The Virgin Australia [VA] board was expected to formally put the airline group into voluntary administration following a director’s meeting late on Monday Australian Eastern Standard Time, local media reported. Read More » The expected announcement followed VA’s unsuccessful efforts to restructure debt and shore up its balance sheet amid the coronavirus pandemic. VA’s request for loan package support from the Australian government was rejected earlier in the month.
China Southern Airlines [CSA] has warned the market to expect a "substantial loss" in the first quarter of calendar 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic after reporting passenger numbers fell 53.7%, to 16.8 million in the three months to March 31. CSA said in its monthly operating statistics the disease would "adversely affect" its operating results for the first half.
China Eastern Airlines [CEA] said it had been adversely affected by COVID-19 and "expected to suffer significant losses in the first quarter of 2020". The SkyTeam alliance member's monthly operating statistics showed the airline carried 13.7 million passengers in the three months to March 31, down 57% from the prior year.
The commentary from the third of mainland China's big three carriers, Air China, was similarly downbeat, with the airline saying its results for the first quarter of 2020 would be "significantly affected" by the pandemic. Air China reported in its monthly operating statistics a 51.8% drop in passenger numbers, to 13.7 million, for the three months to March 31.
Australian airline group, Regional Express [REX], said it would conduct temperature testing on all passengers before boarding at all 55 destinations in its network, with those "outside a healthy range" to be denied their journeys, REX National Airports Manager, David Brooksby, said in a statement. Staff members also would have their temperature checked when starting work.
Cathay Pacific said it would close three U.S. cabin crew bases in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, which would affect 286 staff. A note to employees explained cabin crew based in the U.S. were "no longer viable", the South China Morning Post reported at the close of last week.
AirAsia said it planned to resume domestic flights at five of its regional affiliates, subject to regulatory approval, starting with Malaysia on April 29, followed by the Philippines and Thailand on May 1, India on May 4 and Indonesia on May 7. AirAsia group president for airlines, Bo Lingam, said the company had been "working closely with airport authorities to make sure all relevant precautionary measures are in place to ensure a safe, pleasant and comfortable journey for everyone".
