Westjet to launch low-cost carrier in Canada amid record profits

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Westjet has announced the name and logo for its new, ultra-low-cost airline.

Named Swoop, the carrier will begin selling flights in early 2018. 

Westjet says Swoop will offer customers travelling within Canada a ‘no-frills, low-fare’ option.

The airline will have its headquarters in Calgary and will announce further details of its routes in due course. 

WestJet profit climbs 20 per cent as airline carries more passengers 

WestJet saw its third-quarter profit grow by about 20 per cent compared with a year ago as it increased capacity and traffic. The airline says it earned $138.4 million or $1.18 per diluted share for the quarter that ended September 30. 

That compared with a profit of $116.0 million or 97 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year. Capacity in the quarter measured by available seat miles increased 5.8 per cent, while traffic measured by revenue passenger miles increased 7.9 per cent compared with a year ago. 

WestJet’s load factor for the quarter amounted to 85.7 per cent, up from 84.0 per cent.

Lufthansa on course for annual profit above 3bn Euros 

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The Financial Times reports that Lufthansa issued an upbeat view even as it posted a fall in profits for the third quarter. 
It notes that shares in the airline dipped three per cent in early trading as it reported a 17 per cent decline in net profit of 1.18bn Euros, though last year’s figures for the same period were boosted by a one-off gain of 730m Euros from a labour deal. Jarrod Castle, analyst at UBS, attributed the early sell-off to investors taking profit. 
The article reports that shares in Lufthansa are up 113 per cent since January, making it the best performer on the Dax this year.
The group which this month acquired more than half of bankrupt rival Air Berlin and is in the process of bidding for portions of Alitalia, confirmed that it expected adjusted operating profit this year to be above the record 1.74bn Euro set in 2016. 

Monarch loses slots battle in High Court 

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Monarch Airlines has lost its High Court battle over “valuable” runway slots it wanted to exchange with other carriers to raise cash for creditors. 

The airline ceased trading last month and its administrators’ lawyers called the slots its “most valuable asset”. The company which allocates 39 airports’ slots accepted that Monarch would have received some of them if it had not gone into administration. Wizz Air and easyJet are among airlines who are interested in acquiring them. 

Airport Co-ordination Limited’s decision not to allocate certain take-off and landing slots to Monarch for next summer was at the heart of its case. One of its lawyers said: “ACL has no lawful power to refuse to allocate these slots or to ‘reserve’ them pending determination of proposals to revoke or suspend MAL’s operating licence.” 

But the judges rejected Monarch’s claim that ACL was under a duty to allocate the summer 2018 slots to Monarch “by reason of historical precedence”.

Flybe sees profits fall and warns of challenging conditions 

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Flybe has reported a sharp drop in profits due to IT and aircraft maintenance cost issues.

The group saw adjusted pre-tax profits for the six months to September 30 fall year on year from £15.9 million to £8.4 million due to an “onerous” IT contract and rising maintenance costs. Non-adjusted pre-tax profits rose from seven million pounds to £15.1 million due, the airline said, to revaluation gains of £6.7 million on dollar-based aircraft loans.

Flybe chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener said reductions in the airline’s fleet size meant load factors would rise and yields “would stabilise”.

The carrier saw a four percentage point increase in load factors to 76 per cent during the period. Average revenue per seat increased 8.8 per cent to £55.29. She added: “While half-year profits are lower than last year, due to the one-off IT contract costs, higher maintenance expenses and the impact of the fall in the value of sterling, I am confident that we are on a clear path to sustainable profitability through the investments and improvements we are making at Flybe“.

Flybe incident at Belfast International Airport

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A Flybe plane with 57 people on board has been forced to make an emergency landing with no nose gear in place at Belfast International Airport.

The Bombardier Q-400 had taken off from City Airport at 11.07am bound for Inverness but reported an undercarriage fault as it burned fuel in a holding pattern for about two hours.

 Flight BE331 was diverted to the Belfast International where a longer runway was available and landed safely at about 1.30pm with the front of the plane unsupported, and the runway was closed to other aircraft.

The plane was carrying 52 passengers, one infant, and four crew members.

One person was taken to hospital with a minor hand injury. No other injuries have been reported.

Images from the scene showed the jet tipped forward on to its nose.

In a statement, the airline said: “Flybe can confirm that one passenger was taken to hospital with a minor hand injury following an incident involving one of our aircraft this afternoon which landed with its nose gear raised at Belfast International Airport at 1.30pm local time.

“There are no further reports of any other passenger or crew injuries.

“There were 52 passengers plus one infant on board and four crew members.

“We are sending a specialist team to Belfast to offer assistance and we will now do all we can to understand the cause of this incident.”

Brian Strutton, general secretary of pilots’ union Balpa, described landing without nose gear as a “very difficult manoeuvre”.

He added: “The pilots in this case appear to have done a sterling job of bringing the aircraft back under those circumstances.”

BA cabin staff vote to accept pay deal, ending lengthy dispute 

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BA cabin staff vote to accept pay deal, ending lengthy dispute.

British Airways mixed fleet cabin crew have voted overwhelmingly to accept a pay deal, bringing an end to a long-running dispute which included 85 days of industrial action. The dispute only involved the mixed fleet section of cabin crew who are on the newer contracts and operate short and long haul flights from London Heathrow only.

Unite said 84 per cent of its members backed the deal. A BA spokesman said: “We are pleased the dispute has been resolved.”

Air New Zealand named airline of the year 

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Air New Zealand has been named Airline of the Year for 2018.

AirlineRatings.com has awarded the airline its most prestigious award for the fifth consecutive year.

The Airline Excellence Awards judge airlines on 12 key criteria, including fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, investment rating, product offerings and staff relations. 

AirlineRatings.com said Air New Zealand was honoured for its “record-breaking performance, multi award-winning in-flight innovations, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff”.

Editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas said Air New Zealand “came out number one in virtually all of our audit criteria, which is an exceptional performance”.

Almost 3,000 pilots apply for 100 Aer Lingus jobs 

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Thousands of pilots from around Europe, many from troubled carriers such as Monarch Airlines and Air Berlin, have applied for 100 jobs at Aer Lingus. 

The Irish airline announced several weeks ago that it intends to hire 200 pilots over the next three years; it advertised the first 100 positions in October, and by the closing date, on Tuesday last week, almost 3,000 experienced pilots are understood to have applied.

The airline now has the challenging task of finding the most suitable candidates for their growing, successful operation under the IAG umbrella.

easyJet’s shares fuelled by Air Berlin deal 

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easyJet’s share price climbed this morning as the airline confirmed its plan to buy part of Air Berlin. 

The company will take on some of Air Berlin’s operations at Berlin’s Tegel Airport for €40m.

The airline will lease up to 25 A320 aircraft and hopes to recruit 1,000 pilots and cabin crew.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “This will enable easyJet to operate the leading short-haul network at Tegel, connecting passengers to and from destinations across Germany and the rest of Europe.”

easyJet has also agreed a deal with a German trade union over job terms for former crew of Air Berlin after the British carrier agreed to buy part of the failed airline’s operations. 

easyJet has said it is looking to recruit around 1,000 Air Berlin pilots and cabin crew after taking on some of its operations at Tegel Airport in the German capital, covering leases for up to 25 A320 aircraft. 

The airline said the agreement with Verdi would make terms for ex-Air Berlin staff very attractive, and the trade union also welcomed the deal.

easyJet reaches out to Monarch employees

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easyJet has today reached out to Monarch employees to encourage them to apply. As part of the airline’s latest and largest ever recruitment, there are still opportunities for 100 cabin crew in Luton, 400 in Gatwick as well as a number of direct entry Captains. A number of roles are also being advertised at easyJet’s London Luton Airport headquarters.

Tina Milton, Head of Cabin Services for easyJet, commented:

“Many of us know people who worked for Monarch and so we are really pleased, as our recruitment drive is still open, to be able to offer opportunities to those affected.

“We will be holding recruitment days for Monarch Cabin Crew both in Luton and Gatwick this week with 500 positions still available. We know the Monarch crew will be a great addition to the easyJet team and look forward to meeting many of them this week.”

easyJet are holding drop-in recruitment information sessions at its Training Academies in London Luton and London Gatwick between the hours of 1000-1600, from tomorrow, Tuesday 3 October until Friday 6 October for those looking to meet the easyJet recruitment team.

easyJet have also increased capacity for cabin crew recruitment selection events this week to accommodate those Monarch cabin crew who wish to join easyJet.

Those who are interested in attending a cabin crew selection day in London Gatwick on Tuesday 3 or Wednesday 4 October should book on here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/easyjet-assessment-event-london-gatwick-tickets-38495416828

Or for those interested in attending a cabin crew selection day in London Luton on Thursday 5 or Friday 6 October should book on here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/easyjet-cabin-crew-assessment-events-london-luton-tickets-38494720746.

For all available easyJet career opportunities visit https://careers.easyjet.com/

For pilot positions please check out easyJet recruitment page out.