JetBlue said Tuesday it will begin flying between New York and Amsterdam this summer after a Dutch court blocked a government effort to limit flights at Schiphol Airport. JetBlue currently flies to London and will start service to Paris in June. The Amsterdam flights will put the New York-based airline in head-to-head competition against the alliance of bigger rivals Delta Air Lines and KLM. “This route is long overdue for some competition,” said JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes. JetBlue said it eventually plans to add flights between Boston and Amsterdam, but it did not give a timetable. JetBlue has seeking approval to fly to Amsterdam for some time but was unable to get anything more than temporary takeoff and landing slots this summer, which it said wasn’t good enough. The airline reversed course on Tuesday, however, saying that a court ruling against the Dutch government’s plan to reduce flights at Schiphol gives it confidence to enter the market. Most airlines use big, two-aisle planes for transatlantic flights, but JetBlue will use a long-range version of the smaller, single-aisle Airbus A321 to reduce costs.<br/>
unaligned
European aviation faces more than E800b in extra costs to reach net zero emissions by 2050, according to industry estimates that highlight the challenge facing the sector as it decarbonises. The industry has committed to hitting net zero carbon emissions through a mix of new technologies, notably alternative fuels, as well as carbon offsets and more efficient aircraft, engines and air traffic management. Reaching net zero would need “considerable additional efforts compared to business as usual”, and would cost E820b over a 32-year period from 2018 to 2050, according to a report commissioned by airline industry bodies. By far the biggest expense would be €441bn spent on cleaner fuels, which are not made from fossil fuels but from feedstocks such as animal fat, cooking oil or household waste, the report said. These “sustainable aviation fuels” can reduce the total emissions from a flight by about 70%, but are more expensive than jet fuel and are only produced in extremely limited quantities. The report by research groups SEO Amsterdam Economics and the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre was commissioned by a group of aviation lobby groups including Airlines for Europe (A4E) and airport trade body ACI Europe. It warned that aviation companies including airlines and airports would be unable to fund the climate transition alone, partly because the industry has struggled to be consistently profitable in the past. “Since [profits] are historically low due to high levels of competition and compounded by recent crises, the absorption capacity by the sector, in particular that of European airlines and hubs is expected to be low,” the report said. <br/>
Ryanair appears to have lost an appeal it lodged in Hungary last year against a consumer protection fine of HUF300m forints (US$871,000), the Magyar Távirati Iroda (MTI) news agency reported the country’s justice ministry as saying. The Budapest Court of Appeal ruled against the low-cost carrier’s bid to overturn the fine, which had been levied for passing on to consumers the cost of a windfall profit tax, the news source said. The airline has also appealed to the courts of the European Union against what it calls the “baseless fine”. In a Facebook post, Nóra Kupecki, deputy minister of state for consumer protection at the Ministry of Justice, elaborated that “the court decided the airline will not receive immediate legal protection” but that “the fine is not yet legal, so we await the court’s next decision.” She added: “We promised that in the case of passing on the extra-profit special tax we would launch a consumer protection investigation in every case, because the economic situation created as a result of sanctioned inflation requires that any multinational company that gains extra profit must take its share of the costs of overhead protection and national defence! In Hungary, the laws apply to everyone, even if some feel exempt from it.”<br/>
Russia's largest air carrier Aeroflot, whose aircraft maintenance capabilities are crippled by Western sanctions, sent one of its Airbus planes to Iran for repair, the company said on Tuesday. According to the flight tracking system Flightradar24 the Airbus A330-300 flew to Tehran on April 5 and remains there until now. "The maintenance of the Airbus A330 aircraft (in Iran) will be implemented by a provider for a wide range of work," Aeroflot said. RBC media outlet first reported about the maintenance in Iran. "The firm has all the necessary material resources, certificates and extensive experience, (while) the provider performs maintenance with a high quality level," the airline said. Aeroflot declined to comment on details and did not name the operator that will carry out the repair. Sanctions imposed on Russia after it sent its troops into Ukraine in February last year have prevented its airlines from obtaining aircraft and spare parts or undergoing maintenance in the West. Russian airlines continue to operate Western jets, but struggle to import replacement parts.<br/>
Israeli leisure operator Israir Group states that it is conducting “intensive negotiations” with Czech carrier Smartwings’ owners, in order to reach agreement to acquire the airline. Although the company says the tender process has advanced, it reiterates that it might not be the only contender and “does not know” whether negotiations are underway with any other party. Smartwings is 51%-owned by entities controlled by Roman Vik and Jiri Simane, while the balance is ultimately held by the Chinese economics ministry. “The parties are engaged in intensive negotiations with the aim of reaching agreements regarding the terms of the deal, in a way that will allow the parties to sign a binding memorandum of understanding,” says Israir Group, which gave the update in its full-year financial statement. Israir Group’s offer – valued at E44m – amounts to an E8m purchase of the share capital, plus E12m to repay partially owner loans, with a E24m provision to cover the loan repayment balance. Smartwings operates over 40 aircraft, says Israir Group, and transports over 6m passengers, with bases in Prague, Warsaw, Budapest and Paris. The company adds that it would benefit from new destinations, synergies, reduced expenditure, and an increase in the overall group value. Israir Group has generated a $20.6m full-year net profit – turning around a net loss of $34.6m in the previous year – on revenues of just under $358m. It states that it showed “considerable improvement in all indicators” compared with 2021, and demonstrated “complete recovery” from the pandemic, despite a $22m impact on finances from a 50% rise in oil prices. Israir Group adds that it had to overcome “operational difficulty” in Israel, as well as rises in operating costs and higher customer claims over issues such as delays. About 60.2% of the company is held by entities controlled by investors Rami Levy and Shalom Haim, while the other 39.8% is publicly-owned.<br/>
Iraq’s government is considering acquiring a pair of Dassault Falcon executive jets with which to modernise the VIP fleet of flag-carrier Iraqi Airways. The ministry of transport set up a committee to explore the plan, and it has discussed the purchase with representatives of the airline, as well as the finance, oil, and foreign affairs ministries. According to the transport ministry, the Falcon features “advanced” specifications and is “characterised by high performance”. It has not identified the model under examination, although it has released a promotional image showing a Falcon 8X. The Iraqi government has previously used other Dassault Falcon types in its operations. Iraqi Airways is undergoing a broader fleet modernisation and will have 43 aircraft by the end of this year. It currently has 38, according to the ministry. The airline is taking five Airbus A220-300s, of which four have been delivered. “It is hoped the last [A220] will be received soon,” the ministry says. Iraqi Airways is introducing 26 Boeing jets, comprising 16 737 Max 8s and 10 787s. Four Max 8s have been delivered to the flag-carrier and the first two 787s are due to arrive this year. The remainder will be brought into the fleet over the period to 2027.<br/>
Jeju Air, Korea's leading low-cost carrier, said Wednesday it will resume the Incheon-Qingdao route later this month after three years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeju Air plans to provide flights to Qingdao on a daily basis starting April 30, while expanding flights from Incheon to Weihai and Yantai beginning April 23, the company said. "The company will gradually resume more pandemic-suspended routes to China, depending on market demands," the statement said. The budget carrier used to operate 45 B737-800NG chartered planes on 87 routes, including six domestic routes, before the pandemic. The numbers of routes and planes have fallen to 35 and 37, respectively. In 2022, Jeju Air's net losses narrowed to 172.42b won from 272.28b won a year earlier as eased COVID-19 restrictions unleashed pent-up travel demand. This year, it aims to turn around after posting net losses for four consecutive years through 2022.<br/>
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has come under fire after it allegedly failed to pay some of its employees' salaries. As a result, a number of the airline's pilots are reportedly planning to not operate any flights until they have been paid. The Pakistani flag carrier has been struggling to pay salaries for months due to a shortage of cash, and according to the pilots, the government has not stepped in to help either. This has left employees out of pocket, and could lead to significant operational disruption if the walkout goes ahead. Reports from the local news outlet, ARY, state that PIA has tax debts amounting to over Rs400b ($1.4b). The carrier also recently asked for a government bailout to the tune of Rs45b ($157m) to help. PIA is currently banned from flying to the European Union, the UK, and the US - three huge markets for the airline, and the loss of revenue from being unable to operate these services is hitting its finances hard. In a bid to keep hold of its coveted slots at London Heathrow (LHR) while not in use, PIA has temporarily offered them to Turkish Airlines and Kuwait Airways. For the pilots involved, not receiving their salary could not have come at a worse time, faced with mounting inflation and a country ravaged by a shortage of foreign currency reserves.<br/>
Shareholders at Bamboo Airways have rejected plans for a private placement of shares to raise the company’s charter capital, leaving the chairman, Nguyễn Ngọc Trọng, to postpone the measure to a later date. As ch-aviation previously reported, the indebted carrier had intended to raise VND9.57t dong (US$410m) via the private placement later this year. The plan was to issue 996.2m shares and raise the charter capital to VND28.07t (US$1.2b), deploying the capital raised to restructuring debts and shoring up the airline’s balance sheet. However, the plan was rejected by 56.4% of shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on April 10, local media reported. Attending were 93 shareholders holding about 93% of the voting shares. The charter capital of Bamboo Airways therefore remains at VND18.5t (US$792m). Nguyễn Khắc Hải, deputy general director of Bamboo Airways, had urged shareholders at the meeting to vote positively, saying: “The capital increase plan is only good for Bamboo Airways. We are in debt of nearly VND8t [US$343m], and if we switch from borrowed capital to equity capital the finances will be better in terms of the debt-to-equity ratio. There will also be fresh funding to maintain business activities, reduce debts gradually, and continue to bring in more aircraft for growth.” Trọng said he would hold talks with the larger shareholders and submit a new resolution for increasing the charter capital at the next annual general meeting. He assured that the fleet was operating at full capacity, that in the first quarter of this year the company would almost break even, and that “Bamboo Airways will become profitable by 2025.”<br/>