Cathay Pacific Potentially On the Hook for Hong Kong’s Omicron Outbreak
The Hong Kong government is currently investigating if it will hold Cathay Pacific legally accountable for the current Omicron outbreak on the island, saying that the carrier is responsible for the conduct of its employees. The Governor of Texas immediately chimed in, saying that the island should instead just let people sue Cathay Pacific since it works so well in his state.
The city government traced the current outbreak back to two Cathay Pacific employees who broke quarantine during the final week of 2020 to eat out at a restaurant on the island that we assume is to die for. The carrier recently suspended long-haul cargo flights along with most of its scheduled passenger ops while it reevaluated what it could realistically operate with the current quarantine restrictions on the island.
Cathay currently requires all pilots and flight attendants who are eligible to be vaccinated including having received a booster.
Qatar Wants More Than $600 Million from Airbus
As a Qatar Airways lawsuit against Airbus over what Qatar alleges is a paint defect on the A350 rolls on, court documents revealed that the airline is seeking more than $600 million in compensation from the manufacturer.
The dispute, which is tied up in court in London, demands a $610 million lump sum from Airbus plus another $4 million for every day Qatar is forced to keep its aircraft grounded. Qatar contends that Airbus has not yet identified the reason for the issue — though it has its eyes on you, Sherwin Williams — and will not return the affected aircraft to service until Airbus has figured out a solution.
The paint issue on the A350 has been a problem for several other operators of the aircraft — including Cathay Pacific, Delta, Finnair, and Lufthansa – but Qatar is the only operator to take its fleet out of service. Qatar and Airbus had been exchanging harshly written statements over the paint issue for the last several months but had avoided the courtroom until Airbus threatened to take Qatar to court for continuously bringing up the defect. Qatar took the “you can’t fire me, I quit” tact when it then took Airbus to court before Airbus could do the same to Qatar.
Sunwing Strands Passengers in Cancun by Choice
Canadian charter operator Sunwing Airlines operated a flight on December 30 from Montreal to Cancun chock full of French-Canadian influencers who broke and flouted basically every rule that it exists when on an airplane. The group was filmed partying on-board, mask-less, drinking and dancing in the aisle, with some passengers openly vaping in the cabin. Or as Spirit calls it — Tuesday.
As a result, Sunwing canceled their return flight, scheduled to operate on Wednesday, and no other airline was willing to fly them home. Air Canada and Air Transat both declined, while WestJet said it would have to check with Delta – but the answer would likely be a big N-O.
Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau weighed in on the issue saying he was “extremely frustrated” with the incident. He reportedly then threatened to ban the passengers from watching NHL hockey for the rest of the season as punishment.
- Air Astana is resuming service at its Nur-Sultan (NQZ) hub today following the airport’s temporary closure due to political instability in Kazakhstan.
- Delta will no longer require pilot applicants to have a bachelor’s degree, making it preferred instead of an requirement. The change makes sense considering the computer does most of the flying anyway…right?
- Emerald Airlines won a three-year government contract to operate twice-weekly service from Dublin to Donegal (CFN).
- Finnair is challenging the concept that it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere, as the carrier will no longer be allowed to offer alcohol on flights after 5 p.m.
- Fly Gangwon was granted an air cargo permit in South Korea.
- Iraqi Airways received its first A220-300.
- Ryanair is closing its base in Frankfurt and is canceling all flights to and from the airport effective March 31. Shockingly, the carrier blames the airport and its cost structure for the decision. It will now offer service to Frankfurt via the city’s alternative airport located in Dublin, Ireland.
- SpiceJet is challenging the court order to extract $24 million in a liquidation order from Credit Suisse after the two were unable to come together on a settlement dill.
- Thai and four other Thai airlines are receiving $187 million in aid from the Thai government.
- T’Way Air is L’ooking to add more A330s to its fleet.
- United is adding its Polaris business class and premium economy to its A321XLR aircraft when they are delivered, the first single-aisle aircraft on the carrier to have Polaris.
- Virgin Atlantic is launching flights to Austin this summer. Maybe.
What kind of doctor is Dr. Pepper?
Fizzician