Aviation

Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd said putting extra space between passengers on planes could lead to a big increase in airfares and discourage people from flying. “Social distancing on an aircraft isn’t practical,” Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday. If implemented, it could mean there would only be 22 people on a 128-seat ...

Bloomberg Argentina’s discount airline Flybondi is planning to redouble its bet on domestic service once the toughest travel ban in the Americas is lifted. The company will focus on local flights as long as demand for international travel remains tenuous because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Chief Commercial Officer Mauricio Sana in an interview. Flights to Brazil, the hardest-hit country ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc boosted its liquidity with a 600 million-pound ($726 million) loan backed by the UK government and said the coronavirus crisis will reduce passenger numbers by half over the next year. Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier is tapping Britain’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) as it digs in for a slow recovery that’s set to see a price ...

Bloomberg Flag carrier Thai Airways International Pcl is a step closer to restructuring via a bankruptcy court after a key government panel backed the plan, which is due for consideration by the Cabinet on Tuesday. A committee that oversees policies for state-run enterprises agreed that the airline should seek such a rehabilitation, government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat told reporters in Bangkok ...

Bloomberg Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s minister for public enterprises, is staking his own credibility and that of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government on the creation of a new airline out of the ashes of the bankrupt national carrier. Hit by the loss of the country’s last investment-grade rating on its sovereign debt and the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramaphosa has said hard choices ...

Bloomberg The administrators of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd have shortlisted a small number of bidders for the airline after receiving more interest than they anticipated. Deloitte spent the weekend reviewing indicative offers for the carrier from interested investors and has narrowed the field to a small number of well-funded parties with strong aviation credentials, according to a statement on Monday. ...

Bloomberg Air France-KLM will offer refunds to customers whose flights were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in a policy reversal that could put further pressure on the struggling carrier’s balance sheet. The airline will give travellers a choice between a reimbursement or a voucher for a future flight worth 15% more than the initial ticket value, according to a ...

Bloomberg Ethiopian Airlines Group sees African air traffic returning to pre-coronavirus crisis levels quicker than the rest of the world, boosted by a temporary spike in demand from stranded citizens returning home. Governments of countries including Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar closed their borders before or almost immediately after confirming their first Covid-19 cases, leaving thousands of business, student and health ...

Bloomberg Air Canada will cut at least 20,000 jobs, or about half its workforce, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian Press reported. The job cuts will be effective from June 7 and could affect as many as 22,800 workers, according to an internal company email seen by the Canadian Press. The downsizing will reduce the airline’s workforce by 50% to ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE is preparing for permanent job cuts after warning unions that it needs to rein in production amid a collapse in demand, people with knowledge of the situation said. Discussions have begun with labour groups in Germany, France and Spain, the people said, with the formal process expected to start next week. The number of positions to be ...