On Tuesday, All Nippon Airways' (ANA) parent company, ANA Holdings (ANA HD), reported net profit for the 12 months to March 31, 2020 came in at 27.6 billion yen (US$258 million), down 75% from 110.7 billion yen in the prior corresponding period, following a sudden decline in demand from the coronavirus pandemic in its fourth quarter.Read More » Revenue dropped 4.1%, to 1.97 trillion yen, ANA HD said in a regulatory filing.
ANA HD executive vice president and chief financial officer, Ichiro Fukuzawa, said the decline in passenger demand was expected to continue given it was "unclear when the spread of the coronavirus will end and government travel restrictions will be lifted". The company declined to offer earnings guidance for the current financial year because of the difficulties associated with making a reasonable business forecast.
Cathay Pacific Airways (CPA) said on Tuesday it planned to operate more flights on its existing skeleton network of 15 routes and add service to seven more destinations in the final 10 days of June. The expanded schedule, from June 21 to June 30, represented a capacity increase from 3% of normal capacity to 5%, CPA said in a statement on its website.
Japanese domestic carrier, Fuji Dream Airlines(FDA), said on Tuesday all flights would be suspended for the next three weeks as a result of a decline in passenger numbers from coronavirus pandemic and the country's state of emergency. In a statement on its website, FDA apologised to passengers for any inconvenience caused from flights being grounded from today to May 17.The airline said an extension of the suspension, from May 18 to May 31, was under consideration.
New Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director general, Subhas Menon, has called for work to begin on a multilateral basis to develop the necessary protocols to safeguard public health while restoring international air services grounded during COVID-19. Menon, who has succeeded recently retired AAPA boss, Andrew Herdman, this month, said in a statement on Monday the key to success was "close collaboration with the many stakeholders in the global air transportation system, including aeronautical authorities, airlines, airports and other service providers as in-depth knowledge and close integration with established business systems are essential".
Fiji Airways said on today the lifting of the country's inter-island travel restrictions would enable its subsidiary, Fiji Link, to reinstate domestic flights to seven more ports across the archipelago next week. Fiji Link has been flying limited services between Nadi and Suva to Labasa, with social distancing measures in place and staff wearing personal protective equipment.
Long-haul LCC carrier, AirAsia X, said on Tuesday its Malaysian affiliate carried 1.14 million passengers in the three months to March 30, 2020, down 25% from 1.51 million in the prior corresponding period. Passenger load factor fell nine percentage points, to 74%, and capacity, measured by available seat kilometres (ASK), was cut by 15%. The airline said the significant decline was a result of the "severe impact of COVID-19".
Yesterday, short-haul LCC, AirAsia said it would require all passengers to bring their own masks when travelling on the airline’s flights and have their temperature checked before boarding to protect against COVID-19. Cabin crew would have their temperatures taken after every shift and also wear protective equipment including masks and gloves when working, the LCC said.
