Aviation Daily Roundup: Jan. 28, 2021
January 29, 2021
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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