The new easyJet CE, Johan Lundgren, has voluntarily taken a GBP34,000 pay cut to match the salary of his predecessor, Carolyn McCall. The budget airline said Lundgren took the helm on 1 December on an annual salary of GBP740,000, but is now reducing it to the GBP706,000 McCall was on when she left last summer to take up the top job at ITV. Lungren’s bonus and other elements of his remuneration package are identical to McCall’s at the time. Lundgren said: “At easyJet we are absolutely committed to giving equal pay and equal opportunity for women and men. I want that to apply to everybody at easyJet and to show my personal commitment I have asked the board to reduce my pay to match that of Carolyn’s when she was at easyJet.” The FTSE 100 company has a large gender pay gap – the difference between average male and female pay – of 51.7%. This is because the vast majority – 94% – of its pilots, who earn far more than cabin crew and other employees, are male. Only 4% of commercial pilots in the industry worldwide are female. EasyJet has set itself a target that a fifth of all new pilots recruited should be female by 2020, up from 6% in 2015 and 13% now. Last year it recruited 49 female pilots. Lundgren said: “I also want to affirm my own commitment to address the gender imbalance in our pilot community which drives our overall gender pay gap. I want us not just to hit our target that 20% of our new pilots should be female by 2020 but to go further than this in the future.”<br/>
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Norwegian Air Argentina received its air operator certificate (AOC) from the Argentinian government Jan. 26. The much-delayed milestone is a major step for the airline to finally be able to start commercial flights later this year. The carrier has already been granted the authority for 72 domestic and 80 international routes now that Argentina has begun to liberalize its once much-restricted air transport market. Norwegian Air UK plans to start serving Buenos Aires from London-Gatwick in February. But the Argentina-based subsidiary will focus initially on domestic routes and services inside Latin America. The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 Jan. 15. Norwegian Air Argentina plans to start services between June and August, but has not yet defined a firm date. In Argentina’s low-cost segment the carrier will compete with Flybondi, which started commercial services Jan. 26 and Andes, a legacy airline converting to the new business model. Aerolineas Argentinas so far dominates the country’s air transport market, but LATAM Airlines has made inroads in recent years.<br/>
Mechanics and technicians for US regional carrier ExpressJet ratified a new tentative contract agreement Jan. 26. As negotiated between representatives of the airline and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the contract covers nearly 500 mechanics, technicians and tool room attendants and will become amenable in one year. IBT said the contract “contains significant improvements in wages while maintaining current benefit levels.” Details of the contract were not released. “We have reached a solution that not only provides our membership the compensation they deserve, but also delivers on a commitment to long-term profitability at the company,” IBT airline division director David Bourne said. “We are pleased with [the] outcome of our mechanic vote,” an ExpressJet spokesperson said. “We are committed to progress and ready to move forward with our people.”<br/>
Vietnam’s budget airline Viewtjet has apologised for sending scantily-clad models to join the country’s under-23 football squad on a flight home, after social media cried foul over the “cheap” PR stunt. Vietjet — best known for its bikini-clad air hostesses — came under fire for sending models in barely-there costumes to join the footballers heading home from China, where the team suffered a crushing defeat against Uzbekistan in the Under-23 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Championship on Saturday. Social media in the communist nation erupted over the photos, including one of an awkward-looking young man being embraced by a model in a low-cut silver belly top and red underpants. Others showed the sequin- and feather-adorned pin-ups posing on the private flight that Vietjet chartered for the team after the tournament. The event captivated football-mad Vietnam and elevated the athletes to national heroes. But netizens in Vietnam were not impressed with the airline models. “Vietjet’s move was so rude, cheap, and offensive to the team, the fans and even its passengers,” Facebook user Nguyen My Linh wrote in a post that received 1,700 likes and more than 100 shares. Vietjet apologised for the stunt on Sunday, saying it was an “improvised move” and not a well-thought out marketing strategy. It said “relevant staff” had been disciplined.<br/>
Travel group TUI took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 Jan. 29. The aircraft will be operated by TUIfly Belgium and is the first of a total of nine to be delivered this year. TUI ordered 70 Boeing 737 MAXs, among them 52 737 MAX 8s and 18 737 MAX 10s. The first nine aircraft will be taken by the group’s affiliated airlines in Belgium, Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands. TUIfly Germany will receive its first 737 MAX 8 in early 2019, TUI said. TUI owns six airlines with a fleet of 150 aircraft.<br/>