Aviation News Daily (17.04.2020)
Hello, guys! Today’s Aviation News Daily is coming a little bit closer to what I’d consider to be on time. I hope you enjoy today’s aviation news!
Australian Government To Subsidize Some Qantas & Virgin Australia Flights
The Australian Government has moved to underwrite domestic flights amid concerns about stranded travelers and grounded essential workers. The move comes as both Qantas and Virgin Australia have run the slimmest of domestic operations for much of April.
Southwest Eyes Hawaii Expansion Post Coronavirus
Southwest is further expanding into the island state of Hawaii following the end of the current coronavirus crisis. The carrier is set to launch a fourth route to Hawaii from San Diego by June 7th.
This will expand the current network of the 10 existing routes to Hawaii. The existing network is consisting of routes from Oakland and San Jose to Kauai, Kailua-kona, Kahului and Honolulu and Sacramento to Kahului and Honolulu.
Southwest Becomes The World’s Largest Airline
It’s official, Southwest Airlines is now the biggest airline in the world. At least for this week. As travel restrictions continue to cause havoc around the world, airlines are struggling to decreased passenger volumes. Southwest, with its strong domestic network, is now offering the most sears per week with a total capacity of 4.12 million seats.
United Passenger Traffic Falls 97% So Far In April
Amid plummeting demand, United Airlines is moving to slash its flights by 90% in May. It comes as the airline experiences a 97% year on year drop in passenger numbers. In a message sent to United’s more than 100,000 employees this week, the CEO of the airline forecasts a tough immediate future for the airline, its employees and passengers.
Cathay A350 Wing Tip Damaged In Minor Hong Kong Collision
It looks like two Cathay Pacific aircraft were damaged when they were scraped by one another on the tarmac of Hong Kong’s International Airport. It appears that the sharklet of an Airbus A350 “high-fived” the horizontal stabilizer of a company Boeing 777-300ER.
This is a picture of the damaged sharklet.
GECAS Cancels 69 Boeing 737 MAX Orders
GECAS has canceled 69 Boeing 737 MAX orders. The cancelation leaves the aircraft lessor with 29 delivered aircraft from the type, in addition to 82 further 737 MAX orders.
Brazil’s Airlines Aren’t Able To Access Government Loans Just Yet
The Brazilian government will most likely give local airlines a loan of around 3 billion reais (569.10 million USD) per carrier in May. This would be a help for the airlines to strive during the coronavirus pandemic and the next crisis. Nevertheless, the airlines expected to have these loans in April. Let’s investigate further.
Virgin Australia Flies Direct Flight From Paris To Brisbane
On Wednesday afternoon at 13:37 local time, a Virgin Australia Boeing 777 touched down in Brisbane, Australia. The origin was Paris and the flight took 19h 45min. The aircraft was returning from a repatriation flight to Paris. The flight was direct: No refueling stops at all.
London Stansted Uses Lack Of Traffic To Their Advantage
London Stansted Airport is using the lack of traffic in order to refresh its runway. The runway is going through vital maintenance while it’s not being used.
Two Parties Interested In Virgin Australia Acquisition
Australia’s second-largest airline has the interest of two private groups as the airline looks for large investors to keep the airline running. The airline has been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as travel bans have restricted the ability of travelers to book flights in and out of Australia. Thursday saw the airline suspend the trading of its shares as talks of financial aid and restructuring continue in the background.
Lufthansa Repatriation Effort Nears End
Over the last month, the Lufthansa Group has been carrying out a mammoth repatriation effort that has seen aircraft traveling the globe. However, after over 400 flights to repatriate stranded Europeans, the effort is now set to come to an end.
Battle For Survival: Air Asia Could Merge With Malaysia Airlines
Struggling airline Malaysia Airlines has been looking for a route to survival for some time. Even before the outbreak of coronavirus, the carrier was struggling to survive. Now, it seems that a potential merger with Malaysian-based AirAsia could be just the ticket to ensuring both emerge from the pandemic in good shape.
Cathay Pacific Closes US Bases: 300 Jobs Affected
Cathay Pacific is making significant changes to its international crew bases. As the airline has grounded the majority of its fleet, it has decided to reassess its current global crew status. The changes include standing down pilots and closing crew bases. Although this was announced today, when this will take effect remains unspecified.
That’s all, Folks!
I hope you enjoyed today’s Aviation News Daily! Every word in this thread, as well as in all the previous ones, plus the ones to come, are written by me, nothing was directly copied and pasted.
I also hope I saved you some time and succeeded in my mission to keep you guys up-to-date in the aviation world.
All news stories are from SimpleFlying’s website. Any critiques, tips, opinions, comment and advice is awaited, respected and appreciated!