Author: Andrew Bashuk

Korean Merger with Asiana Hits Speedbump

The pending merger between South Korea’s two largest carriers – Korean Air and Asiana Airlines – is expected to continue to drag as Korean has been slow providing documents requested by antitrust authorities in the EU, United States, United Kingdom, and Japan, so, you know, no big deal.

The merger has received antitrust approval from six countries – Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. The four foreign entities waiting on paperwork plus Korea are the main hurdles for the merger and those battles are expected to continue. The European Commission and Japan’s Fair Trade Commission have not even begun their reviews of the deal while they await proper documentation from Korean.

The UK had a two-week public comment stage that ended last week, but that was just the first stage in a lengthy process for the Competition and Markets Authority.

There will be 32 routes that the combined airline will have more than 50% of the market share, and its expected that it will be forced to divest itself of capacity on those routes while also offering complimentary soju on all routes that do survive the eventual merger.

Sale of Sydney Airport Approved

The Sydney Aviation Alliance’s $17 billion purchase of Sydney Airport was approved by Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) early today, despite the chairman of the commission expressing his reservations about the deal.

While announcing its decision, commission chair Rob Sim attacked how airports in general act as natural monopolies which have “significant market power and no price regulation.” If only the country had some sort of commission to do something about it. The chairman of that fictional committee would be pretty powerful, too. He then used the opportunity to lodge a formal complaint about red lights that don’t turn to green when you’re the only car at the intersection and launch an investigation as to why escalators break at the mall.

Despite Sim’s objection, the commission said the deal was unlikely to lessen competition and also declined to force IFM Investors – one of the Aviation Alliance’s main investors – to divest its stakes in other Australian airports. Remaining steps in the process are sign-offs from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board, the company’s shareholders, and a kangaroo named Bill.

Man Attempts to Steal Jet to Get Truth About Area 51

A man breached the perimeter of Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas Thursday night, driving his limo through fences protecting the airport and parking his car on the aircraft ramp. He then doubled down on his caper, calling in a bomb threat as a diversion while he plotted to steal an airplane.

The law firm the man said was representing him denied that they had been retained.

Police received a call at 6:45 p.m. that a limo was performing donuts in the JSX parking lot on airport property. While police were responding to the call, the Area 51 investigator broke through the perimeter and parked near a parked aircraft while threatening Atlantic Aviation employees who had the gall to impede his quest.

Police apprehended the suspect and found an oxygen tank and fire extinguisher in the back of his car which he might have hoped would act as a bomb. The airport fence was repaired a few hours later and the suspect was released into the custody of Spirit Airlines officials at the airport who were deemed to have the most experience corralling overzealous travelers.

• Air Nostrum and CityJet plan to resume merger talks.
• Air Tahiti Nui will receive a $79 million bailout from the French Polynesian government.
• Cathay Pacific will launch its rebranded loyalty program in the middle of next year, with the Marco Polo Club being renamed to just Cathay.
• Fly ZeJet added ze first aircraft in its fleet, an E145.
• Hans Airways plans to be more hands-on in the UK-India market, launching ops between the two countries early next year.
• LATAM will lease six new A321neo aircraft pending approval from the U.S. bankruptcy court.
• Lufthansa Technik took delivery of the first of two A321LR aircraft it’s converting to use for the German Air Force.
• JetBlue and Aer Lingus are expanding their codeshare agreement to add New York/JFK and Boston to both Dublin and Shannon. The deal came together once JetBlue checked with its sugar daddy alliance partner American to get permission.
• Philippines AirAsia resumed international flights for the first time in nearly two years, beginning with service from Manila to Singapore.
• Ukraine International Airlines will operate charter lights to Cancun, Punta Cana, and the Maldives beginning December 27.
• Volaris took delivery of a new A320neo — the fourth and final delivery of its most current order.

I used to be addicted to soap, but I’m clean now.

The Skinny on American’s 2022 Schedule: It Just Isn’t Wide Enough

American Airlines doesn’t have enough widebody airplanes to operate its planned schedule for next summer and the carrier has been forced to cut several routes and destinations to accommodate the fleet shortage.

AA puts much of the blame on Boeing’s inability to delivery a heap of B787 Dreamliners the carrier has on order while the FAA takes a deep look at the Boeing’s production program.

The lack of widebody, long-haul aircraft deliveries will leave AA at least 13 planes short this summer. Because of the shortage, American plans to cut service to Edinburgh, Shannon, and Hong Kong. Seasonal routes including Dubrovnik and Prague will not come back, but the airline will launch one new route – New York/JFK to Doha.

The carrier also plans to reduce services on some of its longest routes, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Sydney. It will also once again delay the debut of its new route between Seattle and Bangalore. Outgoing AA CEO Doug Parker had no comment on the delivery delays, only to say “That’s Robert’s problem now,” while cracking open his fourth black cherry White Claw of the morning.

Delta Removes Mileage Earning from Basic Economy Fares, Adds Flexibility

Delta Air Lines will no longer allow for mileage earning on Basic Economy fares purchased today and beyond for travel on or after January 1. The basic itineraries will no longer earn redeemable SkyMiles, Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM), nor will they earn $200 while passing GO if playing Monopoly while on board a Delta aircraft.

On the bright side, Basic Economy passengers will receive some flexibility to change their flights instead of having their travel be “use it or lose it.” Basic fares for travel within the United States, or to the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico will be subject to a $99 change fee plus any fare difference, and flights from the United States or Canada to any other destination will be subjected to a $199 change fee.

Award tickets booked in Basic Economy will be subject to 9,900 mile change fees for domestic, with the international flights costing 19,900 miles for changes. Passengers electing to book a basic itinerary as a SkyMiles award will also be required to submit a 500-word essay as to why they are redeeming SkyMiles, a horrendous value to begin with, for a restrictive ticket that doesn’t come with a seat assignment or an oxygen mask in the case of an emergency.

Alaska’s New Concourse Open in Portland

Concourse A is no more at PDX after the airport opened a new Concourse B for Alaska Airlines today with ten gates for the exclusive use of Alaska and its regional subsidiary Horizon Air. Concourse B is the second expansion at PDX since the onset of the pandemic, as the airport opened a six-gate extension of Concourse E for Southwest last year.

The new concourse’s ten gates include four on an upper level with jet bridge access to airplanes with six at ground level. It features 8,900 square feet of south-facing windows with views of where your plane would be if it weren’t delayed. There are 500 seats in the concourse to accommodate up to 200 people after taking the annoying families of four that spread out over an entire of row into account. There are more than 300 places to charge devices in the concourse, but none will be working or available on the day you visit.

Concourse B was built near the south runway, and next to a live taxiway for planes. All the white oak surrounding the windows came from sustainable managed forests within 60 miles of Salem, Oregon while all the Coca-Cola products on offer came from a bottling plant in suburban Atlanta.

• Air Belgium says it’s acquiring three B747-8s to launch cargo ops in 2022.
• Air Tanzania‘s board was warned by the Tanzanian government to do their jobs and not use the airline as their personal bank account like their predecessors.
• Bonza, Australia’s newest LCC start-up carrier announced it will lease eight 186-seat B737 MAX aircraft for its first year of operation.
• Equair took delivery of its first aircraft — a B737-700 — earlier this week, less than two weeks ahead of its first scheduled flight.
• flydubai must have lost a bet similar to the one Etihad recently lost as it signed an interline agreement with Pakistan International Airlines.
• Frontier signed a five year contact with Lufthansa Technik to repair and overhaul 21 CFM56-5B engines.
• Garuda Indonesia was granted protection from creditors, giving the beleaguered carrier 45 days to reach settlements with lessors and creditors to chip away at its nearly $10 billion pile of debt.
• Hainan Airlines controlling stake has been transferred from bankrupt conglomerate HNA Group to Liaoning Fangda Group Industrial.
• Peach took delivery of a new A321-200neo aircraft.
• Proflight Zambia added its first CRJ-200, doubling its capacity when it begins operating on February 1.
• Ultimate Air Shuttle is suspending scheduled flights from its two bases — Cincinnati/Lunken and Cleveland/Burke — on December 16.
• YTO Cargo Airlines took delivery of its first B767-300 freighter.

I got carded at a liquor store, and my Blockbuster card accidentally fell out. The cashier said never mind.

Southwest’s Schedule Extension Adds Three Routes

Southwest Airlines announced its schedule extension through June 4 and the carrier has three new routes in this release with potential for more when the carrier announces another extension next week. Next Thursday, December 16, the carrier will fill its schedule out for the remainder of the summer, extending its outlook to September 5.

This edition adds daily service between Austin and Tulsa, beginning April 25, where Southwest will battle both American and Allegiant head-to-head. Tampa gets a new destination with Saturday-only service to Syracuse beginning April 30. The carrier wanted to start earlier than late April but promised airport officials they’d give SYR a chance to thaw out from winter before beginning the new flight.

Lastly, Southwest is adding 4x-weekly service from San Antonio to Oklahoma City, a route it will be the only airline operating when it begins in April now that Breeze has pulled out. Four nonstop routes that have been on the shelf will return, all on April 25 as well, and they are:

• San Antonio to Los Angeles
• Dallas/Love Field to Louisville
• Houston/Hobby to Milwaukee
• Nashville to San Jose

Daily service to Havana will resume February 17 from Fort Lauderdale, or not, if the Cuban government changes its mind.

Allegiant Announces Nine New Routes

Allegiant announced nine new routes to what it is calling “Premier Spring Break Destinations,” proving that the airline’s communications and PR team has spent very little time visiting the their employer’s new destinations.

From Knoxville, the carrier will fly to two new cities, Phoenix (beginning February 16) and noted premier Spring Break destination Minneapolis (beginning March 9). It will begin flying on March 9 from Phoenix/Mesa (AZA) to the party central that is Toledo, with service beginning March 11 from St. Petersburg (PIE) to the Ibiza of the Appalachians – Clarksburg, WV (CKB).

Appleton, WI (ATW) receives three new cities, Ft. Lauderdale (beginning March 10), Sarasota, and Denver (both beginning March 10). Lastly, Flint, Michigan fliers (FNT) can now fly nonstop to two Spring Break meccas – Jacksonville (beginning March 11) and Boston (March 10).

Thyme’s Up: SpiceJet Ordered to Pay $20 Million, Maybe

The Madras High Court in India granted a petition filed by Credit Suisse against SpiceJet on $20 million debt that the carrier has owed for nearly a decade. Moments after granting the petition, the court then stayed the order to give the carrier an opportunity to appeal.

SpiceJet has had this cumin for six years, after the court ruled for Credit Suisse in 2015, but the payment has been tied up in litigation keeping the carrier from being forced to pay its debt – until now, sort of.

The heart of the issue is a contract SpiceJet signed with SR Technics to provide aircraft maintenance in 2011. The company eventually turned the debt collection over to Credit Suisse as part of its own financing agreement. Credit Suisse has been rebuffed at every turn when looking for payment, including a claim from SpiceJet that SR Technics did not have the proper license to perform maintenance which the airline says absolves it from having to pay for services rendered. This logic, while providing SpiceJet a chance to extract itself from its financial obligations doesn’t seem like it will work and the court is strongly suggesting the airline cut a dill with Credit Suisse.

• Air Canada took delivery of its first B767 dedicated freighter aircraft.
• Air Zimbabwe was allotted $4.1 million from Zimbabwe’s government to be used towards acquiring new aircraft and operating new routes.
• Belavia is in the market for new lessor options since its been banned from doing basically any business with any company from a country that isn’t Russia.
• Etihad clearly lost a bet with someone as it signed a codeshare partnership with ITA.
• FLY CORALway is postponing its debut until mid-2022 and is now looking to acquire A321neo(LR) aircraft. Check back to Cranky Daily for updates on this developing story.
• GlobalX plans to open a base in Las Vegas early next year, you can bet on it.
• Kuwait Airways is suing its ex-chairman to recover payments that its owed that the carrier says were made illegally to vendors and clients.
• Madagascar Airlines is wet-leasing an Ethiopian B787. The airline plans to put it into service as soon as it dries off.
• SAA cemented a cooperation and codeshare agreement with regional carrier CemAir.
• Sydney Seaplanes placed an order for 50 eVTOL aircraft from Embraer’s subsidiary Eve with deliveries expected to begin in 2026 or when Spirit eliminates fees, whichever comes last.
• United Nigeria Airways secured a wet-leased A320.
• Volotea has requested an aid package from the Spanish government of up to €185 million.

I’m addicted to collecting vintage Beatles albums. I need Help.

AA CEO Doug PAArker to Retire March 31

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker announced his retirement, effective March 31, after two decades running American and its corporate predecessors. Parker will be succeeded, as expected, by AA President Robert Isom. Despite retiring as CEO, Parker will remain chairman of AA’s board of directors, and he also will keep his zone 2 boarding privileges when flying on the carrier.

Parker saw his tenure as CEO of America West ushered in by the 9/11 crisis — he started September 1, 2001 — and will now end as the COVID-19 pandemic finishes off its second year. Parker spent much of the pandemic focused equally on advocating for the Payroll Support Program — which gave a big boost to the industry during the pandemic — and on planning for his final Halloween costume at the company’s annual celebration.

Parker and Isom’s time together dates back to their time at America West in the mid-90s and saw the pair flip America West into US Airways and then turn that into AA – the largest carrier in the world. With this transition, Isom will take over an airline that lost nearly $5 billion in the first three quarters of this year and lost $9.5 billion a year ago.

Spirit Unveils Philadelphia Expansion

Nothing goes together quite like the City of Brotherly Love and Spirit Airlines, and the two are going to strengthen their ties together as Spirit adds seven new destinations from Philly.

Of the seven new routes for Spirit, two of them – Aguadilla, PR (BQN) and Oakland – are brand new destinations for the airport on any airline.  Oakland service will operate daily beginning May 18 while Aguadilla will begin April 20 and operate 4x-weekly.

The five other destinations Spirit adds will see it going head-to-head with AA and Frontier:

• New Orleans (daily, beginning Feb. 16)
• Nashville (daily, beginning May 11)
• Houston/Intercontinental (daily, beginning May 11)
• Punta Cana, DR (4x-weekly, beginning May 18)
• Montego Bay (3x-weekly beginning May 18).

Flights to all seven destinations will come with a $19 new destination fee for those booking flights in the first six weeks they operate, with an additional $9 for the flights to BQN and OAK due to those being new routes for the airport.

United Plans New Club Concept

United Airlines is up to something in Denver – and it appears to be a new lounge concept for passengers looking for a quick bite to eat during a tight connection. At just 1,582 square feet with very limited seating, this “Club Lite” concept will provide grab-and-go food and a service counter for agents to assist with rebooking assistance and other irregular operations.

The club does not have restrooms and does not appear to be designed for lengthy layovers or for passengers to linger. Instead, the idea is to give customers a chance to grab something quick on their way between flights, a much better option than the other concept which was to just throw a stroopwafel at club members as they rushed between flights. The idea appears to be somewhat modeled after AC’s Air Canada Café lounge concept in Toronto which opened in 2019 and offered grab-and-go options including shot glasses of maple syrup.

The concept seems like a great idea until the first day it opens when a passenger dumps a whole tray’s worth of pre-packaged sandwiches and a dozen water bottles in their bag and ruins it for us all.

• Air Astana took delivery of its its 7th A321LR aircraft today.
• Allegiant took delivery of a new A320-200 on Monday.
• CAMEX Airlines applied for an AOC to begin operating as a cargo airline in the second half of 2022.
• Delta is partnering with Hallmark to offer six Hallmark holiday movies amongst its IFE library this month. Spoiler alert: The main character — Lori Laughlin, we assume — visits their small hometown and doesn’t have time for this Christmas nonsense until they meet a rough and tumble classmate from high school who teaches them the true meaning of the holidays and love.
• Finnair will launch 3x-weekly flights to Seattle on June 1.
• FlyAngola has suspended flight operations indefinitely.
• JetBlue promoted John Flaherty to Vice President, Inflight Experience. His first day will be spent trying to figure out how exactly AA’s 500-mile upgrade coupons work and if they can be printed on blue paper.
• PLAY will begin playing in Dublin three times a week beginning April 28.
• SalamAir is hopeful of launching new routes to Europe after the EU and Oman signed an Open Skies agreement.
• United named Nike CFO Matthew Friend to its Board of Directors.

A priest, an atheist, an imam, and a rabbit all walked into a bar. The rabbit then looked at the other three and said “I think I’m a typo.”

Breeze Adds Two Destinations

Breeze Airways is blowing into two new cities as the carrier expands for the first time since its launch this past spring.

Breeze will begin flying in January to both New York/Islip (ISP) — where it already handles maintenance so is no surprise — on Long Island and West Palm Beach (PBI) in south Florida. The two cities will see a combined eight routes with two from Islip and six from West Palm.

The six routes going to West Palm will operate as Saturday-only service to Akron, Columbus, Charleston, New Orleans, Norfolk, and Richmond. Islip’s two destinations on Breeze, beginning On February 17, will be Norfolk (4x-weekly service), and Charleston, SC (2x-weekly service).

Thai AirAsia X to Restructure

Thai AirAsia X intends to enter into formal bankruptcy restructuring in 2022 while looking for new investors in an effort to relaunch the airline which has been dormant since the onset of the pandemic last March.

The carrier, which is 51% owned by Asia Aviation will be seeking funding to resume operations, which makes sense because right now it has literally no funding. The carrier recently secured approval from shareholders to raise $415 million to begin the recapitalization process. The airline is unable to look to its other stakeholder – AirAsia X – which owns the other 49% of the company as it is also embroiled in its own bankruptcy and is currently in restructuring itself. Bankruptcy inception is real.

Thai AirAsia X has eight A330-300 aircraft currently being used for cargo-only operations and two mothballed A330-900s. The airline is hoping to resume flying as soon as February 2 with flights from its Bangkok hub to both Tokyo and Seoul.

Florida Man Flies to Miami with Loaded Handgun

A passenger on an American Airlines flight from Bridgetown, Barbados (BGI) to Miami was so serious about not being seated in Basic Economy that he boarded the flight with a handgun loaded with five 32-caliber rounds in the chamber. The passenger was able to get past the crack security staff in Bridgetown because he allegedly came up with the clever plan of placing the weapon under his laptop when going through the x-ray machine.

Homeland Security has sent a team on vacation to investigate the breach and see how security officers at the airport managed to miss the gun. The firearm was eventually discovered when going through a TSA checkpoint in Miami before the passenger connected to a flight to Orlando.

The passenger was charged with carrying a concealed weapon but denied the charges. In his defense, he wasn’t concealing it when going through security, as he did place the gun on the x-ray belt. He is scheduled to appear in court in Miami again later this month and the courthouse has confirmed it will be using its own security guards at the entrance and is not taking BGI airport’s offer to use their security staff.

• Aeromexico has several creditors objecting to its restructuring plan, including Banco Santander which is owed $70 million and Deva Capital which is owed $25 million. Some guy named Guillermo who had a terrible flight and wants a refund also objects.
• Air Europa is considering a lawsuit against Iberia because the carrier is preventing Air Europa from serving Iberian ham on-board through a copyright claim. (Or maybe it’s that whole acquisition thing.)
• Air North announced 2x-weekly service between Whitehouse (YXY) and Toronto/Pearson beginning May 10.
• Cape Air CEO Dan Wolf will don his cape one final time before retiring and handing the reigns of the airline to current president and noted Cape fan Linda Markham.
• JD Cargo plans to begin operating in China early next year once it secures its law degree.
• FlyArna, the newest carrier in airline-starved Armenia now plans to launch flight operations in the spring of 2022.
• Hainan Airways plans to raise about $7.5 billion in capital to reduce its debts in order to exit bankruptcy restructuring.
• MyWay Airlines is not having it ItsWay as the Georgian federal government plans to revoke the carrier’s operating license.
• Ryanair announced a partnership with Junta de Andalucía to promote tourism to Spain’s southernmost region. The two are expected to file suit against one another early in 2022.
• Southwest told its employees that about 93% of staff have either been vaccinated or applied for an extension. The other 7% are currently on hold with IT trying to get their password changed.
• VietJetAir plans to launch European flights next summer.

I didn’t want to believe that my dad was stealing from his job as a traffic cop, but when I got home, all the signs were there.

United Ready to Settle Down, Move to Suburbs

United Airlines will move its network operations center out of the carrier’s headquarters in downtown Chicago at the Willis Tower into a new complex in Arlington Heights, a suburb (way) outside of Chicago.

Approximately 900 United staff will be making the move to the ‘burbs, with the move expected to be complete by April of next year. The carrier will keep 2,500 management staff at Willis Tower in downtown where it’s spending millions on renovations including adding one to two inches more legroom for employees at their desk, offering a new, innovative menu featuring random celebrity chefs in the staff cafeteria, and bringing back hot meals for workdays of five hours or more.

The move will place the operations center closer to Chicago/O’Hare which is crucial in case the airline’s systems go down and the company has to revert to old school tactics of keeping track of planes by watching them out the window.

BA Sues Chicago/O’Hare

British Airways filed a $3.2 million lawsuit against the city of Chicago and Chicago/O’Hare airport over claims that three of the airline’s B787 aircraft were damaged by debris left on a runway at the airport last year.

The case was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and alleges negligence on the city’s behalf and that the airport violated the terms of its lease agreement by not properly inspecting the runways and taxiways. The lawsuit also accuses the city of continuing to call its overly thick tomato pies “pizzas,” confusing BA’s customers who visit Chicago from the United Kingdom.

According to BA, debris from O’Hare’s Terminal 5 expansion was ingested into the engines of its airplanes causing significant damage. The airport countered by saying the engines maybe could have been more discerning in what they chose to ingest, a matter they will bring up in front of the judge.

Mango Continues Search for Investors

Beleaguered and battered South African LCC Mango needs to secure a new investor by the end of March 2022 to have a chance at returning to the skies and functioning as an actual airline. The carrier’s bankruptcy administrator Sipho Sono will welcome expressions of interest for potential investors through December 20.

If you’re interested in bidding on the carrier and all the sweet fruit that comes with it, you’ll need to sign an NDA and proof of financial and operational capacity. The operational capacity requirement is the real bugaboo keeping most out of the running, including representatives from American and Spirit.

The airline will remain grounded until the process its complete, but it does plan to maintain its routes and licenses so it can hit the ground running when it does resume operations. Sipho Sono is hopeful that the pending state aid payment of $44 million will still be paid out in order to settle outstanding employee salary obligations and credit claims.

• airBaltic Flight 102 skidded off the runway in heavy snowfall during landing today in Riga. There were no injuries and all 44 passengers were transported to the terminal without incident.
• Alaska Airlines extended its maintenance agreement with HAECO Americas to provide service for the airline in Greensboro, North Carolina.
• Cathay Pacific is offering status extension and fast-track earning options for elite status in its Marco Polo loyalty program.
• EgyptAir is potentially considering a name change as the airline launches charters between the United States and Iraq.
• Iberia Plus loyalty members can now redeem miles for travel on Alaska. For all Spaniards with an itch to visit Ketchikan, it’s their time to shine.
• iFly Airlines resumed flying to Uzbekistan.
• ITA signed codeshare agreements with unsuspecting victims Air Serbia and KLM.
• Kargo Xpress took delivery of its first B737-800 airkraft.
• Qatar is reportedly leasing B777s from Cathay Pacific for service next year.
• SAS is launching two new brands early next year, SAS Connect and SAS Link. The new brands will link SAS customers to new connection opportunities through Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm.
• Transitair debuted with charter service to Gabon and Príncipe.

Why is it a bad idea to iron your four-leaf clover? Because you shouldn’t press your luck.

Mask Mandate Extended to March

President Biden extended the mask mandate for individuals on public transportation, airplanes, and transportation hubs including airports through March 18. The mandate has been extended several times and was most recently scheduled to expire on January 18.

The mandate extension comes as part of the federal government’s new guidelines to protect against the Omicron variant of COVID-19 which also include requiring testing for inbound international travelers within 1 day instead of the current 3 days of travel. The three leading international carriers in the United States — American, Delta, and United — also had to turn over data to the government on their customers who have traveled from the eight countries leading in Omicron cases to facilitate contact tracing. Delta’s list got to the government on-time and was mostly accurate. American’s data was late and missing a bunch of names due to staffing issues, while United’s eventually got there but was stuck in Newark for two days.

The current mask mandate requires masks to be worn by all travelers on airplanes, ships, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-shares, and at transportation hubs such as airports, bus or ferry terminals, train and subway stations, and seaports. It also requires masks for anyone playing Microsoft Flight Simulator at home or while watching the movie Airplane! Airplane II: The Sequel is not covered by the mandate since space travel is not impacted.

Jet Airways is Ready for Holiday Shopping

Jet Airways 2.0, the reincarnated version of the once-bankrupt Indian carrier, is in talks with both Boeing and Airbus to drop a cool $12 billion (at list prices, not in reality) on at least 100 narrowbody airplanes for the carrier to use to resume operations.

Jet was the largest private carrier in India before it shut down in April of 2019. The new airline – but with the old name – plans to begin flying in March of next year after the Dubai-based, but Indian Murari Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch won the bid to lose large sums of money and take over the airline in a state-run bankruptcy auction.

The group plans to invest about $200 million via both equity and debt over the next six months as it attempts to become the first airline revived after bankruptcy in Indian history. The new version of the airline plans to be a full-service carrier with a loyalty program and plans to push all its costs to its customers in the form of unbundled fares.

China Moves Closer Toward Resuming MAX Operations

China’s Civil Aviation Authority provided instructions to airlines on what fixes it will require on the B737 MAX to bring the aircraft back into service in China. The airworthiness directive issued by the government requires certain software installed and revisions to the flight manual plus a promise to never, ever say a bad word about China… ever.

The CAA did not provide a timeline for a resumption of MAX service. China was the first country to ban the aircraft following the two fatal crashes in March of 2019. The aircraft was approved to resume service in the United States about a year ago and has since been approved in most countries. It has been flying without incident. China, along with Russia and Indonesia, are the largest holdouts remaining.

Boeing currently has a backlog of about 300 MAXs to be delivered to Chinese airlines that remain on hold while the plane is plana non grata in the country. Chinese airlines have about 100 MAX aircraft in their fleets currently in addition to those on hold.

• Aer Lingus operated its first route from Manchester, UK to New York yesterday.
• Air Astana delayed its IPO until 2025. We have no update on what this did to the Kazakh stock market.
• Air Canada‘s Aeroplan added Oman Air as its newest partner.
• Avianca emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.
• Belavia and Cham Wings Airlines were both sanctioned for a fifth time by the EU due to their alleged participation in a migrant smuggling operation.
• Emirates will resume service to two Nigerian destinations, Abuja and Lagos, this Sunday.
• Jazeera Airways launched its first flight to Kazakhstan on Wednesday when it began service from Kuwait City to Almaty.
• LOT is nearing an order for 50 A220s. That’s a lot.
• Qantas plans to make every seat available on its A380 flights via point redemptions in an attempt to draw down the large number of points liability its customers stocked up on during the pandemic.
• Virgin Australia linked up with Link Airways to resume service between Sydney and Canberra which had been on hiatus since the onset of the pandemic.

Air used to be free at the gas station, now it’s $1.50. You know why?
Inflation.

U.S. Government Considers New Travel Restrictions

Just weeks after what seemed like the beginning of the end when the federal government relaxed entry requirements for vaccinated travelers, President Biden is reportedly considering new testing rules for international arrivals into the country out of concern for the new omicron strain.

The U.S. government is expected for require all international travelers to be tested within one day of returning to the United States – currently the one-day requirement only applies to unvaccinated travelers, with those vaccinated able to get their test within three days of arrival. This mandate would apply to foreign visitors, and U.S. citizens and permanent residents alike.

Another requirement of international travelers – a second negative test three to five days after arrival – is also on the table. Apparently a third plan to build a big border wall and just keep everyone out permanently was shot down once they found out airplanes can fly above them.

Both potential new policies were detailed in a public health order sent to the president from the CDC. Rumors abound that a quarantine requirement could also return for international travelers, but the White House has ruled that out – for now.

Allegiant Seeks Partnership with Viva Aerobus

Allegiant and Viva Aerobus are seeking government approval for an alliance between the two carriers that would see Viva Aerollegiant jointly plan fares while also working together on schedules and routes. If approved, the tie up would be the first of its kind for the two ULCCs.

Allegiant is committed to invest $50 million for an undisclosed stake in Viva Aerobus as long as its willing to throw in four season tickets for the Raiders in Allegiant Stadium for Viva’s senior leadership team.

If the deal is approved, Allegiant would begin to dip its toe into Mexico while Viva Aerobus would expand its U.S. network through Allegiant. Both airlines focus on warm-weather tourist donations in both countries. The carriers say that their alliance would reduce fares in the transborder market while adding new routes to new cities that don’t currently see regular service to Mexico and vice versa.

The airlines would split profits equally on all flights within the scope of the agreement with costs split based on which metal operates which flight. Viva Aerobus would also be required to sign up for three timeshares in the Punta Gorda through Allegiant Travel, and it would be asked to force a rental car on all Viva passengers via Allegiant’s ancillary travel portal.

United Operates Regularly Scheduled Flight with Sustainable Fuel

United Airlines operated flight 2071 today from Chicago/O’Hare to Washington/National powered 50% by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The B737 MAX 8 aircraft’s right engine was fully-filled with SAF, while the left engine was filled with 87 unleaded from a Chevron station (with Techron, of course) near the airport. The flight was catered with a special menu of rice & beans to represent that beans often provide their own version of sustainable fuel.

The FAA currently only allows a U.S. commercial flight to operate with up to 50% SAF – making today’s flight 100% filled with SAF to the extent of what’s permitted.

A who’s-who of United celebrities attended a departure ceremony, including CEO Scott Kirby, senior leadership from Boeing, and government officials from Chicago and Illinois. Former United passenger Dr. David Dao was not part of the event.

• Afrijet plans to bring its cargo operation in-house and end its outsourcing.
• Airbahn now hopes to launch in March with its first route in the severely underserved LA to Bay Area market, specifically between Ontario and Oakland.
• Etihad is spinning off its tourism subsidiary, Etihad Holidays to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), a subsidiary of state-owned Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company.
• ITA has firmed its MOU (which likely isn’t worth the paper it’s written on) for 28 Airbus planes: seven A220s, 11 A320s, and 10 A330s.
• Mel Air introduced the first ATR27 to its fleet this week.
• Norwegian will lease two B737 MAX 8 aircraft in a deal that was likely approved by someone named Bjørn.
• PassionAir took delivery of its second Dash8-300 aircraft.
• Peach Aviation expects to begin A321neo ops mid-Q1 next year. Mango had no comment.
• Qatar is near an order for up to 50 B777X freighters.
• Southwest‘s former baggage handler Mark Hunter pled guilty to stealing at least five firearms out of checked bags between March 2020 and August 2021. Clearly he took the idea of “bags fly free” way too far.
• TUI fly Nordic retired its final B737-800.
• TWA (making its Airline Potpourri debut) operated its final flight on this day 20 years ago.

I called the doctor this morning to see if I could get an appointment.

“How about 10 tomorrow?” the reception asked.

“I don’t need that many,” I told her.

Frontier Unveils Its Newest Frontiers

Frontier Airlines is growing in Florida as the carrier announced a new destination in Florida, a heaping of new routes to the state, and one more sun-splashed destination to add to its route map.

The carrier will return to Fort Lauderdale after having left the airport in April of 2020 at the start of the pandemic. The carrier will operate to 12 cities from FLL, of which two – Islip, NY and Trenton, NJ – it operated prior to the pandemic. All of the cities it will fly to from Fort Lauderdale are east of the Mississippi with the majority in the northeast. From the airport, Frontier will now serve:

• Atlanta (daily, beginning Feb. 17)
• Buffalo (daily, beginning Feb. 17)
• Islip (daily, beginning Feb. 17)
• Orlando (daily, beginning Feb. 17)
• Philadelphia (daily, beginning Feb. 17)
• Providence (daily, beginning Feb. 17)
• Stewart, NY (3x-weekly beginning Feb. 17)
• Trenton (daily, beginning Feb. 17)
• Albany, NY (3x-weekly beginning Feb. 18)
• Rochester, NY (2x-weekly beginning Feb. 18)
• Green Bay (weekly, beginning Feb. 19)
• Portland, ME (weekly, beginning Feb. 19)

Other additions for Frontier include new service to Aguadilla, PR (BQN) with 3x-weekly flights from Orlando beginning March 24. The carrier is adding two new cities from San Juan: Boston (4x-weekly, beginning Feb. 17) and Hartford (3x-weekly, beginning Feb. 18). Lastly, it’ll add three more cities from Cancun: Hartford (3x-weekly beginning Feb. 17), Buffalo (3x-weely beginning Feb. 18), and Providence (weekly, beginning Feb. 19).

Aeromexico’s Creditors Push Back on Restructuring Plan

Aeromexico released a restructuring plan to exit bankruptcy that is rubbing some of its creditors the wrong way as they would only receive approximately 15 cents on the dollar for their outstanding debt.

The plan retains a 20% ownership stake for Delta and is dependent on raising $1.4 billion in financing. Some creditors, including Invictus Global Management LLC, Hein Park Capital Group LLC, and Livello Capital Management LP, say the plan doesn’t pay back nearly enough of the airline’s debt while allowing some creditors and third parties ownership stakes in the restructured carrier in lieu of debt payments.

In exchange for 20% of the new carrier, Delta would amend the current partnership deal between the two, inject $100 million into the airline, and possibly convert part of the bankruptcy loan it offered into new shares of the airline. Invictus and other creditors believe a conflict of interest exists, as two Delta executives and one Delta board member sit on Aeromexico’s board.

Invictus has objected to the three Delta members of Aeromexico’s board insisting that all other debt payments would be made in SkyMiles and Biscoff futures. Delta is offering 500,000 SkyMiles to unsecured creditors to sign off on the deal – enough to get an award ticket on Delta from Detroit to Tulsa in Main Cabin.

South African Moves Towards Privatization

South African Airways’s move towards partial privatization took a step forward after it was revealed that Takatso Consortium concluded its due diligence of the carrier and did not run away screaming while covering its eyes.

The consortium confirmed that its negotiations with the South African government to purchase 51% of the beleaguered carrier will move forward as it did not find any major issues. SAA officials were pleased with the news, noting they spent several weeks covering up and hiding anything that had anything to do with Mango while praying that no one noticed the smell of rotting fruit all over HQ.

Takatso plans to inject just over $200 million into SAA over the next three years to cover operating costs. South African was also allotted $649 million in state funds to restructure out of bankruptcy, some which has been put into the airline already, with more to come, in theory.

• Corsair wants €200 million to allow a potential merger with Air Austral to occur.
• FlyOne now hopes to fly one flight as soon as late this year, hoping to serve seven destinations from Yerevan, Armenia (EVN) beginning December 15.
• interCaribbean will begin serving Georgetown, Guyana with 12 weekly flights beginning December 17.
• Jonica Airways in Italy is looking to begin E190 cargo ops.
• Philippines Airlines had its franchise to operate on behalf of the Philippine government renewed for another 25 years.
• Porter will require all passengers over the age of 12 to be vaccinated to board a flight regardless of whether it’s domestic, transborder, or international. This, of course, makes the assumption that Porter is actually operating flights.
• Qatar will begin twice-weekly service to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (TAS) on January 17.
• Thai AirAsia‘s $415 million recapitalization plan was approved by shareholders.
• Uganda Airlines is unhappy a passenger was caught selling fried grasshoppers to other passengers on a recent flight. However, the airline is mostly unhappy it didn’t think of the idea first, and is now considering adding the insectile treat aboard future flights.
• WestJet‘s Harry Taylor its now officially the airline’s interim President and CEO.
• Zambia Airways took delivery of its first aircraft — a Dash 8-400 on lease from equity partner Ethiopian Airlines.

Every morning I tell my family that I’m going to go jogging, but then I never do.

It’s a running joke.

LATAM Spurns Azul, Ready to Move On

LATAM filed its reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court with the carrier proposing an $8.2 billion cash injection to help fund its next incarnation. At the same time it told Azul “it’s not you, it’s me,” in rejecting the Brazilian carrier’s request to go steady.

Azul had made overtures about acquiring all of LATAM in a takeover, but LATAM rejected the offer as “incomplete” and “insufficient” while also stating that Azul “wasn’t really it’s type,” and that the carrier is very happy with its sugar daddy from Atlanta for now.

The carrier expects to have debts of about $7.6 billion against just $2.67 billion in liquidity. It’s restricting plan is supported by its primary group of creditors and some LATAM shareholders. The reorganization will be assessed in court on January 27. The carrier says 71% of its creditors approve the plan, above the minimum threshold of 66%.

LATAM reported losses of almost $700 million during the third quarter as it struggles with the lack of a demand for the return of international travel.

Spirit Passenger Attacks Two Flight Attendants

A Spirit Airways passenger on Saturday night attacked two flight attendants, reportedly punching one and pulling the hair of another. The unidentified 42-year old woman reportedly lost control of her emotions when finding out that Spirit charged for carry-ons and that a bottle of water was not free onboard the ULCC carrier.

Nashville airport police met the flight after it landed from Fort Lauderdale around 7 p.m. and arrested the unruly passenger for public intoxication and general idiocy. Upon being met by law enforcement, the passenger, who had been zip tied by a fellow traveler challenged the police to “shoot me” as they arrested her. Despite the hopes of the Spirit flight crew, the police only took her into custody.

When asked to comment, other passengers on the flight said they barely noticed the incident, instead reveling in the joy that their Thanksgiving weekend flight on Spirit actually operated – the fact it left and landed on-time was an added bonus.

An affidavit from the Davidson County Sherriff’s Office said that the flight crew did not want to press charges against the passenger. Records show she was released from jail Sunday and her case was dismissed.

Emirates Suspends Launch of Tel Aviv Flight due to COVID-19

Emirates Airline said over the weekend that is suspending the launch of direct service between its Dubai hub and Tel Aviv indefinitely. The route was supposed to begin on December 6, and when it does begin, will mark the first scheduled service on Emirates to Israel.

The Israeli government recently imposed new border controls due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, electing to prevent non-Israeli citizens and permanent residents from entering the country for the time being. Emirates says it is still committed to launching the flight once the concern over the new strain fades and Israel reopens its borders to non-Israelis.

Israeli citizens are allowed into the country but are required to take a PCR test on arrival and go through a three day quarantine and then receive a second negative test upon arrival. Israelis are currently prohibited from visiting a list of 50 countries that either pose a higher risk of infection from the new Omicron strain or are known to offer hard and inedible bagels.

• Air New Zealand extended its status match offer to elite members from Qantas and Virgin Australia until June 2022.
• Avian had its payment plan from its reorganization approved by an Argentinean court on Friday.
• Cebu Pacific took delivery of its first A330neo aircraft.
• China Airlines took delivery of the first of 25 A321neo aircraft it has on order today.
• Fly Niu received permission from the Tongan government to purchase state-owned Lulutai Airlines.
• Swiftair added its first B737-800 aircraft today, taking delivery of the plane in swift fashion.
• Vietnam Airways operated its first regularly scheduled direct flight to the United States today, a B787-9 Dreamliner from Ho Chi Minh city to San Francisco.
• Western Aircraft has applied to the DOT for permission to operate regularly-scheduled flights using aircraft with nine seats or less.
• WestJet revealed in a DOT filing that it intends to link Spokane with its network using regional subsidiary WestJet Link.
• World Atlantic Airlines plans to wet-lease an A320 aircraft.

When I was little, I always wanted to be an astronaut, but my parents would talk me out of it. They always told me I could do anything I wanted and that the sky’s the limit.