Airlines

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the global travel landscape, and U.S. no-frills airline carriers are pouncing. As legacy airlines shrink to contain costs, budget carriers Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Travel, and privately-owned Frontier Airlines are resuming pilot hiring and expanding networks to seize turf dominated by larger rivals. The three airlines’ combined U.S. market share, which barely topped 10% before the pandemic, could grow by 10 percentage points this year alone, said René Armas Maes of UK-based consultancy MIDAS Aviation. “Ultra-low-cost carriers want to attack head-to-head; they believe they’re in a better position to rebuild travel demand,” he said. Las Vegas-based Allegiant has told prospective pilots whose hiring was halted as the pandemic unfolded: “We have recalled all of our furloughed pilots and are now planning for exciting growth opportunities.” Spirit and Frontier have posted pilot job ads. They are taking delivery of Airbus A320neo jets that could … [Read more...] about US budget airlines predict pandemic breakthrough soon

Domestic airlines in Thailand have formed an association to deal with the pandemic and pave the way for vaccine passport cooperation. Bangkok Airways president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth said the Airlines Association of Thailand (AAT) has set a long-term goal of elevating the aviation industry in Thailand. However, the short-term priority is the soft loan request the Finance Ministry is considering. “The domestic market seemed to improve after the lockdown relaxation was implemented nationwide, but it’s still a far cry from the numbers seen prior to the latest outbreak,” said Mr Puttipong. “It may take some time to get back to 100%.” The founding members of AAT are Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, Thai Smile Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet. The group submitted the soft loan proposal to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in late August last year, but there has still been no response from the government. Vaccine passport agenda Mr … [Read more...] about Thailand’s Domestic Airlines Ponder Vaccine Passport Requirement

In a bizarre incident, a male passenger on a Pune-bound IndiGo flight was offloaded at the Delhi airport on Thursday evening after he told cabin crew that he was coronavirus positive just as the aircraft was preparing for take-off, according to sources. The incident happened on IndiGo flight 6E286 at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday as the plane was getting ready for take-off to Pune. The sources said the passenger informed the cabin crew that he has tested positive for coronavirus, following which the aircraft returned to the bay and the person was offloaded. After fumigation, the aircraft took off for Pune at around 7 p.m., one of the sources said. A senior Delhi Police official said it has not received any complaint from the airline about the incident so far. Further details could not be immediately ascertained. There was no official statement from IndiGo about the incident. … [Read more...] about IndiGo passenger says he is COVID positive; airline offloads him at Delhi airport

Alaska Airlines has just announced that everyones favorite tablet computer is going to replace paper flight manuals for pilots operating their aircraft. The move to the 1.5lbs iPad is intended to improve efficiency and reduce environmental waste by replacing up to 25lbs of paper flight manuals. Here are some more details, courtesy of AlaskaAir: The iPads contain an app called GoodReader that is loaded with PDF versions of 41 flight, systems and performance manuals, reference cards, and other materials. The electronic manuals include hyperlinks and color graphics, enabling pilots to find information faster and easier. Updating these reference materials can now be accomplished with one tap on the iPad screen instead of the former, labor-intensive process of replacing individual pages with new ones. The iPad is considered a Class 1 electronic device, meaning it is stowed during takeoff and landing under Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The transition into the … [Read more...] about iPad Becomes a Flight Manual on Alaska Airlines

Beats Music is getting some promotional support from an unlikely source: Southwest Airlines. The Dallas-based budget airline is now throwing in free Beats streaming complete with curated playlists to round out its on-board entertainment options. Southwest is known for its low prices and perks like free checked bags. Now the airline is throwing in free Beats Music on its in-flight Wi-Fi, which is also free if you’re using it to stream songs. The subscription-only Beats is normally $9.99 a month, so the partnership opens up the service to a new audience as Apple seeks to rebrand it. The deal includes hundreds of curated playlists that Beats Music subscribers already know and love, plus the service’s unique fill-in-the-blank feature, The Sentence. It creates a custom playlist for you based on what you’re doing, where you are, taste in music, and more. You get to fill in that sentence, Mad Libs-style. While Southwest doesn’t offer TVs, you can use your own devices to access the … [Read more...] about Southwest Airlines adds free Beats Music streaming to its list of perks