The heads of IATA and Airlines for America (A4A) painted a sober picture of the state of the airline industry, conceding the COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented for commercial aviation and warning of a potentially slow recovery.
Satellite network operators Inmarsat and Hughes Network Systems announced a “strategic collaboration” on Oct. 20 to provide in-flight connectivity designed for commercial airlines in North America.
Oneworld carrier Finnair has finalized plans to cut approximately 700 jobs—over 10% of its workforce—in response to the COVID-19 downturn, although this figure is fewer than the 1,000 originally anticipated.
Daily passenger throughput at U.S. airports reached one million people on Oct. 18 for the first time since mid-March, marking a symbolic turning point in the airline industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
New British Airways (BA) CEO Sean Doyle has identified crisis recovery as his “absolute priority” during his first keynote address, just one week after being named as Alex Cruz’s successor.
Aircraft lessor GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and California-based investment-management firm PIMCO are partnering on a new aircraft-investment project, which will initially focus on narrowbodies.
UK regional airline Flybe could resume operations in early 2021, after a company associated with former shareholder Cyrus Capital Partners agreed to acquire the airline from its administrators.
Cathay Pacific predicts that its passenger capacity will still be less than half pre-COVID-19 levels in 2021, even assuming best-case outcomes prevail.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates will a sign an agreement on Oct. 20 that should pave the way for scheduled commercial routes between Israel and the UAE to begin within weeks.
AirAsia X is liquidating its Indonesian unit and has written down its 49% holding in Thai AirAsia X as the long-haul LCC struggles to pay for aircraft leases across all of its AOCs.
Chinese LCC Spring Airlines will take delivery of up to seven Airbus A320 family aircraft by the end of 2020, increasing its fleet by about 7% as it expands its business by redeploying international capacity to domestic routes.
The creditors of Jet Airways have approved the purchase of the collapsed Indian airline, although there are still significant hurdles to overcome if it is to restart operations in some form.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is confident business travel will eventually recover to pre-pandemic levels, but he thinks it will probably take another four years.
Vienna Airport operator Flughafen Wien AG is preparing a trial of COVID-19 rapid testing on departing passengers in cooperation with Austrian Airlines.
Canada’s travel restrictions are resulting in the country’s airlines losing significant share to foreign operators, WestJet’s CEO said, adding the airline does not realistically believe the Canada-U.S. border will open before the end of 2020.
China Express Airlines intends to order 50 COMAC ARJ21-700 regional jets for delivery by 2025, the carrier said on Oct. 15, detailing a previously reported deal.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the air transport industry has “turned a corner” in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, although that newfound optimism was not reflected in the carrier’s latest quarterly results.
One of the first tangible effects of the Israel-UAE rapprochement could be in the offing, with a Dubai-based company planning to bid for ownership of Israeli airline Israir.
