Aviation Daily Roundup: September 3

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) bondholders have approved the conversions of hybrid notes and bonds into equity, a key step in the airline’s recapitalization that it needs to close to ward off the threat of bankruptcy.

While Singapore has been a leader in reopening its borders to some international travel, most other Asia-Pacific nations are moving much more slowly, Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson said.

Turkish Airlines and the Turkish civil aviation union Hava-İş have agreed to adapt the staff’s collective labor agreement resulting in temporary pay cuts between 30 to 50% for its employees but will avoid layoffs.

Air France has tested all-electric ramp-handling equipment for the first time ahead of an Airbus A350 flight from Paris to Delhi as part of broader sustainability efforts, which include making its ground operations carbon neutral by 2030.

Weeks before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) delivered its surprise decision to grant Ligado Networks access to L-band spectrum to build a 5G network—igniting protest over its potential to interfere with GPS reception—the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) held a demonstration of potential GPS backup systems.

The air cargo sector’s volumes and yields continued to close the gap with pre-pandemic performance in August, analysis by air cargo sector specialist CLIVE Data Services showed, after IATA said July data had also showed improvements.

European airlines and airports have agreed on a set of conditions which they contend will allow for the waiver of the 80/20 slot rule to remain in place through the 2020-2021 winter season—part of a united effort to lobby the European Commission (EC) to decide on the extension.

Optimistic of a speedy recovery in the Chinese domestic market, Spring Airlines will continue to take delivery of new aircraft to bolster its market share in China’s tier 2 and tier 3 cities whilst maintaining a foothold in major trunk routes.

Air New Zealand senior executive Cam Wallace, effectively the carrier’s second-in-command, has announced his decision to leave the airline.

Aircraft manufacturer Embraer is laying off 900 employees in Brazil, the equivalent of 4.5% of its global workforce, according to a Sept. 3 statement.

Southwest Airlines will double its presence at Southern California’s Long Beach Airport (LGB), after receiving 17 new slots that were recently relinquished by JetBlue Airways.