Aviation Daily Roundup: Jan. 28, 2021
January 29, 2021![](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/2021-01/southwest_737_max_8_source_southwest_1.jpg?itok=3OKgxMCP)
Southwest Airlines Aims For 69 MAXs In Fleet By Year-End
Credit: Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines plans a measured re-entry into service for its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and projects ending 2021 with 69 of the type in its fleet.
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JetBlue Navigates Soft Demand As It Works To Launch London Flights
Credit: JetBlue / Twitter
JetBlue Airways is joining other U.S. airlines in bracing for a tough 2021 first quarter (Q1), while continuing work to crystallize its strategy for serving London.
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Cathay Pacific Unveils Major Bond Issue To Help Bolster Liquidity
Credit: Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific has announced a new convertible bond issue that will raise HK$6.7 billion ($870 million), giving it an additional financial buffer as the business environment becomes even more challenging.
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Eurocontrol Sets Out More Pessimistic Traffic Forecasts
Credit: Munich Airport / Twitter
PARIS—Eurocontrol has revised downwards its traffic forecasts for the first half of 2021, after the year’s first few weeks were marked by declining demand.
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Singapore Airlines To Fly SilkAir’s 737s Starting In March
Credit: Singapore Airlines
SINGAPORE—On March 4, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will begin flying Boeing 737-800s being absorbed into the SIA fleet from SilkAir.
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Thai Airways Buys Time For Creditor Talks; Thai EXIM To Offer Aid
Credit: Nigel Howarth / Aviation Week
Thai Airways will submit its proposed rehabilitation plan to Thailand’s central bankruptcy court on March 2 after the flag-carrier’s request to postpone the submission was approved again.
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Daily Memo: Golden Opportunity For Start-Up Airlines?
Credit: Flypop / Twitter
The airline industry is still far from recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. As countries continue to tighten travel restrictions, the situation is getting worse in some regions even a year after the novel coronavirus began to wreak havoc on the sector.
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France Suspends Ethiopian Airlines Flights Over Missing PCR Tests
Credit: Ethiopian Airlines / Twitter
PARIS—France has suspended Ethiopian Airlines flights to French destinations for four days over missing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
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EasyJet Looks To Summer Recovery; March Quarter Capacity At 10%
Credit: EasyJet
British LCC easyJet expects to fly no more than 10% of its 2019 fiscal second quarter capacity in the first three months of 2021.
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Wizz Air Can Get To Full Capacity Within Two Months, CEO Says
Credit: Wizz Air
ULCC Wizz Air said it will be able to ramp up to full capacity quickly once the market returns and COVID-19 uncertainty subsides.
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Air Transat Drops Toronto Flying Until May
Credit: Toronto Pearson International Airport
Canada’s Air Transat will suspend all flights to and from Toronto (YYZ) for the remainder of the winter, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Etihad To Pilot ICC AOKpass On Paris-Abu Dhabi Flights
Credit: ICC
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has announced that Etihad Airways, in partnership with health and security services firm International SOS, will pilot the ICC AOKpass on Paris-Abu Dhabi flights.
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IndiGo Grows Fleet, Looks To Ramp Up Capacity
Credit: Airbus
IndiGo increased its fleet by five aircraft in the last three months of 2020 and is now aiming to scale up capacity to 75-80% of 2020’s flying during the current quarter.
From Southwest Airlines planning a re-entry into service for its 69 MAX's and easyJet looking to a summer recovery to Thai Airways buying time for creditor talks. Take a look at the daily roundup of air transport news.
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