Brazilian air accident investigators have extracted information from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the Voepass ATR 72-500 which crashed in Vinhedo on 9 August. The Centro de Investigacao e Prevencao de Acidentes Aeronauticos (CENIPA) says the two recorders were sent to its laboratory in Brasilia on 10 August and confirms that the two devices captured aural and flight data from the turboprop's final flight. CENIPA chief Marcelo Moreno states that a detailed study of the pilots' conversations, cockpit sounds and ATC transmissions is being carried out and that the authority is at the beginning of a process to extract and convert binary FDR data. CENIPA says that "initial action" at the crash site in Vinhedo was completed on 12 August and the investigation has since moved on to data analysis focused on the aircraft's flight, operating environment, human factors, components, systems and infrastructure. ATR and French investigation authority Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses pour la Securite de l'Aviation civile (BEA) have sent specialists to Brazil to support CENIPA's probe. The Voepass ATR 72-500 (registered PS-VPB) crashed during a flight from Cascavel to Sao Paulo International airport in Guarulhos, with no survivors among the 58 passengers and four crew on board.

Wizz Air has launched its 'All You Can Fly' pass, targeting frequent travellers with a flat-fee model. The pass is now priced at €599 ($658), following an introductory offer of €499 that ended on 15 August, the European low-cost carrier says in a LinkedIn post. It adds that the pass allows for fixed fares of €9.99 per one-way flight, applicable even during peak seasons, and includes a complimentary first flight. Terms and conditions show that passengers are limited to three one-way flights per 24 hour period. The offer is valid on international routes, and specifically excludes domestic Italian routes.

S&P Global Ratings and Moody's have downgraded their ratings on JetBlue Airways following its announcement that it will issue a total of $3.15 billion in new debt. JetBlue plans to launch a private offering of $1.5 billion of senior secured notes due 2031, and a $1.25 billion senior secured term loan B due 2029. The notes and term loan will each be guaranteed by "certain subsidiaries" of JetBlue, the airline says in a 12 August announcement. The New York City-headquartered company adds that the notes will be secured on a pari passu basis with the loyalty term loan, including a first-priority lien on the core assets of JetBlue's customer loyalty programme, TrueBlue. JetBlue will use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes. In a separate announcement, the airline said it intends to offer $400 million of convertible senior notes due 2029. It also expects to grant to the initial purchasers of the notes an option to purchase, within a 13-day period from and including the date of original issuance of the notes, up to an additional $60 million of notes. JetBlue intends to use the net proceeds from that offering to repurchase a portion of its existing 0.50% senior convertible notes due 2026 in "one or more transactions, subject to prevailing market conditions", and to pay fees and expenses related to the offering and "incurred in connection with such repayment". It will use any remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes. S&P downgraded JetBlue's issuer credit rating from 'B' to 'B-', citing the debt issuance, challenges such as excess industry capacity, higher labour costs, infrastructure constraints and aircraft groundings due to engine issues. "We expect negative free operating cash flow burn of about $1.7 billion in 2024 and about $1.2 billion in 2025," it says. Despite the downgrade, S&P maintains a stable outlook, anticipating that liquidity from the loyalty financing will help mitigate JetBlue's ongoing negative cash flow. Over the longer term, the agency expects performance to gradually improve with industrywide capacity moderation and strategic initiatives such as its pivot toward premium offerings and network reconfiguration. "While we acknowledge management's clear pivot toward profitability and expect improvement over our forecast period, we do not expect these initiatives to translate into significant improvement over the next 12-18 months," the agency notes. Meanwhile, on 12 August, Moody's downgraded JetBlue's corporate family rating to 'B3' from 'B2', as well as its probability of default rating to 'B3-PD' from 'B2-PD', and its existing senior secured bank credit facility rating to 'B2' from 'Ba3'. Moody's also assigned a 'B1' rating to the secured term loan and secured first lien notes. The company's speculative grade liquidity rating of 'SGL-3' is unchanged by Moody's and its outlooks are stable. "The downgrade of the corporate family rating reflects our view that restoring operating profit and cash flow to levels that would lead to materially stronger credit metrics will require a number of years," the ratings agency says. "Earnings will continue to be pressured by the current operating environment, including increased competition in key markets along the US East Coast, higher demand for premium products and the inability to match cost inflation with revenue growth." JetBlue's shares lost about 20% of their value on the announcement of the deals, having closed at $6.05 per share at the end of last week on 9 August. As of 18:30 (Eastern time) on 12 August, shares were trading for $4.76.