Aer Lingus granted UK AOC
August 11, 2021
Aer Lingus's UK subsidiary has been granted an air operator's certificate by the country's civil aviation authority, allowing it to begin scheduled passenger services from Manchester to the USA. "The UK Civil Aviation Authority is pleased to confirm that it has granted an airline operating licence to Aer Lingus (UK) Limited, part of the Aer Lingus Group", comments the CAA. In an updated provided in June, Dublin-based Aer Lingus said it was delaying plans to launch direct flights from Manchester to New York and Orlando to end-September. It had previously planned to launch the two routes on 29 July, but decided to postpone because of "international borders opening later than expected". The IAG-owned carrier will begin its Manchester-Barbados service on 20 October, as originally planned, adding services from the northern UK city to Boston in summer 2022. It will deploy its Airbus A321LRs for the services to New York and Boston, with A330-300s being used on the Orlando and Barbados routes. At a results call last month, chief executive Lynne Embleton commented that Aer Lingus has a "good opportunity" to combine its A330s and A321s to "test out some new markets" once it had secured a UK air operator’s certificate for its Manchester services. "If Manchester is successful there’s no reason why we couldn’t consider expanding into other markets – but it’s one step at a time," she added.
Air Mauritius places some pilots on five-year leave
August 10, 2021
The administrators of Air Mauritius have agreed a deal with a number of pilots which will place them on leave without pay for five years. The island carrier entered voluntary administration in April 2020 and is preparing a restructuring plan to present to creditors. The Mauritian Airline Pilots Association (MALPA) says in a social media post on 8 August that administrators wanted to make 18 pilots redundant, but the deal has been agreed to save the jobs. The pilots will be placed on leave without pay for up to five years from 1 September, the administrators announced in a 7 August filing, with pilots being called back when operations require in order of seniority. If they do return, they will sign a new contract reflecting the company’s situation at that time. If they are not recalled during the five years, then their employment will be considered to be mutually terminated, with no further compensation due. MALPA says the deal means Air Mauritius will have to first rehire the 18 pilots before recruiting externally. "Our agreement comes after the necessary sale of A319 and A340 aircraft and the surplus of pilots at this time. Our aim is to reduce costs," the administrators state, thanking the pilots for their sacrifice and the union for its efforts. Air Mauritius is currently operating four flights a week to Paris Charles de Gaulle and one weekly flight to Reunion. The Reunion flight is due to move to twice-weekly from 15 August. The carrier also plans to restart weekly flights to London Heathrow and Johannesburg from early October.
AirAsia Indonesia details plans to improve performance
August 10, 2021
AirAsia Indonesia has outlined its improvement plan for 2021 in response to the Indonesia Stock Exchange’s (IDX) warning on delisting after its trading suspension surpassed a 24-month limit. The parent company of Indonesia AirAsia plans to submit its financial performance recovery plan in the third quarter, it says in a 6 August filing to the exchange. AirAsia Indonesia is also preparing a corporate action plan to ensure it complies with IDX's rules that make it mandatory for listed companies to maintain at least 7.5% of its paid-in capital as free float. The company states that it is "committed to complying with the provisions of Stock Exchange Regulation No.: I-A regarding the listing of shares and equity securities other than shares issued by the Listed Company". AirAsia Indonesia says it is in the early stages of internal discussions with the management and majority or controlling shareholders to obtain approval on the corporate action plan. It targets to implement the plan in the fourth quarter. The company is pursuing business opportunities in the cargo and charters segment, as part of steps to ensure its sustainability and business performance recovery. AirAsia Indonesia has suspended all scheduled flights from 6 July to 6 September, in line with the Indonesia's government Covid-19 movement restrictions. To manage costs, the company will continue to renegotiate costs with its suppliers and stakeholders and contain costs across some business lines. IDX suspended trading of AirAsia Indonesia's shares on 5 August 2019, after it failed to meet free float requirements by 30 June 2019. As of 31 July, the company has about 10.7 billion shares, with only 1.59% publicly owned. Air Asia Investment has a 49.25% stake in the company, while Jakarta-based company Fersindo Nusaperkasa has 49.16%.