Author: Andrew Bashuk

November 16, 2020

Korean Purchases Asiana for $1.6 Billion

The rumors were true. Korean Air — the largest carrier in South Korea — agreed Monday to purchase and merge with its chief rival, Asiana Airlines for $1.6 billion. Korean will spend $1.35 billion to purchase 63.9% worth of new shares of Asiana to become the airlines largest shareholder. It will spend the remaining $250 million on Asiana’s convertible bonds.

If that sounds like a lot of money for Korean to put up, well, it’s getting a whole lot of help. Hanjin KAL — Korean’s parent company — will receive a $722 million investment from the state-owned Korea Development Bank. That’s apparently the price the government has to pay to unload that financial mess on to someone else.

Asiana, which was founded in 1988, had been on the verge of collapse prior to the deal after an agreement this summer for a new buyer fell through. The airline received a sizable cash injection from the Korean Development Bank in September which only prolonged the suffering of the struggling airline.

The merger is expected to be a victory for Delta and SkyTeam, pending regulatory review, as the Atlanta-based airline has a joint venture with Korean for travel between Asia and the United States. Asiana is currently a member of Star Alliance and would potentially leave United and friends without a Korean partner. We will have more on this tomorrow morning at crankyflier.com.

American Halts Some Service to London

American Airlines is suspending service to London/Heathrow from three of its key hubs for December due to weakened demand to the UK. AA will suspend flights from Charlotte, Chicago/O’Hare, and New York/JFK for the month, with all three cities expected to resume service to London in January.

AA’s joint venture partner British Airways will continue to operate its flights to Heathrow from JFK, O’Hare, and other U.S. airports despite AA’s suspension, but travelers may find it preferable to simply swim instead.

With the elimination of these three routes, American will now only fly two routes to Europe between December 1 and January 5: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to both London/Heathrow and Frankfurt. Despite the near-cessation of passenger flights, American will still fly cargo-only flights to Heathrow from both JFK and O’Hare.

Aer Lingus Receives US Permission to Join Oneworld JV

Aer Lingus received tentative permission from the DOT to join the American/British Airways/Iberia/Finnair transatlantic joint venture. The airline, which is still awaiting approval from the UK, will be permitted to fully coordinate with the other carriers on fares, scheduling, and seat cushion colors.

The DOT defended its decision, stating that Aer Lingus has less than 3% of the transatlantic passenger load and has healthy competition from fellow transatlantic LCC Norwegian. That’s quite the statement considering Norwegian actually stopped flying from Ireland to the U.S. before the pandemic began. It may also not be around much longer in any form, currently only flying a handful of routes in Norway as its cash dwindles.

The DOT determined that moving Aer Lingus into the joint business “would be unlikely to impact competition for 90 percent of U.S.–Europe passengers.” It continued, “as for the other 10 percent, we don’t care about those punks.”

Sun Country Receives Additional Cash from Feds

Minneapolis-based LCC Sun Country Airlines received an additional $45 million in funding from the federal government in the form of a CARES Act-enabled loan. The airline previously received $60 million in CARES Act money from the treasury during Q2 of 2020, which took place approximately 150 years ago.

The Treasury will fund the full loan to prop up SY’s liquidity to keep the airline operating. The loan will mature on October 24, 2025 and includes a 3% payment-in-kind of annual interest. The feds also required that SY include a coupon code that unlocks free seat assignments for treasury employees, per our made-up guidelines in the CARES Act.

Some interest groups are unhappy with the loan as Sun Country’s parent company, Apollo Global Management, sold a minority share to Amazon last year, and as many know, Amazon is…not struggling. SY is also operating dedicated freighters for Amazon. Those questioning the deal want to know why can’t minority owner Amazon use some if its record earnings from the pandemic to prop up Apollo’s assets, including Sun Country, instead of taxpayers. The answer, of course, is because Sun Country’s Prime membership expired and Amazon then refused to offer any sort of loan.

Heathrow Braces for Ridiculous Pre-Christmas Strikes

Airport workers at London’s Heathrow Airport are contemplating a series of strikes in the pre-Christmas period to protest what it says is the airport’s use of the pandemic as a “smokescreen” to cut worker wages.

The union, which apparently hasn’t noticed the 82% drop of traffic at the airport in October, says 85% of the airport’s staff voted in favor of the strike. Those threatening to walk off the job include firefighters, security guards, engineers, and baggage handlers. Seriously, folks, an 82% drop in traffic. Where do you think all the people went?

Theoretically, Heathrow would not be permitted to operate without sufficient fire coverage, and cargo operations would take a big hit during the pre-holiday period when many freighters are carrying items on behalf of Santa, not to mention delivery of a potential vaccine.

The first strike is scheduled for December 1 and will last 24 hours. The union also is planning to organize strikes at shopping malls across the country as it says there has been no downturn in in-person shopping as well as at restaurants and bars. Other rumors include a possible strike amongst workers at soccer football stadiums across the UK who also haven’t noticed a lack of attendance at any matches this season.

Airline Potpourri

Delta won an award. It does that a lot.
Eastern Airlines — the current North American version — has acquired five used Boeing 777s.
Emirates SkyCargo is beginning A380 cargo charter operations since there is no need for another million ton paperweight in Dubai.
Etihad will begin regular service from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv with year-round, daily service beginning March 28.
FlySafair, a South African LCC announced an interline agreement with Emirates.
Qatar will resume service to Phuket, Thailand (HKT) on December 4.
Ravn Alaska flew for the first time since it went under during the early days of the pandemic, operating a charter flight between Anchorage and Dutch Harbor (DUT).

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

Prior to my surgery last month, I asked the surgeon if I could administer the anesthetic myself. “Sure,” he said, “knock yourself out!”

November 13, 2020

Delta & LAX Accelerate Terminal Transformation

Thanks to highly-depressed traffic numbers, Delta Air Lines and LAX have made great progress in the revamping of Delta’s Terminal 2 and 3 at the airport, now expecting completion 18 months earlier than previously-predicted.

The $1.86 billion modernization project was originally supposed to be finished sometime in late 2024, but the airline and airport now expect to finish work on the project by mid-2023. Work started slow when Delta attempted to pay the $1.86 billion bill for the terminal with 242 billion sky miles plus a bevy of drink coupons for use in-flight, but once the airline agreed to pay cash for the project, work moved along at a steady pace.

As seen across the world, one of the lone benefits of the downturn in air travel due to the pandemic is that it has allowed airports to complete projects and move up completion timelines thanks to the lack of traffic at the airport. Delta now expects its new central headhouse (everything before security) to be completed by Q1 in 2022, a year before the final project is complete, and about 3 years before the airline announces a new LAX modernization project for completion by 2040.

Korean Air in Discussions to Buy Asiana

Rumors out of South Korea say that Korean Air is exploring purchasing its rival Asiana Airlines in a shake-up that would be felt beyond the borders of Korea.

Asiana has been struggling for years and, as of June 2020, carried debt in excess of $11 billion dollars. The airline was on the market to be sold prior to the pandemic, and a consortium was in discussion to purchase it for $2.25 billion. The deal was first discussed last December but fell apart once the pandemic hit in February despite an offer to throw in the Kumho Art Museum and four Kumho tires for every exec.

If the deal were to go through — still a big if at this point — it would potentially be a blow to United and Star Alliance, losing a key member in East Asia to Korean, Delta, and Skyteam.

Interjet Loses Key Investor at a Really Bad Time

Just one week after canceling its entire schedule for two days because it couldn’t pay for fuel, Mexican carrier Interjet is again in trouble with the departure of a key investor. Carlos Cabal Peniche has withdrawn his interest in the airline, and that includes a $150 million investment he had pledged to Interjet earlier this summer.

The airline says that the departure of Peniche and his pesos will not affect the company and its restructuring… which we suppose is true, when one considers they didn’t have any money from Peniche’s investments. With him gone, they…still don’t.

In addition to losing a key investor, the Mexican tax authority announced Interjet has been holding debts for the purpose of withholding VAT and income tax since 2013.

But other than that, things at Interjet are going very well.

Aer Lingus Applies for Manchester to U.S. Flights

Irish carrier Aer Lingus has applied for slots to operate to the United States from Manchester (MAN) airport in the U.K. The airline would base four aircraft in Manchester for service to the U.S., its filing reported. The aircraft would consist of three A321neos, one A330 widebody, and one Delorean.

Whether the application is because the airline really wants to fly from Manchester to the U.S. or is bluffing to get more support from the Irish government is unclear at this point — as Aer Lingus is on record looking for more support for its U.S. routes from Shannon (SNN).

Just under 2 million passengers flew to the United States from Manchester in 2019, and a large slice of that business is up for grabs with the demise of Thomas Cook and Virgin Atlantic’s struggle in bankruptcy. VS commanded 53% of the market in 2019, before factoring in its JV with Delta.

Aeroflot Station Manager Accused of Treason

Here’s a new one. Russian authorities have arrested the London station manager for Aeroflot, the nation’s flag carrier, for committing alleged acts of high treason while working for the airline.

The Russians are accusing Dmitry Fedotkin, the station chief at Heathrow since 2015, of committing treason by passing information on to British intelligence services. This obviously raises several questions, the first of which is: what secrets does an Aeroflot employee at Heathrow airport know that could get him arrested for treason? Was he sharing the fact that Aeroflot rigs its scales by 5 pounds, to charge more for overweight baggage? Or that the airline pads its on-time performance in and out of Heathrow?

A spokesperson for the Russian government said “Fedotkin is suspected of having betrayed secret information about the socio-political situation in the Russian Federation to the British intelligence service,” whatever that means. Did he reveal that Aeroflot actually serves the same meal to passengers in economy and business class, just the business class meal is presented more elegantly?

He stands accused of High Treason under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code and if found guilty could face between 12 and 20 years behind bars, as well as a 500,000 ruble ($6,445) fine. Aeroflot has wisely refused to comment on the arrest of their most senior person in London.

Airline Potpourri

Air Arabia posted a $12 million loss in Q3.
Copa Airlines has been given permission to once again fly to Venezuela.
Qantas will restart operations between Melbourne and Tasmania with 84 weekly roundtrips beginning November 27. When asked for comment, Taz said, “bleh, snort, blargh, sniff, bleh.”
Singapore Airlines raised $630 million through a convertible bond issue.
Ukraine International Airlines will begin 3x-weekly flights to London/Heathrow from its Kiev hub on December 17.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

“That bird sure is rude,” I thought. “Well,” my friend said, “it is a mockingbird.”

November 12, 2020

United Eases Elite Qualifying Requirements

United Airlines will make re-qualifying for 2021 elite status less onerous for its members, announcing reduced qualification standards and a head start without even stepping on an airplane.

United is reducing the number of Premier Qualifying Points and Premier Qualifying Flights needed to qualify at each level by roughly 25%. Additionally, the airline is starting each elite member off with a deposit of 25% of the necessary PQP to requalify for the elite level the member most recently qualified for. Consider this the loyalty program equivalent of getting on its knees and begging. But wait, there’s more.

The first three revenue flights taken in 2021 between January 1 and March 31 will come with a 50% PQP bonus for non-elite members and a 100% bonus for elite members. The airline is also extending all PlusPoints that were set to expire on or after January 1 for an additional six months.

United is confident that it will not swell its elite ranks too much with this new policy since it’s confusing enough to weed out most of the elite population. That will leave an elite few who have both flown enough and understood the requirements enough to be elite in 2021.

Southwest Adds Sarasota

Southwest Airlines is adding another new city to its route map, the 10th destination it has added since the onset of the pandemic. The airline will begin service to Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida (SRQ) in the first quarter of 2021.

Sarasota will be the airline’s 10th destination in Florida, including the eight it currently serves plus Miami, to which Southwest will begin service later this week. Sarasota is expected to be another destination on the airline’s route map that comes with magical healing powers. Dozens of passengers request early boarding due to needing extra time, but they typically are magically healed by the time the plane lands at its destination, no longer needing any assistance. For reasons yet to be explained, it’s service to Florida that sees more cases of these magical flights than anywhere else served by Southwest.

Southwest hasn’t yet announced what cities it will serve from Sarasota, but the expectation is that it will serve at least one of its main “hubs” — even if Southwest won’t call them hubs — likely Baltimore, Chicago/Midway, Houston/Hobby, or wherever it can find the most AARP members.

JetBlue Extends Seat Blocking Policy One Final Time

JetBlue Airways will return to selling 100% of the seats onboard its aircraft beginning with flights on January 8. In the meantime, it will go with the highly-questionable plan of continuing to restrict capacity without providing the middle-seat block benefit that people actually care about.

Through December 1, the airline will sell 70% of the seats aboard its aircraft, and then from December 2 through January 7, JetBlue will cap sales at 85% of available seats. Despite the sales cap, it will not guarantee any specific empty seats. This completely defeats the potential marketing benefit of an empty middle, and it will only serve to block 15% of capacity during one of the few times in recent memory that JetBlue has a chance of filling those seats.

JetBlue joins Alaska and Delta as the only U.S. carriers blocking seats through the new year.

Israir has Multiple Bidders

At least six groups have placed bids for the chance to end up holding the rose and the right to buy Israir as the carrier is looking for suitors to win its ~~heart~~ pocketbook.

Of the six bids, Arkia Israel Airlines submitted the largest cash outlay, which included a proposal for a merger between the two airlines. The other aviation-based bid came from Tami Mozes Borovitz, who recently lost controlling interest in El Al earlier this fall and is wandering the desert looking for his next venture.

The price of the bids ranged from a high of $38.4 million from Arkia along with the merger to Mozes Borovitz’s $16.9 million offer that brought up the rear. German-Israeli entrepreneur Moti Ben-Moshe offered the highest individual bid, coming it at just under $30 million, with a life-time pass to high holiday services at Temple Beth Shalom in Boca Raton included for all current Israir shareholders.

The airline currently employs 413 people, with roughly half on unpaid leave right now. It has a fleet of seven aircraft (four owned, three leased) and is currently operating 44 weekly flights from Tel Aviv, 30 of those to Eilat, Israel (ETM).

Hawaiian Announces Mileage Redemption for Virus Testing

Hawaiian Airlines is now the first carrier in the United States to allow its members to redeem miles for pre-travel virus testing. Members of the airline’s HawaiianMiles program can now redeem 14,000 miles for a pre-flight mail-in test valid for entry into Hawai’i.

The offer, which is a horrendous value for the miles, is only available for a limited time — which might be its most redeeming quality. An at-home test kit is currently priced at $119 per person if you opt to spend cash instead of miles.

If you are headed to Hawai’i and happen to have exactly 14,000 miles in your HawaiianMiles account that you’re never going to use, then in that case it could be worth it. The value goes up if you use your miles to save the $119 in order to purchase exactly that much worth of macadamia nuts at an ABC Store once in Hawai’i.

Airline Potpourri

Alitalia is resuming service to both Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo next month. Both flights will operate once per week if the airline feels like it.
Emirates lost $3.8 billion for the six months ending in September, its first loss in over 30 years.
Frontier has no plans to use its A321XLR to fly to Europe. For now.
JetBlue and Aruba have agreed to a partnership where the island will accept the PCR test offered by JetBlue to its passengers to allow for quarantine-free travel to Aruba with a negative test.
Lufthansa agreed on a crisis package with its ground staff protecting their jobs through the end of 2021 in exchange for reduced compensation.
SWISS plans on grounding its fleet of 28 A320s for the winter.
United is now using new Clorox electrostatic sprayers to disinfect airport terminals.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I read that by law you have to turn your headlights on while driving when it’s raining in Sweden. How in the world am I supposed to know if it’s raining in Sweden?

November 10, 2020

Re-United, and it Feels so Good: United Returns to JFK on February 1

Five years after United Airlines ended service at New York/JFK, the airline will return on February 1 with four daily non-stops to the West Coast. United will fly twice-daily to both Los Angeles and San Francisco, operating its reconfigured business class-heavy Boeing 767-300ERs with 46 United Polaris beds, 22 Premium Plus seats, 47 in Economy Plus, and 52 in plain ole’ economy.

United’s return to JFK will see it operate out of British Airways’s Terminal 7 along with other airlines known for top premium-class service such as Aerolineas Argentinas, Eurowings, and Ukraine International Airlines. United had operated in T7 before leaving, but only now can it return thanks to reduced demand from airlines.

In addition to its four daily flights to California, rumors are swirling that United also plans to launch daily service from JFK to its hub across the river in Newark, giving United customers one-stop service to over 100 destinations daily. When asked about the super-short distance between the two airports, United said that most of its NYC-based customers would prefer to connect from JFK through Newark than have to sit on NJ Transit for one more minute.

European Union to Place 15% Tariff on Boeing Aircraft

The European Union announced that it will apply a 15% tariff on Boeing aircraft being sold to operators in Europe as a retaliation for U.S. subsidies offered to Boeing.

This issue has been ongoing for more than 15 years, but came to the forefront again due to an April 2019 ruling from the WTO that the U.S. was not in compliance with WTO regulations as the government continued to offer subsidies to Boeing.

The tariff will take effect today, November 10 and will remain in place until the U.S. and EU can come to an agreement. The tariff on Boeing is included in a larger package of US exports, with the total figure being about $4 billion.

In an effort to fight the tariff without giving up its U.S. government subsidies, Boeing is considering offering all European operators a Buy One, Get One 15% off coupon to satisfy the WTO. The manufacturer is also considering a holiday special, where each aircraft placed on order comes with a copy of Michael Buble’s hit 2011 album, Christmas.

American Eliminates More Award Fees

After eliminating change fees earlier this fall, American Airlines has gone a step further eliminating more fees for customers looking to make changes to their award travel plans.

Despite eliminating redeposit fees for awards cancelled more than 60 days out, a fee structure remained for non-Executive Platinum members who cancelled award bookings less than 60 days out. The fees ranged from $50 up to $150 — with the $150 being charged to a non-elite cancelling an award booking fewer than seven days before travel. Effective tomorrow, November 11, all redoposit fees for all members, elite or not, will be waived — provided the cancellation is prior to departure.

American also has eliminated its $40 phone booking fee for non-Executive Platinums booking awards on the phone. In reality, this fee was rarely charged as the reason the member was calling in the first place was often because of an error while booking on the web.

Lastly, AA has extended AAdvantage mileage expiration dates, through June 30, 2021. This is terrible news for all the AA-supported charities that received frequent 1,000 mile donations as travelers looked for any way to keep their miles active.

Etihad Slims Down for the Long-Haul

Unlike many people who gained weight during the pandemic, Etihad has used the spring and summer to restructure itself into a leaner, more mid-sized airline.

As part of the restructuring, Etihad will focus primarily on its widebody aircraft, despite having 56 narrowbody Airbus currently on order.

The airline also saw four top executives leave the company, including Chief Commercial Officer Robin Kamark, giving it a chance to right-size its executive team in the wake of the pandemic. With its leadership changes, Etihad will separate out business units that previously fell under Kamark’s oversight.

Etihad currently has a fleet of 81 widebody aircraft, led by 30 Boeing 787-9s. It currently serves 72 destinations from its Abu Dhabi hub with 58 daily flights. Chances are good that not a single one of them makes money.

Qatar Launches Basic Business Class

Qatar Airways has begun selling a basic business class offering on most of its routes, including to and from the United States. The unbundled business class, which the airline has named “Business Class Classic” does not include advanced seat selection or complimentary lounge access with the fare.

The basic business seat does not preclude lounge access if a passenger has it through other means such as elite status with a oneworld partner. It also will still come with a seat assignment if the passenger has elite status on a oneworld partner that allows that sort of thing.

Qatar will also be launching a pilot program on select flights beginning in early 2021 with what it is calling “Very Classic Business Class.” The VCBC seat will come at a 10% lower cost than its current basic business class and will not include on-board lavatory access or a seat belt. The airline said in a statement said that it’s unfair that those passengers with a large bladder are being forced to subsidize lavatory costs that are only used by their small-bladdered fellow passengers.

Likewise, the airline said that 10-15% of its passengers never buckle their seat belt when flying anyway, and that those passengers should not be required to shoulder the financial burden of those who do use their seat belts.

Airline Potpourri

Azores Airlines is facing a €15 million lawsuit from Air Lease Corporation over the airline’s Airbus A321neo aircraft.
China Airlines has put its final four Boeing 747 aircraft up for sale.
Ecuatoriana Airlines received its operating license as it moves forward to resume service next year for the first time since going out of business in 2006.
Jet2 has suspended all flights in and out of England for the duration of the current lockdown.
JetBlue added 25 extra flights from the New York area for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Qantas has added three new destinations from Canberra: Cairns (CNS), Hobart (HBA), and Sunshine Coast (MCY)

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

All gnomes have red hats. It’s a gnome fact.

November 9, 2020

United Pumps Up Its Thanksgiving Schedule

1 United Airlines will add as many as 1,400 flights to its schedule for Thanksgiving this year, making sure Americans can assert their right to visit family and argue over the results of the Presidential election with their relatives while stuffing their faces with turkey and ignoring the worsening pandemic.

In addition to the increased flight schedule, United will also swap larger aircraft as needed to accommodate the expected last-minute demand. UA believes as many as half of its Thanksgiving passengers will book now through Thanksgiving, compared to less than 40% who booked with less than 30 days before the holiday in 2019.

United also intends to increase flying in December for the holiday season, operating 52% of its December schedule from a year ago, a 3% increase from November. Internationally, UA will fly 43% of its schedule in December compared to last year, up 4% from November, with the bulk of the new flights being service to warm-weather beach destinations in Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Air Canada Q3 Losses Force More Cutbacks

2 Air Canada’s Q3 earnings report showed an 83% drop in revenue, causing the airline to consider further cost reductions for 2021 and beyond. The airline posted just C$757 million in gross revenue for Q3 on a net loss of C$685 million.

Q3 cash burn was C$818 million, or C$9 million per day, which beat the airline’s expectation of closer to C$1.5 billion.

AC ended service to eight cities in Canada and suspended service to 30 others earlier this summer to contain costs and is now considering ending service to nine of the thirty suspended destinations indefinitely. The airline also will defer and cancel orders for 10 737 MAX and 12 Airbus A220 aircraft it currently has on order.

Moving forward, Air Canada expects to reduce its Q4 capacity 75% from Q4 in 2019. It expects a cash burn between C$1.1 and C$1.3 billion for the quarter, which amounts to $C12-14 million per day, or roughly what the average resident of Saskatchewan spends on Tim Horton’s coffee in a month.

Norway Tells Norwegian Air the Government Pocketbook is Tapped Out

3 Norway’s government announced it will no longer provide financial support for Norwegian Air, despite the airline making it clear that it would need the assistance to remain operating. The Norwegian government put $300 million into the airline in its first bailout agreement this past May, but that money has since run out.

As a result of the financial spigot turning off, the airline’s immediate first step is to furlough 1,600 employees and park 15 of its 21 aircraft that have been operating during the pandemic. With travel restrictions returning across much of Europe, the airline is not optimistic that it will recover from this setback.

Iselin Nybø, Norway’s minister for trade and industry, said that Norwegian had asked for billions of krone of support and that the government considered it wasn’t a “sound use” of community funds. Norwegian defiantly responded that there’s nothing wrong with an “unsound use” if “it feels good” to do it.

Norwegian employed more than 10,000 people prior to March, but will see that figure whittled down to about 600 active staff when this current round of furloughs is completed. The airline will continue to operate domestically within Norway on 11 routes from its Oslo hub and one more from Tromosø to Longyearbyen…. until it runs out of cash completely.

Starlux Shoots For the Moon on U.S. Expansion Plans

4 Taiwan-based Starlux Airlines, which began service earlier this year, announced the 15 U.S. cities to which it has requested operating rights in order to begin planned service in the summer of 2022. The airline is unlikely to end up serving all 15 cities, but it’s beginning the process to receive permission so that it can select those that make the most sense economically.

We’ve listed the gateways that the airline requested from the Taiwanese aviation authority below, but just because we like to mess with you, we added one that wasn’t actually on the list.

Boston
Chicago/O’Hare
Dallas/Fort Worth
Guam (GUM)
Honolulu
Houston/Intercontinental
Los Angeles
Miami
New York/JFK
Newark
Ontario (ONT)
San Francisco
San Jose
Seattle
Waco
Washington/Dulles

Starlux currently operates to five destinations in Southeast Asia from its Taipei hub, and will launch three new destinations — two in Japan and one in Thailand next month.

Lufthansa Begins Virus Testing Trial

5 Lufthansa is launching a pilot program of pre-flight antigen rapid virus testing on two of its daily flights between Munich and Hamburg with the goal of having 100% negative-testing passengers and crew onboard. If successful, it will expand the testing to more flights and destinations throughout its network.

Beginning November 12, the airline will test passengers on the two daily flights, one in each direction, two hours prior to departure. During the trial, there is no cost to the passenger. Results will be returned within 30-60 minutes and only those who return a negative result will be permitted to board.

Passengers who prefer not to take the test can change to another one of Lufthansa’s flights between Munich and Hamburg at no charge.

The program from Lufthansa comes after Alitalia tried a similar testing program on flights from Rome to Milan earlier this year. Alitalia’s program was less successful because the airline mistakenly ordered pregnancy tests instead of Covid tests and many passengers were not willing to consent to take the pregnancy test.

Airline Potpourri

Alaska announced that CEO Brad Tilden is retiring in March, and that Ben Minicucci will take over the role of CEO.
British Airways has suspended its flights from London/Heathrow to Inverness (INV) due to the current lockdown in the U.K.
Delta and Air France have been given permission by the Indian government to codeshare between each other on flights to India.
Miami Air, which ceased operations in May plans to relaunch in December, having acquired a single Boeing 737-800.
Porter Airways has delayed its restart for the sixth time, now aiming for February 11 as the date it resumes service. Somewhere Lucy is holding a football near her friend Charlie Brown and laughing while she reads the announcement from Porter.
Singapore posted a record loss on its Q3 earnings report of SG$1.7 billion (~US$1.3 billion).
United is reopening four United Clubs in time for the holidays. The airline is opening second clubs at three hubs: Denver, Houston/Intercontinental, and Washington/Dulles along with the Honolulu club.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

Two hats were chatting on a hat rack when both said they were ready to go home for the day. The one hat said to the other, you stay here, I’ll go on ahead.

November 6, 2020

BA to Halt Gatwick Operation During Shutdown

1 With the United Kingdom shut down once again, British Airways is suspending its entire operation at London/Gatwick until early December when the lockdown is supposed to come to an end.

For the entirety of the lockdown, which began yesterday and is scheduled to last until December 2, the British government has banned all travel except what it deems as essential. It’s assumed that any and all trips to the pub or to secure more tea for the house are within the definition of essential, as defined by the government and the Queen herself.

BA was forced to make the same move back in March when the first lockdown hit the country in an effort to save costs and not fly unnecessary routes. The airline then resumed service at Gatwick in July once pandemic restrictions were eased in the UK and across Europe.

Passengers who held tickets for the next few weeks on BA out of Gatwick will have the option of changing their flight or cancelling their travel and receiving a refund. Those who choose the refund option are expected to spend the money wisely, or they might be forced to go to Heathrow for their next trip.

Qantas to Send Most Airport Staff Down Under

2 Qantas Airways will eliminate nearly all of its customer service roles in airports — including at its lounges — leaving passengers to fend for themselves once post-security for irregular operations and last-minute changes.

The airline plans to make the change early in 2021; eliminating most roles at the airport that are customer-facing with the exception of check-in desks, gate agents, and a lost baggage office. The last baggage offices will see their hours cut dramatically in favor of what the airline is calling “self-serve recovery.” I believe most passengers refer to “self-serve recovery” as “don’t lose the damn luggage on the first place and I’ll self-recover it on the baggage carousel.”

Qantas admits the decision is being influenced by cost-saving needs due to the pandemic, but it claims it’s more than that. It also says the decision ultimately wasn’t about money but really was due to customer feedback. If you believe that, we have a Harbour Bridge we’d like to sell you.

Cabotage Ain’t No Thing: American Samoa Wants Samoa Airways

3 American Samoa has requested a waiver from the DOT permitting Samoa Airways, the flag carrier of Samoa, to be granted permission to carry passengers between Honolulu and Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa.

The Samoan carrier is not technically allowed to fly the route due to cabotage law preventing the Samoa-based airline from carrying US passengers between two US destinations without a waiver. Waivers have typically only been granted for short hops between islands when there is no US-based carrier to provide the vital service.

Lolo Matalasi Moliga, governor of American Samoa and attorney general Mitzie Jessop Taase are preparing a lawsuit against the DOT in order to force the government to allow the Honolulu service. Hawaiian Airlines is the regular lifeline between Hawai’i and American Samoa, but the service has been suspended since the pandemic began, originally at the request of American Samoa. For that reason, this may very well simply be the next chapter in a long-running feud with the airline.

The lack of service is hurting both the tourism industry, or what little bit is left of it, as well as the stash of POG juice throughout the seven islands that make up American Samoa.

Thai to Sell 25 Planes to Raise Cash

4 Thai Airways is looking to sell all of its Boeing 747 aircraft and a large chunk of its 777s and some old unused Airbuses in an effort to raise cash to keep the airline flying. It’s a tale as old as time: to fly, an airline needs money. But to get the money, it needs to sell its planes. If it sells the planes, it has money, but no planes. It then uses the money to rebuy the planes. But then it has no money. Repeat.

Luckily, Thai isn’t planning on selling all of its planes — just a lot of them. Very few passenger airlines are left that are even flying the 747, and many of those that still do are unlikely to do so after the pandemic.

With no airlines currently interested in the airplanes, the airline is exploring all options. Rumors of a 777 being available at a Goodwill store in Southern California are swirling. Thai is also considering “forgetting where it parked” one of the aircraft, and leaving it at the row of chop shops outside of Citi Field in Queens to see if it will be scrapped for parts. Then the airline will try to claim it was stolen and recover the insurance.

China Adds New Travel Bans

5 China has instituted a new round of travel bans on non-Chinese nationals coming from Belgium, India, the UK, and the Philippines. Visitors from those four countries are now prohibited from entering China indefinitely, regardless of whether or not they hold valid visas or residence permits, due to the surge in COVID cases.

Additionally, citizens from many countries still permitted to travel to China — including the United States & Canada — will have heightened requirements to enter the country, including proof of a negative result from both nucleic acid and antibody tests.

Those who do not bring their negative tests with them will be forced to enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine or accept a role for a minimum of two years checking bags at Disneyland Shanghai.

Airline Potpourri

British Airways has cancelled all service to Sydney until 2021, which sounds downright optimistic since Qantas won’t restart until at least next October.
Finnair is deferring delivery of three A350 aircraft to 2021.
GOL plans to operate 78% of its route network in Q4 as opposed to Q4 in 2019.
KLM has suspended four of its seventeen routes to the UK for the winter, temporarily ending service to Cardiff, Inverness, Southampton, and Teesside.
Qantas plans to operate as many as 117 weekly flights between Sydney and Melbourne when unrestricted air travel returns to Victoria on November 23, because it has nowhere else to fly.
Ryanair has a new top route, as measured by both seats available and weekly flights, and it’s a domestic route within Italy. Catania (CTA) to Rome/Fiumicino (FCO) has the top spot and is joined by nine other Italian domestic routes in its new top ten.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

Sure, I started to like drinking brake fluid. But I can stop anytime.

November 5, 2020

Oops, Our Bad: In yesterday’s Cranky Daily, we mistakenly mentioned the Hyatt Regency in Oakland as a potential candidate for a hypothetical super-merger between several different otherwise-unrelated entities. We have since learned that there is no Hyatt Regency in Oakland. According to TripAdvisor, the best hotel in town is a Best Western. We regret the error.

Spirit Lands New Slots in Orange County

1 Spirit Airlines is continuing its expansion in Southern California as it adds additional flights to its Orange County schedule prior to beginning service.

SNA is not slot-restricted in the traditional sense in that it’s not limited to a specific number of takeoffs and landings. Instead, the airport caps the number of annual passengers that can pass through, altering the number of flights based on aircraft type and flight schedules.

Spirit announced in September it would be adding Orange County to its route map with flights to both Las Vegas and Oakland. But earlier Thursday, the airline it obtained the slots to add a second-daily flight to Las Vegas, as well as flying once-daily to Phoenix.

Spirit will begin flying from SNA on November 16, with six daily flights — three to Oakland, two to Las Vegas and one to Phoenix. All passengers flying from Orange County on the first day of service will be subject to a $12.99 Airport Inauguration Fee.

British Airways Slashes U.S. Flights Due to Lockdown

2 In a letter sent to travel agents, British Airways said that in light of the reintroduction of a lockdown in the U.K., the airline has decided to slash flying to the U.S. beginning today and lasting either until the lockdown ends or never, whichever comes first.

Boston (BOS), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Newark (EWR), and San Francisco (SFO) will each see their daily flight suspended completely. Both Atlanta (ATL) and Philadelphia (PHL) were going to operate 3x weekly, but those will also not operate. Suggestions that BA should leave a 787 parked in Newark and operate it as the nicest restaurant in town have been ignored.

The only remaining U.S. service will be from London/Heathrow (LHR) to Chicago/O’Hare (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), and Washington/Dulles (IAD). Each will offer a single daily flight which is the same as the previous schedule everywhere except at JFK which was supposed to have 2x daily. Houston/Intercontinental (IAH) will have 3x flights a week and Seattle (SEA) will have 4x, as previously planned.

No Foolin’: Emirates Ends Partner First Class Awards

3 Emirates will be ending partner access to First Class award redemptions, effective April 1, 2021. The airline, which boasts one of most-desired first class cabins in the world will restrict award access in the exclusive cabin to members of its own frequent flier program, Skywards.

Currently, and until the program ends on April 1, Emirates First Class can be redeemed through three partner airlines — Alaska, Japan Airlines, and Qantas. Alaska said that the decision to block first class awards for partners was made by Emirates and is due to its lack of first class seats with so many aircraft parked due to the pandemic.

In the meantime, those who want to enjoy the perks of Emirates first class with partner award redemptions better do so quickly. With the pandemic, it’s not like there’s anything else to do with our miles, so this seems as good an idea as any.

Lufthansa Group Posts €1.3 Billion Loss in Q3

4 Lufthansa Group posted its Q3 earnings report, and its airlines reported a combined net loss of €1.3 billion compared to a net profit of €1.3 billion in Q3 a year ago. So one positive way to look at it is that if you look at just absolute value — there was no change from a year ago.

Gross revenue saw a large drop from €10.1 billion in 2019 to just €2.7 billion this year. Expenses were cut 43% YoY to limit some of the damage, but not nearly enough.

On the bright side, Lufthansa Cargo saw a positive quarter, turning a €169 million profit. Unfortunately, the figure served as a figurative drop in the ocean — the very ocean that most of Lufthansa’s cargo freighters flew over while transporting the profitable cargo.

The group ended September with €10.1 billion cash on-hand plus €6.3 billion in bailout cash available from the governments of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Belgium. The four nations plan to meet in Frankfurt for a five-day soccer tournament. The nation that finishes last will have to pay the bailout money first.

Rex Takes Delivery of First Boeing 737 Aircraft

5 Australian regional carrier and all-around good boy Rex Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 aircraft when the plane arrived in Sydney earlier Thursday. It’s the first of six leased 737s the airline plans to operate when it launches service in March on the highly-competitive Melbourne-Sydney route.

Rex has previously operated as a regional airline using Saab 340s but is taking the pandemic as an opportunity to forge its way into the big Australian domestic markets, starting with Sydney to Melbourne flights and then adding service to Brisbane shortly after Easter. The airline plans to release the new livery for its domestic fleet by the end of November and sources say it’ll be doggone good.

Airline Potpourri

CityJet retired its last ARJ-85 and will exclusively operate CRJ900LRs going forward. This appears to have been the last BAe-146/Avro RJ operating scheduled service in Europe.
Delta and WestJet have been granted an extension to November 20 for the comment period on the JV agreement between the two airlines.
Eastern — not the British one or the defunct one — plans to launch weekly service between Miami and Asunción this Sunday, November 8. The route will increase to twice-weekly beginning in December.
Ethiopian‘s ban on serving Shanghai/Pudong is being extended to January 1.
Gulf Air will resume flying from its Bahrain hub to Casablanca with once-weekly service beginning this Saturday.
Iberia converted its first passenger A330 into a freighter and will use it for 4x-weekly cargo service between Madrid and Los Angeles.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

So what if I can’t spell Armageddon? It’s not the end of the world.

November 4, 2020

Patience is a Virtue: KLM & Its Pilots Reach Agreement

1 Shortly after negotiations between KLM and its pilots union seemingly reached an impasse, the pressure from the government has pushed the two sides to magically agree to a wage cut for pilots that will allow the Dutch government to move forward with a bailout package for the airline.

The pilots union agreed to a wage freeze through the life of the loan program, which is scheduled to last until 2025 or when air travel demand returns to pre-pandemic levels, whichever comes first. (So… we’ll just assume 2025.) KLM will receive a €1 billion loan from the Dutch government in addition to €2.4 billion in guarantees for bank loans.

Without the cash, the future of the 101-year old airline was very much in doubt. Despite €1.7 billion in losses in Q3, KLM is confident that the loan from the government combined with the reduced labor costs and a divorce from that mess that calls itself Air France (ok, that last part is really just wishful thinking) will allow the airline to navigate through these troubled financial times and continue distributing Delft houses in business class for the foreseeable future.

IAG Remains Interested in Purchasing Air Europa For Cheap

2 With cuffing season upon us, IAG — led by British Airways and Iberia — is poking around the finances of Air Europa to see if it is still ripe for acquisition.

IAG had originally agreed to purchase Air Europa way back in July of 2019 (nearly 100 years ago…or so it feels) for $1.15 billion. Because the deal hadn’t closed when the pandemic hit, IAG revised its offer, dropping it by nearly half down to $580 million this past July. That remains the current offer on the table, but it’s rumored IAG is willing to throw in an old 747 or two if that’ll seal the deal.

The Spanish government authorized a $555 million loan to Air Europa on Tuesday which has thrown a wrinkle into the current negotiations. IAG is currently waiting to see the full loan package and what conditions are attached before it will commit to going through with the purchase of the airline.

Those conditions include siestas for all staff — requiring the plane to be on autopilot for at least 60 minutes while the pilots rest — regardless of flight length. Additionally, IAG also is looking to secure one free annual flight for each of its staff to Ibiza on Air Europa as part of the conditions of the sale.

Mesa Receives $200 Million CARES Act Loan

3 Mesa Air has entered into an agreement with the US Treasury to receive a $200 million loan. The airline has borrowed $43 million right now and can take as much of the remaining $157 million that it needs between now and the December 15 deadline.

The agreement has two covenants — a minimum collateral coverage ratio and a minimum liquidity level. It also prohibits Mesa from paying dividends during the period until the loan is paid back. In addition, Mesa will be required to complete all its chores, cannot have anyone over after school until its homework is completed, and must drive its little sister to piano practice on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.

Garuda Indonesia in Mergerpalooza

4 The Indonesian government is merging nine tourism entities under its control into one large conglomerate with hopes that this will improve performance. The move includes practical moves like merging Garuda Indonesia and Citilink — Garuda’s LCC subsidiary — and some far stranger moves including airports, hotels, a deparment store, and an ancient Buddhist temple. It’s rumored the new holding company will be called Allegis.

Garuda Indonesia president Irfan Setiapautra is in favor of the move, not because it makes business sense but because he expects the airline will receive more funding from the government and will be able to lower costs in the new arrangement. This comes a week after the airline cut 700 jobs due to a lack of air travel demand.

U.S. officials are monitoring this closely, intrigued by the idea of mashing unrelated companies together and hoping costs get reduced. Just imagine a merger between, say, JetBlue, The Mall of America, Mandalay Bay, Newark Airport, Seattle’s Space Needle, Nordstrom, the Hyatt Regency in Oakland and a Hilton Garden Inn in Murfreesboro, TN. So much synergy.

Aeromexico and LATAM Agree on Codeshare

5 Aeromexico and LATAM have come together to codeshare on flights to a combined 93 destinations throughout Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil.

The two airlines had been ~~forced to couple~~ brought together by Delta — a longtime Aeromexico partner that has also signed a JV partnership with LATAM — and they will now work together on routes throughout Latin America. As part of the agreement, LATAM will move its operation in Mexico City from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, which is where Aeromexico operates.

In addition to a codeshare partnership, both airlines have also agreed to work together on a betting pool for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The airlines will take payment from other Skyteam member airlines with entries costing $100 and the winner getting 50% of the prize pool. The other 50% will go to pay off creditors in LATAM’s and Aeromexico’s respective Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganizations.

Airline Potpourri

Austrian Airlines has introduced a new train route from Graz Central Station to Vienna Airport as a part of its “train to plane” program.
flydubai will begin 2x-daily service from Dubai to Tel Aviv on November 26 thanks to the opening of relations between the two countries.
Gulf Air is resuming service to Male (MLE) in the Maldives with 2x-weekly service from its Bahrain hub starting December 12.
TUI Airways UK will not operate flights from England or Wales through December 2.
Volotea announced it had a load factor of 90.1% in Q3 with 2.4 million passengers, a 23% drop from Q3 in 2019.
YTO Cargo Airline has begun 3x-weekly freighter service between Hangzhou (HGH) in eastern China and Singapore (SIN). Despite its name, it isn’t flying to Toronto.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I taught a wolf how to meditate. He’s aware wolf now.

November 3, 2020

American Expands Pre-Flight Testing Program

1 American Airlines announced that it will expand its pre-flight testing program, now including flights to three Caribbean countries — Belize, Grenada, and St. Lucia — in addition to select flights to the Hawaiian islands.

Testing for the three destinations in the Caribbean will begin on November 16. The test is administered by AA’s partner LetsGetChecked, a company that not only conducts COVID testing at-home by a medical professional via a virtual visit, but for only $99 more can throw in a chlamydia and gonorrhea test. With that in mind, we hope this program will be expanded in time for spring break in Florida.

American originally announced it would do tests for the Bahamas, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, but the two former countries no longer require testing. American continues to work on getting Jamaica up and running.

The tests cost $129 per person and results are expected to be returned within about 48 hours. LetsGetChecked has said it will take no responsibility for a delay in getting results to clients due to an AA mechanical delay slowing down the process.

Qantas & American Look to Extend JV Through 2026

2 Time flies…. Qantas and American are currently seeking permission from Australian regulators to extend their joint venture another five years, through 2026. The JV between the two airlines is currently scheduled to expire in March.

Permission has been granted by American regulators, leaving just the Australian side to approve the deal. The current JV allows the two airlines to cooperate on routes between Australia & New Zealand to the United States, Canada, & Mexico.

In their application, both airlines have warned that “customer benefits delivered by the joint business…will be significantly eroded if not removed entirely,” if the JV is not re-upped. The two airlines currently offer frequent flyer earn and burn opportunities on each other’s flights, and American recognizes all kangaroos and koalas elite status from Qantas when flying on AA metal.

Back to the Skies, Eh? Air Canada Rouge Returns

3 Air Canada Rouge took to the air Monday morning for the first time since the onset of the pandemic with a morning flight to Cancun from Toronto/Pearson. It’s reported that travelers wistfully stared out the window on their flight south over the forbidden land — aka the United States — to remember the good times they had together in a simpler time.

The airline is restarting its operation with just two active aircraft. The airline currently has 14 A321s in its fleet but 12 remain in storage. During the pause of service due to the pandemic, it eliminated its widebody 767 fleet, leaving it with just narrowbody aircraft.

In addition to its 14 A321s, Rouge has four A320s ready to reenter service when demand warrants it. In the meantime, the stored aircraft are politely waiting for an opportunity to return to the skies to shuttle Canadian vacationers from the approaching Canadian winter to sunny destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and maybe eventually… the southern United States.

Tokyo/Narita Offers Rapid PCR Test for Outbound Passengers

4 Tokyo/Narita Airport, along with the Nippon Medical School Foundation, have begun to offer rapid PCR tests for outbound passengers at the airport. The tests currently take approximately six hours for a result to be returned, but the airport expects to see that reduced to as little as two hours by December.

There is a testing facility located in both Terminal 1 and 2 at the airport, and it is open 24 hours a day. The cost is $371 per passenger, assuming the test is taken during normal business hours and the passenger has an appointment. For tests outside of normal business hours or walk-ins without an appointment, the price is $435. That’s dollars, not yen. US dollars. Seriously.

Bamboo Airways Takes Steps Toward Flying to the U.S.

5 Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways took another step toward inaugurating service to the United States this week, passing two gauntlets required to satisfy various requirements of the FAA and DOT. The carrier, which serves two dozen destinations in Southeast Asia, is eager to launch service from its Ho Chi Minh City base to the U.S. West Coast.

This might sound exciting, but neither of these two steps are particularly onerous. Bamboo designated a DC law firm as its registered agent, a required step for the purpose of regulatory filings with the DOT. The airline then submitted its Family Assistance Plan to the federal government, which is required by the DOT in case of a disastrous event such as a crash.

The airline has been flying repatriation flights for Vietnamese residents all over the world with its 787-9 aircraft. That plane has the range to make the journey from Vietnam to California, and the airline is moving towards making that a reality.

Airline Potpourri

American will resume service to China this week, starting once-weekly service from DFW to Shanghai/Pudong via Seoul/Incheon.
Air Europa will receive a $557 million bailout package from the Spanish government.
China Southern posted a $106 million profit for Q3, if you trust profit numbers from the big Chinese airlines.
El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin will step down from his role, effective in January.
Hi Fly is phasing out operation of its A380 when its lease runs out later this year.
Virgin Atlantic announced its plan to begin service from London to St Vincent & the Grenadines (SVD) next June. That’s a great band name.
Virgin Australia‘s sale to Bain Capital is expected to be complete the week of November 16.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I met a woman last night who says she lives in the condo below Dwayne Johnson. The woman didn’t have a clue about anything going on in the world. In her defense, she does live under a Rock.

November 2, 2020

New York State Doles Out Shorter Quarantines… But It’s Now for Everyone

1 New York State announced new guidelines for visitors to the state, eliminating the 14-day quarantine for people arriving from states and territories that were on New York’s “Bad List,” and instead implementing a four-day quarantine for everyone.

Those visiting New York, or residents returning to the state after being away for more than 24 hours, are required to take a COVID-19 test within three days before returning to New York. That will be followed by three days of quarantine and then a second test on day four. Assuming both tests come back negative, no further quarantine is necessary. Anyone who does not want to take the virus test can still quarantine for 14 days upon returning to the state, which, depending on where you are in New York, isn’t a dealbreaker.

Those exempted from these new requirements include travelers from states adjacent to New York as well as essential workers and any rodents which are living or working at either LaGuardia or JFK.

The new guidelines are effective this Wednesday, November 4.

Dutch Government Pulls Plug on KLM Bailout Payments

2 The Dutch government has halted payments to KLM that the airline says are crucial for it to continue operating. KLM is the oldest airline in the world and has been in operation since 1919, or almost how long it takes to change terminals at CDG. The stopped payments are due to a disagreement between the airline and its pilots on revised employment terms due to the pandemic.

KLM has requested its pilots accept a pay freeze until 2025 to help the airline survive the downturn in demand, but its pilots union refused the offer. One condition of the €3.4 billion bailout package from the government required the airline to renegotiate pay freezes with each segment of its workforce. Ground staff, cabin crew, and pilots would need to agree to new contracts with givebacks in place for the length of the loan period — through mid 2025.

Discussions with ground and cabin staff and their unions has progressed far enough, but conversations with the pilots are stalled, forcing the government choosing to call their bluff and threaten to pull funding altogether. The pilots suggested they take the balance of the pay increases they would not receive and put them on red for one spin of the roulette wheel at the casino at Schiphol Airport, but both the airline and government declined the offer.

Air France/KLM reported a €1.7 billion loss for Q3 2019 and is expected to cut at least 12,000 jobs in the coming weeks. The funding from the government is crucial to ensure the airline continues to operate uninterrupted in 2021 and beyond.

Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport Finally Opens

3 Just 10 years behind schedule, Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport (BER) finally opened — albeit in the midst of a global pandemic that has driven air travel demand to its lowest point in history.

Berlin has had plans for a centralized airport for 30 years, since German reunification, but it only becomes reality next week when all traffic is condolidated at BER. The old primary West German airport, Tegel — which was once designed as a temporary stopgap similar to United’s temporary Concourses C & D at Dulles — will continue to operate until next week when it will shut down following, we assume, a blowout David Hasselhoff concert.

BER sits on top of the same footprint as the old East German airport, Schönefeld. That terminal has now become BER’s Terminal 5. While the airport will not have a high-speed rail connection like most airports in Berlin, it does have commuter and regional rail trains that offer service into Berlin’s main train station to connect to Duetsche Bahn rail service all over Europe.

Qantas Halts Ticket Sales to US & UK

4 Qantas has stopped selling tickets on its own flights to both the United States and the United Kingdom for the next calendar year, with nothing available for purchase through October 2021.

The airline had previously stopped selling long-haul flights to destinations beyond the South Pacific through March, but this extension keeps the flights off sale for another six months entirely. In addition to pulling flights to the United States and United Kingdom, the airline has also stopped selling its service to both Johannesburg and Santiago.

Despite the lack of positive news on the US and UK, Qantas does expect to operate some international service sooner rather than later. Travel bubbles in Southeast Asia and Oceania are possible, with Qantas considering opening up service to new cities including Seoul and and Taipei. Both cities said they would welcome the new service from Qantas, provided the airline comes up with a pre-flight testing program — not for COVID — but to ensure no Vegemite was flown into their cities.

UK Startup flypop Receives Investment from UK Government

5 flypop, a UK startup airline that plans to begin flying in 2021 announced that it is receiving funding from the UK Government’s Future Fund. The airline is also completing its final funding round and is beginning to negotiate low-cost airport deals in both the UK and India.

flypop calls itself the UK’s only long-haul, low-cost airline, which is generous because it hasn’t started flying yet. More accurately, it hopes to be the UK’s only long-haul, low-cost airline when it launches service between the UK and India next year. But considering that the airline has less than 1,000 followers on Twitter and gasp — doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page yet — calling itself an airline is premature. It’s an idea, not an airline, and it’ll probably lose less money if it stays that way.

Airline Potpourri

Blue Air will move its flights from its Bucharest hub to London/Heathrow effective December 1. The airline has been operating to London/Luton.
easyJet says it will require aid from the UK government in order to continue operating and it plans to dramatically cut its number of flights in and out of London/Gatwick as the UK’s new travel lockdown looms.
InterJet canceled all of its flights for Sunday and Monday while it tried to scrounge up enough cash between the couch cushions to pay for fuel for its aircraft.
ITA, the new Italian carrier that will succeed Alitalia as Italy’s flag carrier was formally founded on Friday. Alitalia will be selling all of its assets — which includes aircraft, a Twitter handle, 18 minis of wine, and some parmesan cheese which expires soon — to the new airline.
Ryanair reported losses of €197 million for the six months ending September 30.
SkyWest received two new EAS contracts — it will inaugurate service from Houston/Intercontinental to Victoria, TX (VCT) on November 10. On December 2, it will begin 12 weekly flights from Johnstown, PA (JST) to both Washington/Dulles and Chicago/O’Hare. The airline is taking over for Boutique Air on both routes.
Vistara plans to increase its fleet from 43 to 70 aircraft by 2023.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

My computer says that my software update will be auto-installed tonight, but I’ve never seen a car that can do that sort of thing.