Aviation

Bloomberg FedEx Corp is redeploying aircraft it mothballed earlier this year and plans to add 150 flights over the next month to ferry masks, protective suits and other healthcare supplies to the US from Asia. The activity adds to the usual seven to nine daily flights across the Pacific, said Richard Smith, chief of FedEx Express operations in the Americas ...

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc deferred the delivery of 24 Airbus SE A320-family jets that were due to arrive over the next three years as the carrier moves to protect cash amid the coronavirus pandemic. The handovers will be postponed to an undetermined date, the British low-cost airline said in a statement. The moves will significantly reduce the low-cost airline’s capital expenses ...

Bloomberg As Covid-19 cases began exploding last month, Quinton Martins thought he was doing the prudent thing by canceling a flight to Mexico for a planned vacation with his wife and daughter. But the Northern California man didn’t realise that by doing so he gave up the right to a refund from Alaska Air — even though taking the trip ...

Bloomberg British Airways (BA) has become the first major European carrier to lose its investment grade status amid the Covid-19 pandemic after Fitch cut its credit rating one notch. The flagship British company is unlikely to recover its end-2019 capacity level until 2023, according to Fitch’s baseline forecast. The ratings agency also put the company on negative outlook, reflecting the ...

Bloomberg Air France-KLM expects more than 90% of its capacity to remain suspended through the end of May as the coronavirus pandemic paralyses the travel industry worldwide. For the next two months, the airline aims to continue serving only some key city pairs with a “skeleton operation,” according to a statement. Beyond that time frame, the company said, projections are ...

Bloomberg A 75% wage subsidy touted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has caught the interest of the country’s biggest airline, a request that could cost the government as much as C$30.5 million (about $22 million) a week. Air Canada said it will apply for the money to help keep or recall its 36,000 employees based in the country, 16,500 ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG is scaling back its fleet and closing the Germanwings discount arm to resize the airline group for depressed levels of travel that could last for years after the coronavirus crisis passes. The German flag-carrier will reduce capacity at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, retiring 18 wide-body aircraft including six Airbus SE A380 double-deckers that were ...

Bloomberg The crowd outside Wuhan’s Tianhe International Airport on Wednesday pushed forward as anxiety grew over catching their flights out of town — the first to depart since January 23. Many were people who had come to the central Chinese city for a Lunar New Year vacation in January and found themselves stuck in a protracted, nightmarish stay as the ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s Airport Authority is in talks with banks for a HK$20 billion ($2.6 billion) loan to help fund the city’s third runway, according to people familiar with the matter. The five-year facility, which is also meant for general corporate purposes, offers an interest margin of 72 basis points over the Hong Kong interbank offered rate and a top-level ...

Bloomberg Boeing Co has identified two new software problems with the grounded 737 Max that must be fixed before the jetliner can carry passengers again. The issues involve the flight-control computer and don’t affect the plane’s estimated return to service in mid-2020, Boeing said. The Max’s software has been undergoing a redesign after being linked to two fatal crashes that ...