The Singapore and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) governments said yesterday the proposed air travel bubble (ATB) between the two cities would be postponed for a second time because of the severity of the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong.Read More » Local cases of unknown sources were "increasing rapidly" in the HKSAR, the governments said, a situation that had forced the postponement of the ATB. "The exact start date of the ATB arrangement will be reviewed in late December," the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) said in a statement on its website affected passengers could rebook their flights or request a full refund with all fees waived. Cathay Pacific also was offering free rebooking and refunds.
In its traffic report for October, published today, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said the region's carriers flew 1.54 million passengers in the month, 95.1% down from 31.22 million a year ago. Despite the massive year-on-year decline, the figure was a 41% improvement from 1.09 million air travellers transported in September. October’s passenger load factor was 30% compared with 79.6% in the same month in 2019 and 31.7% in September, the AAPA said. The airline lobby association said the figures were drawn from 40 airlines based in the region.
AAPA director general, Subhas Menon, said extended border restrictions were behind the "precipitous" year-on-year decline. If not arrested, it would put airlines at risk of collapse, he said. "While continued government financial support lent critical lifelines to some airlines, a number of carriers are being restructured and others may not survive this protracted crisis,” Menon said.
Japanese carriers All Nippon Airways' regional affiliate, ANA Wings, Fuji Dream Airlines, IBEX Airlines and Japan Airlines' J-Air have formed a regional aviation council. The four airlines said in a joint statement an aim of the council was to support the revitalisation of Japan by promoting exchanges between regions. The council has written to the national government seeking tax reductions and exemptions, such as the lowering of aircraft fuel taxes. Membership of the council will be expanded from the founding airlines to airport operators and public organisations.
Australian airline group, Regional Express (Rex), said today it would operate nine return flights between Melbourne and Sydney, the second busiest city pair in the world pre-COVID-19, when it commenced jet operations with three 737-800s on March 1, 2021. Another two 737-800s, configured with eight business, 30 extra legroom economy and 138 economy seats, are planned to join the fleet by Easter, when Rex intends to commence nonstop flights to Brisbane from Melbourne and/or Sydney. "We will be offering premium full-service with our trademark country hospitality, but at fares pegged at the budget carrier level," Rex deputy chairman, John Sharp, said. Fares will include checked baggage and complimentary food.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) handled 212,000 passengers in October, down 95.8% from 5.07 million in the same month in 2019, Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd's (MAHB) monthly traffic report, published yesterday, showed. There were 87,000 international passengers in the month, a decline of 97.6% from a year earlier. Domestic passengers fell 91.1%, to 125,000. MAHB said KLIA has 35 airlines flying to 31 destinations in 23 countries. "Malaysia’s traffic performance in October was largely affected by the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, which resulted in the re-imposition of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) to control the contagion," MAHB said.
