January 29, 2021

Canada Announces Tighter Border Restrictions

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new, tighter border controls for Canada as the nation looks to flight the new strains of the virus that are making their way around the world.

Effective immediately, Canada is eliminating international flights to “sun destinations,” meaning flights from Canada to the southern U.S. and Caribbean that are highly unlikely to have essential travel and are for Canadian residents going on vacation to avoid the great white north. Further, all international flights in the arriving in Canada will be restricted to landing at one of just four airports: Calgary, Montreal, Toronto/Pearson or Vancouver. This includes transborder flights to the United States.

The country also will implement mandatory PCR tests for returning travelers to Canada, including its own citizens. Travelers will be required to quarantine at local hotels while awaiting the result of the test-on-arrival. The cost of testing & the quarantine while waiting is expected to run travelers approximately C$2,000 — or roughly the same price as the monthly heating bill for residents of the Yukon Territory.

While in quarantine, residents and visitors alike will have a button in their hotel room that provides unlimited poutine, maple syrup, and Tim Horton’s coffee. TVs will be programmed to show hockey on a 24-7 loop on one channel; the other TV will be a cycle of Drake, Justin Bieber, Celine Dion, and Nickelback concerts. The International Court of Justice is currently looking into whether or not this can be considered torture.


FAA & DOT: Delta Wins, Allegiant Loses

The FAA & DOT sent out two rulings today, with Delta winning in its round of exemption roulette and Allegiant taking a loss from the FAA.

Delta was granted a request exempt service to three destinations: Harlingen, TX (HRL), Montrose, CO (MTJ), and Steamboat Springs, CO (HDN). The DOT concurred that those three cities are a part of Delta’s seasonal schedule, and it does not have the resources to begin operating there prior to the end of March. The three locations already have air service from other major airlines and none of the three airports objected to Delta staying away.

On the losing side, Allegiant issued a request to the FAA on February 27 of last year, and the FAA in a very timely manner, responded today, 11 months later. The FAA denied the airline’s request to publish all potential countries of final assembly for its aircraft instead of the actual location of final assembly on seatback cards.

The FAA says in its decision that the information, required by Congress, must be disclosed and say “Final assembly of this airplane was completed in (name of country),” and that listing possible countries simply isn’t legal, nor is it that difficult, so Allegiant should just figure it out. We now await the FAA to rule on Allegiant’s other critical requests, such as whether or not it should offer a salty snack mix or a sweet snack mix aboard its flights or if it will offer whole cans of soft drinks for sale or just individual cups.


Hainan Airlines Parent Files for Bankruptcy

Hainan Airlines, the fourth-largest airline in China, along with its parent HNA Group was forced into bankruptcy proceedings Friday due to pressure from its creditors. The bankruptcy will be overseen by the bankruptcy court in China’s Hainan Province.

HNA Group, one of China’s largest conglomerates, has seen its fortunes hit hard by the pandemic. It once possessed partial ownership of major international brands such as Hilton International, Deutsche Bank AG, and other airlines throughout the world. The conglomerate is currently in talks to sell its controlling stake in Hong Kong Airlines. Despite having in excess of $150 billion in assets as recently as 2017, HNA Group was in debt up to its eyeballs and lost more than $2 billion in 2020.

Hainan Airlines itself has already been defaulting on aircraft loans and been forced to return planes to its lessors. What happens to the airline itself will be decided by the bankruptcy court. All options are to be considered including liquidating the airline, resuming as a slightly trimmed-down version of itself, a dramatic debt restructuring that leaves it as a shadow of its former self, or converting into a global Hainan chicken fast casual chain.


Pakistani Government Turns to the Brits

In the wake of the well-covered scandal over issuing fake pilots licenses, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAP) has made the very surprising yet rational decision to outsource its licensing exams for commercial pilots in the country.

The CAAP will be outsourcing to Trump University the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority to handle all pilot licensures in the country. The UK will resume offering exams to potential Pakistani pilots approximately two months after the agreement is formally in place. The agreement comes a year after the Pakistani government revealed that at-least one-third of its commercial pilots held fraudulent licenses.

In an announcement that shocked, well, no one, it was disclosed that Pakistani authorities were offering commercial pilots licenses to the highest bidders, regardless of experience, to line their own pockets. With the switch to the UK, the practice isn’t expected to cease, but at least the cash for the bribes now will have the Queen’s face, and a full English breakfast will come standard with pilots’ licensing exams.


Bring a Part of Berlin’s Tegel Airport Home

With Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport finally operational after a decade of stops and starts, Berlin’s former Tegel Airport is liquidating much of its stockpile of airport-related…stuff. Now is your chance to own the pizza oven once used in an employee commissary at Tegel Airport to cook lukewarm, mediocre pizzas for German airport workers who didn’t really want pizza in the first place – all for just €360.

Also for sale are the multi-seat benches that once comprised the waiting area at each gate. You can simulate the experience of waiting for your delayed Ryanair flight to visit your in-laws for the holidays in the comfort of your own home! The auction house does have a disclaimer on the site, warning potential suckers treasure hunters that all sales are final and as-is. So if your new industrial snowplow that you plopped down €11,000 for is a lemon, well, buyer-beware.


Airline Potpourri

  • Air Belgium will add four cargo aircraft to its fleet, with the first two arriving as soon as this March.
  • Air Transat is suspending its flights to Toronto/Pearson until at least May.
  • ANA posted a loss of $3 billion for the nine months of 2020 ending on December 31. The loss comes at the same time it announces a new cargo hub at Okinawa’s Naha Airport (OKA).
  • Flyr, Norway’s newest strtup airline announced today that it plans to oprate a fleet of 28-30 Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a 186-seat configuration. The airline is still awaiting approval of its Air Operator’s Crtificate, which it submitted in Octobr of last year.
  • SWISS named Benedikt Escher Head of Network Management.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I’ve never been married. But I’ve had a few near Mrs.