Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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sn26567
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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Daily review:

Aerolineas Argentinas extended the suspension of flights until 15 May for domestic, and 30 May 2020 for international flights.

Air Namibia
announced that staff salaries for April 2020 will be delayed by at least a week as the country’s ban on air travel hits its cashflow.

Air Nostrum has postponed the merger with CityJet, due to uncertainty in the market.

Aruba Airlines expects to restart its operations in June 2020.

Boeing plans to reduce the workforce in its civil aviation unit by 10% to cut costs as the coronavirus causes a crisis for airlines. The layoffs would impact the unit manufacturing the B737 MAX, as well as the B787 and B777.

Evelop plans to start flying again in June 2020.

IATA says Middle Eastern and African governments are failing to take the action required to protect their airlines from the economic crisis caused by the new pandemic.

TAP Air Portugal asked the state for guarantees for two possible loans, totaling of @350 million.

Thai Airways International
is down to its last US$307 million, according to local reports, which is enough to pay its employees for one month. The airline is in talks with the Thai government regarding a bailout.

Ukraine International Airlines say the prospect of breaking even will begin from April 2021, as a result of the pandemic.

Virgin Australia
has told staff its subsidiary Tigerair will remain an essential part of its low-fares offering after the troubled company emerges from voluntary administration.

WestJet announced that in light of its further reduced operations, the airline will increase its current inactive workforce by a further 3,000 people come early May 2020.

European Commission will next month present a set of rules for the safe reopening of air travel when coronavirus lockdowns end, including social distancing in airports and planes, while some US airlines are taking their own protective measures.
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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

Post by Tinus »

European Commission will next month present a set of rules for the safe reopening of air travel when coronavirus lockdowns end, including social distancing in airports and planes, while some US airlines are taking their own protective measures.


Could someone direct me of the source of this information?

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Tinus wrote: 24 Apr 2020, 08:59 European Commission will next month present a set of rules for the safe reopening of air travel when coronavirus lockdowns end, including social distancing in airports and planes, while some US airlines are taking their own protective measures.

Could someone direct me of the source of this information?
This is the Press Corner from the European Commission:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/home/en

The lockdown we have now, will probably be replaced by a series of severe restrictions. Examples: a medical certification that one has no corona, social distancing on flights, ...

I don't expect anything positive from the European Commission towards aviation. For those ghost flights (empty flights to avoid loosing slots), it took the EC weeks before they adapted their legislation. And the European Commission only waived the obligation after the green boys protested against those zero occupancy flights.

Another possible support for airlines that the European Commission and the European Parliament have refused: an amendment to EU-Rule 261/2004, which would allow that passengers get a travel voucher instead of a cash refund. That relief measure is blocked by the EC Commissioner for Justice (Didier Reynders).

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

Post by Tinus »

Thank you for the clarification.

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Ryanair will sue every country that gives billions to certain airlines claiming that it is unfair competition to pan-european airlines.

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Delta suspending 6 UK routes for S20 :

Edinburgh - Boston, Gatwick - Boston, Manchester - Boston, Heathrow - Portland, Heathrow - Salt Lake City and Glasgow - New York JFK, via @SeanM1997
Air France CEO requests to wear masks on board planes, that would be mandatory.
Air Caraibes operated a cargo flight from Paris Orly to Pointe-à-Pitre with their Airbus A350-1000 carrying 27 tons of cargo.
Air Caraibes and Frenchbee made fly 2 A350, with a total of 57 tons to Guadeloupe and La Réunion, with medical stuff, postal cargo and some food. Aircraft came back to France with pineapples and melons.

CargoLogicAir AOC given again due to the current situation.

And AirBridgeCargo uses a 748F from China to France with an average of a daily flight.

F-GLZO, A343 at Air France, ferried to Tarbes.
Virgin Australia has 4 aircraft blockaded at PER due to unpaid invoices of AU$16 millions.

A 777-200ER of Nordwind is to depart today from Guangzhou to Barcelona.

If there's no "collective agreement" at Laudamotion, then the base of VIE will have to be closed by end May 2020, and let Ryanair grow instead...
Hi. I'm Thibault Lapers. @ThibaultLapers & @TLspotting

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has just appeared on Sky News. He has likened Lufthansa to a "crack cocaine junkie" for asking for state aid of €10 billion on top of existing payroll support.

He doesn't see the need for additional support as airlines have few other costs when grounded.

The apparent unity shown on 3 March at the A4E Aviation Summit at the (now defunct) Hotel Metropole in Brussels has melted down in the corona crisis.
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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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sean1982 wrote: 24 Apr 2020, 13:17 Ryanair will sue every country that gives billions to certain airlines claiming that it is unfair competition to pan-european airlines.
More details:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... e-bailouts

Actually, it's just a PR promotion campaign from Ryanair - kind of "book with us, we are solid". All state aid (*) will be subjected to a pre-approval from the EU's Competition department. And they work fast now: they have already accepted a few corona aviation files with "Decision not to raise objections" (example: to SAS).

Meanwhile, Pagtour.info announces today that Ryanair itself demands state aid from the airports they operate from:
https://pagtour.info/lodieux-diktat-de- ... -francais/

Pagtour.info: "Jusqu’à fin octobre 2020, de ne payer aucune taxe d’atterrissage ni aucune redevance par passager transporté... De novembre à mars 2021, aucune taxe d’atterrissage et une redevance passager réduite de moitié sur le montant habituel... D’avril à octobre 2021, la taxe passager réduite de moitié et aucune charge supplémentaire pour les nouvelles destinations qui seraient ouvertes..." Google Translate: "...Until the end of October 2020, no landing tax or any fee per passenger transported. From November to March 2021, no landing tax, and a passenger fee reduced by half over the usual amount. From April to October 2021, the passenger tax halved and no additional charges for new destinations that would be opened..."

(*) exception: Italy. They give cash to Alitalia and/or the New Alitalia, as if Italy has no budgettary problems.

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

Post by cathay belgium »

Hi,

Dutch Dakota Association cancels ALL SEASON 2020 flights with their DC3 !

CXB
New types flown 2022.. A339

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Breaking news from Air France / KLM:
https://www.airfranceklm.com/en/air-fra ... nd-prepare

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

Post by TLspotting »

Passenger wrote: 24 Apr 2020, 21:04 Breaking news from Air France / KLM:
https://www.airfranceklm.com/en/air-fra ... nd-prepare
At the current press conference of the Dutch State, they say between €2B and €4B state aid for KLM.
Hi. I'm Thibault Lapers. @ThibaultLapers & @TLspotting

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Decision from Belgium's Veiligheidsraad/Conseil de sécurité: no travel before 08th June 2020. There is no decision yet for travel after that date.

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Passenger wrote: 24 Apr 2020, 23:06 Decision from Belgium's Veiligheidsraad/Conseil de sécurité: no travel before 08th June 2020. There is no decision yet for travel after that date.
Where did you find this information Passenger ?

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

Post by Passenger »

I saw it in the PowerPoint on tv, and the Liveblog from HLN.be confirms:
22:44
Fase 3: 8 juni

Restaurants en cafés kunnen ten vroegste vanaf 8 juni geleidelijk heropend worden na een positieve evaluatie.

Over jeugdbewegingskampen en zomerstages valt eind mei een beslissing. Meerdaagse reizen binnen en buiten België worden bestudeerd, net als de heropening van toeristische attracties en kleinere openluchtevenementen.

Festivals en massa-evenementen zijn tot en met 31 augustus verboden.

Ook meerdaagse reizen - zowel in binnen- als buitenland - de opening van toeristische attracties, en "kleinere openluchtevenementen" kunnen pas ten vroegste weer vanaf 8 juni plaatsvinden.

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Daily review:

Aeromexico is working with the Mexican government to strengthen liquidity. The carrier is also working on an extensive list of initiatives to obtain US$400 million in additional liquidity, including sale/leasebacks of owned aircraft and financing from European credit agencies and the Ex-Im Bank (US). B737 MAX compensation from Boeing to also contribute.

AirBaltic says its new five-year business plan foresees a reduced fleet for the upcoming years, initially resuming operations with 22 A220-300s, with reduced capacity in 2020-21. The carrier foresees return to growth with up to 50 A220-300s by the end of 2023.

Airline Operators of Nigeria want the government to consider the removal of VAT from all forms of transportation, after the domestic airlines lost over US$923 million since the suspension of flights on 27 March 2020.

Avianca Holdings auditors KPMG (Netherlands) concluded that there are “substantial doubts” regarding the company’s ability to continue in business due to the crisis.

Cubana announced a new extension in the cancellation of flights until 31 May 2020.

Delta plans to reduce its daily cash burn which started at US$100 million per day in March 2020 down to $50 million a day starting in May. The carrier to take measures to save $550 million in 2Q, and expects a $5 billion reduction in total operating expense for the June quarter as well.

El Al Israeli Airlines has signed an MOU to sell three 2009-vintage B737-800s to a US company for US$76 million in an eight-year sale/leaseback deal. The sale is subject to the airline receiving a state-guaranteed loan. Other conditions include a reduction in the fleet to 35 planes, a 25% cut in the number of routes, and a 33% cut in the workforce.

Korean Air to obtain US$974 million in funds from the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea to help the carrier survive the pandemic.

LIAT of Antigua is extending the suspension its flight services in the Caribbean to 15 May 2020.

LOT Polish Airlines extended the suspension of flights until 15 May 2020, following the Polish government’s decision.

PassionAir of Ghana resumes its domestic flight services between Accra, Kumassi and Tamale international airports, following the lifting of travel restrictions in the country.

Ryanair Holdings CEO Michael O’Leary said he won’t take delivery of B737 MAX planes until summer 2021 as air travel claws its way back from the coronavirus outbreak.

Ryanair Holdings told Europe’s top antitrust official that it may go to court to stop France and other countries from “selectively gifting billions of euros to their inefficient flag carriers.” The carrier wants national programmes should be modified so that it could get a share of the bailout packages.

Ryanair may have to lay off 10-20% of staff in the winter 2020/21 season as it will operate fewer flights due to the coronavirus crisis.

S7 Airlines says the country’s airline industry will require state support through the crisis amounting to at least US$5 billion in order for it to return to its pre-crisis 2019 business levels.

Southwest Airlines might need to become a “dramatically smaller” airline if travel does not return, says CEO Gary Kelly, who didn’t rule out layoffs.

Turkmenistan Airlines has extended international service suspension until 20 May 2020.

Indonesia authorities have prohibited domestic air travel from 24 April to 01 June 2020, due to the pandemic. Cargo flights are exempt.

Kazakhstan estimates the loss of operating income in the aviation industry may amount to about US$692 million by the end of 2020.

Philippines’ major airlines said their domestic and international flights will remain suspended until mid-May 2020 following the extension of lockdown measures.

Serbia plans to partially resume commercial flights around 01 May 2020, while the opening of Serbia’s airports for commercial traffic to occur by 11 May.

Thailand
’s budget and full-service carriers are seeking soft-loans worth US$770.6 million from the government to support their businesses amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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CTBke wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 16:28
sn26567 wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 16:14 Brussels Airlines indicated this Saturday morning that it still plans to resume some of its flights on May 15. "It goes without saying that we are monitoring the situation very, very closely. At this stage, we are still betting on May 15. In the coming days, we will see if this date is still realistic and we will make a final decision", said a spokesperson to Belga news agency.
According to Wilmes trips outside Belgium will only be allowed as from June 8 the earliest, decision to be taken near the end of may ...

So not sure if SN didn't see the press conference of last night ;-)
b720 wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 16:34 Maybe travel within the Schengen zone might be allowed sooner?
The Belgian Authorities have issued a travel ban for "meerdaagse reizen" / "voyages de plus d'une journée" untill 08th June 2020. At this moment, all flights are allowed to take off and land, unless there is an embargo (example: Brussels-Dublin is allowed for essential travel (like business trips)). But touroperators are not allowed to sell city trip travel packages to Dublin.

From yesterday's meeting:
Timing: ten vroegste 8 juni
Te bestuderen:
De modaliteiten van de eventuele en geleidelijke heropening van de restaurants en later ook van cafés en bars enz.
Jeugdbewegingskampen en zomerstages: beslissing tegen eind mei.
Meerdaagse reizen binnen en buiten België.
Toeristische attracties dierentuinen pretparken enz.
Kleinere openluchtevenementen MAAR dus geen massa evenementen als festivals tot en met 31 augustus.

Timing: au plus tôt 8 juin
Points à l’étude:
Les modalités de la réouverture éventuelle et progressive des restaurants et plus tard aussi des cafés et des bars, etc.
Camps de mouvements de jeunesse et stages d’été (décision pour fin mai).
Voyages de plus d’une journée (en Belgique et hors du pays).
Attractions touristiques (parcs zoologiques, parcs d’attraction, etc.
Événements de plein air à plus petite échelle MAIS pas d’événement de masse de type «festival» jusqu’au 31 août
.
Source - full text:
https://d34j62pglfm3rr.cloudfront.net/d ... 4.2020.pdf

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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Latest Eurocontrol update.

By airline:

Image

By country:

Image
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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Aeroflot suspended reservation on all International services for travel up to 31JUL20, based on GDS inventory listing as of 0545GMT 23APR20.

Source: Airline Route

Airbus will resume #production in Mobile, Alabama, on April 29th after it paused production due to the spreading Coronavirus pandemic.
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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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Daily review (as usual, without topics covered on the main page of above in this thread):

Air Algérie plans to gradually resume its flights as travel restrictions ease, with recovery by August 2020.

Air France-KLM says its activity could recover to nearly 70% of its potential by the end of 2020 and 80% by the end of 2021.

AirAsia Thailand will be resuming its domestic operations from 01 May 2020.

Airbus issued a bleak assessment of the impact of the coronavirus crisis, telling the company’s 135,000 employees to brace for potentially deeper job cuts and warning its survival is at stake without immediate action. Airbus said it was “bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed”.

Austrian Airlines is reported to be seeking state support of about €800 million, but has not yet submitted a formal request. The government may propose adding environmental conditions to its grant.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun says that air travel demand won’t recover for two or three years, and “when it does recover, the commercial market will be smaller”.

Corsair International CEO Pascal de Izaguirre calls on the state to support all French carriers, as it might not survive the pandemic.

El Al Israel Airlines extended its suspension of scheduled passenger flights by a week until 09 May 2020 but said it will operate a number of special flights to and from the US and Europe.

Embraer is working on adjusting production levels and capital expenditures, as well as working to preserve cash.

Etihad extended its suspension of flights until 15 May 2020, amid the pandemic.

Fiji Link will reinstate its domestic services over the next week, following the lifting of inter-island travel restrictions.

Flybondi of Argentina will extend the suspension of its entire operation until 28 May 2020 as it is unsure when restrictions will ease.

Fuji Dream Airlines to suspend all scheduled passenger operation from 28 April to 17 May 2020.

Lufthansa Group risks running low on cash within weeks, with the German airline saying the global oil rout has deepened its distress, and its survival now depends on a multibillion-euro bailout from four states (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium).

Nile Air urged the government to buy stakes in private airline companies to help them survive the crisis caused by the pandemic.

Nordica announces that the government has increased its share capital in the company by €30 million, to help the airline survive the pandemic.

RavnAir has been urgently seeking the funding necessary to restart its airline and bring vital air service back to Alaska as the airline is not eligible for payroll grant assistance. Without funds, the airline will close down.

Singapore Airlines has extended its flight cancellations by another month till end-June 2020, amid travel restrictions worldwide and a drastic drop in demand for air travel.

SriLankan Airlines said it was compelled to extend the temporary suspension of its scheduled passenger flights till 15 May 2020 due to global lockdowns.

SWISS is considering to remove the Economy Class seating from three of its twelve B777-300ERs to meet the growing demand for air cargo capacity.

Virgin Atlantic is now focused on securing new private investment in the shadow of potential insolvency. Talks with the UK government about a coronavirus-related bailout have been shelved.

Volaris has implemented a scheme to preserve cash and will postpone or cancel unnecessary capital investments.

Volaris plans to delay the delivery of 18 aircraft that would be arriving over the next 18 months. The aircraft are part of the order for 80 Airbus aircraft placed in 2018, delivering between 2022-26. The airline expects that demand for passenger transport will begin to recover in July and August 2020.

Canada’s government plans to grant aid to airlines as a bridge to through the crisis as credit availability for them in many cases will be challenging.

Pakistan has further extended its suspension of international flight operations till 15 May 2020.

US President Donald Trump suggested that the government should try to buy four to five years’ worth of plane tickets in advance at a discount to inject struggling US airlines with money. (Note: this is a better idea than injecting bleach in the body to fight coronavirus :mrgreen: )
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Re: Impact of the coronavirus crisis on aviation

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sn26567 wrote: 28 Apr 2020, 00:06 US President Donald Trump suggested that the government should try to buy four to five years’ worth of plane tickets in advance at a discount to inject struggling US airlines with money. (Note: this is a better idea than injecting bleach in the body to fight coronavirus :mrgreen: )
Fact Check: Trump did NOT urge people to inject disinfectants to thwart coronavirus hoax alert.
https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2020 ... virus.html

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