Orient Aviation's COVID-19 briefs: Singapore Airlines and its airline subsidiaries accepting outbound transit passengers from seven cities in China, Japan and South Korea
From yesterday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) began accepting transit passengers from China (Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shanghai), Hong Kong, Japan (Osaka Kansai and Tokyo Narita) and South Korea (Seoul Incheon) travelling to any destination served by Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot. The transit flights are available only for outbound journeys from those destinations, the group’s website said. Read More »
The new rules followed the acceptance, earlier this month, of transiting passengers flying from Australia and New Zealand through Singapore and onward on the group’s network.
Singapore Changi Airport processed 24,500 passengers in May, down 99.5% from 5.41 million in the same month a year ago and a reduction from 25,200 in April. There were 4,470 aircraft movements in May. Although 85.9% lower than the prior corresponding period, it was an increase from 3,870 aircraft movements in April.
Having secured the necessary approvals from Chinese authorities, Delta Air Lines confirmed overnight it would be the first U.S. carrier to resume scheduled passenger flights to China when it commenced twice weekly A350-900 Seattle-Seoul Incheon-Shanghai Pudong flights from Thursday. From July 1, Delta will operate once weekly Seattle-Seoul Incheon-Shanghai Pudong and once weekly Detroit-Seoul Incheon-Shanghai Pudong, also with A350 equipment. “We are excited to resume our services between the U.S. and China as economic and social activities start to recover,” Delta president for greater China and Singapore, Wong Hong, said.
India Minister for Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on his Twitter account the country's domestic airlines carried 64,787 passengers on 773 departing flights on Sunday, June 21. This was the 28th day of domestic flights since restrictions were lifted on May 25. "Now with steady growth in domestic operations our airports and skies are abuzz with activity again," he said.
Figures from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) have reported the country's airlines flew 16.6 million domestic passengers in April. While the figure was down 64.6% from a year earlier, it was up 13.7% from 14.6 million domestic passengers in March. The passenger load factor was 66.3% in April compared with 58.6% in March and 49.3% in April 2019.
Cathay PacificGroup has revived a position on its executive leadership team for its cargo business, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper reported yesterday. The role has gone to Tom Owen, currently the company's director people. The appointment is part of a wider reshuffle in the airline group’s senior management ranks that includes Algernon Yau staying on as the head of the airline group's regional wing, Cathay Dragon, for longer than expected.
Aircraft lessor, Avation, has found new homes for five of its aircraft that were leased to Virgin Australia (VA). The company has signed agreements to lease two ATR 72-500s to another airline until the end of 2021, signed a conditional Letter of Intent for one 72-500 for a five-year operating lease and entered into a finance lease for the sale of two Fokker 100s, it said. Avation executive chairman, Jeff Chatfield, expressed optimism VA would emerge from voluntary administration with a new owner keen to maintain regional flights with the airline's ATR 72-600 fleet, but believed it was "prudent to mitigate our overall risk by selling down and transitioning certain of the aircraft given the uncertainty that surrounds the present COVID-19 environment”.
