MIAMI – The COVID-19 pandemic ensured that airlines had to get creative in how to increase revenue. Airlines such as British Airways (BA) have resorted to selling their cutlery in an attempt to raise money.
Passenger ticket sales have been a rarity over the last year, and airlines have been struggling to fill their seats and keep their heads afloat. Most have seen significant financial losses, leading to a heavy reliance on government aid which, for British airlines especially, has been hard to come by.
A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 Photo Credit: Alberto Cucini/Airways
A Change of Plan
2020 started on a very positive note for Virgin Atlantic (VS). The carrier announced plans for its newest “Clubhouse” lounge at Manchester Airport (MAN) to match its London counterparts. VS also saw significant expansion across its networks with new routes being added.
MIAMI – The financial troubles affecting SAA (SA) forced it to discontinue its Perth-Johannesburg service, leaving it open for Qantas Airways’ (QF) to step in.
Qantas Airways’ plans to fly a Perth (PER) to Johannesburg (JNB) route were abandoned in 2018 over a still ongoing disagreement with Perth Airport Authorities on which terminal QF should use.
The Airport wanted QF to use the T1 international terminal while QF wished to run the flights from the newly developed international wing of its T3-T4 domestic terminal, also used for Boeing 787 flights to London an Boeing 737 flights to Singapore.
By using the new terminal, QF would have skipped the necessity to tow the aircraft between terminals T1 and T3, a procedure deemed “logistically not OK” whenever an aircraft has to shift from an international to a domestic service.
MIAMI – Today, the creditors of the HNA Group have filed for its bankruptcy, forcing an immediate reorganization of the business.
The Group is one of China’s largest conglomerates, mostly connected to the aviation and tourism sector. The firm has been characterized as one of the most aggressive dealmakers of the market after using US$50bn on a global acquisition spree which included companies such as Deutsche Bank and Hilton Worldwide.
Three years ago China’s central government and some overseas regulators forced the company to sell many of its shares and concentrate on the aviation and tourism industry. In the following years, the firm constantly grew and finally owned over 2,300 companies. As of June 2019, HNA Group’s total assets reached ¥980.62bn (US$151.77bn) with its gross liabilities hitting ¥706.73bn.
According to
Reuters, Dr. Marty Cetron, director for the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at CDC, was asked about whether the administration might employ new domestic travel testing requirements. Cetron replied that there were “conversations that are ongoing and looking at what the types and locations of testing might be… We’re actively looking at it.”
Last week, President Joe Biden directed US agencies to make recommendations to “impose additional public health measures for domestic travel” and to consider new requirements for people crossing land borders. Reuters reported Friday that administration officials said that could include requiring negative COVID-19 tests before flying domestically.