Aviation Daily Roundup: September 24

United Airlines said Sept. 24 that it will start a pilot testing program for exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) for passengers traveling to Hawaii, declaring itself the first U.S. carrier to make testing available.

While India’s domestic traffic is showing signs of recovery, the weakened state of the airline industry is exacerbating the government’s headaches regarding the sale of flag carrier Air India.

German wet-lease specialist WDL phased out the last of its six British Aerospace (BAe) 146 regional jets on Sept. 22 as it replaces the fleet with five of the more efficient Embraer E190-100LRs.

Despite numerous studies and reports on the cleanliness of passenger aircraft and the low risk of infection while aboard, the implementation of tangible and visible measures is key to building passenger confidence.

Spirit AeroSystems, its diversification efforts struggling as two major acquisitions remain in limbo, announced a smaller move to bolster its strategy via an aftermarket support partnership with Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp. (EGAT).

IATA, which represents some 290 airlines globally, has changed plans to hold its 2020 AGM as a live event and is making it virtual for the first time in 76 years of annual meetings.

After a Colombian court blocked a $370 million government loan for Avianca, the airline has lined up $2 billion in financing in its bankruptcy reorganization.

Airlines will most likely have to ask governments for more financial support as the COVID-19 pandemic deepens, IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said.

Danish Air Transport (DAT) plans to cut back its domestic routes in the face of continuing weak demand and what the company’s boss said was the failure of the European Commission (EC) to provide adequate financial support.

With international leisure travel still not on the horizon, high net worth Chinese travelers—and those with pent up desire to fly—are now looking to spend the “Golden Week” within China.

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) expects to resume a twice-weekly service from Kiev to New York starting from December with narrow-body Boeing 737-800s as demand is expected to stay low owing to the pandemic.

Just months after buying the factories as part of a prepandemic acquisition spree, Connecticut-based aero engine supplier Whitcraft Group is auctioning several plants across the U.S. next month as part of a retrenchment effort.

United Airlines will delay the planned furlough date of nearly 3,000 pilots until Oct. 31, in a bid to buy more time for negotiators to hammer out an agreement to keep the entire workgroup in place until summer 2021.

Eurocontrol and chief executives of European air navigation service providers (ANSPs) met virtually to discuss options for the deepening financial crisis caused by a “huge and ongoing decrease” in flight activity because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the participants announced Sept. 24.

United Airlines said Sept. 24 that it will start a pilot testing program for exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) for passengers traveling to Hawaii, declaring itself the first U.S. carrier to make testing available.