Recently launched US start-up Avelo Airlines will expand to the US East Coast this year with flights from Tweed New Haven airport in Connecticut. Avelo will also open a crew base at Tweed, which has struggled to retain air service in recent years despite being located within the populous New York metropolitan area. The airline, which began operations on 28 April with flights from Burbank, California, will begin flying from Tweed in the third quarter, using Boeing 737-700s, it says on 6 May. Avelo has not disclosed which routes it will serve from New Haven. The airline also agreed to invest $1.2m to help “upgrade and modernise facilities and operations” at Tweed. Those funds are part of a $100m improvement project underway at Tweed that includes construction of a new terminal and a runway extension. Avelo intends to base more than 100 staff at Tweed, including pilots, flight attendants, customer support staff and technicians.<br/>
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Sun Country Airlines’ diversified business model – which includes scheduled passenger services, charter flights and freight transport – helped propel the airline to a first-quarter profit. The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based ultra-low-cost carrier on 6 May revealed a profit of $12.4m for the first three months of the year, up 71.2% from the $7.3m it earned in the same period a year ago. Total revenue at the carrier came in at $127m, down 29% from the $180m the carrier earned in Q1 2020. A 52% drop in revenue from scheduled services fuelled that decline. The airline is reporting its first set of quarterly results since its shares began trading on the NASDAQ exchange in March. “While we remain in an unpredictable environment, our business is continuing to recover from the impact of Covid-19 on industry demand,” says CE Jude Bricker. “I am encouraged by the recent improvement we are seeing in forward bookings. Demand really picked up in mid-February, and that momentum continues.”<br/>
An Allegiant airliner returned safely to Los Angeles International Airport after the crew reported striking a bird Thursday morning, authorities said. Allegiant Air Flight 314, an Airbus A319 that was headed to Utah, landed without incident at 7:44 a.m., said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman. The jet experienced a bird strike to its No. 2 engine shortly after takeoff and returned to the airport for an inspection and an assessment, Allegiant spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said. “The aircraft landed safely and taxied to the gate under its own power, where passengers deplaned normally,” she said. A replacement jet was dispatched to take the passengers to Provo, Utah.<br/>
Airline Azul said Thursday it expects its 2022 pretax income to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2019, with executives optimistic Brazil will mount a strong economic recovery after a crushing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Azul said it expects 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of roughly 4 billion reais ($759.95m), compared with 3.6b reais in 2019. Azul reported a net loss of 2.8b reais ($523m) in Q1, narrower than a year ago but wider than in the prior quarter. Executives told analysts on a call that demand has spiked in April as Brazilian authorities have relaxed restriction measures, with that demand accelerating in the past two weeks. Azul’s CE, John Rodgerson, said he has been criticized for being too optimistic in the past, but reiterated that in his view Brazil is poised for a strong recovery, pointing to climbing vaccination rates.<br/>
Ryanair is to open a base at Stockholm Arlanda this winter, initially basing two aircraft at the Swedish airport. Ryanair will operate 89 weekly flights across 21 destinations from the Swedish capital. That includes its first domestic services in Sweden, linking Arlanda with Gothenburg and Malmo. Ryanair CE Eddie Wilson says: ”This development will create over 60 direct jobs and offer our Swedish customers a host of European destinations to choose from this winter, with 21 new routes connecting Sweden’s capital to the likes of Alicante, Brussels, London, Milan, Thessaloniki and Vienna.” The Irish carrier already operates to Stockholm’s Skavsta airport, as well as Gothenburg. Cirium schedules data shows in June it will resume flights to its other Swedish destinations, Malmo, Vasteras and Vaxjo Smaland. Ryanair’s expansion plans for Sweden also include new service this autumn from Gothenburg to Zagreb, Riga and Billund.<br/>
Tui will offer GBP20 Covid tests for people travelling to countries on the UK government’s green list this summer, potentially saving families hundreds of pounds on their holiday costs. The world’s largest tourism group has partnered with the government’s authorised test provider Chronomics to make holidays this summer “easy and affordable”. Packages start at GBP20 per person for a pre-departure lateral flow test and a PCR test on day two after their return, including delivery and return costs for the tests. Customers will be able to order tests on a newly created Chronomics and Tui booking hub an hour after booking their holiday, which goes live on 10 May. Some PCR tests start from GBP120 each, a substantial cost for families travelling abroad. Under the Tui scheme, passengers travelling to amber-list destinations will pay GBP50 per person for the required pre-departure lateral flow test and two PCR tests upon return. The government is expected to unveil its traffic light system on Friday. Green-list destinations are expected to include Portugal, along with Malta, Gibraltar, Iceland and Israel.<br/>
Hong Kong Airlines has been slapped with a second lawsuit in a week, this time over alleged non-payment of fees totalling HK$300m (US$39m). Hip Hing Construction Company on Tuesday lodged a claim against Hong Kong’s second-largest airline over payments pursuant to an agreement dated November 29, 2018, and confirmed by the firm, A. Lead Architects. The High Court filing did not provide details of the agreement, apart from stating an outstanding balance of HK$216m plus an interest of HK$80.4m for late payment up to April 30. Hip Hing’s website showed it had completed a project for the airline in 2019, known as the Hong Kong Airlines Aviation Training Centre, with A. Lead Architects listed as the architect. Situated in Chek Lap Kok on Lantau Island, the HK$1.8b centre is an 11-storey building containing 24 training classrooms and 12 flight simulators, with a training hall and swimming pool, among other facilities. The lawsuit came just days after Fujian-based Industrial Bank sued Hong Kong Airlines Aviation Training Centre on April 28, over an alleged failure to repay an unspecified sum and for delivery of vacant possession of the 5,858 square metre plot on which the centre was built.<br/>
AirAsia Group carriers reported a significant decline in passenger traffic for the first quarter of 2021, amid an uptick in coronavirus cases in key markets that threaten hopes of a recovery. For the quarter ended 31 March, AirAsia’s Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines units carried about 977,000 passengers in total, a 90% year-on-year decrease. AirAsia Thailand carried around 978,000 passengers for the quarter, which was a 78% decline compared to the same quarter last year. The carrier saw ASKs decline 79%, while RPKs plunged 82% year on year. AirAsia’s Malaysia unit saw quarterly capacity and traffic plunge 94% year on year, as it flew only 3,700 flights — 92% lower than the same quarter in 2020. In Indonesia, AirAsia saw capacity plummet 78%, while traffic declined 82% year on year. The unit mounted 3,071 flights for the period, a 76% decline year on year. As for Philippines AirAsia, it reported a 93% drop in ASKs, while RPKs fell 94% year on year. It flew just over 1,260 flights, representing an 89% decrease. The group, which had earlier pinned its hopes on its domestic networks to lead a traffic rebound, also had to confront numerous domestic travel restrictions in several markets, including Malaysia and Thailand. <br/>