EasyJet has enough liquidity to withstand a lengthy grounding of its fleet and could restart flying with as little as two weeks’ notice once the COVID-19 crisis has eased, according to a trading update from the airline.
Welcome to Routes’ look at how the Asia-Pacific aviation market is responding to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, helping you understand the schedule changes and manage the impact so we can navigate through this crisis together. Routes magazine is a sister publication of Aviation Daily.
ICAO is getting preliminary feedback on a proposal that would create a virtual tunnel that only permits virus-free flight crew and potentially passengers to travel, and is confident that the idea, while complex, will yield a workable model for airlines to use post-pandemic.
LATAM Cargo Group is increasing frequencies to Europe and the U.S. to mitigate the effects caused by reduced belly capacity in passenger aircraft grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chinese aviation industry has lost about CNY39.8 billion ($5.6 billion) over the course of the 2020 first quarter, with the airline sector taking up most of the share at CNY33.6 billion, according to an estimate by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Delta Air Lines will operate daily, scheduled all-cargo service connecting the U.S., South Korea and China starting April 16 to transport medical supplies to healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The unprecedented U.S. Cares Act to provide funding for businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis will fall well short of covering airline running costs in the country, according to the CEO of Republic Airways.
The terms of the agreement in principle reached between 10 airlines and the U.S. Treasury Department regarding $25 billion in payroll assistance provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act surprised industry-watchers, many of whom had previously expected the aid to consist entirely of grants.
Shortage of passenger-aircraft belly space prompted a surge in mainland Chinese freighter operations in March, even as general airline activity remained depressed, figures from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed.
Turkish Airlines has extended its suspension of international flying by a further 19 days until May 20 in line with decisions taken by the authorities in Turkey to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
Vietnam Airlines will reportedly sell its 49% share in Cambodian flag-carrier Cambodia Angkor Air to stem the impact from the COVID-19 crisis that has grounded all passenger flights in Vietnam.
Howmet Aerospace has eight mostly smaller manufacturing plants that are closed because of the coronavirus, the company’s chief executive said late April 14, and more were shuttered in March when the Pittsburgh-based supplier was still part of Arconic.
Spirit AeroSystems—the primary supplier to Boeing including for much of the 737 MAX and which does substantial defense industry work—warned Wall Street on April 14 it will record a roughly $160 million loss for the recently ended first quarter of 2020, as well as a pretax loss of around $102 million.
The U.S. Treasury Department reached an agreement in principle April 14 with 10 large American passenger airlines, ensuring their participation in the $25 billion Payroll Support Program (PSP) established by the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) announced emergency grants totaling $10 billion for hundreds of airports across all 50 states, with awards ranging in size from just $1,000 for the smallest airports to hundreds of millions of dollars for the largest.
Qatar Airways and Standard Chartered bank announced April 14 that they have signed a deal for $850 million to help fund the purchase of seven Boeing 787-9s.
European nations have agreed to allow the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), which represents air navigation service providers (ANSPs), to take out loans of up to €1.27 billion ($1.39 billion) to get its members through the COVID-19 crisis.
With the global recovery in air traffic demand expected to last up to several years, airlines that survive will likely emerge from the COVID-19 crisis as smaller businesses operating leaner and more efficient fleets.
