Southwest Airlines is closing two flight attendant bases amid its cost-cutting push that has also led to its first mass layoffs in its more than 50 years of flying. The airline is closing the satellite bases at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and at Texas’ Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, according to a flight attendant union memo. “While the Company is within its rights to make this decision, it is not without impact on Flight Attendants,” said TWU Local 556 President Bill Bernal. He said the union and company agreed to move the closure back one month, making it effective on July 1. “This allows affected Members more time to make arrangements for this change in their professional and personal lives,” Bernal said. The airports are so-called satellite bases for flight attendants, not pilots, and smaller than its main bases. A Southwest spokesman said the carrier opened the bases in early 2018 and that the 280 flight attendants who will be affected can transfer to the 12 main bases. “This change will ultimately help strengthen our Crew network and support a more reliable operation for our Employees and Customers,” the airline said in a statement. The Dallas-based carrier has been slashing unprofitable routes, affecting hundreds of front-line employees, including in Atlanta. Last month, the airline said it was will cut 15% of corporate staff, or 1,750 people, that would save it about $210m this year.<br/>
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The international low-cost carriers SpiceJet, Eastar Jet, T'way Air, and ThayAirAsia will start operating in the Kazakhstan market in 2025, said Kazakhstan's Minister of Transport Marat Karabaev during the 2024 year-end summary meeting, Trend reports. "16 new destinations are planned to be opened, including Rome, Munich, Budapest, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Busan. Budget routes for passengers will expand due to the arrival of four new foreign low-cost carriers: SpiceJet (India), Eastar Jet and T’way Air (South Korea), ThayAirAsia (Thailand)," the minister noted. Marat Karabaev also added that in 2023, Kazakh Airlines transported 13.3m people. In 2024, this number grew by 11%, reaching 14.7m passengers. A whopping 29.7m people were served at airports in total, which is 14% more than in 2023 (26.1m). Earlier, it was reported that Kazakhstan’s Air Astana is expanding its network to China with a new flight to Guangzhou, which will start on March 30, 2025.<br/>
Guernsey's airline is launching flights to Corsica for the first time this summer. Aurigny said it would fly to the port town of Bastia in the Mediterranean island, with popular services to Alicante in Spain, Porto in Portugal, and Nice in France to also return. The States-owned airline said the routes were picked after more than 1,000 voted for their favourite European destinations. It said the 38 new flights running between 17 May and 20 September would not displace any of its existing services, including those to and from the UK. The airline said the latest data showed "a marked improvement" after a series of delays and cancellations, with 91% of flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure in February.<br/>
The boss of Britain’s biggest regional airline criticised rail travel as a poor alternative to flying even on relatively short journeys within the UK. Luke Farajallah, CE of Loganair, said suggestions that people should be encouraged to take trains instead of planes were misguided, because rail travel was slow and relatively expensive even for trips between major cities. Farajallah spoke after Loganair announced a 35-minute flight from Manchester to Southampton that he predicted would prove a popular alternative to both rail and road. It comes after the Government’s official adviser on climate change said last month that “restricting some domestic flights” might need to be considered as a potential “lever” towards hitting net zero. The Climate Change Committee indicated that restrictions could be introduced on the 31pc or more of such flights with a rail alternative of under five hours, while noting that domestic flying accounts for just 4pc of Britain’s overall aviation emissions. Farajallah said: “I fundamentally disagree with all of these arguments. People should be encouraged to fly these distances if they want to. There is a demand to fly and it’s the most convenient and easiest way to travel. People also underestimate how expensive the railway actually is when you really add it all up, including travel to and from the train station.”<br/>
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways will push back its planned $1b initial public offering until at least next month, after the Eid al Fitr holiday, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Etihad had not officially announced a date for the IPO, but sources had told Reuters that the airline would make an announcement last week, after reporting a tripling of profits, in what would be the first new listing of a major Gulf airline in nearly two decades. Reuters could not determine the reason for the delay. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Etihad, which is owned by Abu Dhabi's $225b wealth fund ADQ, declined to comment, as did ADQ. The Gulf offering could be a bright spot for investors in the airline sector, which has elsewhere has been contending with delivery delays, labour disruption, surging costs and engine troubles. Etihad, which started operations in 2003, had planned to issue shares for about 20% of its business to fund its growth ambitions, sources told Reuters. Last month, it said net profit had more than tripled last year to $476m. The carrier has been through a multi-year restructuring and management shake-up but has expanded under new CEO Antonoaldo Neves.<br/>
AirAsia Aviation Group has confirmed 14 new aircraft deliveries in 2025 as it anticipates a surge in travel demand. The carrier's internal guidance targets 70m passengers in FY25, which represents an increase of 11% from the previous year. "To achieve this, the group is expanding capacity, enhancing connectivity, and optimising its network for greater efficiency. "With a sharp focus on operational excellence and cost leadership, AirAsia’s immediate priorities are to strengthen its domestic market share and improve Fly-Thru connectivity across all operating markets, while in the medium term, it will explore expanding into key global destinations to bring new destinations to guests," it said in a statement. Four of the AirAsia's new aircraft will come direct from Airbus and the other 10 from lessors. AirAsia Aviation Group CEO Bo Lingam said the carrier's future growth is fully secured with the next 56 aircraft already financed. <br/>
Carrier Virgin Australia said on Wednesday it had picked Dave Emerson, its CCO, for its top seat, succeeding Jayne Hrdlicka, while the airline works to relist itself on the local stock exchange. Hrdlicka, who announced her intention to step down in February 2024, led the airline through a critical four-year period, including its acquisition by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital in 2020 amid the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The leadership transition comes at a pivotal moment for Virgin, with Bain Capital reviving its long-anticipated plans for a public listing. Initial efforts to return to the ASX, with an estimated A$1b ($625.5m) offering, were previously delayed. The appointment follows scrutiny from Australia's Employment Minister, Murray Watt, who urged the airline to carefully assess its next leader's industrial relations history. At one point, Virgin's chief customer officer, Paul Jones, was reportedly considered a front-runner for the role. Jones played a key role in the wrongful termination of over 1,700 ground workers at the start of the pandemic — a move later deemed illegal — while serving as a Qantas executive overseeing airports. The powerful Transport Workers Union had said they would withdraw their support for Virgin Australia's plan to use planes and crew from Qatar Airways if Jones was appointed CEO. "Virgin workers were instrumental to getting the airline back on its feet. They've always had the airline's best interests at heart and now Emerson must make it clear that workers are a priority going forward," said Michael Kaine, the union's national secretary.<br/>
Prime Minister Aisake 'Eke's government is initiating a review of the operations of Lulutai Airlines, Tonga's only domestic airline, with a possibility that the company may be wound up. The Minister for Public Enterprise Piveni Piukala said if the company is wound up and its are operations closed, the government will take the necessary action to ensure that domestic demand is met. He confirmed the sacking of the airline's CE, Poasi Tei, as the first step toward taking control of the situation. He has been replaced by Tevita Palu, the owner of Palu Aviation and Real Tonga Airlines. Palu is a seasoned aviation industry expert and operated Real Tonga before the previous government of the late Dr Pohiva Tuioneto'a approved the setting up of Lulutai. Piukala said Palu is being tasked with leading a review of Lulutai's operations and report back to government.<br/>