Korean Air (KAL) parent, Hanjin Kal, has received a boost in its bid to acquire local rival, Asiana Airlines, after a South Korean court allowed parent company, Hanjin Kal, to proceed with a sale of shares to state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), local media has reported.Read More » Equity fund, Korea Corporate Governance Improvement (KCGI), had sought an injunction from the Seoul Central District Court to prevent the share sale, one of a number of transactions in the company’s 1.8 trillion won (US$1.6 billion) proposed takeover of Asiana. The deal requires regulatory approval in a number of jurisdictions worldwide.
Virgin Australia (VA) said today it expected to reach 60% domestic capacity by January compared with a year ago as travellers returned to the skies after an easing of state border restrictions. VA said an additional 78,000 seats a week would be available between Victoria and New South Wales and Queensland by January in recognition that residents in Sydney and the state of Victoria were able to travel to Queensland from today. "We’re seeing strong demand throughout December across all of our Queensland services from Victoria and New South Wales, so we know many Australians have been itching to visit Queensland to reunite with their loved ones or do business," new VA CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, said.
New rules that require passengers arriving in Taiwan to have proof of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test taken within three days of departure came into effect today and will remain in place until February 28, 2021. There were some exemptions to the rule, such as people travelling from countries where no self-paid tests were available. A Taiwan Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) official said yesterday travellers caught with a falsified test result faced a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$150,000 (up to US$5,256), under the country's Communicable Disease Control Act.
Philippine Airlines' (PAL) flight schedule for December, published yesterday, showed it planned to operate 33 international routes in the month, up from 28 in November. Destinations starting this month include Manila to Bangkok, Brisbane, Phnom Penh and Seoul Incheon as well as Cebu to Tokyo Narita. Some services only were available in one direction due to travel restrictions.
Fly Gangwon said yesterday it planned to expand its international network in 2021 with flights to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore from its hub in coastal South Korea. The LCC intends to operate a fleet of 10 aircraft, including its three current 737-800s, and break even by 2023 with sales of one trillion won (US$904 million). The airline, led by CEO Won-seok Joo, began commercial operations in November 2019 and flies regionally to the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam and South Korea’s Jeju from its Yangyang Airport hub.
Swissport said yesterday it had been appointed the preferred ground services partner for Qantas at three Australian airports – Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney – expanding the company's work with the Australian carrier to 20 airports across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand and the U.S. "We are delighted to grow our partnership with the Qantas Group and are proud to be trusted with their ground operations at Australia’s two busiest airports and the nation’s capital," Swissport executive vice president, Glenn Rutherford, said. Qantas announced yesterday 2,000 jobs would be eliminated from its business after it decided to outsource ground handling at 10 Australian airports.
