Bloomberg The federal government ordered airlines accepting financial aid to maintain minimal service levels to cities they served before the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the transportation system, but made adjustments for low-cost carriers and those that fly to some destinations only part of the year. The US Department of Transportation eased some requirements it made in a proposal after airlines and ...
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Airbus struggles to gauge ‘how much scaling back is too much’
Bloomberg The most dramatic contraction in civil aviation history poses a challenge for Airbus SE in how to balance its response. Factories that churned out aircraft in record numbers before the coronavirus crisis face an unprecedented production cut. But retreating too far risks leaving the company wrong-footed in a rebound and diluting its advantage over Boeing Co. Airbus warned last ...
Read More »EasyJet draws $1.35bn of UK coronavirus loan
Bloomberg EasyJet Plc borrowed 1.1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion) to shore up its finances during the coronavirus pandemic, tapping into a UK guarantee programme in defiance of founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s escalating activist campaign. The UK discount carrier accessed 600 million pounds in Bank of England-backed commercial paper and requested to draw down 500 million pounds from an existing facility that’s ...
Read More »American Airlines cuts flights from New York-area by 95%
Bloomberg American Airlines Group slashes daily flights from New York-area airports by 95%, joining United Airlines Holdings Inc in eliminating most operations in the nation’s largest city as the increase in Covid-19 cases guts travel demand. Daily departures from New York’s LaGuardia airport tumbled to eight from Tuesday through May 6, with a drop to three at John F Kennedy ...
Read More »Ryanair to lose $325mn from oil insurance trades gone bad
Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc predicted a 300 million-euro ($325 million) hit for the fiscal year that just ended because of costs arising from fuel hedges. Before the extra costs, profit for the year ended on March 31 will come in as low as 950 million euros, the bottom end of its previous estimate, the Irish low-cost carrier said. With its ...
Read More »Mnuchin urged to avoid ‘unreasonable’ terms on US airlines
Bloomberg House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged the Treasury Department to move more quickly to help airlines to save industry jobs and refrain from imposing “unreasonable conditions†that might spur some carriers to decline payroll assistance. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Pelosi and Schumer stressed that provisions of the $2.2 trillion stimulus ...
Read More »Lessors take back 27 jets from Interjet
Bloomberg Lessors have taken back at least 27 planes from Mexico’s Interjet, according to a company that tracks leased aircraft, making the airline one of the first to lose a big chunk of its fleet as the coronavirus pandemic torpedoes travel demand. The repossessed Airbus SE jets have been flown mainly to Arizona and California, said UK-based aviation consultant IBA ...
Read More »Wizz Air CEO stands by jet-delivery plan in boost to Airbus
Bloomberg Wizz Air Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said Europe’s third-biggest discount carrier will take delivery of hundreds of new jetliners as planned despite idling 90% of capacity in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Wizz will accept all 15 Airbus SE planes due this year, followed by the rest of its commitment, to position itself for a post-virus ...
Read More »Japan’s airlines join global carriers with huge losses
Bloomberg Japan’s major airlines are on track to see revenue drop by $4.6 billion from February through May, an industry group said, pushing ANA Holdings Inc and Japan Airlines Co closer to the crisis ensnaring other global carriers because of the coronavirus pandemic. Scheduled Airlines Association of Japan’s forecast amplifies its warning from from March 13, when it predicted losses ...
Read More »Covid-19: Cash crunch pits airlines against customers
Bloomberg The fight to survive the Covid-19 crisis is pitting airlines across the globe against their grounded customers. Regulations in the US and Europe generally call for carriers to offer passengers a refund if a flight is cancelled, with exceptions for circumstances like bad weather. It happens in normal times, but country lockdowns have dissolved schedules for weeks, with airlines ...
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