November 6, 2020

BA to Halt Gatwick Operation During Shutdown

1 With the United Kingdom shut down once again, British Airways is suspending its entire operation at London/Gatwick until early December when the lockdown is supposed to come to an end.

For the entirety of the lockdown, which began yesterday and is scheduled to last until December 2, the British government has banned all travel except what it deems as essential. It’s assumed that any and all trips to the pub or to secure more tea for the house are within the definition of essential, as defined by the government and the Queen herself.

BA was forced to make the same move back in March when the first lockdown hit the country in an effort to save costs and not fly unnecessary routes. The airline then resumed service at Gatwick in July once pandemic restrictions were eased in the UK and across Europe.

Passengers who held tickets for the next few weeks on BA out of Gatwick will have the option of changing their flight or cancelling their travel and receiving a refund. Those who choose the refund option are expected to spend the money wisely, or they might be forced to go to Heathrow for their next trip.


Qantas to Send Most Airport Staff Down Under

2 Qantas Airways will eliminate nearly all of its customer service roles in airports — including at its lounges — leaving passengers to fend for themselves once post-security for irregular operations and last-minute changes.

The airline plans to make the change early in 2021; eliminating most roles at the airport that are customer-facing with the exception of check-in desks, gate agents, and a lost baggage office. The last baggage offices will see their hours cut dramatically in favor of what the airline is calling “self-serve recovery.” I believe most passengers refer to “self-serve recovery” as “don’t lose the damn luggage on the first place and I’ll self-recover it on the baggage carousel.”

Qantas admits the decision is being influenced by cost-saving needs due to the pandemic, but it claims it’s more than that. It also says the decision ultimately wasn’t about money but really was due to customer feedback. If you believe that, we have a Harbour Bridge we’d like to sell you.


Cabotage Ain’t No Thing: American Samoa Wants Samoa Airways

3 American Samoa has requested a waiver from the DOT permitting Samoa Airways, the flag carrier of Samoa, to be granted permission to carry passengers between Honolulu and Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa.

The Samoan carrier is not technically allowed to fly the route due to cabotage law preventing the Samoa-based airline from carrying US passengers between two US destinations without a waiver. Waivers have typically only been granted for short hops between islands when there is no US-based carrier to provide the vital service.

Lolo Matalasi Moliga, governor of American Samoa and attorney general Mitzie Jessop Taase are preparing a lawsuit against the DOT in order to force the government to allow the Honolulu service. Hawaiian Airlines is the regular lifeline between Hawai’i and American Samoa, but the service has been suspended since the pandemic began, originally at the request of American Samoa. For that reason, this may very well simply be the next chapter in a long-running feud with the airline.

The lack of service is hurting both the tourism industry, or what little bit is left of it, as well as the stash of POG juice throughout the seven islands that make up American Samoa.


Thai to Sell 25 Planes to Raise Cash

4 Thai Airways is looking to sell all of its Boeing 747 aircraft and a large chunk of its 777s and some old unused Airbuses in an effort to raise cash to keep the airline flying. It’s a tale as old as time: to fly, an airline needs money. But to get the money, it needs to sell its planes. If it sells the planes, it has money, but no planes. It then uses the money to rebuy the planes. But then it has no money. Repeat.

Luckily, Thai isn’t planning on selling all of its planes — just a lot of them. Very few passenger airlines are left that are even flying the 747, and many of those that still do are unlikely to do so after the pandemic.

With no airlines currently interested in the airplanes, the airline is exploring all options. Rumors of a 777 being available at a Goodwill store in Southern California are swirling. Thai is also considering “forgetting where it parked” one of the aircraft, and leaving it at the row of chop shops outside of Citi Field in Queens to see if it will be scrapped for parts. Then the airline will try to claim it was stolen and recover the insurance. 


China Adds New Travel Bans

5 China has instituted a new round of travel bans on non-Chinese nationals coming from Belgium, India, the UK, and the Philippines. Visitors from those four countries are now prohibited from entering China indefinitely, regardless of whether or not they hold valid visas or residence permits, due to the surge in COVID cases.

Additionally, citizens from many countries still permitted to travel to China — including the United States & Canada — will have heightened requirements to enter the country, including proof of a negative result from both nucleic acid and antibody tests.

Those who do not bring their negative tests with them will be forced to enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine or accept a role for a minimum of two years checking bags at Disneyland Shanghai.


Airline Potpourri

  • British Airways has cancelled all service to Sydney until 2021, which sounds downright optimistic since Qantas won’t restart until at least next October.
  • Finnair is deferring delivery of three A350 aircraft to 2021.
  • GOL plans to operate 78% of its route network in Q4 as opposed to Q4 in 2019.
  • KLM has suspended four of its seventeen routes to the UK for the winter, temporarily ending service to Cardiff, Inverness, Southampton, and Teesside.
  • Qantas plans to operate as many as 117 weekly flights between Sydney and Melbourne when unrestricted air travel returns to Victoria on November 23, because it has nowhere else to fly.
  • Ryanair has a new top route, as measured by both seats available and weekly flights, and it’s a domestic route within Italy. Catania (CTA) to Rome/Fiumicino (FCO) has the top spot and is joined by nine other Italian domestic routes in its new top ten.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

Sure, I started to like drinking brake fluid. But I can stop anytime.