by JORDAN CHONG  

December 1st 2020

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DECEMBER

News the proposed Singapore-Hong Kong air travel bubble (ATB) had been deferred for a second time highlighted the fragile nature of international air travel while the world waited for a COVID-19 vaccine. Read More »

The Singapore and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) governments said they pushed back the start of the ATB to 2021 due to the “epidemic situation’s severity in Hong Kong with the number of local cases of unknown sources increasing rapidly”.

There was also little progress in broadening the one-way travel bubble, launched in October, which allows New Zealanders to travel to Australia without having to quarantine on arrival. It is hoped, on both sides of the Tasman, it will be expanded to include Australians travelling to New Zealand. At press time, governments were saying talks on the policy were continuing.

Several airlines collapsed in 2020 due to COVID-19 and there is risk more carriers could fail if international borders remain locked up.

In addition to surviving, some carriers are taking the opportunity to innovate. All Nippon Airways plans to start a medium-haul LCC with more details of the carrier to be unveiled in 2021. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are working to complete their merger by mid-next year.

As 2020 drew to a close, attention turned to the return to service of the 737 MAX after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its grounding of the type in November.

The FAA said it had evaluated and approved Boeing’s changes to anti-stall software and pilot training programs in response to two fatal accidents. In earlier times, such a ruling from the U.S. agency would have been quickly followed by regulators in other jurisdictions.

However, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) all indicated they would be conducting their own reviews before making decisions to unground the MAX for operations.

Not surprising really, given the criticisms of the FAA and Boeing for their conduct in certifying the 737 MAX.

Boeing’s already-delayed 777-X program is expected to be in the spotlight in 2021.The program is still in flight test mode. In October, Boeing CEO, David Calhoun, said the company was working towards entry-into-service in 2022. However, the pace of regulation would be set by regulators, reflecting on the “learnings” from the 737 MAX certification process, Boeing said.

Sir Tim Clark, president of the 777X’s biggest customer, Emirates Airline, has “no idea” when the Dubai-headquartered carrier would receive the first of 115 of the aircraft type it has on order.”They were due to be delivered in June, then it was 2021, then it was 2022,” he told Bloomberg Television.