China, U.S. Agree to Double Flight Volume
1 China and the United States have agreed to double the number of flights that operate between the two countries to up to eight per week. The U.S. had threatened to end flights between the two nations in June when China wouldn’t share General Tzo’s chicken recipe threatened not to allow any US carriers to operate. China eventually relented.
United will increase flights to China to four flights per week from San Francisco to Shanghai/Pudong effective September 4. Delta, the other U.S. airline operating to China will also double flights from both Detroit and Seattle to Shanghai – an additional frequency for each – starting this weekend.
Both airlines have operated their Chinese flights via Seoul/Incheon since the outbreak of the pandemic to avoid having crew needing to layover in China.
Hawai’i to Keep Quarantine Until October 1
2 Hawai’i Governor David Ige announced today that the state will remain closed to visitors, except those who are willing to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine until at least October 1. The governor went on to say that officials “will continue to monitor the conditions here in Hawaii [sic] as well as key markets to Hawaii [sic]” to determine when these steps can be curtailed.
Oahu and the city of Honolulu are also instituting new protocols on the island including requiring face coverings at open-air shopping malls. The city is reducing the number of people allowed at any gathering to just five. Restaurants, along with indoor attractions such as museums and movie theaters, also must limit groups to five or less.
Officials also debunked the rumor that the quarantine requirement can be avoided by promising to carry the maximum luggage allowance worth of SPAM from to the mainland.
JetBlue Launches Fly Now, Pay Later Scheme
3 JetBlue announced today that it has partnered with Goldman Sachs to offer a no-fee, no deposit, fixed-rate installment loan option at the time of purchase. The option is available on flights priced between $750 and $10,000.
Payments will begin one month after the flight takes place. This is one of those things that marketing professionals think sounds great in a headline (does it thought?), and they’ll likely swindle some people to take JetBlue up on its offer. The full payment terms, including interest rate will be revealed to the customer before purchasing, but the rate is going to be between 10.99% to 25.99%. Tera Blue chips are great and all, but that’s an awfully high price to pay to hold off on paying for a holiday trip to Grandma’s until January.
Despite Popeye’s friend Wimpy perfecting the concept of paying you Tuesday for a burger he’ll eat today, this offer from JetBlue seems designed to extract more money from passengers, albeit over a longer period of time. Time will tell if this work; if it does, Spirit I’m sure is already salivating in the corner.
Breeze Drops Bid for Compass’ Operating Certificate
4 The winds of change are afoot at Breeze as the startup airline has decided to withdraw its bid for Compass Airlines operating certificate and instead operate under its own.
The airline still plans to launch passenger operations next year with 15 leased E190s. Breeze eventually plans to also obtain 60 new A220s late in 2021.
Breeze had originally planned to take over Compass’ operating certificate as a way to shorten the process to get the airline flying with passengers. But the process wasn’t the…ahem…breeze that the airline expected it to be, with both the Air Line Pilots Association and Sun Country gusting in the opposite direction. Instead of responding to the objections, the airline instead chose to withdraw its request and go at it on its own. Perhaps the ALPA & Sun Country didn’t just object, but they strenuously objected.
Boeing Receives Order for 737 MAX, Changes Aircraft’s Name
5 Boeing received a commitment for two 737 MAX jets from Poland’s Enter Air today, and in the announcement of the sale, it both conspicuously and subtly changed the name of the aircraft to the 737-8.
It’s a smart move by Boeing as it looks to get the MAX aircraft back in the air all over the world, but the name 737 MAX is buried in passengers minds as an unsafe aircraft. The 737-8 is another plane that no one has necessarily heard of, and most customers won’t balk at boarding. The idea of changing a name for deflection purposes is not new…just ask ValuJet Airlines.
The name change alone is unlikely to be enough to regain full traveler confidence in the jets, but it is a first step. Studies show that passengers want to see that the plane can consistently be controlled by pilots at all times before they feel safe on the aircraft regardless of its name.
Airline Potpourri
- British Airways has formally requested a quarantine exemption from those entering the UK with a negative test.
- Emirates is indefinitely suspending service to Fort Lauderdale.
- French Bee will continue to stop in Vancouver on its Papeete-Paris/Orly flight through the end of September.
- LATAM posted a loss of $695 million in Q2.
- LOT is retiring its lone 737-300 aircraft. The shocking news is that LOT was still operating a 737-300.
- Virgin Atlantic is delaying the delivery of 11 widebody aircraft from Airbus. Probably a good idea since the airline is broke.
- Wizz Air is resuming service to St. Petersburg. The one in Russia, not Florida, making it the only UK-based airline flying to St. Petersburg.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
I had a bunch of books fall on me today when I was cleaning. I have only my shelf to blame.