Aviation Daily Roundup: September 23

Boeing and Safran successfully completed flight tests of passive noise reduction fairings developed by Safran as part of the latest phase of its long-running ecoDemonstrator program.

Lufthansa subsidiary SWISS International Air Lines (SWISS) will focus on operating smaller scale Airbus A220 aircraft during the winter season as it expects demand to remain at very low levels.

JetBlue Airways reduced its planned capacity for the 2020 third quarter (Q3) below previously announced levels, despite observing a moderate demand improvement in recent weeks.

Neste Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell have signed a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply agreement, in a bid to anticipate increasing demand from airlines.

Some 100,000 jobs could be furloughed and many small U.S. cities will lose air service on Oct. 1 if the U.S. Congress and the White House do not act immediately on a new bill that would extend the government Payroll Support Program (PSP) for airline workers, airline CEOs and labor group leaders warned.

Oman Air has signaled that it will restart international services Oct. 1, with reduced schedules to a series of European and African destinations.

UPS Airlines has added Vietnam to its route network, launching freighter flights this month into both Hanoi (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN).

With European governments coming under sustained attack from airlines and passengers for their myriad quarantine rule changes, ULCC Wizz Air has introduced an interactive website map feature to show prospective travelers the health regulations covering their destinations.

The launch of Hungarian ULCC Wizz Air’s proposed base at St. Petersburg, Russia’s Pulkovo Airport (LED) has been pushed back until the end of 2020.

While non-aeronautical revenues remain depressed on low passenger volumes, Dubai and Amsterdam Schiphol airports have both seen an increase in spending per passenger during the COVID-19 downturn.

Shrinking inflight entertainment provider Gogo announced Sept. 23 it adopted a so-called poison pill plan in case an opportunistic buyer is eyeing its “large” debt load for tax-reduction benefits.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths believes that wearable devices could play a role in real-time health validation for airlines passengers, especially in a digital ID post-COVID-19 era.