Two UK unions representing British Airways check-in staff at London Heathrow airport are balloting members over peak-season strike action in a dispute over pay. Trade union Unite will hold a vote on industrial action with around 500 members from 7 to 27 June, with strikes expected to follow during July, should they vote in favour. GMB is also balloting check-in staff about strike action with a similar timeframe. Many of BA's Heathrow staff took pay cuts through the pandemic as revenues dried up, but they are now angry that this has not been reinstated, especially given that management pay has been returned to pre-pandemic levels, says Unite. General secretary Sharon Graham continues that this "disgraceful" action treats its members like a "second-class workforce", adding: "Our members are rightly furious and ready to take action. A strike by our members will make an immediate impact on the service to customers so I urge BA to get a grip and restore these workers’ pay immediately." Unite is further consulting with a separate group of BA check-in staff over pay, which, if it passes, could progress to a vote on full industrial action. British Airways responds that the majority of its staff had accepted a one-off lump sum amounting to 10% of their salary, but this had been rejected by check-in staff. It notes that with the ballot affecting less than half of Heathrow's customer service team, contingency plans are in place to ensure continued operations. Airlines have found themselves in a difficult position in recent months regarding staffing. Having shed many positions through the pandemic, they are now trying to recruit into a strong labour market which is hindering their ability to staff up. Meanwhile Covid-related absences have also impacted operations. This, combined with a rush of passengers desperate for their first break in years, plus staffing problems at airports and elsewhere, has already led to significant delays and numerous cancellations in Europe, the UK and US. At its results presentation earlier this month, BA-parent IAG revealed that it would cancel roughly 60 flights per day at Heathrow, or 10% of its total at the hub, until October reflecting a lack of operational capacity. It attributed this mainly to a deliberate attempt by the airport to under-resource itself, in order to restrict passenger numbers and back up its case for higher airline fees.

South Africa's Comair announced late on Tuesday evening that it had to suspend all its kulula.com flights as well as the British Airways flights it operates under a licence agreement. The flights are suspended pending Comair successfully securing additional funding. The company’s business rescue practitioners have advised that the process to raise the necessary capital is in progress and that there is reason to believe funding may be secured. Once received, the airline will be able to recommence operations. British Airways (operated by Comair) and kulula.com ticket sales have also been suspended with immediate effect. "We deeply regret the inconvenience this suspension will cause our customers. We did everything we could to avoid it. Comair, the BRPs and the lenders are working all out to get the funding in place so that we can resume our normal flight schedule as soon as possible," says Comair CEO, Glenn Orsmond.

Oslo-based low-cost airline Norwegian has signed an agreement in principle with Boeing for 50, 737 Max 8's for delivery between 2025 and 2028, plus options on a further 30. The deal will mostly contribute towards the replacement of expired aircraft leases, enabling the company to swap out leased for owned aircraft while securing a "limited net increase" in its fleet size, it says. Completion of the agreement is subject to further negotiations that should be concluded by the end of June 2022. "The overall terms achieved are attractive for Norwegian, and the deal fits well with our long-term fleet strategy and route programme," states Geir Karlsen, Norwegian chief executive. "It will enable us to serve our customers with modern fuel-efficient aircraft with the latest technology, significantly reducing our carbon footprint. The deal will also strengthen the company's equity considerably, further solidifying Norwegian's financial position." A moderate expansion of the fleet with Norwegian's recently outlined vision for a return to operations outside of Scandinavia. Karlsen said at an industry event on 18 May that he expects to operate 90-100 aircraft "within the next two years", and even more beyond that. With a capacity of that size "we would have to consider [operating] outside the Nordics", having outgrown the region, he added. Although Norwegian currently flies to destinations across Europe, it does not have services that start or end outside Scandinavia. Karlsen says this was achievable with the carrier having completely restructured its cost base, abandoned long-haul and simplified its operations through the pandemic, action that helped the company post a small profit in 2021 despite the poor state of the travel market. Norwegian intends to fund the outstanding pre-delivery charges for the latest announcement through cash flow from current operations, with a "significant share" of the purchased aircraft being owned by the airline. It has previously ordered and then subsequently cancelled large numbers of aircraft from manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, reflecting its perilous financial position up to the recent restructuring. In June 2020, for example, the airline cancelled orders for 92 737 Max jets as it battled to stay afloat amid the pandemic.