United States Travel Ban to End November 8
It was several weeks ago that the federal government announced its travel ban for most foreign visitors to the United States would end in early November, and we now know what early November means to the government. November 8 is the date foreign visitors will be welcomed back into the USA – provided they are vaccinated and can explain the infield fly rule.
Visitors to the United States (along with returning citizens) still need to provide a negative test result taken within 72 hours of arrival in addition to proving their vaccination status. The government will recognize any vaccine recognized by the FDA, WHO, and Joe Biden’s aunt’s dermatologist. That means that the accepted vaccines will include:
- AstraZeneca
- Johnson & Johnson
- Moderna
- Pfizer-BioNTech
- Sinopharm
- Sinovac
- Bleach
The notable missing vaccine is Russia’s Sputnik vaccine, which is not recognized by the WHO, many of which speculate because it’s assumed that it’s not a vaccine but a rocketship going to space.
Unvaccinated Americans will be required to take three tests to return to the country – a negative test must be provided which was taken within one day of returning to the United States, another test will be required upon arrival, and a third test to see what Facebook post they read that is keeping them unvaccinated.
Arrivederci, Alitalia (For Now)
The current iteration of Alitalia operated its final flight last night as AZ1586 from Cagliari to Rome was fittingly delayed by about 20 minutes on both departure and arrival, an appropriate end for the brand which will never be seen again, until potentially later today when ITA begins operating as a new airline.
The new carrier – ITA – purchased the Alitalia brand for €90 million, just a smidge under the original asking price of €291 million. The money is being paid from the new airline, which is owned by the government, to the owner of the Alitalia brand – which is also the government. The new airline says it won’t use the brand of the old airline – for now – but that it spent the €90 million to prevent others from buying the brand. Okay.
The new carrier’s schedule filings still reflect the AZ code, so the Alitalia name isn’t going away completely. Or at all. No one really knows at this point.
Qantas to Resume LA, London Flights Earlier Than Previously Planned
Qantas will expedite the resumption of flights to Los Angeles and London, beginning to fly to the two cities from Sydney on November 1, two weeks prior to the previous resumption date of November 14.
Qantas will operate 5x-weekly service on the Sydney to London/Heathrow route, with 4x-weekly service to start on Sydney to Los Angeles. Passengers who are already booked on the carrier’s London or LA flights who want to move travel up to take advantage of the new launch date can do so without paying a change fee. Both flights will be operated by Qantas’s B787 Dreamliner. The flight to London will operate via Darwin until at least April.
The initial flights will be limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and parents. The Australian government is currently focused on bringing home all ex-pat Australians who have not yet managed to get back due to severe arrival capacity constraints into the country.
- Air Madagascar plans to enter bankruptcy protection.
- Air Nostrum was granted another €9mn in state aid. Ryanair said once they figured out what Air Nostrum was, it planned to contest the loan.
- ANA finally took delivery of its third and final A380 aircraft.
- Delta is adding new nonstop service to Panama City, Panama from Los Angeles and Orlando on December 18 and New York/JFK on December 29. It also will add a second Saturday flight from Atlanta on December 18.
- IAG appointed Steve Gunning as its new CFO. His first task in the new role will be to figure out exactly how much BA could save if it rebranded to British Airway.
- LATAM has requested another extension to file Chapter 11 reorganization plans, this time to November 26.
- Qantas is selling a parcel of land near the Sydney Airport for $595 million.
- SKY Express signed a propeller maintenance agreement with Fokker Services.
- Thai resumed daily service between Sydney and Bangkok. It also repaid $38 million worth of debt to its creditors.
- TUI Travel took delivery of a brand spanking new B737 MAX 8 aircraft.
- Volotea will open a base in Alghero (AHO) after the carrier won the right to operate up to six routes for seven months connecting Sardinia with mainland Italy.
When two vegans get in an argument, is it still called a beef?