trimmed its passenger forecasts because of Boeing delivery delays. Forty-one Wizz aircraft were on the ground for inspections at the end of September because of potential problems with Pratt & Whitney engines, down from 46 at the end of June. Wizz said it was negotiating a new compensation deal with Pratt & Whitney, after receiving undisclosed compensation for the loss of the aircraft over the summer. The airline said it expected 40-45 aircraft to be grounded at any one time over the next 18 months, an improvement on its previous assumption of 50. “I wouldn’t declare victory,” CE József Váradi said. “I still think that we will really get this whole engine issue behind us, not before 2027.” Wizz has responded to the issues by extending the life of some of its older planes, leasing in aircraft and taking new deliveries from Airbus. But passenger numbers rose by less than 1% year on year to 33.3mn.<br/>
A Ryanair flight was forced to alert authorities ahead of landing in Tenerife after several passengers became disruptive on board, including one person reportedly “urinating” in the aisle. The incident occurred on flight FR3152 which departed from East Midlands Airport on Monday 4 November at 6.29am for the four-and-a-half hour flight to Tenerife South Airport. After several passengers became disruptive onboard the flight, the crew made the decision to call ahead for police assistance once they landed. It is unclear to what extent or how the passengers were being disruptive on the plane, yet a source told Travel and Tour World that one person ended up urinating on the floor in the middle of the aisle. Ryanair told The Independent: “The crew of this flight from East Midlands to Tenerife (4 Nov) called ahead for police assistance after a small number of passengers became disruptive onboard. The aircraft was met by local police upon arrival at Tenerife Airport and these passengers were removed. This is now a matter for local police.” The flight landed just before 11am local time, when the passengers would have been escorted off the aircraft by local authorities in Tenerife.<br/>
Israeli flag-carrier El Al appears to be sticking with Rolls-Royce engines for its latest Boeing 787s, as the manufacturer progresses with work on blade improvements. El Al already has 16 Trent 1000-equipped 787s, and is due to take delivery of another Trent-powered 787-9 originally intended for another customer. Rolls-Royce states, in a 7 November trading update, that it has secured an order for Trent 1000 engines from El Al. It has not elaborated on the number of aircraft or engines involved. But El Al has agreed to lease two more 787-9s from AerCap and has ordered three more – with options on a further six – from Boeing. El Al’s combined agreements would take its firmed 787 fleet to 22 by 2031, and potentially expand it to 28 aircraft. The twinjet type can also be powered by the rival GE Aerospace GEnx engine. British Airways opted to take the GEnx for six additional aircraft, defecting from the Trent 1000, earlier this year.<br/>
Emirates Group, operator of the world’s largest long-haul carrier, reported an 8% decline in first-half profit after the United Arab Emirates introduced a corporate tax. Profit after tax fell to 9.3b dirhams ($2.5b), from 10.1b dirhams year-on-year, the Dubai-based company said in a statement Thursday. Revenue rose 5% to 70.8b dirhams. “We expect customer demand to remain strong for the rest of 2024-25, and we look forward to increasing our capacity,” Chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said. The state-owned carrier has enjoyed huge passenger flows through its hub in Dubai, helping boost profit even as the airline industry grapples with geopolitical tensions. In order to accommodate its growth plans, Dubai’s government is proceeding with a $35b expansion of its second hub, Al Maktoum International Airport, which authorities say will eventually become home to Emirates’ operations. The Gulf carrier has a large fleet of aircraft on order, mostly for the still-uncertified Boeing Co. 777X model. The company has said the long delays in aircraft deliveries from the US planemaker as well as Airbus are disrupting its growth plans and costing it business. <br/>
Jet Airways, once India‘s second-biggest carrier, is to be liquidated, the country’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday, ending a tumultuous five-year insolvency resolution saga for the bankrupt airline. The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, the winning bidder, failed to implement its revival plan and “contravened the terms of the resolution plan,” a three-judge bench of the court said, while overturning a tribunal order for transferring ownership to the group. Jet Airways was the first Indian commercial airline to be admitted to bankruptcy court, but a string of lawsuits delayed the revival. The airline’s lenders clashed with the consortium over its refusal to infuse funds into the carrier, a condition for the transfer of ownership. A bankruptcy court in Mumbai will now appoint a liquidator for Jet Airways. Any funds invested by the consortium so far, will be forfeited and all bank guarantees invoked, according to the court order.<br/>