Egyptian investigators have referred the case of the crashed MetroJet Airbus A321 to the country’s attorney general after receiving a Russian analysis pointing to sabotage. Investigation committee chief Ayman El-Moqadem says the inquiry received the analysis March 14. He says it “suggests suspected criminal activity” in the destruction of the A321 over Sinai last year, adding that the committee has “referred the matter” to the Egyptian attorney general. While the probe has yet to reach a conclusion, several govt officials have publicly pointed to the probability that an explosive device brought the aircraft down. El-Moqadem says the airframe, at over 18 years, was relatively old and that the process of gathering its maintenance and technical records is “very time-consuming”. <br/>
unaligned
Stelios Haji-Ioannou made an extraordinary list of demands from Fastjet amid fears the airline could be about to go bust. The entrepreneur, who owns a 12% stake in the airline, demanded it publish immediately passenger numbers after he claimed planes were only 10% full. He also wants ‘detailed month by month cash flow forecasts’ citing concerns about the risk of it going insolvent in the next few months. The carrier has struggled after telling investors earlier this month that earnings would be well ‘below market expectations’ – its third profit warning in less than a year – and that it would slump into the red. Haji-Ioannou said he is concerned a move by Fastjet to stop publishing passenger numbers 4 months ago could be in breach of its licencing agreement with EasyGroup. <br/>
Eurowings is delivering unit costs of up to 30% lower than its hub airlines, Lufthansa chairman and CE Carsten Spohr said during the group’s financial results conference. “The aviation industry is changing rapidly. The unit costs at Eurowings are already up to 30% lower compared to our hub airlines,” Spohr said. “In addition, we plan to reduce unit costs by a further 10% every year until 2018.” Spohr said load factor was 96% on Eurowings’ long-haul flights in January and 94% in February. “Eurowings attained operational stability on long-haul routes. And we consider securing this operational stability a greater priority than rapid growth.” By the end of the year, Eurowings’ long-haul fleet is expected to grow to 6 A330-200s (wet-leased from SunExpress) and 1 TUIfly Boeing 767-300ER. <br/>
Norwegian Air Shuttle's dispute with US regulators over its wish to fly more transatlantic routes will likely go to arbitration, the CE of the airline said Thursday. Norwegian wants to fly to the US from Ireland but its Irish subsidiary has been waiting more than 2-and-a-half years for permission from the DoT, which it says is far longer than airlines usually wait. The EC has previously said the delay constitutes a breach of the Open Skies air traffic agreement between the EU and the US. Norwegian Air Shuttle CE Bjorn Kjos said: "The ongoing delays by the DoT set a dangerous precedent that can only be bad news for...everyone in the industry." More transatlantic flights from Britain are a key part of Norwegian's expansion and Kjos said the airline's plans would not be affected if Britain votes to leave the EU June 23. <br/>
Norwegian will base 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 100 short-haul aircraft at Gatwick Airport if its second runway bid goes ahead. Norwegian CE Bjorn Kjos ‘strongly’ backed Gatwick’s expansion bid Thursday. He said: “This isn’t just for selfish commercial reasons - in my view Gatwick is the only choice that will actually deliver what the whole industry needs. Clearly Heathrow is a world-class airport but when we look at how the industry is changing and what it needs in the future - lower landing charges and more capacity for low-cost growth, greater competition, more point-to-point travel – it is clear that Gatwick is the best choice.” Norwegian is Gatwick’s third largest airline and currently has more than 260 new aircraft on order including 30 Dreamliners. <br/>
French Blue plans to give itself 2 years to break even from low-cost services between Europe and North America, its chairman said Thursday. The latest brand of the Dubreuil group, which also owns Air Caraibes, aims to start the long-haul services Sept 15, initially linking Paris with Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, followed in June 2017 by services to Reunion Island and Mauritius. Marc Rochet said: "If it doesn't work, we'll have to adapt." Rochet did not elaborate on how it might adapt if the carrier fails to become profitable within that deadline. No airline has yet proved a major success with low-cost long-haul travel between Europe and North America, though companies such as Wow Air, Norwegian and Eurowings are all active in the market. <br/>
Royal Brunei Airlines announced acting CE and deputy chairman Dermot Mannion will leave “shortly, on completion of his term of office,” and will be succeeded by CCO Karam Chand. Chand has been with Royal Brunei for more than 3 years, and was previously employed by Virgin Australia and Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific. Chand said Royal Brunei is in a good position to “fly the flag higher on the strong legacy left by [Mannion],” and will use its newly upgraded 10-strong fleet of new aircraft for expanding its network. Chand cited destinations such as Brisbane, Perth, India, Beijing, and Tokyo as potential destinations. The carrier is scheduled to take delivery of its first Airbus A320neos in 2018, from an order of up to 10 placed in 2014. <br/>
Nok Air reported a net loss of THB723.9m (US$20.08m) for FY 2015, deepened from a THB472m net loss in 2014. Nok chairman Somchainuk Engtrakul said the results came as competition in the Thai aviation industry, especially in the LCC sector, has seen rapid expansion. “This resulted in higher supply than demand, which lowered the company’s market share [and brought] a significant impact on consolidated figures [resulting in] a comprehensive loss,” he said. The carrier saw its total revenue increase 17% to THB14.29b, up from THB12.17b in the year-ago period. However, the carrier saw an increase of 23% in operating expenses, from TH12.84b in 2014 to THB15.9b for the year. This was partly due to an increase in available seats, with ASKs up from 5.37b in 2014 to 6.22b in 2015—a rise of nearly 15%. <br/>
AirAsia India has appointed a new CE as part of a management shake-up, as the carrier seeks to boost its market share and turn a profit in a fiercely competitive market. The airline said that former American Express executive Amar Abrol will take over as CE. He takes over from Mittu Chandilya who is stepping step down at the end of this month after almost 3 years in the job. Abrol was most recently the CE of a financial products start-up and spent 19 years at American Express, AirAsia India said. The airline, which has struggled to make money since it launched in mid-2014, also announced the appointment of former Air France-KLM executive Ankur Khanna as CFO, and Kiran Jain as its head of commercial operations. The carrier's market share stood at 2.3% in January, ranking it sixth among India's airlines. <br/>