Southwest Airlines on Thursday said Executive Vice President and CFO Tammy Romo will retire from the role effective April 1, after more than three decades with the airline. The Dallas-based carrier said it will begin a search for Romo’s replacement. Romo joined Southwest in 1991 and has held several leadership roles, including head of investor relations, controller, treasurer, and senior VP for planning. She was appointed CFO in 2012. Romo was added to the board of directors of Tenet Healthcare in 2015 in addition to working as chair of its audit committee. The airline, which has struggled to restore profit margins since the COVID-19 pandemic, came under activist pressure in June of last year, but has since unveiled several initiatives such as aircraft sale-leasebacks to reinforce profits. Southwest also said Chief Administration Officer Linda Rutherford will retire from that role on April 1 as well, after joining the firm in 1992.<br/>
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Ryanair plans to operate a full schedule of flights from Tel Aviv this summer and is hopeful that Ben Gurion Airport will reopen its shuttered Terminal 1, senior executive Eddie Wilson said in an interview on Thursday. Ryanair is one of a number of airlines to have withdrawn from Israel due to war in Gaza and Lebanon. It restarted flights from neighbouring Jordan in December. "We rely on (European aviation regulator) EASA guidance ... but our view is that we will be back," said Wilson, CE of Ryanair DAC, the largest of five subsidiary airlines operated by the Ryanair Group. "We've got a full schedule I think for Tel Aviv...so we will be back in there for the summer as I think most of the other airlines will be," Wilson said. Asked about the reopening of Ben Gurion's Terminal 1, which is used by low-cost operators, Wilson said: "We would hope that they would take the sensible decision to open that." Wilson, who was speaking in Berlin, said Ryanair planned to deploy two additional aircraft to regional airports in Germany this summer, offering 800,000 more seats. But he said it would not reverse cuts of 1.8m seats announced at bigger airports like Berlin, Hamburg and Leipzig due to high airport charges.<br/>
Guernsey's airline, Aurigny, has hired a new COO with a background in recruiting and retaining pilots. A review of Aurigny in 2024 found issues around the number of aircrew were one of the reasons the airline suffered regular flight disruption. COO Philip Smallwood has 30 years of experience working in the industry and has overseen recruitment and managing more than 4,000 pilots. Aurigny said his knowledge would be "pivotal" in 2025 as the airline concentrated on "operational resilience" during "pilot shortages globally". Aurigny CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said he was delighted to welcome him to the team. "Philip brings extensive, relevant experience in the fields of resource management and operations delivery from Europe's leading airlines," he said.<br/>
Before it suffered the deadliest crash in South Korea's history, budget airline Jeju Air was moving fast: racking up record passenger numbers and flying its aircraft more than domestic rivals and many of its global peers, data show. The high "utilisation rate" of Jeju Air's planes - the number of hours they fly in a day - is not problematic in itself, experts say, but means scheduling enough time for required maintenance is crucial. Authorities have suggested a bird strike contributed to the accident, but as part of their probe into the incident aboard Boeing 737-800, police have raided the airlines' Seoul office to seize documents related to the operation and maintenance of the plane. "You're literally looking at everything," said aviation safety and crash investigation expert Anthony Brickhouse. "You're going to start off with their accident history and safety history. What kind of events have they had in the past, what happened, what was done to correct the issues?" Jeju Air told Reuters that it did not neglect maintenance procedures and that it would step up its safety efforts. The Dec. 29 crash, which killed 179 people, was the airline's first fatal accident since its 2005 founding and the first for any Korean airline in more than a decade. The company's CEO, Kim E-bae - who has been barred from travelling overseas during the investigation - told a news conference last week that Jeju's maintenance is in line with regulatory standards and that there were no maintenance issues with the doomed jet during pre-flight inspection.<br/>
A flight of Korean low-cost carrier Jin Air from Japan to Korea was grounded Tuesday due to a mechanical issue with the aircraft, according to industry sources Thursday. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft of Jin Air flight LJ350 from Japan's Kitakyushu Airport to Incheon International Airport was found with a problem in the horizontal stabilizer during a pre-flight inspection at 9:30 a.m. Jin Air, a subsidiary of domestic industry leader Korean Air, determined that the issue required a component replacement. The airline subsequently canceled the flight, and all 87 passengers disembarked. They were later transferred to a subsequent scheduled flight, which departed at 2 p.m. The flight was of the same B737-800 model as Jeju Air's doomed 7C2216 flight, which crashed in Korea on Dec. 29, claiming the lives of 179 passengers.<br/>
Starlux Airlines has firmed up options for five additional Airbus A350 freighters, doubling an initial order placed in 2024. The order, announced 9 January, comes as the Taiwanese operator focuses on cargo as a “key element” of its business model. Starlux will operate the A350Fs on “some of the world’s busiest freight routes”. Starlux placed an initial order for five A350Fs – with options for five more – at the Singapore air show in 2024, marking its first foray into dedicated cargo aircraft operations. The airline, which will also be the first Taiwanese operator of the type, had previously said its initial A350F would be delivered after 2026. The Taipei-based carrier is an all-Airbus operator, with a fleet of 26 aircraft comprising a mix of A321neos, A330neos and A350-900s. The order now takes the backlog for the A350F to 55 aircraft. Other customers include Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Air France. The A350-1000-derived freighter is expected to enter commercial service in 2026. <br/>