Aviation

FLAIR OWES FEDS $67 MILLION, PROMPTING SEIZURE ORDER

Court documents show Flair Airlines owes the federal government $67.2 million in unpaid taxes, prompting the Canada Revenue Agency to obtain a Federal Court order for the seizure and sale of the carrier’s property. But CEO Stephen Jones says the order – obtained in November – has no impact on the carrier’s operations, which have expanded over the past year and ramped up competition with rival airlines.

IS THE  MAX 9 SAFE?: What to know if you go

Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners are carrying passengers again for the first time since they were grounded after a panel blew out of the side of one of the planes. Alaska Airlines resumed flights with its Max 9s on Friday and United followed suit on Sunday. Those are the only two US airlines that operate this particular model of the Boeing 737, while Canadian carriers only fly Max 8s.

AERO-MEXICAN STAND-OFF: Passenger ‘saved lives’ by climbing out of plane

At first it sounded like another case of a bad behaviour aboard an airplane when a man opened an emergency exit and walked out on a wing of a plane that was parked and waiting for takeoff at Mexico City International Airport. But despite taken into custody, the man was backed by fellow passengers on the AeroMexico aircraft for doing so.

FAA SAYS BELEAGURED MAX 9’S CAN FLY AGAIN (THIS WEEKEND)

Federal regulators in the US have approved an inspection process that will let airlines resume flying their Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners as soon as this weekend. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said that his agency’s review of the scary incident on board an Alaska Airlines Boeing jet gave him confidence to clear a path for the planes to fly again.

THE PROS AND CONS OF BEREAVEMENT FARES

When Cathy Olliffe-Webster’s 90-year-old mother-in-law died suddenly last year, her family had to make the trek from Cold Lake, Alta., to Ontario in a hurry. The jewellery business owner figures the flight would have set her and her husband back $2,000 because it was a last-minute booking, but they scored a hefty discount.

PORTER SPLITS EXEC DUTIES, JACKSON NEW PRESIDENT

Porter Airlines is introducing a new senior leadership structure to support its ongoing growth. The president and CEO roles will be separated, with Michael Deluce continuing in the position of CEO, while current executive VP and CCO Kevin Jackson assumes the role of president.

FRUSTRATIONS WITH BOEING BOIL OVER

On Saturday a Boeing 757 jet operated by Delta Air Lines lost a nose wheel while preparing for takeoff from Atlanta, potentially creating more uncertainty around one of the nation’s top manufacturers after a troubling string of incidents involving its planes.

WILL LUFTHANSA-ITA DEAL FLY?: EC to investigate takeover plan

The European Commission on Tuesday announced an in-depth investigation of German airline Lufthansa’s planned takeover of Italian carrier ITA Airways, citing competitive concerns. Lufthansa signed a deal last year for a 41% minority share in the long-struggling ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia.

WESTJET CONTINUES EXPANSION, BUYS FIVE MORE PLANES

WestJet has announced the acquisition of five brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8s to its fleet with the planes expected to arrive in early 2025. The purchase adds to the airline’s already significant multi-billion-dollar investment in its orderbook and follows a leasing agreement with CDB Aviation for three aircraft and international aircraft leasing company Avolon for two aircraft.

LYNX LINES UP L.A. FOR MONTREAL SERVICE

Lynx will launch a new route between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) this summer with three non-stop flights per week starting on July 11, increasing to daily service as of Aug.11, 2024

IS SPIRIT SPENT? What’s next for troubled airline?

Spirit Airlines hasn’t made money since before the pandemic, ticket sales haven’t bounced back as quickly as the carrier expected, and dozens of its planes will be grounded at times this year because of a problem with the engines. But after a federal judge in Boston scuttled plans for JetBlue to buy the troubled carrier last week, some analysts who follow Spirit are tossing around the B word – bankruptcy.

LOSS OF FLIGHTS A BLOW TO NORTHERN ONTARIO COMMUNITIES

Perimeter Aviation, the parent company of Bearskin Airlines says it plans to discontinue passenger service from Thunder Bay, Ont. to Dryden, Fort Frances, and Kenora effective May 11. Termination of the flights is being blamed on financial reasons.

INTERNATIONAL LAYOVERS: How much time is really needed?

Most airlines recommend arriving at least two hours before domestic flights and at least three hours before international flights. But do passengers need that much time for connections between international flights?

NEW FLIGHTS ‘GREAT NEWS’ FOR REGINA

Lynx Air has announced the addition of Regina to its network starting in June. The new gateway marks the discount carrier’s first foray into the Saskatchewan market and brings to 23 its total number of North American destinations.

WESTJET ENCORE PILOTS START CLOCK ON JOB ACTION

Citing a “near standstill” in negotiations, the union representing pilots with WestJet’s regional subsidiary says it has started the clock on potential job action – though any moves on that front are still at least three months off.

PORTER OFF TO LA-LA LAND

Porter Airlines celebrated the start of daily roundtrip service between Toronto Pearson and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) yesterday, expanding east-west connections between eastern Canada and southern California.

JETBLUE-SPIRIT DEAL GROUNDED: Judge blocks $3.8-billion buyout

A US federal judge is siding with the Biden administration and blocking JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit Airlines, saying the US$3.8 billion deal would reduce competition. The Justice Department sued to block the merger, saying it would drive up fares by eliminating Spirit, the nation’s biggest low-cost airline.

BOEING PROMISES INCREASED INSPECTIONS OF MAX 9s

Boeing told employees Monday that it plans to increase quality inspections of its 737 Max 9 aircraft, following the failure of an emergency exit door panel on an Alaska Airlines flight last week. It is the latest in a series of troubles for Boeing, whose reputation as the premier American aircraft manufacturer has been tarnished by a series of manufacturing flaws that have led some airlines to hold off aircraft purchases or go with its European rival, Airbus.

U.S. CRACKS DOWN ON BOEING

The US Federal Aviation Administration says it will begin auditing Boeing’s aircraft production and increase oversight of the troubled manufacturer after a panel blew off a jetliner in midflight last week, the last in a string of mishaps for its marquee aircraft.

AIR CANADA CONTESTS DECISION ON POWER WHEELCHAIRS

Air Canada has appealed a decision by the country’s transport regulator that seeks to boost accessibility for travellers living with a disability. If successful, the move would overturn a requirement to fully accommodate passengers whose wheelchairs are too large to move into airplane cargo holds.

HAPPY ENDING: Bomb scare not a threat St. John’s airport

Officials at the St. John’s International Airport say a bomb threat that halted commercial flights Friday morning was not really a threat after all. A post on the X said police and officials from Transport Canada and the airport determined the threat to be “non-credible” and operations resumed around noon.

IT’S THIS CLOSE: Air travel nears full recovery

In a sign that 2024 will prove to be the year that air travel is fully recovered from the pandemic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that data for November 2023 indicated that air traffic demand topped 99% of 2019 levels.

THE WORLD’S MOST ON-TIME AIRLINES

Recently we learned that passengers perhaps ought not set their watches by Canada’s major airlines. But which carriers do boast the best on-time performance? In its annual 2023 On-Time Performance Review, respected aviation analytics firm Cirium celebrated operating excellence in the aviation sector, including airlines and airports, hailing a host of winners from every corner of the globe.

NEW JETBLUE CEO FIRST FEMALE TO LEAD A U.S. AIRLINE

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes will step down next month and be replaced by the airline’s president, Joanna Geraghty, who will be the first woman to lead a major US carrier. Geraghty, 51, joined JetBlue in 2005 and has taken on an increasingly prominent role at the New York-based airline in recent years, including becoming president and chief operating officer in 2018.

RIPPLE EFFECT: How Max 9 issues could affect Canadians

Canadian air travellers will be largely unaffected by the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max 9 airplane, but they may want to double-check their itineraries nonetheless. Some passengers could be booked on routes – notably those by Alaska Airlines and United – affected by the US Federal Aviation Administration order, which has grounded the aircraft.

THE PLANE FACTS: Canadian carriers unaffected by latest 737 Max mishap

Canadian airlines say they don’t fly the Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners that US regulators have grounded after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout while in flight. The Alaska Airlines 737-9 Max jetliner blew out a window and a portion of its fuselage shortly after takeoff nearly five kilometres above Oregon late Friday, creating a gaping hole that forced the pilots to make an emergency landing as its 174 passengers and six crew members donned oxygen masks.

BACK TO BARGAINING FOR TRANSAT, FLIGHT ATTENDANTS

It’s back to the bargaining table this week for Air Transat and its flight attendants after the latter voted to voted to reject a tentative deal with company. There are currently no strike or lock-out notices issued by either party and both say they are keen to reach a new agreement quickly.

PASSENGER CRAWLS INSIDE PLANE ENGINE, DIES

A man was found dead inside an airplane engine Monday night at Salt Lake City International Airport after police say he breached an emergency exit door, walked onto the tarmac, and climbed inside the jet’s engine.

‘IT WAS HELL’: Planes collide at Tokyo airport

A large Japan Airlines passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft collided on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing five people aboard the coast guard plane, officials said. All 379 people on Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 got out safely before the Airbus A350 was fully engulfed in flames, Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed.

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