Liebherr and Airbus have signed an agreement to work jointly on landing-gear design for the European airframer's future programmes. Under the long-term collaboration accord, both parties will jointly define key elements and characteristics to optimise design, production, overall and maintenance of landing gears on Airbus future aircraft, Liebherr says. Major outcomes will include specimen and validation test results and a pre-industrial demonstrator landing gear. Liebherr states it will contribute to the project "extensive experience in the design, production and services of landing gear systems for single-aisle commercial aircraft, while Airbus will bring its deep knowledge of the integration of systems and of structural parts in the aircraft". The project will aid Airbus "spread [its] digital design, manufacturing and services ambitions", adds Liebherr. On Airbus's current production line, Liebherr supplies landing gears for the A220 and the A350 nose landing gear.

Ryanair on 8 April launched a new training partnership with France-based flight school Astonfly. The partnership will see Astonfly recruit and train up to 500 new cadet pilots from across Europe over a four-year period for Ryanair, the Irish low-cost carrier says. Pilots on the programme will be trained in Paris using Ryanair procedures and operational philosophy. The Ryanair mentored programme will "give trainee pilots a structured path to achieve an exceptional training course and reach a standard where they are ready to join the Ryanair Boeing 737 type rating programme", the airline's director of operations Neal McMahon says. “This partnership highlights our commitment to supporting, developing and recruiting pilots in the region for current and future positions," McMahon says. "With hundreds of daily Ryanair flights in and out of France, we expect students from across Europe to avail of Ryanair’s low fares and enrol in Astonfly’s Ryanair mentored pilot training programme.”

Wizz Air has opened a new base at Cardiff airport in the UK with nine new routes to destinations in Europe and Africa. Destinations include Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife and Lanzarote in Spain; Faro in Portugal; Heraklion and Corfu in Greece; Larnaca in Cyprus; and Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, the Central European budget carrier says. Flights to Tenerife and Lanzarote commenced on 8 April, while services to Alicante, Faro and Palma De Mallorca will begin on 9 April. The routes to Larnaca and Heraklion will start on 10 April and 13 April, respectively. Also, it will start flying to Corfu on 16 June and to Sharm El Sheikh on 1 November. Wizz says Cardiff is its fourth base in the UK and creates over 40 direct jobs and over 250 indirect jobs. It plans to host an open recruitment day on 14 April to hire cabin and flight crew at Cardiff. "By bringing our new and efficient Airbus aircraft to Cardiff, the wings of which are manufactured in Wales, we are providing a significant boost to the Welsh economy and creating jobs," Wizz Air UK's managing director Marion Geoffroy says.