Airlines & Lessors

Malaysia-based long-haul carrier (LCC) AirAsia X (AAX), which recently replaced its CEO on the back of ongoing low profits, has submitted a rights issue to raise MYR395 million ($110 million) in working capital.
Airlines & Lessors

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) subsidiary Swiss European Air Lines is changing its name to Swiss Global Air Lines, and will operate under the SWISS brand.
Airlines & Lessors

By Linda Blachly
Air Canada has reached a tentative collective agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) for the airline’s US-based workforce.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

ICAO will have to boost its budget by 3% to pay a Web-based information database to provide airlines, air navigation service providers and member states a source of safety information about the risks to flights over and within conflict zones.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

US carriers continue to say they are not altering network and fleet plans in light of low oil prices, although the temptation to add capacity may prove too great if jet fuel prices don’t rise.
Airlines & Lessors

Mexican low-cost carrier (LCC) Volaris is “very focused” on the visiting friends and family (VFR) market, although it will not “say no” to more business traffic, Manuel Ambriz Lopez, manager of commercial strategy and network planning, said in an interview at the Routes Americas conference in Denver, Colorado.
Airports & Networks

By Sean Broderick
FAA’s $15.83 billion budget request for Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) seeks to patch holes created by chronic under-investment and the 2013 sequestration while funding what the agency calls a “continued, but measured” path forward.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

British Airways/Iberia parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) said its offer for Aer Lingus would “secure and strengthen the Irish carrier’s long-term future,” and is proposing legally binding commitments to that end.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
Etihad Airways has begun operations with its recently delivered Boeing 787-9.
Airports & Networks

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is in the final stages of acquiring Danish regional carrier Cimber for DKK20 million ($3 million), after receiving approval from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
Etihad Airways carried close to 14.8 million passengers, up 23% over 2013.
Airlines & Lessors

By Adrian Schofield
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is joining the growing number of airlines that are introducing a premium economy class, with the product to be rolled out across a large part of its fleet over the next few years.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Kazakhstan-based Air Astana has introduced an economy sleeper class on Boeing 757 services from Astana to London and Frankfurt from Feb. 3; Paris will be added March 29.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Linda Blachly
Airline News-Feb. 3, 2015
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Chorus Aviation, parent of Jazz Aviation, has finalized its amended capacity purchase agreement (CPA) with Air Canada and placed an order for 13 firm Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft valued at $424 million plus 10 options.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Chorus Aviation, the parent company of Canada’s largest regional airline, has overhauled its business model—including securing an 11-year labor contract with its pilots.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Unconfirmed reports from officials at the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) investigating last year’s Indonesia AirAsia QZ8501 fatal crash have suggested the captain was not in his seat at the time of the incident.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Alan Dron
Ireland-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair announced a third-quarter net profit of €49 million ($55.5 million), reversed from a net loss of €35 million a year ago.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
UK leisure carrier Monarch Airlines is forecasting a double-digit net profit for 2014-2015 following a rapid turnaround under new 90%-owner Greybull Capital.
Airlines & Lessors

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co., parent of Allegiant Air, posted 2014 net income of $86.7 million, down 6.1% from a net profit of $92.3 million in 2013.
Airlines & Lessors

China Eastern Airlines expects its 2014 net profit to rise 40% to 60% compared to 2013, due to lower fuel prices, according to a carrier statement released by the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Airlines & Lessors

Korean Air plans to revise its Italian services from a Seoul-Milan-Rome double-header circuit to direct flights to each city due to increasing traffic on the Asia-Europe sectors and impending competition from regional low-cost carriers.
Airports & Networks

By Polina Montag-Girmes
Russia’s Yekaterinburg-based Ural Airlines has implemented new cost-cutting measures—which include a new payment scheme for pilots that will pay per flight instead of per hour, a new maintenance and repair center to perform its own C checks on its Airbus A320s, and a route network optimization plan.
Airlines & Lessors

Transport Canada Aviation Security has approved Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) for a Canadian foreign air operator’s certificate (FAOC), which permits scheduled passenger services from Ukraine to Canada.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Regional Express (Rex) has taken delivery of a Saab 340B in Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Airports & Networks