StarLux Airlines has applied to Taiwanese regulators to fly nonstop to 15 destinations in the U.S. including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle on the west coast, Boston, New York and Washington D.C. on the eastern seaboard and Guam in the Pacific, local media reported over the weekend, citing comments from the airline's president, Glenn Chai. Read More » Starlux founder and chairman, K.W. Chang, is particularly committed to Taiwan-U.S. flights that will compete with the new carrier’s rivals, China Airlines and EVA Air. The services are planned to commence in 2022.
Cathay Pacific Group chairman, Patrick Healy, told Hong Kong legislators yesterday he believed the airline group would not have to cut any more jobs to survive the coronavirus pandemic. "Our liquidity position and balance sheet are certainly strong enough . . . to take us through the crisis without the need for further recapitalisation and without the need for further retrenchment,” said a South China Morning Post report of Healy’s comments.
Hong Kong deputy secretary for transport and housing, Wallace Lau, indicated during the Legislative Council hearing that any Hong Kong airline could apply for the slots freed up by the shutdown of Cathay Pacific Group's regional wing Cathay Dragon, Radio Television Hong Kong reported. "Our main considerations include whether [our decisions] can promote healthy competition, whether it's beneficial to Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub and the overall development of the local aviation sector," Lau said.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was expected to complete its review of the proposed design changes to the 737 MAX in the coming days and lift the grounding of the aircraft as soon as November 18, Reuters news agency has reported, citing three unnamed sources briefed on the matter. The 737 MAX has been grounded since March 2019, following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people.
Garuda Indonesia said today all passengers affected by this morning's traffic jam heading into Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport would be offered fee waivers for the rescheduling of flights or refunding of tickets. “We fully understand our passengers' concerns due to the impact that occurred today," Garuda Indonesia CEO, Irfan Setiaputra, said in a statement. "Therefore, Garuda Indonesia is committed to always stay with all the affected passengers." Other Indonesian carriers, AirAsia Indonesia, Batik Air, Citilink and Lion Air, also announced waivers. The traffic jam was caused by thousands of supporters of Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader, Rizieq Shihab, heading to the airport to welcome him back to Indonesia after three years of self-imposed exile.
AirAsia Indonesia yesterday launched an unlimited pass for domestic travel within the country from November 23 to May 31, 2021. The pass includes a 15kg baggage allowance, costs 1.5 million rupiah (US$107) and was available to all members of AirAsia's BIG loyalty program until November 15. The terms and conditions stated airport tax was not included and flights had to be booked at least 14 days before departure. "We encourage travellers and stakeholders to welcome this program, as we hope this will stimulate and maintain demand until mid-2021," AirAsia Indonesia CEO, Veranita Yosephine Sinaga, said in a statement.
BOC Aviation said yesterday it had delivered the first of four A321neo to Indian LCC, IndiGo. The aircraft are powered by CFM Leap-1A engines. “This incremental capital expenditure for larger narrow-body new technology aircraft continues to reflect our disciplined investment in popular and in-demand aircraft, as we work closely with industry-leading airlines such as IndiGo to provide more fuel-efficient and technologically advanced aircraft solutions,” BOC Aviation CEO, Robert Martin, said in a statement.
Air Lease Corporation (ALC) said overnight that as of November 9 it had agreed to "accommodations", usually in the form of partial lease deferrals for payments due, with 58% of its lessees. "We have agreed to defer approximately US$201.5 million in lease payments, of which US$59.8 million or 30% of the total deferrals have been repaid," ALC said in its quarterly results presentation. It added the figure represented about 3% of total available liquidity at September 30. Net profit fell 4.9%, to US$394 million, in the nine months to September 30, from US$414 million previously, the global lessor said.
Engine maker CFM International said late last week it had signed two separate maintenance contracts with Chinese carriers. The first was a 12-year rate-per-flight-hour agreement with China Eastern Airlines for the maintenance of the Shanghai-based carrier's 36 A320neo's LEAP-1A engines. The second was a 12-year rate-per-flight-hour contract with Zhejiang Loong Air for the carrier's 19 A320 and A321neo. A rate-per-flight-hour agreement guarantees maintenance costs on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.
