Tensions between Air Malta pilots and the govt spilled over into full-blown confrontation Sunday, after more than 90% of pilots voted to authorise industrial action. Members of the pilots’ union, Alpa, were asked to vote on the possibility of instituting wide-ranging industrial action that could include a suspension of service. Some 110 pilots voted in favour, with just 9 voting against it. The union asked its members to vote following an incident of what it called 'intimidation' against one of its members. Sunday evening, the airline said that the episode was not valid grounds for seeking industrial action, and was being used as a "pretext" to strike. Air Malta management, a spokesman said, had now filed a warrant of prohibitory injunction against Alpa and its individual committee members. <br/>
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Ryanair says there is no chance of another pilots shortage. The airline had months of flight cancellations last year after staff were hired by rival firms leaving gaps in the roster. Since then Ryanair has begun talks with unions for the first time in its 32 year history. A spokesman said: "Since then we’re in discussions now with unions in 6 countries and that will no doubt lead to more discussions with both unions in the course of coming weeks and months." Meanwhile, the airline announced Monday that it has broken its weekly bookings record, taking over 3m bookings in one week. Jan 10, was the busiest say for bookings and the most popular destinations for customers included winter holidays to Lanzarote and Tenerife and city breaks to Porto, Milan and Naples. <br/>
Canberra Airport says it would "certainly" be interested in having a low-cost airline such as Jetstar flying between the capital and Sydney. Flights between Canberra and Sydney have consistently had some of the worst cancellation rates in the country, with recent govt statistics indicating a downturn in passengers flying between the cities. Canberra Airport MD Stephen Byron said Canberra to Sydney would be well-suited to a low-cost airline such as Jetstar, and this could encourage more travellers to fly the route. "It's the largest route that doesn't have a low-cost carrier on it in the Australian market," Byron said. Cancellations for Canberra to Sydney flights hit 4.8% in November, well above the national cancellation average of 1.4% of all flights. Byron said the pattern of cancellations was "unacceptably high". <br/>
Some airlines affiliated with China's HNA Group are delaying aircraft lease payments to lessors, and Export-Import Bank of China, which is a long-term financer of the group, has formed a team to handle the conglomerate's liquidity issues, several banking and leasing sources said. Executives from leasing units of Chinese lenders including Bank of China, China Minsheng Banking and Bank of Communications have held talks with some HNA-linked airlines to recover payments, the sources said. "Some payments have been delayed by over 2 months," said one senior Beijing-based executive at a Chinese lessor. He said HNA airlines had informed the lessor that payments would be made soon as they expected banks to support HNA in coming months. HNA said they are “in the process of gradually paying each lessor's fees as planned." <br/>
Norwegian Air International plans to boost its services from Shannon to the US in the coming weeks. The airline intends to increase the number of flights from the Irish airport to Providence, Rhode Island, to 4 a week from 2, and Stewart International Airport, New York state, to 3 times weekly from 2. Norwegian said Monday it would increase frequencies on both routes from March. Norwegian CCO Thomas Ramdahl pointed out that its transatlantic services from Ireland made a strong start since they began last July. “These additional flights will give Irish passengers even more choice, and are another important step in our plans for continued growth in Ireland.” Andrew Murphy, Shannon’s MD, said it was good news for Shannon and its wider region. <br/>
Pilots of a passenger jet that almost plunged into the sea after skidding off a runway during landing in northern Turkey claimed the plane's engine malfunctioned. In their initial testimony to investigators, the two pilots on the Pegasus Airlines flight from Ankara to the city of Trabzon said the right engine "gained speed suddenly" before the plane veered off over the seaside cliff with its 162 passengers late Saturday. The incident took place after landing during manoeuvres to park the plane. The plane ended up stuck in mud on a steep cliff, barely 25 meters away from the Black Sea. The pilots told investigators that the engine fault threw the plane off direction and made it hurl off the cliff. Authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the accident, while both pilots tested negative for alcohol consumption. <br/>
The sales chief of Airbus predicted Iran would take delivery of dozens of European jets it has ordered under a nuclear sanctions deal with major powers, but warned the transactions could take longer to complete than planned. US president Donald Trump, who has strongly criticised the 2015 deal to lift a raft of sanctions in return for restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities, urged European allies Friday to help fix "disastrous flaws" in the pact or face a US exit. Airbus and Boeing have agreed to sell a combined total of 180 jets to renew the aging fleet of IranAir, but depend on US support for the deal because of the number of US. parts in all their jets. "I think those deals will get fulfilled, maybe not on the original schedule," Airbus sales chief John Leahy said, referring to the company's agreement to sell 100 planes to IranAir. <br/>
Swiss airline Belair, formerly part of collapsed Air Berlin, has been taken over by German investment company SBC. SBC, based in Dusseldorf, said Monday it wanted flights to resume as soon as possible and former Belair staff would be offered their jobs back after it made a deal with Air Berlin’s administrators. A spokesman for SBC declined to say how much it paid for the airline, which had sales of around US$93.47m in 2016. The takeover is the latest chapter in the breakup of Air Berlin’s business, with Austrian Niki also attracting interest from fresh bidders. Around 200 Belair staff lost their jobs when it closed last year following the collapse of parent company Air Berlin. “We have laid the foundation for reactivating Belair,” said SBC board member Juergen Bremer. <br/>