The federal government sued Southwest Airlines on Wednesday, accusing the airline of harming passengers who flew on two routes that were plagued by consistent delays in 2022. In a lawsuit, the Transportation Department said it was seeking more than $2.1m in civil penalties over the flights between airports in Chicago and Oakland, Calif., as well as Baltimore and Cleveland, that were chronically delayed over five months that year. “Airlines have a legal obligation to ensure that their flight schedules provide travelers with realistic departure and arrival times,” the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, said in a statement. “Today’s action sends a message to all airlines that the department is prepared to go to court in order to enforce passenger protections.” Carriers are barred from operating unrealistic flight schedules, which the Transportation Department considers an unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive practice. A “chronically delayed” flight is defined as one that operates at least 10 times a month and is late by at least 30 minutes more than half the time. In a statement, Southwest said it was “disappointed” that the department chose to sue over the flights that took place more than two years ago. The airline said it had operated 20m flights since the Transportation Department enacted its policy against chronically delayed flights more than a decade ago, with no other violations. “Any claim that these two flights represent an unrealistic schedule is simply not credible when compared with our performance over the past 15 years,” Southwest said. Last year, Southwest canceled fewer than 1% of its flights, but more than 22% arrived at least 15 minutes later than scheduled, according to Cirium, an aviation data provider. Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines all had fewer such delays.<br/>
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Ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) Frontier Airlines is continuing along the “premiumisation” pathway by rolling out free seat upgrades for its highest-tier loyalty programme members. The change comes as part of broad strategy to lure more higher-paying customers – a break from Frontier’s recent business model as a bare-bones discounter with minimal upgrade options – which the carrier is calling “The New Frontier”. The Denver-based carrier said on 15 January that free seat upgrades for Elite Status members is ”the first of several exciting innovations coming in 2025”. Notably, Frontier disclosed last month plans to roll out first-class seats this year. ”Starting today, eligible Elite Status members can upgrade to both premium seating and UpFront Plus, featuring guaranteed open middle seats,” Frontier says. “Later this year, upgrades to the all-new first class seating will also become available.” Under the new premium-seating strategy, Elite Status members will be eligible for upgrades 12h before flights depart. Discounters have been under pressure to make changes as the US domestic market has been flooded with inexpensive airline seats, particularly to warm-weather vacation destinations. Major carriers have fine-tuned low-cost products of their own while also benefiting from more-lucrative business- and first-class seating segments, running away with the majority of the sector’s profits. Frontier, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines and even Southwest Airlines have all realigned their networks and introduced significant cost-structure changes in response to shifting market dynamics. <br/>
Brazilian airline Gol released a revised five-year strategic plan on Wednesday as it prepares to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, saying the new forecasts would serve as a base for its reorganization. Gol said in a securities filing it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 in May, and sees its net leverage "substantially improving" going forward as it rebuilds its network and returns to "normal levels" of core earnings by next year. The carrier, one of Brazil's largest, filed for Chapter 11 in the United States in early 2024 as it grappled with high debts, hit by a fall in traffic due to the COVID pandemic and Boeing delivery delays. "We have secured lessor concessions, addressed maintenance and past-due liabilities, launched a profit improvement plan, and reached agreements with key stakeholders," Gol's CE Celso Ferrer said in a statement. "When implemented through the reorganization plan, they will deleverage Gol's balance sheet." The five-year plan assumes the successful completion of a planned $330m capital raise as part of the Chapter 11 exit as well as $1.54b of exit debt, Gol said. It expects a "significant dilution" of its existing shares. Gol estimated its net leverage as measured by net debt/EBITDA ratio at 6.1 when it emerges from Chapter 11, but said that it should quickly trend down to 2.7 by the end of 2027 and 1.9 by the end of 2029. As part of the five-year plan, Gol projected its fleet to reach 167 aircraft by 2029, up from 137 this year. The Brazilian carrier flies only Boeing 737 jets and has been renewing its fleet as it takes delivery of newer 737 MAX aircraft.<br/>
Azul and Golb, two of Brazil's largest airlines, are moving a step closer to a sweeping merger that would create a dominant carrier in Latin America's No. 1 economy, a securities filing showed on Wednesday. The union of the two companies, which follows months of talks and market speculation, would hold roughly 60% of the domestic market, far surpassing the local unit of Chile-based LATAM Airlines. Azul CE John Rodgerson said in an interview that the combined carrier, which would continue operating two separate brands despite the combined ownership, would be "a national champion." Seeking to rebuff potential competition concerns, Rodgerson pointed to other national carriers with dominant shares in their home markets, including LATAM in Chile, Lufthansa in Germany and IAG in the UK. "So these other countries understand the importance of having a strong airline that can grow," he told Reuters. "Especially a strong company which buys local aircraft." Azul's fleet includes regional jets from Brazil's Embraer as well as Airbus single- and twin-aisle planes, while Gol flies only Boeing 737 aircraft. He added that the move would allow for larger connectivity and lower cost of capital.<br/>
An Australian man who stopped over in Singapore before flying to Phuket had his holiday cut short when the Thai authorities barred him from entering their country as his passport had a page of visas torn out. Marli Curtis Philip Moncrieff, 36, returned to Singapore shortly before 1.30am on Nov 20, 2024, but was also denied entry into the country for the same reason. About four hours later, he was escorted to an aerobridge at Changi Airport to board a Jetstar flight back to Perth. Upset at the turn of events, he said: “I want the aircraft to crash and kill everyone.” Moncrieff was removed from the flight. He later told his girlfriend who was with him: “If they put me on another flight, I will tell them I will crash the plane again.” He was arrested soon after. On Wednesday (Jan 15), Moncrieff was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to a harassment charge. Before handing down the sentence, Principal District Judge Toh Han Li stressed that the case involved threats pertaining to aviation security, and added: “Words can have serious consequences.” The judge also noted that Moncrieff had made the threats on more than one occasion. Deputy Public Prosecutor Shaun Lim told the court that after Moncrieff flew back to Singapore from Thailand, officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) helped him retrieve his medication, ordinarily prescribed for depression and anxiety, from his checked-in luggage.<br/>