Air Transport

TSA announced that it screened 2.45m passengers on Sunday, November 28, marking new pandemic high; checkpoint volume for 10 days leading up to and

US-BANGLA AIRLINES, Bangladesh leased two ex-SunExpress 737-800s (39428/39430) from DAE Capital.

SPIRIT AIRLINES agreed to sell 14 A320neo Family aircraft to SMBC Aviation Capital for leaseback; first A320neo (10710) was completed.

GREATER BAY AIRLINES, Hong Kong now plans 2Q22 startup with three 737-800s; it is still awaiting its air transport license.

EXECUTIVE JET SUPPORT (EJS) agreed to purchase ex-Cathay Dragon A320-200 (1721) from Castlelake for part out at ECUBE.

AIR SEYCHELLES retained BAC Leasing to sell three DHC-6-400s (900/927/945) for leaseback to raise capital.

BINDER CAPITAL purchased fourth ex-CommutAir Dash 8-300 (553) for operation by CENTRAL MOUNTAIN AIR or PIVOT AIRLINES in deal arranged by Airstream

AIR CAIRO plans in March 2022 to begin Sharm el Sheikh-Belgrade and Hurghada-Sarajevo/-Banja Luka (A320).

EQUAIR, Ecuador leased two ex-KLM 737-700s (38125/38634) from BBAM for startup out of Quito (SPNWS; November 19).

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA leased ex-SilkAir 737-800 (44232) from Avolon.

GLOBALX, FL leased ex-Alaska Airlines A320-200 (2830) with CFM56s from FTAI Aviation (SPNWS; November 5).

FLYBE, UK took delivery of first Dash 8-400 (4155) from Nordic Aviation Capital for restart in early 2022 as part of deal for 12.

MYANMAR AIRWAYS INTERNATIONAL leased ex-Air Astana E190 (543) from TrueNoord.

AAPA members carried 1.2m pax in October 2021 vs 31m in Oct 2019; capacity was only 14.4% of pre-pandemic levels.

CEBU PACIFIC, Philippines took delivery of its first A330neo (2001) on lease from Avolon, which has agreed to deliver eight aircraft. Cebu has ordered

AIR ASTANA plans December 16 to resume three-times-weekly Almaty-New Delhi (A320).

LATAM AIRLINES GROUP filed Plan of Reorganization that proposes infusion of $8.19b via mix of new equity, convertible notes, and debt to exit Chapter

Harry Taylor assumed role of Interim President and CEO of WestJet Group, Canada.

Kevin Moynihan to Lease Manager, based in Shannon, Ireland, of Stratos.

Hongtao (Henry) Li to Head of Greater China, based in Hong Kong, of Stratos.

Passenger numbers in the U.S. reached their highest levels since Spring 2020, but new concerns about the omicron coronavirus variant could threaten momentum during the winter travel season.

Brazil’s Azul has opted not to pursue an acquisition of LATAM Airlines Group but says it will evaluate further consolidation opportunities in Latin American markets.

The only good news about the latest COVID-19 variant to emerge—and there really is no good news—is that it doesn’t share a name with a major airline.

The recovery of air travel is under threat as countries look to insulate themselves from the new omicron coronavirus strain by re-imposing travel restrictions.

Despite near-term challenges such as the emerging Omicron coronavirus variant, the fundamentals for LCC success in the Asia-Pacific region remain strong.