Air Transport

The future of Namibia’s flag-carrier is uncertain after the country’s finance minister described its debts as “unsustainable.”

Several Star Alliance airlines have reduced their February capacity further after stricter travel restrictions designed to stem the spread of COVID-19 made air travel nearly impossible.

GKN Aerospace is to lead the study of a “park-and-ride” concept for urban air transport under the UK’s Future Flight Challenge to develop a next-generation integrated aviation system.

Sunwing Airlines has become the first carrier to receive financial support from the Canadian federal government since the COVID-19 crisis began.

Greek charter carrier Lumiwings is planning to branch out into scheduled operations, offering flights from Forli in northern Italy to destinations across the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has confirmed it will have to cut its workforce by almost a third as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Virgin Australia has pushed back its target for resuming short-haul international flights as prospects for a two-way travel bubble with New Zealand appear to be fading.

Air cargo has rebounded, but also has stress points.

After losing nearly $35 billion in 2020, U.S. carriers are confident of a demand rebound. They are just unsure about the timing.

Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, significant flight restrictions and the suspension of international flights, Aeroflot Group carried 30.2 million passengers in 2020, down 50.3% year-over-year.

SWISS is temporarily reducing flight operations in Geneva to an absolute minimum (will only serve Zurich and Frankfurt) until end of February due to

MIAMI INTL handled record 2.32m tons of cargo in 2020, up >25% vs 2019.

AVIANCA plans in July to begin three-times-weekly San Salvador, El Salvador-Ontario, CA (A319).

Norwegian start-up LCC Flyr, a project backed by industry veteran Erik Braathen, has released details of its tentative network ahead of a planned June launch.

As U.S. airlines wait for the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make a firm decision on requiring domestic travelers to test negative for COVID-19 prior to travel, Hawaiian Airlines’ unique experience has resulted in the operator building up an exclusive testing network.

Japan Airlines (JAL) now expects to record a net loss of ¥300 billion ($2.9 billion) for 2020 after its hopes for traffic recovery in the current quarter were dashed by a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country.

THOMAS COOK AIRLINES BALEARICS, Spain ceased operations. It had four A320-200s according to its web site.

RYANAIR posted €306m net loss for third quarter ended December 31 (vs €88m profit a year ago) on 82% lower revenues; year-over-year traffic fell 78%

Harry Kemp to Marketing Manager of Aircraft Leasing & Management (ALM), UK.

AMERICAN AIRLINES says it expects to take delivery of six more 737 MAXs in 2021 and 10 in 2022, but has right to defer last 13 to 2023 or 2024; it

Kieran O’Keefe to Chief Financial Officer of ALAFCO, Kuwait.

HNA GROUP began bankruptcy reorganization proceedings; its aviation group (14 companies/700 aircraft) is unaffected.

Peter Anderson to next Chief Commercial Officer of AerCap; Philip Scruggs is retiring in March 2021.

CARGOJET, Canada closed previously announced offering of 1.6m shares for aggregate gross proceeds of C$350.2m.

Long-haul leisure carrier Air Belgium has announced plans to diversify into dedicated freighter operations, tapping CEO Niky Terzakis’ cargo industry background.