Aviation News Daily (22.04.2020)
Hello, guys! Like yesterday, I had some technical issues again, so the news are coming a bit late yet again. We have a lot of news for today, so let’s get right to them!
United Airlines Will Sell 39 Million Shares
United Airlines have started selling shares of the airlines in efforts to gain $1 billion. They began offering 39,250,000 shares on Tuesday and reportedly, each share costs about $26. This move comes after the disappearing demand for air travel and massive losses for the airline.
IATA’s Director Claims Social Distancing Will Kill Budget Airlines
The Director of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac, shared his thoughts about social distancing putting an end to the low travelling costs. And rightfully so. Social distancing will end the tendency among budget airlines to overbook flights in efforts to fill up the plane. This will be impossible now, since passengers will have to stay a significant distance apart from each other. This will increase costs for airlines to operate the flights, practically flying empty planes, which will lead to more expensive tickets from budget airlines. So I guess we could all wave goodbye to the €10 travel fares by Ryanair, EasyJet and other airlines.
US Airlines Request Exceptions To Minimum Service Requirements
The US Department of Transportation has put out requirements for airlines to fulfill if they want to receive government funding. However, several US airlines cannot fulfill these and have asked for exceptions. American and Hawaiian, along with JetBlue and Spirit have requested such exceptions, of which Hawaiian’s request seems to be accepted and American’s fate is being debated. Meanwhile, Spirit and JetBlue have gone down to only minimum service.
South Africa To Make A New National Carrier Out Of SAA’s Remains
After SAA announced all crew will soon lose their jobs, the South African Government wants to ensure that there will be a new carrier after SAA completely vanishes. However, no details have been announced and we cannot know what the airline will look and when it will be launched.
All we can say is RIP South African Airways 😥
Air New Zealand Wil Delay Boeing 787-10 Introduction
Air New Zealand will delay delivery of their 787-10s on order, which were meant to replace their 777-200ER aircraft. However, in light of recent events, the airline will have to make a number of changes to its plans. Delivery for the 787-10s was planned for the end of 2022, but will most likely be delayed further. They are also expediting the retirement of their 777-200ERs to cut costs. The delayed delivery means that we will wait longer to see Air New Zealand’s new business class cabin.
Norwegian Air Is Desperately Fighting For Survival
The budget long haul carrier Norwegian Air is desperately fighting to survive the downturn in global economy. The airline’s CEO requested help by airline supporters on LinkedIn. The airline’s struggles started after the 737 MAX groundings, the airline has 110 on order and 18 delivered. After further struggles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the following companies within the Norwegian Air Group filed for bankruptcy:
- Norwegian Pilot Services Sweden AB
- Norwegian Pilot Services Denmark ApS
- Norwegian Cabin Services Denmark ApS
- Norwegian Air Resources Denmark LH ApS
Seems like the end of another airline to me.
Air France Sends A380s To Spanish Aircraft Graveyard
Air France will soon send 5 Airbus A380s to Teruel, a Spanish graveyard. This decision comes as there is no such capacity required and so the aircraft haven’t been used. The airline has confirmed that these aircraft will be in long term storage and not retired entirely. The ones already there are F-HPJA, F-HPJC and F-HPJE. The remaining ones to go there are F-HPJF and F-HPJG. Feel free to track them on FlightRadar ;).
Air Mauritius Goes Into Administration
We have yet another airline going into administration, and I expect to see even more. Air Mauritius is suspending all operations and is going into administration. This was done in order to safeguard itself during the tough times.
Antonov An225 Breaks Two World Records With Medical Supplies
The one and only AN225 was chartered and broke two world records last week. These were for the most substantial volume of cargo hauled twice in a single week. The first record was set on April 14th from China to Poland, when the aircraft hauled 1000 cubic meters of medical supplies, such as masks and COVID-19 test kits. The second record was set a little less than a week later, when the plane flew from China to France. During the 18 months of just sitting unused, the aircraft was being modernized.
Emirates Bans Cabin Luggage
Emirates will ban cabin luggage in aims to limit the Coronavirus spread. The only carry-on items which will be allowed on board will be laptops, handbags, baby items and briefcases Other items will have weight allowances, and if they go over that, they will not be permitted on board. Additional measures for limiting the spread of the virus are removing magazines and serving meals in pre-packaged boxes.
Zipair To Fly 787 Hawaii Flights As Their First Destination
Japan has a new long haul low-cost carrier, Zipair, and it is eyeing Honolulu as its first destination in the US. The flights are planned to commence in May.
EASA Instructs A350 Operators To Install Coffee Protectors In Cockpits
Airbus recently made a cover for the crucial controls in the A350 cockpits to protect them from liquid spillage. EASA has now instructed A350 operators like Delta, Cathay Pacific, Air France and others to install these protectors on all their aircraft within 4 weeks.
Delta Could Trade In 717s for 737 MAX Aircraft
Surprisingly for me, Delta hasn’t retired their old 717s yet. But they are in the process of working with Boeing on trading in these old jets for new and shiny and grounded 737 MAX aircraft. It should be noted that the 737 MAX is not the equivalent of the 717, the 737 MAX can and does operate not as of now medium haul routes, while the 717 is targeted towards short hops.
Delta Will Not Invest Any More Money Into Virgin Atlantic
The CEO of Delta Airlines has announced today that the US carrier will not invest any more money into the British one. Delta has a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic. Delta is more concerned about itself now and needs as much money as possible to itself. Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic’s CEO requested government aid, a topic I covered in the AND from the 20th of April.
Ryanair’s CEO Refuses To Abide By Social Distancing Rules
As you might have noticed in a news summary above, low-cost airlines would suffer because of the social distancing rules. But Michael O’Leary refuses to abide by them, he can’t let the airline’s profit stall. He will not allow the middle seat to be left empty. He doesn’t care about social distancing as it doesn’t fit the airline’s work model to leave people in the cargo hold of the plane because of overbooking
Aeromexico’s Q1 Losses Exceeds $100 Million
During Q1 of Aeromexico, the airline reported losses $102 million due to the Coronavirus outbreak. In fact, since 2018, 7/9 of the quarters, the airline had only reported losses only. If this continues, the airline could potentially collapse.
China’s Passenger Traffic Continues To Revive
While other airlines are still cancelling flights, China’s airlines are returning to service. Over 42% or the pre-COVID-19 capacity has recovered over this week.
Finnair Has 100,000 Unprocessed Flight Refunds
The passenger refunds are really tough for airlines, as they need as much money to themselves during the Coronavirus outbreak. Airlines have offered travel vouchers if passengers do not request refunds. Finnair may have 100 thousand refunds in queue and they are forced to pay them, as European regulations state.
Southwest Under Fire For Refusing To Process Refunds
Airlines do not want to process refunds as they are losing a lot of money due to the downturn of travel demand. Southwest is no different. They are being sued by a man who was refused a refund by Southwest. They are also being sued by other passengers who were refused a refund. This could mean a lot of losses for the US budget airline, such as court expenses and refunds.
That’s All, Folks!
I hope you enjoyed today’s Aviation News Daily and that 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 critique, tips, opinions, comment and advice is awaited, respected and appreciated!