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Ryanair has been forced to cut its forecast for passenger numbers for a second time, as delivery delays from Boeing continue to dent its growth ambitions. Europe’s largest low-cost airline on Monday said it expected to carry 206mn passengers in its next fiscal year, which begins in April, down from a previous estimate of 210mn. The airline had already revised down the target because of problems at Boeing, lowering its forecast from 215mn to 210mn passengers in November. “While Boeing 737 production is recovering from Boeing’s strike in late 2024, we no longer expect Boeing to deliver sufficient aircraft ahead of summer 2025,” said Ryanair CE Michael O’Leary. Ryanair is Boeing’s largest customer in Europe and has seen its growth plans dented by the crisis at the US manufacturer. Over the past year, Boeing has suffered from a damaging strike and has had to slow production lines to improve manufacturing processes following a mid-air door panel blowout on a jet last January. Still, Ryanair’s CFO Neil Sorahan said he believed “things are improving operationally” at Boeing’s factories, following a trip to the US this month. “Hopefully they are turning the corner,” he said. Boeing is 38 planes behind its original delivery agreement with Ryanair for its 737 Max 8, and the airline still needs another nine planes before the summer season to be able to hit its scaled-back growth plans. Sorahan said he was confident in those deliveries and that Boeing would be able to catch up with the delivery schedule next winter.<br/>

Aer Lingus cabin and ground crew will seek a 4% pay hike in coming weeks after pilots won a 17.75% boost last year following a dispute. Cabin and ground grew at the airline accepted a 12.25% increase in late 2023 before the pilots’ industrial action last summer. Unions including Siptu, Fórsa and Unite believe the pilots’ award triggered a clause in their own deals with Aer Lingus allowing their members to seek further increases should any other group in the company get better terms. Siptu organiser Terry Gill confirmed over the weekend that the organisations were seeking a meeting with the airline under the auspices of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to discuss a 4% increase for their members.<br/>

British low-cost airline Jet2 is offering baggage check-in the night before your morning flight at select UK airports, making those early departures a bit easier to handle. Jet2’s ‘Twilight Check-in’ allows passengers who are flying before midday to drop bags off the evening before their morning flight at their UK departure airport between the hours of 4.30pm and 9pm. Passengers must have already checked in online, which is available any time from 28 days to 24 hours before the flight, via its website or app. The baggage drop-off service allows passengers to make their morning flight a little easier, by enabling them to bypass baggage check-in and breeze straight to security. The service is designed to be useful to those who live near the airport or are staying at a hotel close by. Getting your checked-in baggage into the care of the airline the night before will not only allow passengers to beat the early morning queues at the check-in desks but will potentially allow them more time to grab a drink, peruse the duty-free and find their gate, alleviating some of that pre-flight stress. However, Twilight Check-in is only available at 10 airports in the UK.<br/>

Korean Air’s first two Airbus A350-900s have entered commercial service, with the carrier first deploying them on short-haul flights. The A350s – the first two of 33 examples – began operating twice-daily flights between Seoul Incheon and Osaka, as well as between Seoul Incheon and Fukuoka. The SkyTeam carrier says the A350 will be initially deployed on Japanese flights, before operating to Taipei in March. By the second half of the year, Korean Air will deploy them on long-haul European flights, including to Madrid and Rome. Korean first announced its intention to order the A350 in March 2024, before firming the order up in less than a month. The 33-aircraft deal comprises six A350-900s and 27 -1000s. Its A350-900s are configured to seat 311 passengers in a two-class configuration, with 28 business-class seats and 283 economy-class seats. Korean has not disclosed the configuration for the larger -1000s. The A350s are expected to replace older widebodies. Airline Business data shows the airline’s existing widebody fleet to include Boeing 777s, 747s, 787s, as well as Airbus A330s and A380s.<br/>

AirAsia X has been allowed more time to complete its acquisition of the AirAsia group of airlines, as it finalises the terms of a fundraising deal. Airline chief Benyamin Ismail says AirAsia X reached a mutual agreement with AirAsia parent Capital A for a two-month extension, calling it a “pragmatic step” to ensure “all aspects” of the deal are “thoroughly and meticulously” addressed. The airline will also “finalise the definitive terms” for a proposed private placement – raising MYR1b ($228m) in gross proceeds – with identified investors. AirAsia X shareholders in October backed the carrier’s acquisition of AirAsia, days after Capital A shareholders did likewise. Capital A first announced the divestment plan in January, as part of efforts to restructure its business and exit its financially-distressed status. The deal will see AirAsia and AirAsia X managed under a single entity, with a combined fleet of Airbus A320-family narrowbodies and A330s, as well as an “enhanced network” spanning short- and medium-to-long-haul destinations.<br/>

PAL is set to boost its flights to China by operating non-stop flight services to Beijing in March, the flag carrier announced on Monday. PAL, operated by PAL Holdings, Inc., is set to operate flights to Beijing Capital International Airport starting March 30, it said in a statement. The company will operate non-stop flights to Beijing three times a week, every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, starting March 30, it said. PAL President and COO Stanley K. Ng said the new service is expected to boost tourism and enhance trade between the Philippines and China. “We believe that the Manila-Beijing service will help boost tourism, enhance trade, and deepen the friendly ties between the Filipino and Chinese people,” Ng said.<br/>

Virgin Australia has launched a European price war with Qantas that will see it fly from Sydney to London for as little as $2,000 return. It marks the airline’s first aggressive move to market to European destinations since it stopped flying to the hub airports of Hong Kong in 2020 and Abu Dhabi in 2017 before entering administration in 2020. The low prices will also likely be seen as an attempt to convince the federal government to approve its deal with Qatar, which will enable flights to Doha. Qatar announced last year it would purchase a 25% stake in the Australian airline and, as part of the agreement, would ‘wet lease’ aircraft and crew to Virgin so it could fly 28 services a week to the Middle Eastern country’s capital. The “flash sale fares” are for travel between 17 June and 11 July 2025 on flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to Doha (VA1/2, VA15/16 or VA21/22) and onwards connections to Europe. Economy class fares include Sydney to Paris from $1,927 return, Sydney to London from $2,035 return and Brisbane to Barcelona from $1,938 return.<br/>