IAG Buys Air Europa for Pennies on the Euro
British Airways and its parent company IAG have reportedly agreed to purchase Air Europa for €500 million, with payment being deferred on the purchase until 2026. When the sale is completed and Air Europa formally joins IAG, it will be the second Spanish airline in the group, joining Iberia.
The price is half of the €1 billion sale price the two sides had originally agreed upon in November of 2019, but, you know… pandemic. In order for the sale to be completed, the Spanish government will have to waive its right to appoint two directors to Air Europa’s board, which was a condition of the €475 million bailout package Air Europa received last month.
There was also a major disagreement from the two parties about what the proper mid-afternoon activity for office staff consisted of. Air Europa team insisted on a midday siesta for staff while BA-led IAG would not budge on afternoon tea for all employees. The compromise is believed to be that half of staff will siesta on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with afternoon tea on Tuesday and Thursday, and then swap activity every other week.
Interjet Enters Hospice
The end is near for Interjet after the Mexican government rejected a plan from the airline’s unions to take control of the airline in a last-ditch effort to save it. Additionally, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has suspended Interjet’s participation in its Billing & Settlement Plan (BSP).
As a result, Interjet has suspended all flights today and expects the suspension to carry beyond today unless a dramatic cash infusion magically appears from the cash infusion fairy.
The suspension from the BSP means that travel agents will no longer sell the airline’s tickets because they would not get paid. Agents will also be unable to process refunds or transactions of any kind relating to the airline. The head of the SAT, Mexico’s equivalent of the IRS, has said that the airline has enough funds to pay its debts. According to SAT documents, Interjet owes in excess of $100 million in income, VAT, and airport taxes in addition to what it owes creditors.
United Outlines MAX Return to Service Plans
United Airlines will return the 737 MAX into service beginning with flights on February 11. The dates, times, and routes that the aircraft will operate will be officially released when United releases its updated February schedule on January 6.
Beginning February 11 when the aircraft returns to the skies, it will operate from United’s hubs in Denver and Houston/Intercontinental. The airline will not make any last-minute schedule changes that could possibly cause an aircraft swap to a MAX for unsuspecting passengers.
The airline will operate no more than half of its flights on its MAX routes with the MAX and the rest without. Regardless of aircraft, passengers can expect surly, efficient service from its on-board crew. The half-and-half policy will ensure that passengers who do not feel comfortable aboard the airplane will have alternatives.
Any passenger booked for travel to or from Denver or Houston that would be flown on a MAX will be offered to rebook to a non-MAX flight at no charge if flying to Houston. If booked to Denver, the airline will go ahead and just cancel it since there’s no reason to fly to Denver in the dead of winter anyway.
Alaska A320 Diverts to LAX Due to Avionics Failure
There are diversions, and then there are DIVERSIONS. Alaska flight 1193, the airline’s daily flight from Columbus to Seattle, diverted way out of the way to Los Angeles on Wednesday evening when the flight crew reported that both the anti-ice system and the rest of the avionics had failed.
The anti-ice system prevents the formation of ice on the aircraft’s wing and ensures that any ice remains in the flight attendant’s cart for an efficient beverage service. The aircraft was over Montana, about 800 miles from Seattle when the crew made the decision to divert.
The pilots chose LAX, despite it being further than several alternative airports, because Alaska has a maintenance base at the airport and backup aircraft to easily get the passengers back on their way to Seattle as quickly as possible. Additionally, the weather in LA was a warm 75 degrees, as opposed to the much chillier 45 degree forecast in Seattle.
Six-Way Blockbuster Slot Trade Comes in Just Before Christmas
The six airlines involved are British Airways, easyJet, Icelandair, Norwegian, TUI, and Virgin Atlantic. The airlines did not deny the reports but refused to comment saying that the players slots involved in the trade had not been contacted yet.
The overall deal looks like this:
- 112 weekly slots from Norwegian to easyJet
- 52 weekly slots from Virgin Atlantic to Norwegian
- 6 weekly slots from Norwegian to British Airways
- 6 weekly slots from TUI to Icelandair
- 6 weekly slots from TUI to British Airways.
EasyJet also received eight weekly slots from Norwegian at an airport to be named later, while British Airways is already regretting the slots it received from TUI and is considering flipping them for future draft picks.
Airline Potpourri
- Air Zimbabwe is receiving a bailout from its government in the form of Zimbabwe assuming the debts of the airline which currently exceed $300 million.
- Air Greenland has placed an order for one new A330neo.
- Alliance Airlines is acquiring 16 E-190 jets from American for a cool $85 million. AA was even kind enough to throw one spare engine into the deal as well.
- Condor operated its first flight today to Punta Cana (PUJ) from Frankfurt since the route was suspended at the onset of the pandemic.
- OWG flew its inaugural passenger flight today from its Montréal/Trudeau base to Holguin, Cuba (HOG).
- Singapore will be upgrading the frequencies on its three routes to the U.S. — JFK, LAX, and SFO — to daily, effective January 18.
- WestJet will be adding once-weekly service to Bonaire (BON) from Toronto/Pearson, effective February 6.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
What do you call a line of men waiting to get haircuts? A barberqueue.