Aer Lingus may have to hire up to 380 pilots over the next 4 years as the airline expands its north Atlantic business, according to some calculations. The carrier will in the coming months receive the first of 9 Airbus A321neo long-range craft that it is acquiring over the next few years to expand its fleet of 50 planes. Industry estimates of the number of new pilots the airline will have to hire as a result of its expansion run as high as 380 over the next 4 years. It is understood that Aer Lingus will have to take on new cockpit crew to fly the A321s and replace pilots who are due to retire from the airline or leave it for other reasons. Aer Lingus said that the number of pilots employed by it has grown by 21$ since 2015, the year that IAG took it over, and it plans to grow by a further 41% between now and 2023. <br/>
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Nepali investigators have cast a spotlight on the history of mental health of pilots in the final report on the crash of the US-Bangla plane at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International last year, killing 51 people. The 43-page report recommended that before the renewal of licence of any permanently grounded pilot due to a medical reason, a thorough periodic physical and psychological status should be assessed. A system should be adopted so as to monitor the medical condition closely in all subsequent medical examinations as well, the report said. The investigation commission has recommended that all airline pilots undergo a psychological evaluation as part of the training or before entering into service. The report said that the pilot’s detail medical history was not reviewed by US-Bangla Airlines when he was hired. <br/>
Tigerair Australia pilots stopped work for 4 hours Jan 25 over their ongoing pay dispute with the airline, with more industrial action to continue over the next few days. The strike affected around 15 flights that were rescheduled by the carrier. Some passengers were also accommodated on flights by Tigerair Australia’s parent company, Virgin Australia. The Australian Federation of Air Pilots represents around 75% of the carrier’s pilots, and has been negotiating for over 2 years with the airline on a new pay agreement. The union said that it “continues to be in conversation with the company”, but is planning further action over the Australia Day long weekend of Jan 26-28. During that time, pilots will refuse to fly aircraft with minor defects, which could lead to flight delays and cancellations across its network. <br/>
AirAsia is looking to turn Lombok into its next major hub, with plans to launch services to Perth, Yogyakarta and Denpasar by mid-year. The group states that the announcement of its hub plan follows a series of discussions on Lombok’s recovery from the 2018 earthquake, along with Indonesia’s plans to develop more tourist destinations across the archipelago. “In the next few months, we will be working with airports and govt authorities to turn Lombok into our newest hub in Indonesia, making this commitment a reality,” says AirAsia Group CE Tony Fernandes. In support of that goal, Indonesia AirAsia plans to base two Airbus A320s at Lombok, which will allow it to double its services to Kuala Lumpur, in addition to the new routes flagged. <br/>
Russia will help Cuba repair state-run airline Cubana's mostly grounded fleet, likely by year's end, Russian deputy prime minister Yuri Borisov was quoted as saying by Cuban news agency Prensa Latina Friday. Cubana had to cancel most domestic flights last year due to a lack of flightworthy planes and lease aircraft from other companies. The carrier uses mainly Russian and Ukrainian-made Ilyushins, Tupolevs and Antonovs partly because US sanctions prevent it from buying planes with a certain share of US components. Cuba's cash crunch restricts it from paying for expensive repairs and spare parts. After a high-level Russian-Cuban intergovernmental commission meeting in Moscow, Borisov said both sides had checked the repairs needed and had written contracts, without giving details on costs. <br/>
A Hawaiian Airlines from Hawaii to New York was forced to make an emergency landing at San Francisco International late Thursday night after a flight attendant suffered a medical emergency mid-flight and died. About 3 hours into the flight, a flight attendant suffered a medical emergency. The pilot came over the loudspeaker and asked if there were any doctors on the flight, and there were several on board. Crews and doctors performed CPR on the flight attendant. The flight arrived at SFO around 11 pm and the flight attendant was pronounced dead by the San Mateo County Coroner. He was identified as Emile Griffith a long-time employee with Hawaiian Airlines. According to an airport spokesperson, the flight attendant possibly suffered a heart attack. <br/>
Executives from Southwest Airlines announced the carrier’s planned expansion into Hawaii will likely be delayed for months, a result of the ongoing US partial govt shutdown, which has furloughed the FAA workers needed to certify the new routes. Southwest COO Michael Van de Van said that the airline had a “reasonable chance” of beginning service in Q1 2019 if the govt shutdown were to end within a week. Barring that, he said the service would likely begin in the Q2. CE Gary Kelly added the FAA has already approved the program, and all the carrier has to do now is “to demonstrate to them that we can execute our program.” The carrier recorded a year-end profit for fiscal 2018 of US$2.5b, down 27% from its record 2017 profit of $3.4b, which benefited from the effects of federal tax reform legislation enacted that year. <br/>
IndiGo has appointed former United Airlines president Ronojoy Dutta as its new CE. Dutta was named CE effective Jan. 24 for a 5-year term. He takes over from interim CE—and IndiGo founder—Rahul Bhatia. Dutta was previously listed as IndiGo’s principal consultant. At the same time, the airline’s board appointed Meleveetil Damodaran as chairman. Dutta was president of United from 1999 to 2002 and served on its board. He was also on the board of US Airways from 2003 to 2004 and was president of Air Sahara from 2005 to 2008. He has also been an advisor to other airlines. The IndiGo board noted that he “possesses expertise and rich experience in the aviation industry worldwide.” IndiGo has been growing rapidly, with capacity up by almost 33% in the December quarter. <br/>