Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc lost its coveted investment-grade status from one rater as S&P Global Ratings cut the company to junk. “The steep decline in airline bookings due to the coronavirus outbreak will sharply reduce Delta Air Lines Inc’s revenue and cash flow,†S&P said in a statement as it lowered the carrier two notches to BB, or two ...
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UK government rules out broad bailout for aviation sector
Bloomberg Britain has ruled out immediate direct aid to the aviation sector as the coronavirus outbreak wipes out all but a handful of UK flights. In a letter to airlines and airports seen by Bloomberg News, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said that firms must first tap all commercial avenues to raise funds, and that any assistance the state ...
Read More »Norwegian buys time by unlocking state aid
Bloomberg Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, the indebted low-cost carrier fighting for survival, bought itself some time as it managed to unlock the first, tiny slice of its state aid package. The carrier’s shares jumped as much as 25% when trading started in Oslo on Tuesday, though overall the stock is still down about 75% this year. Two Nordic banks will ...
Read More »Boeing temporarily halts work at Seattle-area factories
Bloomberg Boeing Co is shutting down its Seattle-area manufacturing hub for two weeks after a worker died of coronavirus complications, adding to a wave of plant closings sweeping the globe as the aviation industry navigates the biggest disruption in decades. Activity at the factories will start winding down and come to a halt on March 25, Boeing said in a ...
Read More »US airlines are planning for passenger flights shutdown
Bloomberg US airlines are drafting plans for a potential voluntary shutdown of virtually all passenger flights as government agencies also consider ordering a similar move, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing unidentified industry and federal officials. No final decisions have been made by the airlines or White House, but airlines would generally favour a government order, WSJ cites an industry ...
Read More »Glut of jet fuel is on brink of overwhelming global storage
Bloomberg The world is close to running out of space to store all the fuel that jets are no longer burning. Only about 20% of land-based storage for the product remains — about 50 million barrels — while airlines cut flights, according to Vienna-based consultant JBC Energy GmbH. A collapse in air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic has brought ...
Read More »Airbus lifts liquidity to $32b on coronavirus
Bloomberg Airbus SE withheld its dividend and extended credit lines, lifting liquidity about 50% to 30 billion euros ($32 billion) after the coronavirus pandemic pushed its airline customers to halt flights and stop ordering planes. The European manufacturer also tore up earnings guidance for the year in an announcement on Monday and said its vast supplier network is in dire ...
Read More »Covid-19: Delhi airport faces flight ban confusion
Bloomberg Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, declared no flights — domestic or international — will be allowed to land in the Indian capital’s main airport from 6 am on Monday. Hours after that deadline passed, dozens of planes have been operating from the Indira Gandhi International Airport. That’s because PM Narendra Modi’s administration overturned the ban, with the ...
Read More »HK to extend virus testing for arrivals with no symptoms
Bloomberg Hong Kong will extend Covid-19 testing to asymptomatic arrivals after a sharp rise in infections driven mainly by imported cases, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said. The government will take other measures, including postponing university entrance exams and ordering civil servants to return to working from home, Lam told the media. The resumption of schools, which have been closed since ...
Read More »Virus spurs American Air’s first cargo-only flights in 36 years
Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc is shifting some of its biggest idled jets to ferry just cargo — the carrier’s first flights without passengers in nearly four decades. The Boeing Co 777-300s will fly medical supplies, military mail, e-commerce packages and high-demand office equipment as more people work from home, the airline said in a statement. The wide-body flights began ...
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