WestJet announced a multi-billion-dollar, long-term commercial agreement with German aircraft services firm Lufthansa Technik to build a new engine repair station in Calgary. Lufthansa Technik will establish and operate the aircraft engine maintenance facility at the Calgary airport to service WestJet’s approximately 50 Boeing 737 Max airplanes, which WestJet says make up around a quarter of its fleet. The airline is projected to have more than 130 of the aircraft before the end of the decade, WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said. The facility will “ensure greater capacity, efficiency, cost certainty and rapid turnaround times for aircraft by servicing engines right here at our global home and global hub of operations,” he said at an announcement Thursday. Terry Duguid, the federal minister responsible for Prairies economic development Canada, called the facility a “game changer.”<br/>
unaligned
A new report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) concludes there were several factors that caused a Flair Airlines plane to overrun the runway at Region of Waterloo International Airport back in 2022, which includes pilot fatigue and an equipment defect. The Boeing 737-800, which is owned and operated by Flair Airlines, was heading to Kitchener-Waterloo when, upon landing on Nov. 25, 2022 at about 6:25 a.m. ET, it overran runway 26. A total of 134 passengers and six crew were on board flight F8 501 and while there was visible damage to one wing, no one was injured. Photos show the plane stopped in a field about 500 feet, or 152 metres, off the end of the runway in Breslau. The report released Thursday said the plane departed from Vancouver just after 2:30 a.m. ET with an inoperative left engine thrust reverser. It was something that had been detected in May of that year and the report points out there were 22 subsequent reports which "provided an opportunity to troubleshoot the problem." "Despite this, the defect did not meet the regulatory definition of a recurring defect, thus, Flair's maintenance control software did not identify it as such. If the underlying issue behind a persistent maintenance defect is not addressed in a timely manner, there is a risk that it may compound, resulting in a serious consequence," the report continued.<br/>
Norwegian will take a decision in the next six months on the 30 options it holds for Boeing 737 Max jets as it expects to take delivery of 11 to 13 aircraft this year. The low-cost carrier took the options as part of its order for 50 Max 8s placed in the summer of 2022. Speaking during a fourth quarter results briefing today, Norwegian CE Geir Karlsen said: “We do expect to take first delivery of our own aircraft order later this year. We will also take a decision during the next six months on the 30 options we have on top of the 50 aircraft. And the options have even more attractive pricing than the firm 50 aircraft.” Norwegian now expects to have a fleet of 88 Boeing narrowbodies this summer – it previously guided for around 90 – and Karlsen says the carrier will today take delivery of a third Max 8 so far this year. “That means we have already taken delivery of three out of the four aircraft we are planning ahead of the summer season,” he says. “So it is really good to see that the production rates at Boeing are increasing and that we can plan and be comfortable with the fleet we are planning to have during the peak season.” He adds: “We do anticipate to take delivery of 11 to 13 aircraft during 2025, which will take the fleet up to 94-96 aircraft by the end of this year.”<br/>
Saudi Arabia's leading low-cost carrier flynas is likely to receive more than 100 Airbus aircraft over the next five years, as part of its broader deal for 280 Airbus jets, said a top official. The airline aims to operate over 160 aircraft by 2030 in bid to meet growth targets. The announcement today (February 13) coincided with a visit from Airbus senior management to flynas’ headquarters in Riyadh. The scheduled delivery is part of its orders for 280 aircraft worth over SAR161b ($43b), one of the region's largest purchase orders, making flynas the largest owner of single-aisle airplane orders in the Middle East. The visit of the Airbus delegation coincided with flynas receiving a new Airbus A320neo airplane on February 8, bringing the total number of this type in the flynas fleet to 54. The delegation later toured flynas headquarters in Riyadh and reviewed the innovative solutions offered by the company. It also met senior flynas executives and held discussions on prospects for cooperation and strengthening their strategic relationship.<br/>
Nok Air denies allegations that it required payment of training fees from junior pilots as a requirement for employment at the airline, responding to a lawsuit. Teerawat Angkasakulkiat, president of the Thai Pilots Association, said 13 pilots filed a lawsuit against Nok Air last month. He said in 2018, the plaintiffs paid around 2.5m baht per person for training to qualify for a commercial pilot licence (CPL), anticipating employment at the airline after the programme. Teerawat said the pilots informed the association the airline inquired if the pilots could afford to pay for their own type rating training fees, as this programme required qualifications to operate a specific type of aircraft. The pilots believed this request was unfair<br/>
AirAsia has been named the world's best low-cost airline by Australia-based aviation safety and product rating agency, AirlineRatings.com. In the agency's annual Airline Excellence Awards, AirAsia Group – encompassing AirAsia, AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia X – was named the "World's Best Low-Cost Airline For 2025", beating, among others, Australia's Jetstar, European favourite Ryanair, and Singapore's Scoot. Other major categories in the awards include "World's Best Airlines" and "World's Best Hybrid Airlines", of which 20 companies were named in each category. Korean Air was named the world's best airline overall, beating the usual suspects (Qatar is at #2, while Singapore Airlines is at #5). The "World's Best Ultra Low Carrier" was snagged by Vietnam's VietJet, followed closely by the Philippines' Cebu Pacific. The "World’s Best Cabin Crew" went to Virgin Australia, while Singapore's Changi Airport was named "World's Best Airport". To compile the lists, AirlineRatings.com assesses carriers using 12 criteria that include safety and product rating, fleet age, profitability, serious incidents, innovation and forward fleet orders, as well as passenger reviews from multiple sources. The agency was formed by a team of aviation editors, who, according to its website "have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world". Story has full list.<br/>