Tata / Singapore Airlines Venture Delayed.

The Tata-Singapore Airlines-promoted airline, Vistara, had applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for the permit in April and had planned to launch services by September. However a delay in the process means that the full-service carrier will now not be able to start flights until next year.

"We are in the final phase of securing the air operator's permit (AOP). We are working with the regulator to complete the remaining process expeditiously and look forward to launch our services soon after receiving the permission," a Vistara spokesperson said in a statement.

So far this start up has taken delivery of two planes on lease and was scheduled to take a third aircraft last month but has deferred this arrival because of the delay. The carriers long term plans are to lease 20 Airbus A320s, including seven fuel-efficient A320 Neo aircraft. 

The airline will, according to plans, operate from its base Delhi and connect Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu and Patna in the first year.

Frontier's Airbus Order.

Frontier Airlines orders nine A321ceo Aircraft!

Frontier began its transition to an all-Airbus fleet when it took delivery of its first Airbus aircraft during 2001. The Airbus single-aisle family of jets has allowed the US airline to expand its route network whilst minimizing operating costs. They currently operate a fleet of some 35 A319ceo and 20 A320ceo aircraft. 

Including the order earlier today, Frontier now has a backlog of 89 Airbus single-aisle aircraft. “We continue to come back for more A320 Family aircraft because they fulfil our mission of providing low fares through low operating costs,” said David Siegel, Frontier Airlines CEO.

"The A321 is a natural fit with our unique brand of Low Fares, Done Right and will continue to help meet our customers’ expectations for a safe and reliable travel experience while allowing us to provide low fare service to more of the country.”

“Frontier has made its mark in this business by recognizing the dual importance of cost and service to a low fare airline,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers. “Minimising expenditure while maximizing customer satisfaction can be a challenge, but the A320 Family has proven time and time again that it is the optimal solution.”

LIAT About to Axe Staff.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Nearly 200 employees of the Caribbean airline, LIAT, could get the axe if proposed job cuts go ahead. 

Local media is reporting that the colourful regional carrier is looking to lay off about 185 of its staff who are stationed in every country in which it operates.

The company has presented several options to reduce the number of staff it employs, including early retirement, voluntary severance, normal retirement, lay off's and termination.

Based on the internal proposals, the customer service and cargo divisions would be the most effected  areas of the company with an estimated 21% reduction in personnel. In addition it is believed that LIAT will also axe up to 50 workers from the flight operations section. 

Another 50 are expected to go from engineering and 26 administrative posts will become redundant in a last ditch attempt to steer the company away from bankruptcy.  

LIAT's cargo division looks likely to be completely closed to save the company money, although accordingly to insiders, many staff will be re-employed elsewhere with the airline. 

The airline’s CEO David Evans had told media earlier that the airline was reviewing all its operational costs and could not confirm there would be no job losses. 

MH370 Wreckage.......

Wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is not going to start washing up on the coast of Australia according to officials, the wreckage from the missing plane is most likely to wash up on the coast of Indonesia! 

Authorities leading the search confirmed they are still receiving regular reports from members of the public in Australia about potential wreckage, over seven months since the the Boeing 777 went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Each and every one of the reports are “reviewed carefully”, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) advised, however it is much more likely that any wreckage would have drifted the other way.

Air France KLM, Delta, Alitalia offer concessions to settle EU probe

- Skyteam alliance partners Air France KLM, Delta Air Lines and Alitalia have offered to give up slots at three airports and made other concessions to try to settle an EU antitrust investigation, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

The carriers found themselves in the Commission's sights in January 2012, after the EU competition authority said their alliance, involving profit-sharing and joint management of prices and capacity, may push up prices on the Paris-New York, Amsterdam-New York and Rome-New York routes.

Jet Blue Profits Up

 JetBlue Airways Corp reported an 11 percent rise in quarterly profit, as it flew fuller planes.

The company's net profit rose to $79 million, or 24 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $71 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total operating revenue rose 6 percent to $1.53 billion. JetBlue's load factor, a key indicator of capacity, rose to 86.2 percent from 85 percent, the company said.

 (Reuters) -

Profits Up for US Carriers

American Airlines Group, United Airlines and other carriers reported strong third-quarter profits on Thursday, helped by falling fuel costs, and mostly shrugged off concerns that Ebola could affect their outlook.

Despite concerns about increased competition in some markets, several major U.S. carriers also signaled they would boost capacity, betting on a steady increase in passenger traffic through next year.

American, which exited bankruptcy last year via a merger with U.S. Airways, saw a nearly 4 percent gain in its shares as it forecast healthy unit revenues for the current quarter. United, while projecting a more moderate unit revenue increase compared to last year, reported that third-quarter profit more than doubled.