Orient Aviation Daily Digest February 26, 2021
A look at the week
By Jordan Chong
Interim results from Air New Zealand (Air NZ) and Qantas Group, published yesterday, highlighted the difficulties faced by airlines from international border closures.
They also emphasised the full recovery from the pandemic for the region’s airlines hinged on the global COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
Qantas Group said its international network was operating at 8% of pre-COVID-19 levels, which included limited trans-Tasman flying and repatriation flights flown on behalf of the Australian government.
The airline company said this was unlikely to materially increase between now and the end of its 2020-2021 financial year, to June 30. It has delayed the resumption of broad international flying to at least October. Previously, it had an ambitious plan to resume international routes from July even though the Australian government's travel restrictions were unlikely to be lifted by then. Read More »
News
Australia clears MAX to return to flying
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said today it had cleared the 737 MAX to resume flying. Read More »
News
Japan Airlines reduces annual new trainee hires by 90%
Japan Airlines (JAL) said yesterday it would cut the hiring of new graduates in its fiscal 2022 financial year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Read More »
News
Japan’s Starflyer stumbles from COVID-19 impact
The monthly traffic report of LCC Starflyer showed the Japanese carrier flew 29,881 passengers on its domestic network in January, down 77.5% from 132,919 in the same month 12 months earlier. Read More »
News
LCC t’way reports second annual loss
South Korea’s t’way yesterday reported a net loss of 137.9 billion won (US$123 million) for calendar 2020, after recording a 43.2 billion won loss in the previous year. Read More »
News
South Korea orders emergency inspections of P&W4000s on 777s flown by three local airlines
South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has issued an emergency inspection order for operators of the 777 equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 series engines. Read More »
News
Taiwan announces relaxed travel restrictions from March 1
Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said this week it would relax a number of travel restrictions from Monday, March 1. Read More »
News
Safran Group forecasts delivery of 800 CFM LEAP engines in 2021
Aviation, defence and space company, Safran Group, said overnight the recent slowing of the air traffic recovery in several regions of the world had generated uncertainty, "notably with a risk of delayed recovery of the civil aviation aftermarket" as it reported net profit declined 68.3%, to 844 million euros (US$1.02 billion), in calendar 2020, from 2.67 billion euros in the prior corresponding year. Read More »
