This will be our last issue of the week due to the Christmas holiday and the fact that there’s really not much news to report. We’ll be back Monday as usual.
New York City Requires Quarantine For All Visitors From the U.K.
All travelers arriving in New York City from the United Kingdom are subject to a mandatory quarantine order, effective today. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city’s sheriff deputies will be sent to hotel rooms or homes of those arriving from the U.K. to ensure they are complying with the 14-day quarantine order.
The decision comes in the wake of the discovery of a new strain of the virus which seems to be making itself at home in the United Kingdom. All travelers who arrive in NYC will be required to fill out contact information for where they’re staying — regardless of where their travel originated.
In addition to visitors from the UK being subject to quarantine, visitors from Eastern Europe will be given a complimentary bottle of vodka courtesy of de Blasio’s government. Visitors from Mexico will be offered tequila, while those from France will be asked to take the next flight out and go back home.
Violations of the quarantine order will be subject to a $1,000 fine per day. The city plans to take all the money from the quarantine violations, pool it together, and divide it up for all the unlucky souls forced to quarantine with their British visitors for 14 days.
Qantas & JAL to Expand Partnership
Oneworld members Qantas Airways and Japan Airlines are looking to grow their partnership via a joint business agreement on travel between Australia and Japan.
The agreement would launch next summer, provided it receives approval from regulators in both counties. The agreement would allow the two airlines to coordinate a ramp up of flights between Australia and Japan much more quickly than would otherwise be possible.
The more significant piece of the partnership includes expanded codeshare options and optimized schedules on flights between both Australia and New Zealand to Japan. The announcement comes more than a year after Virgin Australia and ANA — both airlines’ chief rivals — agreed to a similar deal. That arrangement was supposed to be in place by July 2020 but was put on hold due to the pandemic, Virgin Australia’s restructuring, and also because no one from ANA could understand anything anyone from Virgin Australia said due to their heavy Australian accents.
Air Marshals Caught in Drug Ring; Could Potentially Face Hard Time
Approximately 20 air marshals posted to the agency’s field office in Dallas have been caught executing a scheme to smuggle Viagra into the country and distribute it for a profit to friends, families, and colleagues in the Dallas field office.
The drug, which often costs far less outside of the United States, is brought into the country by the air marshals who are often able to avoid most security screening at the airport, allowing them to carry the contraband. They can then flip the pills at a price far less than Viagra is sold for here, and pocket a handy profit in the process.
The investigation is wrapping up, and the air marshals, despite the threat of hard time, may see the blow softened with likely discipline ranging from a suspension for most to termination for the leaders of the the ring. While most of the country’s 3,000 air marshals do a commendable job, these 20 certainly have added to a constant stream of negative press for the group. The FAA, which oversees the federal air marshal program, is going to need to help the group get its act together if anyone is ever to erect a statue honoring the great work of the program.
Kenya Airways and Air France-KLM Joint Venture to End
It’s official. Kenya Airways and Air France-KLM will end their Joint Venture effective September 21. The JV program had been suspended since March due to the pandemic, and it seems both airlines felt they got along much better just being friends instead of being in a relationship.
Despite the ending of the relationship, Kenya will continue to fly to London/Heathrow, Paris/CDG, and Amsterdam from its Nairobi hub with Rome/Fiumicino resuming sometime in 2021.
Kenya will remain a part of Skyteam and its codeshare agreement with Air France-KLM and other Skyteam airlines is not affected by this change. No representatives from either airline would speak on the record about the ending of the JV, but a public records request in the Netherlands did drum up an e-mail from KLM to Kenya Airways with just one line in the body: “It’s not you, it’s me.”
Finnair to Partner with Santa for Virtual Flights on Christmas Day
Finnair is offering a chance for customers to take a virtual flight on Christmas Day to visit with Santa Claus for just $12 per person. Finnair — which apparently is the official airline of Santa Claus — will offer an immersive 360-degree experience with Mr. and Mrs. Claus while enjoying virtual refreshments served by a Finnair cabin crew and admire the Northern Lights from your seat in Finnair Business Class.
The flight will “operate” to Rovaniemi (RVN), Finland’s third-busiest airport and gateway to the Arctic Circle. Flights will last 30 minutes and are viewable on smartphones, laptops and VR headsets.
The airline is hopeful that the virtual flights keep potential customers engaged with the airline while delivering an exclusive experience. Access to Santa on Christmas Day, just hours after he finishes delivering presents all over the world is tough to come by, but we suppose this is one of the perks of being the official airline of Santa Claus. When asked if he or other reindeer would be participating, Rudolph shook his head and said after how long a night Christmas Eve is for him and his fellow reindeer, he spends Christmas Day buried in a bottle of bourbon and then naps.
Airline Potpourri
- American has been told by the DOT it must continue service to both Joplin, Missouri (JLN) and Sioux Falls, Iowa (SUX) as a part of the EAS program through January 29. That SUX for American.
- Peach took delivery of its first A320-200neo today, the first of two of the aircraft type it has on order.
- Rex will see Christmas come a day early (although it always does in Australia because of the time change), receiving its first 737-800 fully painted in its new livery. Several Qantas employees were spotted in the bushes behind Rex’s hangar in Sydney with several buckets of paint and spray paint. A Qantas spokesman insisted their presence was just a coincidence and had nothing to do with the arrival of the new aircraft.
- Ryanair suspended all routes to and from the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Morocco indefinitely.
- United began operating its first all-cargo operation mostly hauling mail from New York to Chicago — likely on behalf of Santa — on this day in 1940.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
How many presents can Santa fit in an empty sack?
Only one. After one present, it is not empty any more.