Poor cockpit coordination and possible pilot error have emerged as the most likely reasons a FlyDubai jetliner crashed earlier this month in Russia, according to independent air-safety experts and one person familiar with the probe. There were apparently no mechanical or computer problems when the Boeing 737’s crew abandoned a second landing attempt at Rostov-on-Don in stormy weather March 19 and attempted to climb away from the strip. One of the pilots calmly told air-traffic controllers the plane was executing a go-around and confirmed a new radio frequency for communication—all indications that things were normal on the flight deck. But during the ascent the plane apparently climbed too steeply, the wings lost lift, then it dropped rapidly and exploded in a fireball. <br/>
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Skymark Airlines exited bankruptcy administration and forecast its first operating profit in 3 years after reducing its fleet, cutting routes and getting new funding. The carrier expects to report JPY1.5b (US$13m) in operating profit and sales of JPY70b for the year ending March 31, Skymark said Monday. Skymark also said it’s targeting an “early relisting” of its shares after filing for bankruptcy protection last year. Private equity firm Integral Corp took a 50.1% stake in the company as part of its turnaround, while ANA Holdings owns 16.5% and is supporting the airline in areas including aircraft maintenance and code-sharing. For the year starting April 1, 2018, the airline is forecasting operating profit of more than JPY7b and sales exceeding JPY80b. <br/>
Businessman Arun Bhatia is set to exit AirAsia India, ending an acrimonious partnership in which he alleged that the airline he jointly owns with Tata Sons and AirAsia Bhd was controlled from overseas. The airline is a 3-way joint venture with Tata Sons, AirAsia and Bhatia’s Telestra Tradeplace holding 41.06%, 49% and 9.94% respectively. Tata Sons said Monday that it will buy a 7.94% stake from Bhatia; 2 Tata Sons executives—AirAsia India chairman S. Ramadorai and director R. Venkataramanan—will buy 0.5% and 1.5%, respectively, from him in their personal capacity. Once the deal is complete, the holding of Tata Sons in AirAsia India will go up from 41.06% to 49% and that of Malaysia’s AirAsia, which has invested in the airline through AirAsia Investment Ltd, will remain at 49%. <br/>
AirAsia Berhad has introduced 3X-weekly Penang, Malaysia-Yangon, Myanmar services. AirAsia CE Aireen Omar said the new service was the latest move by the carrier to expand operations out of the Penang island facility. She described the new service as “another milestone in our commitment to grow Penang as our northern hub.” The new service is the only flight connecting the two destinations. It will consolidate the LCC’s latest push to move more of its services to second-tier Malaysian hubs such as Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, and Langkawi—both situated (like Penang) on islands off the coast of Malaysia. Earlier this year, the carrier introduced new Kota Kinabalu-Wuhan, China; Langkawi-Guangzhou, China; and Penang-Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam services. The new Yangon service will add to the carrier’s existing services to the Myanmar capital. <br/>
The same Big 3 US airlines that have cried foul over unfair competition from Persian Gulf carriers face complaints about their own domineering practices. JetBlue Airways says it is being pinched by “immunised” joint ventures and alliances involving American, Delta and United airlines and foreign partners. “As an airline with a growing international footprint, we’re concerned about the long-term implications that immunised joint ventures could have on our ability to grow in overseas markets one day,” said Robin Hayes, JetBlue president and CE. “We have a stake in this debate because we face serious airport access challenges as a result of joint venture market concentration right here in our backyard.” <br/>
Virgin America has received takeover offers from JetBlue Airways and Alaska Air Group after the carrier put itself up for sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Discussions between Virgin America and the two bidders are ongoing, and a deal could be announced as early as next week. Last week, the carrier was working with financial advisers on a sale after receiving takeover interest. "If the company were to sell itself, JetBlue would make the most sense from an aircraft, network and product offering perspective," one aviation analyst said Monday. Acquiring Virgin America would give JetBlue a larger presence on the US West Coast, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and would eliminate a competitor for business travellers on lucrative cross-country routes. <br/>
Alaska Airlines has cancelled more flights because of a massive cloud of volcanic ash from Alaska’s Pavlof Volcano that spewed into the air. The airliner said Monday afternoon it has cancelled 41 flights involving 6 Alaska cities until the airline can evaluate weather reports after daylight Tuesday. The cancellations include all flights to and from Fairbanks. The airline says the cancelled flights affected 3,300 passengers. The airline says it will resume its 54 regularly scheduled flights Tuesday if conditions improve. Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaska’s most active, is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula. The volcano erupted Sunday afternoon, and by Monday morning an ash cloud had stretched northeast more than 400 miles into interior Alaska. <br/>
Malaysia’s newest airline, Rayani Air, is to face an investigation by Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) following procedural problems with boarding security and on-time compliance. Following a posting on social media by Malaysian MP Lau Weng San, it emerged that the 3-month-old airline had used handwritten boarding passes on a recent Kuching, Sarawak-Kuala Lumpur flight. Malaysian transport minister L Liow Tiong Lai said the use of handwritten boarding passes could pose a security threat to travellers. Liow said the airline would be required “to comply with all Department of Civil Aviation regulations” and added that if there were subsequent issues the carrier would be referred to the Malaysian Aviation Commission, and could even face a suspension of operations. <br/>
Gol said Monday it has hired US-based PJT Partners as a financial adviser, as the country’s deep economic recession is hurting demand for air travel. Gol said it hired “PJT Partners to advise the company in connection with measures to strengthen its capital structure and liquidity and to improve the profile of its debt.” In February, Moody’s downgraded its rating on Gol because the airline faces a cash crunch in coming months as debt payments come due. Moody’s cut Gol’s corporate family rating to Caa1 from B3 and its foreign currency rating for Gol Finance’s perpetual notes and senior notes due in 2017 to Caa2 from B3. Brazil’s weak economy has hurt sales, and the company’s traffic fell 9% in Q4 from a year earlier. After contracting 3.8% last year, Brazil’s economy is expected to shrink 3.66% this year. <br/>