LONDON - The crisis erased a third of the revenue of Virgin Atlantic. The airline takes steep restructuring steps after posting a loss of 911 million pounds for 2020. Virgin Atlantic hopes to have all its fleet back up in the air by October or November this year, chief executive Shai Weiss said.»
LONDON - Heathrow Airport tried to pass on its pandemic losses to airlines - the controversial request to increase charges by up to ten percent to recover 2.6 billion pounds over the next few year was rejected by British aviation regulator CAA Tuesday. Yet, neither the airport nor airlines are happy with the decision.»
LONDON - British Airways sees "room for optimism" that transatlantic flights might open up in the coming weeks. Chief executive Sean Doyle expects demand for flights between the UK and United States return quickly as soon as Covid-19 travel restrictions are lifted on both sides of the pond.»
LONDON - Explosively rising Covid-19 infection rates and a double mutation in India cause Canada and Great Britain to suspend passenger air traffic with the country for the time being. Heathrow Airport rejected airline requests for additional flight shortly before the red list suspension took effect this Friday.»
LONDON - Ryanair expects to break even this year followed by a dynamic recovery in 2022. The airline already sees demand returning with an upswing in bookings through April. In an interview with the "Financial Times" Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary showed confidence in the business travel segment after the crisis.»
SYDNEY - The opening of a quarantine-free travel zone between Australia and New Zealand spurred instant demand for flights Monday. Hundreds of passengers crowded terminals to catch a Qantas or Air New Zealand flight marking and end to months of travel restrictions between the countries.»
LONDON - Flybe returns to British skies this summer under new ownership. Thyme Opco - a shell company of former Flybe investor Cyrus Capital - snapped the assets of the regional airline that filed for bankruptcy and grounded its fleet in March 2020. According to administrator EY the sale has been completed Wednesday.»
LONDON - Return path to a British license: the UK Civil Aviation Authority has launched a "simplified process" to allow pilots who transferred their licence and medical certificate to an EU member state in preparation for the end of the transition period to get their UK licence back.»
MANCHESTER - Jet2 cancels holidays until June 24 citing planning uncertainties as the British travel restart plan fails to convince airlines and tour operators. Easyjet and Jet2 see a financial burden for families as mandatory PCR tests after holidays might inflate travel costs.»
LONDON - London City Airport (LCY) has welcomed the restoration of key regional routes, with flights to resume shortly to Edinburgh, Glasgow - both with British Airways -and Dundee with Loganair, re-establishing important domestic connectivity and tourism links between Scotland and the heart of London.»
CHICAGO - United Airlines started to accept applications for its "Aviate" flight school program after a Covid-19 delay this week. The airline embarks on an ambitious plan to train 5,000 new pilots for its cockpits by the year 2030 and will enroll the first 100 students in 2021.»
LONDON - Airlines will fight attempts by suppliers and airports, including Heathrow Airport, to cover pandemic losses by raising charges, the new head of industry body IATA Willie Walsh said on Wednesday, as he promised "strong and aggressive" resistance to such moves.»Discussions on current events and developments in the aviation industry
