United Airlines will offer alternative flights to any passengers uncomfortable with flying on the Boeing 737 Max once the narrowbody returns to the skies. “We are going to make it very transparent to our customers [that their trip is on a Max],” chief executive Oscar Munoz said at an Aviation Club luncheon in London today. “If they are not happy, we will offer to rebook them, even if they take that decision at the gate.” He adds: “We don’t assume everybody will jump back on the aircraft.” United has been unable to operate its 14 Max 9 aircraft since the US Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators grounded the type in March following two fatal crashes. Munoz, who adds that the airline is “not in any particular hurry” to bring the re-engined narrowbody back to service, reiterated his pledge to fly on the first United Max service following re-certification, acknowledging that the grounding has damaged customer perceptions of the Max brand. United was due to increase its fleet of Max aircraft to 30 by the end of this year, with another 28 due in 2020. In his speech to the Aviation Club, Munoz outlined some of the factors behind what he called the airline’s “turnaround” since he joined in 2015. These included “regaining the trust of our employees”, partly by settling long-running labour disputes; adding routes, including 93 cities last year alone; improving customer care by giving cabin crew devices to instantly record any passenger grievance; and increasing capacity to “mid-continent” secondary airports using Bombardier CRJ550s, a 50-seat derivative of the CRJ700 with a business class cabin, operated by its United Express partner GoJet Airlines. Munoz admitted that there had been “missteps on the journey”, including a controversial incident in 2017 when a ticketed passenger was dragged violently from an aircraft following a dispute over seating, leading to calls for the chief executive to resign.

Source: FlightGlobal

Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian's share price has dropped by around 10% after the airline revealed it was seeking additional funding from investors, through a convertible bond issue and a release of new shares. Norwegian says the transactions leave the airline "fully funded" through 2020 "and beyond", based on its current business plan. Newly-appointed chief executive Geir Karlsen says that, while the airline is seeing results from efficiency measures, its liquidity has been hit by various factors. These include the engine issues on its Boeing 787s, the grounding of the 737 Max, and reduction in credit-card acquirer capacity. Norwegian sought the funds to provide working capital through the winter season. "The actions we are now taking, are necessary to create financial headroom to make sure that we have sufficient liquidity as we enter the next chapter of Norwegian," says Karlsen. Norwegian says it has raised around NKr2.5 billion ($273 million) in gross proceeds through the private placement – comprising 27.25 million new shares, just under 20% of its share capital – combined with a $150 million convertible bond issue. Just over 5 million existing shares were also allocated during the private placement, the airline adds, sold for hedging purposes on behalf of certain investors in the convertible bond issue. It had been prepared to release up to 12.5 million of these existing shares, which are owned by HBK Holding and Folketrygdfondet. Norwegian had also included an option to increase the bond issue to $175 million. Both the private placement and the convertible bond issue received "significant interest" from investors, both current and new, claims Norwegian, adding that both were oversubscribed. But the market has not reacted encouragingly to the additional fundraising, with Norwegian's share price falling by around 10% following the disclosure.

Source: FlightGlobal

Spanish carrier Air Europa has admitted that a hijack alert which triggered a military police response at Amsterdam Schiphol airport was issued inadvertently. Dutch military police had stated that they were investigating a "suspicious" situation on board an aircraft at Schiphol airport, but had not detailed the nature of the 6 November incident. The police, from the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, subsequently informed that passengers and crew were "safe". Although the police had not identified the flight involved, Air Europa has clarified that a warning which triggers procedures for responding to a hijack was "activated by mistake". "Nothing has happened, all passengers are safe and sound," says the carrier, adding that the situation was a "false alarm". Air Europa flight UX1094 to Madrid, operated by an Airbus A330-200, had been due to depart at 19:10 from gate D59. The airline has not indicated how the alert was transmitted, although cockpit crews can signal a hijacking by setting the aircraft's transponder squawk code to 7500. Schiphol airport's management company says that its pier D was "temporarily closed" as a result of the investigation by the Marechaussee, but states that regular operations have resumed. Operating under the Dutch defence ministry, the Marechaussee's duties include military policing roles, with such activities as security work at civil airports, combating illegal immigration, and national border protection.