A Spirit Airlines flight attempting to land in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was shot at on Monday and forced to divert, marking a sharp escalation in the violence that has gripped the nation. Flight 951, which took off from Fort Lauderdale for Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, was diverted to Santiago, in the Dominican Republic, where an inspection revealed what looked like bullet holes, according to Tommy Fletcher, a spokesman for the airline. The flight landed safely at 11:30 a.m. Two other flights bound for Port-au-Prince were then also diverted, the Federal Aviation Administration said. “An inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire,” Fletcher said in a statement. “One flight attendant on board reported minor injuries and is being evaluated by medical personnel.” No passengers were hurt, the airline said. Spirit suspended flights to Port-au-Prince and to the northern Haitian city Cap-Haïtien. The plane was taken out of service. The gunfire appeared to come from the ground, though it was unclear who fired the shots. Gangs that have inflicted a campaign of violence in Haiti are also known to be active in the area around the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. Videos circulating on social media showed the interior of a plane with what appeared to be several bullet holes, including in an overhead compartment and a panel. The New York Times was not immediately able to verify the videos. Flight monitoring websites showed a JetBlue plane turning around and heading away from Haiti, as the Port-au-Prince airport was quickly shut down. JetBlue and American Airlines canceled flights to and from Haiti until Thursday afternoon. A JetBlue spokesman said the airline would monitor the situation to determine whether any more flights needed to be called off.<br/>
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Southwest Airlines is offering buyouts and extended leaves of absence to airport workers to avoid what it calls “overstaffing in certain locations,” which it blames on a shortage of new planes from Boeing. The move on Monday comes as a hedge fund presses Southwest to increase profits and boost the stock price, which has fallen sharply since early 2021. A Southwest spokesperson said the offers of “voluntary separation” are limited to 18 airports. The company declined to identify the airports or say how many jobs it hopes to eliminate. All the targeted jobs are in ground operations, including customer service agents, baggage handlers and cargo workers. Pilots and flight attendants are not included in the buyout offer, the spokesperson said. Southwest officials have said that the Dallas-based airline plans to end this year with 2,000 fewer workers than it started. That is after Southwest grew from 66,600 to nearly 75,000 employees last year. The figures count part-timers as one-half. “Southwest has reduced overall capacity to meet demand with a constrained fleet due to aircraft delivery delays,” the company said. “Offering voluntary separation and extended time off to contract and noncontract employees, along with continued slowed hiring, will help us avert overstaffing in certain locations.”<br/>
JetBlue Airways said late on Monday it will extend a halt to all flights to and from Haiti through Dec. 2 after damage from a bullet to a plane returning from Port-au-Prince was discovered. Earlier on Monday, a Spirit Airlines flight destined for the Haitian capital was struck by gunfire, forcing it to be diverted to the neighboring Dominican Republic. That incident had prompted JetBlue and American Airlines to cancel all flights through Thursday. JetBlue said its Flight 935 arrived later on Monday in New York without reporting any issues but a post-flight inspection later identified that the aircraft’s exterior had been struck by a bullet. "We are actively investigating this incident in collaboration with relevant authorities," JetBlue said, citing the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti in its decision to extend flight cancellations through early December. Spirit said in a statement that its plane had been damaged and taken out of commission upon landing in the northern Dominican city of Santiago. A flight attendant was injured in the incident, while no passengers were harmed. All flights in and out of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince have been halted, the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. embassy said Monday. The FAA said two other flights bound for Toussaint were diverted as a precaution.<br/>
US start-up carrier Avelo Airlines plans to soon launch its first-ever international flights, to Mexico and the Caribbean, as it establishes new “dual operations” bases in Connecticut and Florida. The moves come during a “huge week” that saw Avelo take delivery of its 20th mid-life Boeing 737NG ahead of the winter air travel season in the USA, CE Andrew Levy said in a recent social media post. “In all, we have 16 new routes and four new destinations debuting this month, giving our customers more choices this holiday than ever,” Levy says. Avelo’s twice-weekly flights between Hartford, Connecticut and Montego Bay, Jamaica will begin on 16 November, according to the airline’s schedule. Twice-weekly service between Hartford and Cancun, Mexico will begin on 20 November. The carrier’s base at Bradley International airport, near Hartford, opened on 7 November with two 737s initially positioned there. The base will complement its existing crew base at Tweed New Haven airport in Southern Connecticut as part of its dual operations strategy. ”Dual operations means that we will have crew based at both, but maintenance… will be served at one airport,” the airline tells FlightGlobal. Avelo says its maintenance and technical-operations staff will be based at Tweed New Haven, with some support staff stationed at Bradley International. <br/>
Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. said it’s been forced to delay the restart of its services to Israel and a new route to Ghana due to hold ups in the delivery of engines from Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc. Services to Tel Aviv will resume after October next year, instead of the original target of March, while flights to Ghana will be pushed back to around the same time from May, the company said in an emailed statement. The airline will contact customers starting Monday to discuss their options, include rebooking travel. “It’s been necessary to make these changes due to reduced availability of Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines, which are fitted to our Boeing 787-9 aircraft,” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said in the statement. Other carriers facing similar delays include IAG SA, the owner of British Airways, which reported last week that it had also been forced to ground some of its fleet and scrap some long-haul routes. The carrier made further cuts to its schedule for next summer, including the removal of Bahrain and Kuwait from its network, the suspension of services to Dallas and a reduction in flights to Miami.<br/>
Budget airline Wizz Air is set to expand its “all you can fly scheme” to thousands more members after its popularity with passengers. József Váradi, the CE of the budget airline, has said that the airline plans to open up its scheme to a further 15,000 members in the coming weeks after all its passes sold out within two days when it launched in August. However, the scheme has been met with some backlash from environmental campaigners over concerns that it could contribute to more pollution from its jets. The Wizz Air scheme costs E599 per year and allows customers to book a maximum of 72 hours in advance as a standby deal with a flat price of E9.99 for each flight, plus fees for any extras like baggage. Under the scheme, passengers can take up to three flights a day, allowing the airline to fill seats on flights that Wizz Air knows it will never completely fill. Váradi said there has been a “huge demand” for the scheme, which would suit those who travel often, regularly commute on certain routes, or have the flexibility to book last minute for cheap options. “We are working on an ‘all you can fly’ 2.0 and we should have some news within weeks,” Váradi said, according to The Telegraph. “We are creating a real gain for the consumer that also benefits our business. It’s a win-win.”<br/>
Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa's first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC), has announced record financial and operational results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2024. Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED564m ($153.55m) for the third quarter ending September 30, 2024, an 8% increase compared to AED522m in the same period of 2023. The airline achieved a turnover of AED1.78b, marking a 10% increase compared to the third quarter of last year. From July to September 2024, over 5.1m passengers travelled with Air Arabia Group across its operating hubs, reflecting an 8% increase from the 4.7m passengers carried in the same quarter of the previous year. The airline’s average seat load factor — representing the percentage of available seats occupied — increased by 2%, reaching an impressive 81% during the third quarter of 2024, underscoring the strong demand for Air Arabia’s services. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said: “Air Arabia’s record net profit in the third quarter, coupled with strong growth in revenue and passenger demand, is a testament to the strength of the business model we operate and the true value we offer to our customers."<br/>
Hainan Airlines Holding Co. plans to purchase 40 aircraft from planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China for as much as $1.52b combined to beef up its fleet and expand its business. Under the deal, the Shanghai-listed airline’s low-cost carrier unit Urumqi Air will sign an agreement with Comac, as the Chinese planemaker is better known, for 40 ARJ21-700 jets at $38m each, according to a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange. The planes are scheduled to be delivered in batches from 2025 to 2032. Hainan Airlines’ board of directors has approved the deal, which still needs the green light of its shareholders and the Chinese regulators, the airline said. It added it plans to ask for bank loans to help fund the purchase. Comac, which has few clients abroad, is known for its C919. The plane competes directly with Airbus SE’s A320 and Boeing Co.’s 737 but isn’t certified by other nations’ safety regulators and therefore can’t fly commercially outside of China. <br/>
A business group in Canada led by a Pakistani expat has offered the Pakistan government around Rs100b ($358m) to acquire its debt-ridden national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a letter written by the group’s CEO earlier this month shows. Cash-strapped Pakistan was looking to offload a 51-100% stake in debt-ridden PIA to raise funds and reform state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7b International Monetary Fund program. The process, however, hit a snag last month when the final bidding round attracted just one bid of Rs10b ($36m) for a 60% stake in the national flag carrier. The offer letter by the Al-Nihang’s Group, dated Nov. 3, has been sent to the ministries of aviation, defense and privatization as well as the Establishment Division and the Planning Commission. “I am writing to formally present an offer to acquire PIA at a valuation of PKR 100b in recognition of its invaluable role as Pakistan’s national carrier,” Al-Nihang’s CEO Faqir Muhammad M Ali said in the letter. “Al-Nihang’s Group will acquire the full shareholding of PIA in accordance with the terms outlined in the tender proposal, assuming comprehensive ownership.” Among proposed acquisition conditions, the group will be responsible for PIA’s existing liabilities, amounting to approximately Rs250b ($896m), and ensure all outstanding payments. It would also retain all current PIA employees for a period of 2-3 years and commit to continue paying salaries and benefits.<br/>There has been no comment as yet from Pakistani authorities regarding the offer.<br/>
The Australian government said on Tuesday it would provide up to A$80m ($52.6m) to airline Regional Express Holdings to keep its regional routes running during an extended voluntary administration process. Terms of the financing package were not disclosed. Transport Minister Catherine King said the funding was "another demonstration of our commitment to maintaining regional aviation access, recognising the important role that Rex plays in regional communities right across Australia." Rex in July entered voluntary administration, Australia's closest equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy, cut hundreds of jobs and closed its subsidiary that operated Boeing 737 flights between Australia's major cities. Traditionally focused on servicing Australia's regional areas with small planes, Rex in 2021 began larger jet flights on the big city routes dominated by Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia but failed to dent their market share. The company has continued using its fleet of ageing Saab 340 turboprop aircraft for regional flights after calling in administrators. Administrators at Ernst & Young Australia said in a statement that they intended to apply to the court for an extension of the voluntary administration to June 30.<br/>