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Allegiant Air ended last year with four Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft after taking three of the type sooner than previously expected. The Las Vegas-based leisure carrier had anticipated introducing a lone 737 Max 8 into service before the close. However, that earlier prediction came amid a weeks-long strike by Boeing’s unionised machinists, which shut down Boeing’s Seattle-area commercial aircraft production for about five weeks. At the time, a few 737s with Allegiant liveries had reportedly rolled of Boeing’s production line in Renton, but still needed “final touches” and were delayed as a result of Boeing’s machinists’ strike. Boeing rebounded from the production halt and delivered the jets more quickly than Allegiant had forecast. Allegiant’s new 737 Max 8s are helping “address operational inefficiencies caused by previous aircraft delivery delays”, CE Greg Anderson said during the company’s 4 February earnings call. The discounter has previously been forced to adjust its fleet renewal plans after several 737 delivery delays. Originally, it had expected to take 12 new jets from Boeing last year. <br/>

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has barred WestJet from telling travellers their reimbursement for meals and accommodations is capped. The ruling states that "passengers would suffer harm" if WestJet continued to communicate the policy to customers or post it on its website, which laid out fixed dollar limits on repayment amounts. Until last summer, travellers forced to find a hotel room or restaurant due to a cancelled flight were told the airline would reimburse them up to $150 per night for accommodations — $200 if abroad — and $45 per day for food. The policy excluded roaming charges, lost wages and missed events from reimbursement. The Calgary-based airline has said it took down the post from its website in August and replaced it with rules that impose no ceiling for costs incurred due to a delay or cancellation within the carrier's control. In court filings, it said its repayment approach is reasonable and that it has no plans to revive the previous policy. “WestJet will consider reasonable requests for expenses incurred due to the subject flight disruption," it stated in an affidavit. The company said in an email it does not comment on matters before the court.<br/>

Porter Airlines announced on Tuesday that it will expand its service to Hamilton, with four new routes launching in the summer. Starting this June, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM) will offer daily flights to Calgary (YYC), Edmonton (YEG), Halifax (YHZ), and Vancouver (YVR), alongside a series of terminal upgrades. “The Porter experience is something that travellers in Hamilton have never seen before,” said Michael Deluce, CEO of Porter Airlines. “Our team takes great pride in delivering amenities that make flying something to look forward to, doing so with an emphasis on care and service. Hamiltonians and their neighbours have long deserved a commitment such as what Porter is making, with four routes connecting them across the country.”<br/>

An Azerbaijani passenger plane that crashed in December after being diverted from Russia to Kazakhstan was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system, an Azerbaijani government source told Reuters on Tuesday. Thirty-eight people were killed when the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed on Dec. 25 near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after re-routing across the Caspian Sea from southern Russia. "The Azerbaijani side possesses a fragment of a Pantsir-S missile which was extracted from the aircraft and identified through international expertise," the source said.<br/>

South Korea's Air Busan will not allow passengers to keep power banks in luggage stored in overhead cabin bins, in what on Tuesday it called a preemptive measure after one of its planes was engulfed in flames last week. An investigation led by South Korean authorities into the fire has begun, but no cause has yet been determined. Air accidents are nearly always caused by a combination of factors, according to experts. Passenger carry-on bags inspected at boarding gates and found not to contain power banks will be tagged and then allowed in overhead luggage bins, in measures set to begin on Friday on trial routes, before expanding to all flights. Any power banks should be kept with passengers so any overheating, smoke or fire can quickly be spotted and dealt with. Air Busan said the changes, which will also include additional crew fire training and fire containment equipment on board, were in response to an increase in the number of power banks overheating. The fire, which began on Jan. 28 while preparing for departure to Hong Kong, was first detected by a flight attendant in an overhead luggage bin in the rear left-hand side of the plane, Air Busan has said. All on board were evacuated safely. Lithium batteries are a type of rechargeable battery found in devices such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, spare power banks and electronic cigarettes. Global aviation standards say they must not be placed in checked-in luggage because they can start intense fires if they short circuit due to damage or manufacturing faults.<br/>

Pakistan is expected to trigger a new expressions of interest campaign for the acquisition of a majority stake in PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International). It will be in the second time in less than 12 months that the government has attempted to sell off the carrier. Islamabad's The News International newspaper reports on a briefing given by Privatisation Committee secretary Usman Bajwa on February 3 to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation. He said that his committee, an agency of the Ministry of Finance, was "fully prepared" for another attempt to sell PIA. A previous October 2024 auction flopped after it attracted just one PKR10b rupee (US$36m) bid, well below the PKR85b (US$305m) reserve price. While the government has shunted most of PIA's not inconsiderable debts to a newly established holding company, approximately PKR45b (US$161m) in debts remain on PIA's balance sheet. In the wash-up of the failed auction, that remaining debt was identified as a significant deterrent to would-be buyers. The government "now plans to devise a mechanism" to remove the liabilities from the books, saying this will make PIA a more saleable proposition.<br/>

Qantas and Jetstar will ramp up their Darwin capacity by more than 10% this year. The two airlines will between them increase available seats to and from the Top End to more than 2.3m in 2025, with more flights between Darwin and Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, and Sydney. It comes as Virgin Australia axes its seasonal Darwin-Adelaide service citing low demand. From April to May, Qantas will increase Darwin-Adelaide flights from 10 to 14 per week, while Jetstar will boost Darwin-Adelaide from four to seven per week between June and October, for a total of three combined flights per day. Qantas flights from Darwin to Brisbane will go from nine to 10 per week in May and 13 in June, including a new daily 737 service, while Qantas will fly 12 times per week to Sydney in April-May and double daily from June to October, meaning there will be three daily Qantas Group flights between Darwin and Sydney in the July school holidays. Finally, Qantas will bring back its seasonal Darwin-Canberra service three times per week from July to September.<br/>