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As summer plans take shape, Hawaii likely tops many travelers'. Thankfully, there are plenty of flight options to get folks to the islands. Hawaii's largest airline carrier, Hawaiian Airlines announced Wednesday it's increasing flights in anticipation of this year's strong summer demand – the most seasonal flights for the airline since the pandemic. The new flights begin May 26 and operate until Aug. 30. "We're encouraged by the robust demand for travel to Hawaii this summer season and these increases signal a healthy return in our key North America markets," Brent Overbeek, senior vice president – chief revenue officer at Hawaiian Airlines, said in a statement. The Hawaii-based airline is adding more weekly flights between Honolulu and Boston, Las Vegas and Pago Pago in American Samoa this summer. The airline will also be adding two more flights, including a redeye, from Los Angeles to Honolulu on Tuesdays and Fridays. The additional LAX flights will help make "other US mainland connections seamless and convenient," Overbeek added. During the peak summer season, there will be 23 weekly flights between Honolulu and Los Angeles. <br/>

Chile-based low-cost carrier JetSMART said on Wednesday it was no longer interested in buying Colombia's Ultra Air, but it would still pursue a license to set up its own domestic airline based in Colombia. JetSMART, backed by US investment fund Indigo Partners, had said previously it was exploring a possible acquisition of Ultra Air, which operates 10 local routes. In its statement, JetSMART said "diverse factors" caused it to reconsider the purchase, without providing further explanation. JetSMART CE Estuardo Ortiz said the airline was focused on gaining a domestic license as soon as possible, which he said would allow it to participate in a reassignment of take-off and landing slots at Bogota's El Dorado airport. JetSMART operates more than 79 routes across South America, and is owned by Indigo Partners, which has a portfolio of airlines including Europe's Wizz Air, US-based Frontier Airlines, Mexico's Volaris and Canada's Lynx. The JetSMART announcement came hours after Colombia's civil aviation authority gave conditional approval for a merger between Avianca, the country's largest airline, and Viva Air.<br/>

An Aer Lingus pilot who suffered a finger crush injury when a door slammed against him in high winds while he was on an air bridge, has been awarded E30,600 damages against his employer and airport operator DAA. However, Judge James McCourt told Captain Simon Moody in the Circuit Civil Court that he was 50% responsible for the incident and reduced the award to E15,300 and costs, telling the defendants they could each pay half of the sum. Barrister Pat O’Brien, counsel Capt Moody, told the court his client had just finished inspecting the exterior of his aircraft prior to take-off when a gust of wind propelled him through the doorway of the air bridge and pushed the security door against his finger. Barristers Fred Gilligan, for Aer Lingus, and Shane English, for DAA, cross-examined Capt Moody and his forensic engineer, Alan Conlan, regarding liability for the January 2012 incident under the E38,000 pre-existing Circuit Court jurisdiction. Capt Moody, of Blackwood Lawn, Ongar, Dublin 15, said there were strong gusts as he was passing from a ramp through the air bridge and the door slammed shut on his finger. He said there was a previous incident involving the same door in high winds but he received no warning from either defendant with regard to any potential safety issues. He said the door was fitted with a closer but it nevertheless slammed shut on him and was somehow defective.<br/>

Bangkok Airways expects its passenger rate to hit 70-80% of the pre-pandemic level this year, roughly 4.4m people from more than 40,000 flights, and will possibly post an annual profit for the first time since 2019. Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, president of Bangkok Airways, said long-haul demand has grown better than expected since the final quarter of last year, which will help to hit the target of 15b baht in revenue for 2023. Mr Puttipong said European passengers currently accounted for 60% of the total, followed by Asia-Pacific and Thai passengers. Last year the airline carried 2.6m passengers, or about 46% of pre-pandemic levels, thanks to robust traffic after Thailand's reopening. The number of flights in 2022 tallied 29,892 flights, or over 40% of pre-pandemic levels, with a load factor of 76%, compared to 68% in 2019. As a result, it gained an improving passenger yield of 5.08 baht per kilometre, compared to 4.30 baht per km in 2019. Bangkok Airways currently operates 22 routes, comprising 15 domestic routes and seven international routes. It plans to resume two routes to China in the second half, from Samui to Chongqing and Samui to Chengdu, following the reopening of China.<br/>

A new Thai carrier, Really Cool Airlines, will announce its flight routes by the end of June and begin operations by the end of the year, its CEO Patee Sarasin said on Tuesday. The carrier will focus on international flights, Patee said. He said the airline will help Thailand’s aviation industry recover and will offer enhanced safety. The airline’s slogan is “We Fly the Future” and it will be midway between a luxury and budget carrier, Patee said. “We are excited and ready to introduce Really Cool Airlines to give an extraordinary experience to passengers,” he added. Patee, who was formerly the CE of Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air, said the new carrier will surpass previous standards. Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt welcomed the news about the new Thai carrier, saying airlines have played an important role in developing smart cities. “Apart from giving extraordinary experience to passengers, this airline will help boost the recovery of Thai tourism,” Chadchart said. The Tourism Authority of Thailand targets attracting 30m foreign tourists this year, about 80% of the 39m that arrived during the pre-Covid-19 year of 2019. Thailand must increase the number of airlines and flights serving in the country to reach this target, the agency said.<br/>

The Jetstar group of airlines started operating from Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 on Wednesday, after months of negotiations over its relocation from Terminal 1. Jetstar Asia, which operates from Singapore to destinations in Australia and South-east Asia, had its first inbound flight arrive at T4 from Manila at 12.40am, while its first outbound flight departed from the same terminal for Manila at 6.15am. Jetstar Asia passenger Adeline Lim, 51, said the automated check-in at T4 was “a breeze”, and transit passengers should not face any issues moving between T4 and the other terminals. T4 is the only one among the four terminals at Changi that is not connected to the complimentary Skytrain service. Jetstar Airways, which is based in Australia, was slated to have its first flight from T4 departing for Melbourne at 10.10pm on Wednesday. Jetstar and Changi Airport Group (CAG) said in a statement that passengers aboard the 25 Jetstar services operating from T4 on Wednesday would be given tote bags and luggage tags to mark the occasion. By the end of the day, Jetstar would have served nearly 4,000 passengers.<br/>