Congress Reaches Agreement for Second Round of PSP Funding
U.S. airlines are in support of a bill before Congress that would extend funds to support payroll for U.S. airline workers through March. In a move that defies the laws of physics, the leaders of both parties in both houses of Congress came to an agreement on the relief package that will soon go to a vote and then to the president to sign into law.
In addition to the payroll funding for airlines, the bill would also provide additional financial support for airports, motorcoach and bus companies, public transit systems, Amtrak, and any rich person who asks for money.
Similar to the bill from early in the pandemic, airlines that accept the assistance would be prohibited from buying back stock or dividends and will have to accept limits on executive compensation.
The bill — which has been agreed to by Congressional leaders but not yet voted on — is expect to pass prior to the seating of the 177th Congress on January 3.
United Kingdom Sees Extensive Flight Bans Due to New Covid Strain
A quickly growing list of nations, including Canada and most of the European Union, have halted air service to London and the rest of the United Kingdom due to a new strain of the COVID virus providing an unwelcome Christmas surprise.
France banned all travel to and from the United Kingdom for 48 hours, beginning midnight Sunday, including trucks carrying freight under the English Channel as well as the Port of Dover on England’s south coast. French officials explained the brief pause was to give both governments a chance to huddle on a bilateral solution. Germany has put a pause on all flights between the two nations with the exception of cargo flights. The ban began last night and will continue indefinitely. Denmark also suspended all flights for 48 hours, beginning Monday.
Other temporary bans include Canada stopping flights between the two nations for 72 hours. Hong Kong put a ban in effect effective today with El Salvador refusing entry to anyone who has visited the UK in the last 30 days.
The United States has not issued any sort of ban yet, but New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is very much in favor of a ban. His reasoning does include the possible new strain of the coronavirus but said he’s in favor of a general ban of all flights from the UK to New York because none of them “know how to drive on the right” and that he’s “tired of listening to those silly accents.”
Mesa Looks to Expand Cargo Fleet
Regional carrier Mesa Airlines is looking to expand its current cargo operation by adding to its fleet of two cargo-only planes.
The airline has two Boeing 737-400s dedicated to cargo and is looking to expand with more 737 Classics, 737NGs (eg the -800), and turboprop freighters. Cargo has seen a great increase in importance during the pandemic with the dip in passenger traffic being replaced by air cargo to deliver everyone’s breadmakers and Ring lights for their Zoom meetings.
Mesa has traditionally been a passenger-only airline flying on behalf of larger airlines. In October it began a similar arrangement for cargo, flying on behalf of DHL. The airline is currently considering a hybrid model going forward with its cargo-only aircraft. It will be able to carry cargo under its own contracts plus those of DHL while also transporting basic economy passengers in the cargo-only aircraft on behalf of American and United.
The basic economy passengers will eventually be flown to their destination, but will be subject to the schedule of the higher-paying and more valuable cargo, possibly needing days or weeks for their particular aircraft to eventually make it to where it says on the ticket.
Air New Zealand to Temporarily Suspend Selling Tickets to Australia From Outside NZ
Air New Zealand will temporarily put a hold on selling tickets between Australia and anywhere that is not New Zealand. The cessation of flights will be effective March 28, and is due to the planned Trans-Tasman travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand.
Since pretty much nobody is allowed to enter New Zealand or Australia, the two nations are banding together to create a travel bubble which will allow for free travel between the two. Previously, the few people who could travel from North America, Asia, or Pacific Islands to Australia could fly via Auckland. But with the introduction of the bubble, that’s off the table.
Air New Zealand plans to resume selling long-haul tickets to Australia as soon as it is prudent to do so — or when Taylor Swift begins her next U.S. tour — whichever comes first.
Finnair Drops Another Heathrow Slot Pair
Last week, Finnair sold one of its seven weekly slots to JV partner American in exchange for a light-hitting shortstop and an undisclosed amount of cash. It appears Finnair is not done wheeling and dealing, as the airline sold away a second slot pair at the airport, sending this one to Etihad. The pair is for Summer 2021 and will be Etihad’s to lose money on from March 28 until October 30.
Finnair has not announced any more sales or trades on the horizon, but Finnair reps have been spotted slinking around the check-in areas at Heathrow trying to move its final slot pairs. The staff often approach check-in agents and staff from rival airlines, “I’ve got two. Who needs two? Two prime Heathrow slots – great location, great price. You won’t find this great a deal from the airport authority. Who wants two? Toronto, Casablanca, Manila — name your destination. Two for sale, who wants two?”
Airport police have attempted to halt the practice and have quoted anti-scalping laws in place but Finnair has been persistent and says it will continue to work on moving its final slot pairs as soon as it can.
Airline Potpourri
- Air Transat announced that the Superior Court of Québec approved its sale to Air Canada. The court also admonished Air Transat for its lack of French fluency, and insistence on not wearing berets in court.
- Belavia has taken delivery of its first Embraer 195 E-2 aircraft.
- EasyJet will add four new aircraft to its base at London/Gatwick next summer.
- Emirates will upgauge its 4x weekly service to Sao Paulo/Guarulhos to its A380 aircraft in January.
- Gulf Air and Egyptair are expanding their codeshare partnership with Gulf Air adding its code to five new Egyptair destinations.
- SAS signed a €143 billion three-year loan backed by the Norwegian government in order to keep the airline solvent and current on its payroll obligations.
- Sundair has launched once-weekly service from Stockholm (ARN) to Beirut (BEY).
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
I was having trouble getting around while painting my roof. So I went to the paint store to get thinner. It didn’t work.