Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will start to allow both Emirati nationals and foreign residents to travel abroad starting June 23, in a move that will help restart business for the country’s airports and airlines.
Airlines & Lessors

By Ben Goldstein
LATAM Airlines Group announced June 17 its Argentinian subsidiary will cease operations indefinitely, as the bankrupt parent company looks to rid itself of loss-making assets.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
Icelandair says plans for a financial restructuring are proceeding, but the scheduled conclusion of the deal has been postponed until June 29. The carrier said the lack of progress of talks with one of its unions is a matter of concern.
Airlines & Lessors

By Bradley Perrett
BEIJING—Air services to and from Beijing have been curtailed drastically in response to a renewed outbreak of COVID-19 there. On June 17, Air China
Airlines & Lessors

By Ben Goldstein
Southwest Airlines estimates having enough liquidity to survive another two years at current demand levels, positioning it to challenge the “Big 3” U.S. carriers for domestic market share through an anticipated COVID-19 recovery.
Airlines & Lessors

By David Casey
A day after unveiling plans to open a seventh base in Romania, Hungary’s Wizz Air on June 17 announced it will launch its first base in Russia. The
Airlines & Lessors

By Bradley Perrett
China Eastern Airlines will set up a base company at Xiamen, with the aim of supporting the city’s ambition to develop as an international hub for southeastern China.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
An increase in consumer interest in flights to leisure resorts has encouraged ULCC Norwegian to restore no fewer than 76 routes to its network next month and more than double the number of aircraft in service.
Airlines & Lessors

By Jens Flottau
Lufthansa warned June 17 that it may have to file for a protective shield insolvency restructuring process if an extraordinary shareholder meeting does not approve the proposed €9 billion ($10.1 billion) state-aid package on June 25.
Airlines & Lessors

By David Casey
Thai Vietjet is planning to launch five new services later this year, increasing its domestic flight network to 12 routes that will connect 11 destinations across Thailand.
Airlines & Lessors

By Bradley Perrett
Foreign carriers including Air France, Air New Zealand and U.S. airlines have received permission from Shanghai’s main airport to resume international services to the city.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
Lithuania’s transport minister hopes to establish a virtual airline—which operates under its own brand, but wet-leases in capacity—within the next six months to aid the Baltic state’s COVID-19 recovery.
Airlines & Lessors

By David Casey
While many airlines are fighting for survival, Wizz Air is continuing its bold expansion plan with the scheduled opening of a seventh base in Romania.
Airlines & Lessors

By Ben Goldstein
Nearly all the major U.S. carriers will crack down on lapses in mask-wearing in flight, putting rigor on previously toothless policies that drew widespread criticism for lack of enforcement.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
EasyJet has agreed to new delivery dates for 32 Airbus A320-family aircraft and secured an extension on its purchase and deferral rights, in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
Airlines & Lessors

By David Casey
Azul Brazilian Airlines and LATAM Airlines Brazil have signed a codeshare agreement initially to connect 50 non-overlapping routes in their respective domestic networks.
Airlines & Lessors

By Helen Massy-Beresford
French airline Corsair retired its last Boeing 747—and the last of its type operating in France—on June 15, as the airline accelerates its plan to switch to an all-Airbus A330 fleet.
Airlines & Lessors

By Chen Chuanren
China’s airlines posted passenger carriage improvements in May of more than 50% compared to April, thanks to strong domestic travel.
Airlines & Lessors

By Ben Goldstein
Delta Air Lines plans to add nearly 1,000 flights back into its July schedule, as travel demand slowly recovers from the shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airlines & Lessors

By Adrian Schofield
India’s aviation regulator is investigating AirAsia India after one of its pilots made public allegations about some of the carrier’s safety practices.
Airlines & Lessors

By Jens Flottau
Ask the Editors: Emirates is highly dependent on the A380, and how fast it returns depends on how quickly the long-haul market rebounds.
Airlines & Lessors

By Sean Broderick
WestJet’s revamped July scheduled doubles its June timetable and adds international flying for the first time since late March.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
Scandinavian Airlines’ (SAS) has secured tentative backing from two governments for its SEK12.5 billion ($1.4 billion) recapitalization, while Swedish airports operator Swedavia is on track to receive a SEK3.15 billion capital injection.
Airlines & Lessors

By Ben Goldstein
United Airlines announced a new $5 billion loan secured by its MileagePlus loyalty program, part of an effort to raise enough cash to survive even the most bearish recovery scenarios.
Airlines & Lessors

By Victoria Moores
Swiss start-up airline flyBAIR is scheduled to launch on July 18 with initial routes from two Swiss regions to Mallorca, after a two-month delay caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
Airlines & Lessors