Aviation Daily Roundup: June 9

Southwest Airlines completed a $1.8 billion debt offering on June 8, part of an effort to buttress its balance sheet during the extended industry downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

China Express Airlines on June 10 will sign a preliminary agreement to buy 50 Comac ARJ21s and take options on 50 more, industry sources said.

Commercial aftermarket revenues are on track to fall 50% in the second quarter (Q2), in line with an industry consensus that has global airline activity slowly increasing after hitting bottom in April, two new surveys show.

Ryanair subsidiary Laudamotion will reopen its Vienna operations July 1 after over 90% of its pilots and some 66% of its cabin crew working out of the base voted to accept its new collective labor agreement.

As a response to the brutal downturn the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in commercial aviation, the French government on June 9 announced an €8-billion ($9 billion) bailout plan that not only aims at saving employees from layoffs and aerospace companies from bankruptcy—it takes the opportunity to force the overdue consolidation and modernization of the supply chain.

Austrian Airlines has reached a deal with the Austrian Government and parent Lufthansa for a €600 million ($677 million) coronavirus rescue package that comes with strict ecological requirements attached.

Indonesia's transport ministry has removed a 50% load factor restriction on flights as the country prepares to resume normal economic activities.

To date, Boeing has produced more 777 aircraft than any other widebodies. In March 2018, it surpassed the 747 as the most produced aircraft and to date has more than 1,600 deliveries.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) anticipates the airline industry will return to profitability in 2022. While the association has not yet issued a formal forecast for that year, profits then would be “in line with longer-term growth trends for passenger and cargo traffic,” Chief Economist Brian Pearce said June 9.