December 1st 2021

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January

As aviation closed its book on the annus horribilis that was 2020, there was hope the new year would herald an improvement in the operating conditions that had savaged the industry in the past 12 months. Read More »

There was cause for optimism, with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines gathering pace and with Singapore commencing a vaccination program for aviation workers – air crew and airport staff – at Changi Airport.

However, international traffic levels remained anaemic as countries across the Asia-Pacific maintained a cautious approach to border restrictions.

While it was a more encouraging picture in some domestic markets, all aviation industry stakeholders were still operating at below pre-pandemic levels. The best of the lot was China, where airlines flew about 17 million seats on domestic services in the last week of January, approximately 23% below the same month in 2020. At the other end of the scale was Malaysia. According to data analysis company, OAG, the carrier had 88.5% fewer domestic seats a week late in January compared with the same period in 2020.

But there was some good news during the month. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) gave its seal of approval for a return to service of a modified version of Boeing’s 737 MAX. Technical changes included a package of software upgrades, electrical wiring rework, revised maintenance checks, operations manual updates and new crew training procedures.

The EASA decision was announced two months after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) signed an order paving the way for the MAX to fly again following a 20-month review process.

Notwithstanding EASA’s green light for the type, the month highlighted the struggles elsewhere in Boeing’s commercial aircraft division, including the delayed 777X program, production issues with the 787 and the impact of the pandemic.

The aerospace giant reported a US$11.9 billion net loss for calendar 2020, a precipitous deterioration from a net loss of US$636 million a year earlier. The bulk of the annual result was booked in the final three months of 2020, when Boeing accumulated a US$8.4 billion net loss.

“The deep impact of the pandemic on commercial air travel, coupled with the 737 MAX grounding, challenged our results,” Boeing Company CEO, Dave Calhoun, said.