DXing wrote:Does this down turn spell the end of the "pilot shortage" for the foreseeable future? Will reduced schedules sort out the problem of finding qualified pilots for at least the next few years?
Virgin Australia has confirmed it has entered voluntary administration - making it Australia's first big corporate casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.
The country's second-largest carrier cut almost all flights last month following wide-spread travel bans.
It was already struggling with a long-term A$5bn (£2.55bn; $3.17bn) debt.
The airline is now seeking new buyers and investors, after failing to get a loan from Australia's government.
Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah said: "Our decision today is about securing the future of the Virgin Australia Group and emerging on the other side of the Covid-19 crisis.
"Australia needs a second airline and we are determined to keep flying."
Meanwhile, Sir Richard Branson - whose Virgin group is a part-owner of Virgin Australia - has offered a Caribbean island as collateral to help get a UK government bailout of Virgin Atlantic.
Austrian Airlines to retire Airbus A319 fleet
Austrian Airlines will sell 20 of its 80 aircraft by 2022, reducing its fleet by 25%, to alleviate the weight of the air transport crisis linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
The carrier had already announced earlier in April 2020, that 18 Dash-8 Q400s would be retired. In addition, it now plans on letting go of its whole fleet of seven Airbus A319s as well as three of its six Boeing 767-300ERs “which are among the oldest aircraft in the fleet with an average age of 28 years”. The reduction of capacity is planned to be about 20%.
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The Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, believes that social distancing will end cheap travel. This is according to statements made at a briefing on April 21st. His rationale is that, with fewer seats available, it means that airlines will have to increase prices to turn a profit.
American Airlines has increased transatlantic checked baggage fees. The higher fees only apply to basic economy tickets on or after April 21st. This move does make some sense for the airline. Here’s why.
airtrainer wrote:IATA Head Says Social Distancing Will End Cheap TravelThe Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, believes that social distancing will end cheap travel. This is according to statements made at a briefing on April 21st. His rationale is that, with fewer seats available, it means that airlines will have to increase prices to turn a profit.
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The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been monitoring the impact of COVID-19 since February. On 30th April, it issued a prediction for how the industry would be hit by the end of the year. Predictions by the ICAO indicate that international air travel demand could drop by 1.5bn passengers at the end of the year as a worst-case. The organization has also made forecasts for airport traffic, revenues, and seat capacity.
A French government plan to rescue Air France is contingent on the carrier scrapping some domestic flights, the country's economy minister has said.
Air France should become "the most environmentally respectful airline", Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio.
[...]
"It is obvious that today a number of domestic routes are no longer justified," he said, without giving further details.
"When you can travel by train in less than two and a half hours, there is no justification for taking a plane."
An investigation by BBC News Arabic has analysed flight tracking data and open source footage which shows how Iran's largest airline - Mahan Air - continued to fly while government flight bans were in place, and contributed to the spread of Covid-19 in the Middle East.
Mahan Air ran hundreds of flights to and from Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Syria between late January and the end of March. All these countries gave Mahan Air permission to land. And they did so while their own bans on routine flights from Iran were in place.
EasyJet says it has begun consultations on plans to close bases at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle.
It follows an announcement by the airline that it may need to reduce staff numbers by up to a third because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Unite union said nearly 1,300 crew members faced losing their jobs.
Pilots' union Balpa said it had been told by EasyJet that 727 of its UK-based pilots were at risk of redundancy.
That is equivalent to one in three of its pilots, Balpa said.
El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin, ordered all of the company's aircraft to return to Israel. All flights, including both passenger and cargo flights, are cancelled until further notice.
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American citizens have landed on a British “red list” for travelers and will be required to quarantine 14 days after entering the country due to the spike in coronavirus cases stateside.