After April Passenger Demand Trough, First Signals of Uptick
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that demand for air services is beginning to recover after hitting bottom in April. Passenger demand in April (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs), plunged 94.3% compared to April 2019, as the COVID-19-related travel restrictions virtually shut down domestic and international air travel. This is a rate […]
American Airlines ends Oakland service
Dallas/Fort Worth-based American Airlines will operate its final service from Oakland International (OAK) on June 3 after opting to cut the airport from its network. The last flight, AA2964 to Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), will depart OAK at 12.41 p.m. local time. It will be operated by SkyWest Airlines as American Eagle on board CRJ700 […]
Urgent Implementation of ICAO COVID-19 Guidelines Needed
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments to quickly implement the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO’s) global guidelines for restoring air connectivity. Today, the ICAO Council approved Takeoff: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis (Takeoff). This is an authoritative and comprehensive framework of risk-based temporary measures for air transport operations […]
Air Cargo Capacity Crunch: Demand Plummets but Capacity Disappears Even Faster
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets in April showing that demand dropped 27.7% compared to the same period in 2019 – the sharpest fall ever recorded. Still, there was insufficient capacity to meet demand as a result of the loss of belly cargo operations on passenger aircraft. Global […]
Joint industry position on the restart of aviation in Latin America and the Caribbean
Over the past weeks, Airports Council International (ACI-LAC) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have come together to secure alignment between airlines and airports, with the aim of jointly engaging and supporting institutional stakeholders in the challenging endeavor of restarting the aviation industry. The proposed layered approach of measures across the entire passenger journey […]
JetBlue CEO Discusses COVID-19’s Impact on Airlines
Airlines are starting to see a slight rise in bookings, but air travel remains down about 90%, prompting speculation about which carriers might go under. JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes admits he doesn’t know how quickly air travel will recover from the coronavirus outbreak, and no matter what, his will be a smaller airline. Hayes, […]
Lufthansa Group significantly extends June timetable
The airlines in the Lufthansa Group are significantly expanding their services in the second half of June compared with the previous weeks. As in the first half of June, the focus will be on summer tourist destinations. The aim is to make as many destinations as possible accessible for holidaymakers and business travelers and thus […]
Parker Says U.S. Carriers Will Survive Without Bankruptcies
American Airlines will not need bankruptcy protection to get through the current downturn, and the rest of the large U.S. carriers are in similar shape, American CEO Doug Parker said. “I don’t think people should view bankruptcy as a financial tool. I think it’s failure [and] we’re not going to do that,” Parker said during […]
Air Canada unveils revised summer schedule
Air Canada will offer customers a choice of nearly 100 destinations around the world with an abridged schedule this summer. To ensure customers can book with confidence, the airline has implemented the Air Canada CleanCare+ biosecurity program. The carrier is also introducing new cancellation options to give customers greater flexibility and choice should their travel plans […]
Airline Debt to Balloon by 28% Heavy New Debt Levels Will Weigh Down Airline Recovery
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released analysis showing that the airline industry’s global debt could rise to $550 billion by year-end. That’s a $120 billion increase over debt levels at the start of 2020. $67 billion of the new debt is composed of government loans ($50 billion), deferred taxes ($5 billion) and loan guarantees […]
