A trusted source of Asia-Pacific commercial aviation news and analysis


NOVEMBER 2020

Week 47

Orient Aviation Daily Digest November 20, 2020

A look at the week

By Jordan Chong

There was good news for 737 MAX operators this week when the U. S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared the aircraft to return to service.

The 737 MAX has been grounded for 20 months while the FAA evaluated Boeing's changes to anti-stall software and pilot training programs in response to two fatal accidents.

The FAA's announcement paves the way for regulators from other countries to follow suit and lift the flying ban of the type.

In the past, they would have taken the FAA's lead and given the aircraft the green light to fly again.

However, a number of regulators said this week, after the FAA announcement, they would conduct their own evaluations before they made their decisions to return the 737 MAX to active service. Read More »

 

Daily Digest

Orient Aviation Daily Digest: Shanghai leapfrogs London to become the most connected city in the world

November 26, 2020

  • Shanghai has leapfrogged London to become the most connected city in the world. Read More »

 

Daily Digest

Orient Aviation Daily Digest: Thai Airways International to present rescue package to creditors in January

November 25, 2020

  • Thai Airways International (THAI) said in a regulatory filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand it expected to submit its business rehabilitation plan to creditors in January. Read More »

 

Daily Digest

Orient Aviation Daily Digest: Willie Walsh named as next International Air Transport Association director general and CEO

November 24, 2020

  • The International Air Transport Association (IATA) overnight named Willie Walsh as its next director general and CEO. Read More »

 

Daily Digest

Orient Aviation Daily Digest: Asia’s first air travel bubble suffers setback as COVID-19 spikes in Hong Kong

November 23, 2020

  • On Saturday, the governments of Singapore and Hong Kong postponed the proposed air travel bubble (ATB) between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Singapore after a sudden jump in coronavirus cases in Hong Kong. Read More »

 

News

Korean Air boss has “no plans to restructure” Asiana Airlines after buyout completed

Korean Air (KAL) chairman, Walter Cho, told reporters this week the proposed acquisition of local rival, Asiana Airlines, could be completed without job losses or other restructuring. Read More »


 

News

Lion Air and Mainland carriers among beneficiaries of 737 MAX return to flying; regulators respond cautiously to FAA directive

Regulators around the world have responded with caution to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) order this week that cleared the 737 MAX to fly. Read More »


 

News

AirAsia X granted extension for proposed debt restructuring

AirAsia X (AAX) said today it had been granted two more months to work on a proposed debt restructuring and share consolidation. Read More »


 

News

Aviation lobby group says region’s governments “too conservative” in re-opening borders

"The motto of American Express is 'don't leave home without it', but at the moment in the Asia-Pacific the motto is 'don't leave home altogether'," the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director general, Subhas Menon, told reporters in a conference call this week. Read More »


 

News

Singapore Airlines Group recalibrates route networks of its carriers

Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced this week it would shift a number of routes between its LCC and its full-service carriers following a network review. Read More »


 

Short Takes

ST Engineering this week announced a new organisational structure that will split the business in two – a commercial unit focused on commercial aerospace, urban solutions and sitcom and a defence and public security unit covering digital systems and cyber, land systems, marine and defence aerospace. Read More »