Welcome to Episode 1 of Aviation newsweekly!
This week we will discuss the following airline news and topics.
The following topics are as follows
Emirates announces the resumption of flights to cities
Mango having to shut down operations due to losing its contract with SAA Technical
Delta’s fleet plans
Alice springs are running out fo place to store aircraft
And will SQ Bounce back to Pre COVID levels in service and comfort?
let’s start with Emirates announcing new routes to the following cities
The cities are as follows
Muscat - Oman
Cape Town - South Africa
Durban - South Africa
Johannesburg - South Africa
Luanda - Angola
These countries will boost the number of countries served by Emirates to 92 almost 100! So now their passengers can seamlessly connect through Dubai to these cities more will come in the coming weeks as COVID restrictions lighten across the world and air travel kicks back in! So maybe you can still go on holiday after all if you are ok with the mandatory quarantine :)
Let’s move onto Mango having to shut down temporarily due to SAA not paying SAA Technical
Over the week news broke that low-cost carrier Mango had to ground its fleet due to not having any technical support from SAA technical there maintenance department due to South African Airways not paying them for there services. Mango has re-assured customers that there travel commitments will still be met as Mango has a small fleet of leased aircraft that is still airworthy. But that is not a saving grace due to the fact that SAA has no money right now to continue paying SAA technical or any other of its subsidiaries. We hope this is not the end of Low-cost carrier Mango as they are already strapped for cash due to COVID-19.
Delta’s fleet simplification plans
Delta plans to retire these following aircraft a lot earlier than expected they are the Boeing 717, Boeing 767 and CRJ-200 fleet in order to streamline their fleet and around 2025 they plan to retire the Boeing 757 and A320 fleet that is older than the newer jets. This is one of the ways that Delta can save money by lowering its training costs, maintenance cost, fuel cost and increases pilot productivity. Delta has also before the Pandemic invested billions of dollars in newer, modern and efficient aircraft to help it with its goal to save money during this time of crisis for the aviation community.
Alice Springs is running out of space to store aircraft
The well-known aircraft storage facility known as Alice springs in the middle of Australia is coming closer and closer to the maximum capacity of 100 aircraft. Pre COVID time there was 20 aircraft at any one time but now with the severe downturn in aviation and travel it is almost at peak capacity which is bad news for some airlines and a lot of them have turned to Alice Springs to store there aircraft and now have to find another place to store them. The most notable airline to store their aircraft there is Singapore Airlines which has stored there big Airbus A380. They are trying to expand but have already started to turn airlines and aircraft away.
The last topic for today will Singapore Airlines come back to the same outstanding service and comfort after COVID-19 restrictions?
Singapore Airlines has been known for its outstanding service to its passengers and is constantly ranked one of the best airlines in the world but now during COVID it has had to retrench staff and lower the In-flight service to meet COVID standards and people are thinking if SIA will ever return to its glory days of service. The answer is yes analysts say that this will pass for SIA and that the airline will bounce back and offer better service and more connectivity as the pandemic passes people wants to go see the world again a lot more than they used to due to being cooped up in there house all the time and SIA is going to take that in its stride and come out stronger.
Here are the sources for all the topics
Singapore Airlines Article: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/sia-singapore-airlines-covid-19-aviation-air-travel-hub-changi-13151774
Mango Article: Mango assures customers with existing bookings of being able to travel
Emirates Destinations: Emirates | Fly Better
Alice Springs Article: Alice Springs Is Running Out Of Space To Store Aircraft
Delta Article: Delta Expands Fleet Simplification Plans | The Motley Fool
I thank you so much for reading the first episode of Aviation Weekly! I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to seeing you next week with more news