Wizz Air expects the GTF engine issue that is currently grounding tens of its aircraft to be resolved during 2026, removing a major blocker on the low-cost carrier’s growth. During a briefing on its results for the financial year ended 31 March full year 2024, Wizz's chief executive Jozsef Varadi said he expected it to be "done and dusted" with the cycle of removing engines to be repaired and returning them to service "sometime" during 2026. "We are at a peak [of groundings] as we speak" with 47 aircraft currently out of operation, he said during an investors' webcast. The figure will tick up slightly later this year before reducing to around 35 next summer. Up to now, almost all new engines that the airline has received – both spares and those arriving on new aircraft – have been subject to cycle limits of around 18 months, after which they need to come off-wing for inspection and overhaul. But Wizz has now started receiving new spare engines that are free of contamination. From next month, engines it receives on newly delivered aircraft will likewise be unaffected. “Now we have started receiving spare engines clean of powdered metals," says Varadi. "We are expecting the same to happen to new aircraft as of June." Concurrently, there has been an improvement in the speed at which manufacturer Pratt & Whitney is turning around engines that it receives for overhaul, tightening an original timeline of 300 days to 180. "Clearly they have been able to improve procedures and around production," says Varadi, noting that as a result it is "quite likely" the carrier will be able to return some aircraft back to service faster than it expected. Wizz has received "significant" compensation from P&W for the disruption so far, it says. Resolution of the GTF issue will remove a significant drag on Wizz’s performance since the first aircraft was grounded around last September, although, the airline acknowledges, the problem will still get worse before it gets better. Plus, it is now eating into the most profitable part of the year. Wizz has been seeking to offset the issue by extending lease contracts on older aircraft and bringing in some wet-lease capacity to cover the shortfall. It has received 39 A321neos. Capacity was raised a quarter through fiscal 2024, and passenger numbers hit a record 62 million – up from 51 million the year before. But with the number of groundings steadily increasing, nearly a quarter of its capacity currently is out of operation. The number of aircraft out action will actually move higher to 50 by end-September, and across the full fiscal year 2025 capacity growth will be flat. Elsewhere in the business, Varadi notes a "significant turnaround across [our] operating metrics", citing fleet utilisation – excluding those aircraft grounded because of the GTF issue – which has risen from 12h in 2020 to 12.5h last year, and should hit 12.75h this year. "This is a very significant factor" in enabling the business to spread its fixed costs, he says. Punctuality improved, and costs, both fuel and non-fuel, fell. "The fundamentals of the business are back in place," Varadi asserts. Wizz has reported EBITDA result of €1.2 billion, up from €134 million last year, on revenue of €5.1 billion. Its net profit of €366 million reverses a €535 million loss in fiscal 2023. "While some of the external challenges we experienced throughout [financial year] '24, including groundings due to GTF engine inspections and geopolitical instability, are expected to persist in the coming year, we have proven that our model is agile, highly resilient and well positioned to mitigate the impact of these ongoing issues," states Varadi. "This includes the current scale and diversity of our network, which means we are incredibly well placed to react quickly to issues as they arise." Analysis from investment firm Goodbody notes that revenue was slightly below its forecasts while costs met expectations. "Overall, we think the market should take some comfort from today's update,” it writes, noting that "the GTF issue looks to be no worse with capacity in [fiscal 2025] still expected to be flat" with guidance on revenues "a little better than expected given recent updates".

WestJet Group will now finish integrating Sunwing Airlines into WestJet Airlines six months later than planned, according to WestJet. In a statement shared, the company said its targeted timeline for the integration to "complete the airline's strategy to move all [Boeing] 737s into the same AOC (air operator certificate)" has shifted to 27 April 2025 from the "original ambitious integration date" of 26 October 2024. The new date will be in time to fly a "singular summer 2025 network schedule", WestJet adds. "Both WestJet Airlines and Sunwing Airlines will continue business as usual for their winter 2024/2025 operation schedules. The updated integration timeline has no impact on Sunwing Vacations Group and its associated vacations brands," the airline goes on to say. WestJet Group intends to integrate as much of Sunwing as possible by 26 October. It expects unionised operational team members to be integrated in a "phased approach" to meet training and aircraft transition schedules by 27 April 2025. WestJet said in September 2023 that it would complete the integration of Sunwing's 737 fleet by October 2024, having completed the purchase of the Toronto-based carrier in May 2023. At first, WestJet had said the two carriers would operate independently. According to fleets data, Sunwing has an in service and stored fleet of 20 aircraft, including nine 737 Max 8s and 11 737-800s.

Qantas is seeking regulatory approval to start flights from Australia to Vanuatu after rival Virgin Australia applied to increase its capacity allocation on the route. In a filing with Australia's International Air Services Commission, Qantas is seeking an allocation of 1,798 seats per week to Vanuatu that would allow it to commence flying there from August using Boeing 737-800s and Embraer 190s. It further plans for budget unit Jetstar to commence four weekly services to the Pacific Island nation from October using Airbus A321neos. Neither Qantas nor Jetstar currently operate services between Australia and Vanuatu, although Qantas was previously a codeshare partner with Air Vanuatu which suspended operations on 9 May and was subsequently placed into liquidation. Prior to its grounding, the airline operated flights between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Port Vila, and a newly launched weekly service from Brisbane to Luganville (Espiritu Santo). Qantas's request comes after Virgin applied on 13 May for an additional 1,304 seats per week that would allow it to operate an additional seven weekly services to Vanuatu from July. Schedules data shows that the carrier flies three weekly Brisbane-Port Vila services. The IASC's register of available capacity shows that as of May 2023 there were 3,120 seats available to Australian carriers under the Vanuatu bilateral air services agreement to operate flights from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. That would allow the Commission to grant both applications without having to consider them competing unless another carrier were to make a subsequent request, with a deadline set for 5 June for further applications. The future of Air Vanuatu is uncertain, with liquidators seeking funds that would allow it to resume operations. In an initial report released on 16 May, liquidators estimated that Air Vanuatu has net liabilities of $65.9 million, not including employee entitlements, which were still being investigated.