News from FlightGlobal – Page 485
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NewsAirAsia reinstates Fernandes, Meranun citing independent probe
AirAsia Group reinstated Kamarudin Meranun and Tony Fernandes to their previously vacated positions on 20 March, after the low-cost carrier and its long-haul sister AirAsia X completed an independent probe into Airbus bribery allegations. The was conducted following an investigation into Airbus over corruption allegations. UK court documents list five ...
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NewsLargest A380 operator Emirates suspends most passenger services
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates is suspending most of its passenger operations from 25 March, but intends to continue freight services. Emirates has the world’s largest Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 fleets, and has been trying to maintain passenger flights for as long as it could, in order to ease passengers’ ...
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NewsA321 uncontained failure spurs urgent V2500 disk measures
Operators of Airbus A320-family jets are being ordered to remove disks from certain International Aero Engines V2500 powerplants after an uncontained failure resulted in an aborted A321 take-off. The incident occurred on 18 March, says the US FAA, and involved a high-pressure turbine first-stage disk failure. While the regulator has ...
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NewsAirline CEOs promise no furloughs if aid flows quickly
US airline chief executives have told Congress that government aid must flow quickly to avoid mass layoffs and furloughs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, while promising to limit executive pay and stop share buyback programs.
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NewsTrump suggests airline aid package could restrict stock buybacks
President Donald Trump supports imposing stock buyback restrictions on companies that receive financial aid as part of the federal government’s coronavirus recovery package.
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NewsAir Canada temporarily lays off 5,100 cabin crew: union
Air Canada is reportedly temporarily laying off 5,100 cabin crew as the coronavirus hits its business, forcing it to ground aircraft and take significant capacity out of its network.
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NewsEuropean flight activity halves under coronavirus onslaught
Flight activity in European airspace has deteriorated by more than 50% compared with the same point last year, the latest data from air navigation organisation Eurocontrol reveals. The average daily number of flights for March 2019 reached 27,362. But the daily figure sank below the halfway point on 18 March ...
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NewsEuropean Council approves plan to waive slot rule until October
The European Council has approved a plan to suspend rules that force airlines to continue operating 80% of flights at certain EU airports in order to maintain slots.
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NewsSpain’s Volotea grounds fleet until 8 April
Volotea has announced the temporary grounding of its entire fleet until at least 8 April, sending home 1,100 of its employees in Spain, France and Italy over this period.
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NewsSouth African Airways suspends all international services
South African Airways is immediately cancelling all international services until the end of May.
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NewsGovernments could offer certainty by taking Airbus deliveries: research note
Governments should buy up to 600 aircraft from Airbus over the next three years, as a measure to sustain the airline and aerospace industries, according to a research note from US financial services firm Jefferies Group. Airbus deliveries might fall to some 600 aircraft per year – compared with 863 ...
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NewsLondon Heathrow operations to ‘shrink’ during outbreak
London Heathrow is to restructure and “shrink” the hub’s operations while the coronavirus situation persists, the airport’s operator has advised. The airport will remain open, enabling vital freight services – as well as a limited number of passenger services – to continue. But the operator warns that its financial performance ...
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NewsLuxair to suspend flights from 23 March
Luxair has become the latest European carrier to announce it will temporarily suspend flights, calling a halt to its operations from 23 March.
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NewsSAS in line to benefit as Sweden approves credit guarantees
Sweden’s national legislature has rapidly approved a proposal to issue credit guarantees of up to SKr5 billion ($488 million) to airlines, of which SKr1.5 billion will be allocated to SAS. Under the agreement the state will guarantee commercial loans to airlines affected by the coronavirus crisis. “The matter was decided ...
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NewsFinnish government agrees to guarantee €600m loan to Finnair
Finland’s government has provisionally agreed to provide a state guarantee of up to €600 million to assist flag-carrier Finnair, although the measure still needs parliamentary consent. Its economic policy committee met to consider the guarantee on 19 March. Finnair is state-controlled, with nearly 56% of the carrier owned by the ...
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NewsCathay reduces flying to ‘bare skeleton’ network of 15 points
Cathay Pacific has extended its deep capacity cuts for another month, reducing capacity by 96% for April and May, operating a “bare skeleton” passenger flight schedule of just 15 cities. With the latest cuts, Cathay will fly three-times-weekly to 12 points in its network to cities such as Singapore, London ...
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NewsVietJet suspends Southeast Asia flights
Low-cost carrier VietJet Air will temporarily suspend services on its Southeast Asian network. The suspension will commence from 20 March and affect services to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia. The decision comes amid the global coronavirus outbreak, and follows Vietnam’s decision to grant no visas for a month. ...
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NewsCoronavirus rebound will take time: Air NZ chief
Air New Zealand’s chief executive believes the airline will emerge from the coronavirus crisis after agreeing to government backing on Friday, but a rebound will take time. “I’m pretty sure the airline’s going to be a little bit smaller than what it was, because it will be a bit of ...
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NewsAAPA calls on governments to help struggling airline sector
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has called on the region’s governments to “take immediate action” to help airlines amid the coronavirus pandemic. It notes that travel bans, border closures, lockdowns, quarantines, and other measures will see Asian airlines suffer revenue shortfalls of $60 billion in 2020. “By the ...
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NewsWellington throws financial lifeline to Air NZ
Air New Zealand has secured standby funding of up to NZ$900 million ($511 million) from the government to support the airline as it battles the coronavirus outbreak. The government, which owns 52% of the airline, said on 20 March that the deal allows the carrier to keep operating and will ...