September 17, 2020

• Japan Airlines (JAL) said yesterday demand had gradually increased on its domestic network as several prefectures had lifted restrictions on travel and COVID-19 cases across the country continued to fall. JAL is operating a reduced schedule, but would "closely monitor demand on each route and implement temporary measures, including extra flights and larger aircraft on specific routes", the airline said. The flag carrier will reduce domestic flights by 34% in October compared with pre-COVID-19 levels.
  
  The oneworld alliance member also will add a third flight each week between Tokyo Narita and Dalian in China until September 30. The third JL829/820 rotation is scheduled for Fridays, adding to existing services on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Read More »

September 16, 2020

• China Eastern Airlines (CEA) carried 8.5 million passengers on its domestic network in August, down 14.9% from 11.9 million 12 months ago. The airline's monthly traffic report, published yesterday, said domestic demand, measured by revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), was down 15.2% year-on-year in August, while capacity, or available seat kilometres (ASK), was 0.77% lower compared with a year earlier. Domestic passenger load factor was 74% this August, compared with 86.6% in the same month in 2019. Read More »

September 15, 2020

• All Nippon Airways (ANA) flew 1.11 million passengers across its domestic network in August, an 8.5% month-on-month improvement from 1.02 million in July. The Japanese carrier's monthly traffic report showed demand, or revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), was up 10.9% for the month, compared with July, and capacity, measured by available seat kilometres (ASK), rose 53% for the reported period. However, load factor dipped to 30% in August, from 41.4% in July. Read More »

September 14, 2020

• Thai Airways International (THAI) said today the country's Central Bankruptcy Court had accepted the company's rehabilitation petition. In a regulatory filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, THAI said a planning committee of six people and EY Corporate Advisory Services would prepare a business reorganisation plan and present it to the court in the fourth quarter of calendar 2020.  "Subsequently, the official receiver will call a creditors' meeting to consider the company's business reorganisation plan around early 2021 and the court will issue an order approving the plan and appoint the plan administrator within the first quarter of 2021," THAI said. Read More »

Singapore Airlines Group CEO, Goh Choon Phong, said yesterday “having let go of our valuable and dedicated people is the hardest and most agonising decision I have had to make in my 30 years at SIA”, after he had announced 4,300 jobs were to be lost across the airline group. (Message from SIA CEO) Read More »

Korean Air (KAL) has dropped three international destinations and adjusted frequencies on a number of other routes in its latest October schedule updated this week. Read More »

Airbus said this week it delivered 39 aircraft and received one new order in August.

Notable Asia-Pacific deliveries included four A320neos and one A321neo to India's IndiGo, two A320neos to Shenzhen Airlines and one A350-900 to Cathay Pacific Airways, figures from Airbus published this week showed. There were no cancellations for the month. Read More »

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said this week the global distribution of a potential vaccine for the coronavirus represented the air cargo industry's largest ever single transport challenge. Read More »

Boeing this week named Ed Dandridge as the company's new senior vice president and chief communications officer. Dandridge, who has been global chief marketing and communications officer at AIG General Insurance since April 2018, begins at Boeing on September 28. He is Boeing's sixth communications boss since 2017. Read More »

China Southern Airlines (CSA) said this week it planned to list wholly-owned subsidiary, China Southern Airlines Cargo Logistics, on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange as part of moves to "further deepen reforms, improve capital allocation and operational efficiency, and to build an internationally competitive modern logistics service provider". Read More »