Major US airlines are forecasting a return to full utilisation of regional jets that had been slow to return to service in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic. Executives with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said during recent earnings calls that they are dialling up the use of the jets, which are flown by partner regional airlines. Indeed, regional carriers have roughly half as many jets grounded now as they did about two years ago. American on 23 January said it expected its regional-fleet passenger capacity (as measured in available seat kilometres) would increase 17% year on year in the first quarter, “as we return to full utilisation”. Delta, meanwhile, expects half of its 2025 capacity growth to come from “improved utilisation of both our mainline and regional fleets”, chief executive Ed Bastian said on 10 January, with “incremental capacity deployed primarily into our high-margin core hubs”. ”We expect the regionals to be back to full flying of our assets,” adds Dan Janki, Delta’s chief financial officer. ”We have that capability.” United recently said that returning its full fleet of regional jets to service will prove the “right call for 2025”. In September, the Regional Airline Association (RAA) confirmed that dozens of regional jets that had been sitting in the Arizona desert were returning to commercial service, with regional airline companies taking advantage of a temporary reprieve in pilot attrition. As demand recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, major US carriers frenziedly poached first officers and captains from their regional counterparts – which, in many cases, are subsidiary companies of America, Delta, United and Alaska Airlines. <br/>
unaligned
JetBlue Airways is offering early retirement packages to some of its pilots, their labor union told members on Friday. The carrier has been working to cut costs and raise up revenue with initiatives such as new first-class seats while dealing with a Pratt & Whitney engine recall that has grounded some of its airplanes. The company has opened voluntary separation bids and they will close on Feb. 7, said the Air Line Pilots Association note, which was seen by CNBC. JetBlue and the union agreed to pay pilots out for 55 hours of their hourly pay rate to their mandatory retirement day or 18 months from the separation agreement, whichever was less. As an example, the letter of agreement said an Airbus A320 captain, 12 years in and who turns 65 in December 2027 would receive $416,293.02, while an Embraer E190 captain with eight years of experience who turns 65 at the end of the year would get $160,858.91. JetBlue, which reports quarterly results on Tuesday, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The letter of agreement between the company and union from earlier this week states eligible pilots will be 59 years old on or before March 31. The federally-mandated retirement age for U.S. commercial airline pilots is 65.<br/>
The boss of Brazilian airline Azul has argued that its planned merger with rival Gol to create the country’s largest carrier will strengthen Brazil’s aviation industry and expand the number of routes on offer. CE John Rodgerson defended the tie-up as bolstering a sector still grappling with the financial fallout of the Covid-19 crisis, saying it would drive efficiencies and benefit consumers. Azul-Gol would control about 60% of the domestic market, giving rise to concerns about the potential impact on competition and ticket prices. But Rodgerson described it as a “merger of growth” that could increase the number of destinations served by Azul from 150 to 200. “We can strengthen our balance sheet and connect a lot more people,” the American businessman told the Financial Times. “[It is an] opportunity to grow and to add more cities to the map, add more [flight] frequencies. He added that the deal, which will require regulatory approval, could even lower ticket prices in certain markets, “because we’re going to get more capacity up in the air”. The proposed tie-up follows a difficult period for Latin America’s airlines. They received little direct financial assistance from governments during the pandemic, in contrast to the billions of dollars showered on US and European peers, leading many to skirt or fall into bankruptcy. Brazilian carriers also complain that the country’s expensive jet fuel prices and widespread passenger lawsuits push up costs and fares. Gol filed for bankruptcy last year, and is seeking $1.9bn of financing in order to exit Chapter 11 proceedings in the US, while Azul has struck out-of-court agreements with creditors to reduce its liabilities and unlock new funds. Latam Airlines, the region’s largest group, emerged from bankruptcy protection in late-2022.<br/>
Aer Lingus has dropped a challenge to Ryanair’s proposal to build a E40m maintenance hangar at Dublin Airport. The carrier was seeking leave from the planning appeals body An Bord Pleanála to challenge Fingal County Council’s decision to allow its rival build the hangar next to a facility leased by Aer Lingus at the airport. However, Aer Lingus confirmed on Friday it had dropped the appeal application “in respect of the planning permission granted for the construction of hangar 7″. It had feared preparatory work Dublin Airport would have had to complete to allow Ryanair build the facility would have interfered with its own operations at the adjacent hangar 6. “Following a period of uncertainty, Aer Lingus has now made significant progress in discussions with Dublin Airport on a workable solution for operations at the adjacent hangar 6,” it said in a statement. “We will now work constructively with Dublin Airport in order to formalise that solution.” Aer Lingus leases hangar 6 at the airport. It wanted to appeal the local authority’s decision to grant Ryanair permission for hangar 7 on the grounds that the preparatory work at the site would have prevented aircraft from getting in and out of its own facility.<br/>
Ryanair is taking advantage of a suspension of Dublin airport’s contentious traffic cap to hike capacity at the Irish capital this summer. The airline is to station a total of 34 aircraft at Dublin, including 14 Boeing 737 Max 8-200s. Ireland’s aviation regulator had warned last year that Dublin would be forced to impose slot restrictions this summer over a legacy planning condition for its terminal buildings. This condition capped total annual passenger numbers for the two terminals at 32m. Ryanair and Aer Lingus took legal action over the cap and the Irish High Court, at the end of last year, ordered a stay on the cap pending a European Union court ruling. The budget airline describes the cap as “artificial” and says its suspension will enable the carrier to expand its Dublin operation. It will open a new route to the Moroccan capital, Rabat, and put additional frequencies on 18 other routes – among them Milan, Malta and Valencia. Ryanair says this marks its first capacity increase at Dublin since the Irish Aviation Authority enforced the cap in May last year.<br/>
Long-haul budget carrier Norse Atlantic Airways is opening a new connection to Los Angeles, from the Greek capital Athens. Norse Atlantic says it will commence the transatlantic service on 3 June. It will operate four-times weekly using Boeing 787s, the only aircraft type used by the carrier. Norse Atlantic already serves Los Angeles from other European cities: London, Paris and Rome. “The new route will mark the airline’s commitment to offering new destinations for the US market,” it states. CE Bjorn Tore Larsen says the carrier “expects the uptake to be positive” and open “more transatlantic options for our customers”.<br/>
Etihad Airways and flynas are gearing up to list on local stock markets this year, marking the first IPOs by Gulf carriers in nearly two decades, with Etihad sounding out investors next week ahead of a potential sale of around a 20% stake, two sources said. Etihad is looking at a listing this quarter, the people with knowledge of its plans said, with one of them saying the airline would target both local and international investors. It could raise around $1b in what would be the first airline IPO in the Gulf since Kuwait's Jazeera Airways in 2008, one of the two people and a third source said. Saudi Arabia's budget carrier flynas, backed by Kingdom Holding, the investment company of billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, could also list this year, another person familiar with its plans said. Qatar Airways, one of the region's biggest carriers, could go public before the decade is out.<br/>
Israeli airlines, including El Al, Arkia, and IsraAir, have been instructed by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) not to fly to Paphos in Cyprus on Sunday, according to Israeli media. According to N12, the three airlines confirmed that all flights to Paphos have been suspended "due to security reasons that cannot be made public." Additionally, a Shin Bet representative told N12 that flights would be rerouted to the airport at Larnaca instead.<br/>
Both engines of the Jeju Air plane that crashed in December 2024 contained duck remains, according to a preliminary report on Jan 27, with the authorities still trying to determine what caused the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil. The six-page report, released by the South Korean authorities a month after the crash, said both engines of the Boeing 737-800 jet contained DNA from the Baikal teal, a type of migratory duck that flies to South Korea for winter in huge flocks. But the report provided no initial conclusions about what may have caused the plane to land without its landing gear deployed, and why flight data recorders stopped recording in the final four minutes of the flight. The Jeju Air flight from Bangkok on Dec 29, 2024, overshot Muan International Airport’s runway as it made an emergency belly landing and crashed into an embankment containing navigation equipment, called localisers, killing all but two of the 181 people and crew members on board. “After the crash into the embankment, fire and a partial explosion occurred. Both engines were buried in the embankment’s soil mound, and the fore fuselage scattered up to 30m-200m from the embankment,” the report said, providing some new pictures of the accident site. The localisers aid navigation of an aircraft making an approach to the runway, and the structure built of reinforced concrete and earth at Muan airport supporting the system’s antennae likely contributed to the high death toll, experts have said.<br/>
Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo has confirmed that it is working to add widebody aircraft earlier than previously announced, as it aims to tap strong travel demand in its home country. IndiGo already has two Boeing 777s on wet lease from Turkish Airlines to serve Istanbul routes and is due to begin receiving its first owned widebody aircraft from its firm commitment for 30 Airbus A350-900s in 2027, but said during an earnings call on 24 January that it wants to take long-range aircraft ahead of those deliveries. That would help it to serve “a vast reservoir of untapped potential” on international routes, according to chief executive Pieter Elbers. “Subject to regulator proposals, we are exploring interim solutions for the earlier introduction of long-range aircraft to our fleet through wet leases,” Elbers states. “Route and network opportunities are being explored at present and we will communicate as and when they are finalised.” Local reports suggest IndiGo has a agreement in place to lease six Boeing 787-9 twinjets from Scandinavian low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic Airways and begin operations to European hubs from India, potentially including Amsterdam, London and Paris.<br/>
Aviation start-up Koala Airlines has survived a winding-up application in the Victorian Supreme Court. The application, which had been filed by apparent creditor Wealth Creation Pty Ltd, was on Wednesday dismissed with the consent of both parties, with no orders made as to costs. It comes after Australian Aviation exclusively reported on the application earlier this month. Koala had gained some attention in national press, including the ABC’s Four Corners, following the collapse of Bonza and Rex last year as a potential new competitor to the domestic duopoly of Qantas Group and Virgin Australia. On its website, Koala – founded in 2018 by industry veteran Bill Astling – features numerous renders of 737 MAX 8s in its own livery, the same aircraft type used by Bonza before its liquidation. Despite Koala claiming to hold the Air Operator’s Certificate CASA.AOC.0317, no such AOC exists in the CASA register, with the closest entry – CASA.138AWK.0317 – being registered to the State of Western Australia.<br/>