Alaska Airlines expects to operate half of last year’s scheduled capacity by August, as the demand outlook for domestic air travel continues to improve.
Network-based identity and position reporting by drones will not be costly for their operators, says one of the companies assisting the FAA in developing “Remote ID” service requirements.
Five aviation industry suppliers have devised solutions aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19, including a risk-assessment app, an immunity “passport,” cabin air supply modifications and hands-free aircraft lavatories.
Flying privately eliminates as many as 680 “person-to-person touch points” rather than traveling by commercial airline—potentially reducing the chances of contracting the coronavirus leading to COVID-19, according to Colibri Aircraft, a London-based private jet broker.
Delta Air Lines plans to resume service between Seattle and Shanghai via Seoul Incheon on June 25, becoming the first U.S. airline to return to China since flights were suspended in early February as the COVID-19 outbreak escalated.
UK long-haul carrier Virgin Atlantic plans to relaunch services to 17 more destinations in August, building on five previously announced routes scheduled to return in late July.
PARIS—French airline Corsair is negotiating a rescue plan which could involve new shareholders, a source has told Aviation Daily, confirming information initially reported by online publication La Tribune.
LOT Polish Airlines has confirmed that it has applied for a second air operator’s certificate (AOC) for a subsidiary that is also named “LOT Polish Airlines.”
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said the airline has made ample preparations to avoid a grounding, in case an extraordinary general assembly rejects the company’s multi-billion bailout on June 25 and the airline is forced to file for insolvency proceedings.
The contest to select a new owner for Virgin Australia has entered the final stages, with the two remaining bidders presenting proposals that call for retaining the core parts of the airline’s operations.
Austria’s Ryanair subsidiary Laudamotion plans to become a wet-lease carrier; however, it will have to implement several survival measures deemed necessary to face post-COVID-19 competition.
China Eastern Airlines will build up at the north-central city Zhengzhou, creating a freight hub for the surrounding region and helping to fill the expanding cargo capacity of the city’s airport.
Iberia is to retire its fleet of Airbus A340s this year, several years earlier than planned, as it seeks to right-size its fleet amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delta Air Lines plans to continue reshaping its network by adding 1,000 daily departures in August, building on a similarly sized expansion of July’s timetable, before “taking a pause” and evaluating fall demand trends, CEO Ed Bastian said.
Airports across Poland have convinced Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to relax air travel restrictions put in place at the height of the COVID-19 crisis as of July 1.
