Condor announced (22-Oct-2020) a meeting of creditors approved the company's restructuring plan, which will allow it to exit court protected restructuring at the end of Nov-2020. Condor CEO Ralf Teckentrup said the carrier will relaunch from 01-Dec-2020 as a "healthy company". The carrier's second protective shield plan was submitted to the Frankfurt am Main district court at the end of Aug-2020, covering measures undertaken to prepare for a future without Thomas Cook. The company has is already implemented a number of restructuring and cost-cutting measures, including a move to a new corporate headquarters and entering new collective agreements with all union, which will allow flexibility and efficiency while at the same time responsibly securing the jobs of approximately 4200 employees until at least Dec-2021. [more - original PR]
At CAPA Live on 14-Oct-2020 CAPA analysts presented an overview of the current situation and outlook for aviation in each of the major regions of the world.
Africa’s prospects were looking promising, supported by improvements in infrastructure, better air transport connectivity and easing visa regulations, but despite managing COVID-19 better than expected, the continent has reached a tipping point that could see some of the barriers raised to reduce infection spread remain in place and weaken plans to finally open up the market to its full travel potential.
The return to some form of normal is the dream for most of the world, but in the case of Africa a return to normal could actually represent a step back. This year’s unprecedented events could now provide the ideal platform for Africa to catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to air connectivity.
The Japanese airport privatisation juggernaut rolls on, regardless of the impact of the pandemic, which in any case has not been as severe at most of its airports as it has elsewhere.
In this instance a large, multi-member consortium of Japanese companies is putting its second airport, of seven, into operation, on the northerly Hokkaido Island. On 01-Oct-2020 Hokkaido Airports Corporation (HAC) announced that it had begun full-scale private operation of Asahikawa Airport on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
It has a specific remit: namely, to boost LCC traffic and, along with it, tourism, to this comparatively remote area of Japan.
This report follows a discussion with American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, speaking at the recent CAPA Live October 2020 conference, on 14-Oct-2020.
US airlines are increasingly adopting a long term optimistic view, even as the harsh realities created by the COVID-19 pandemic force those operators to swallow a huge dose of short term realism.
In the current reality they face, airlines are celebrating small victories – what appears to be slow movement of demand trends in the right direction, and the shirking of gaping losses in revenue on a sequential basis.
And even as the general consensus is that it could take two years or more for traffic to reach pre-pandemic levels, American Airlines is bullish that it and its competitors have built up ample liquidity to survive the crisis – as long as demand steadily continues to rise.
CAPA has launched a series of online events highlighting the people and issues confronting the airline and travel industries. Held monthly, the CAPA Live series includes interviews with major players, as well as analysis from experts within the CAPA and Aviation Week Group.
The analysis below, presented at the Oct-2020 event, examines the Southeast Asian air travel market and how it has been affected by the COVID pandemic.
An update and discussion of recent developments in the Southeast Asia market will be presented during the 11-Nov-2020 CAPA Live event.
IATA: Jordan and Israel's overflight agreement to reduce time in the air, fuel burn and emissions
IATA urges Portugal to pursue EU 261 and sustainability reforms under EU presidency
ElringKlinger announces fuel cell technology partnership with Airbus
VoltAero and Edeis announce framework to develop hybrid-electric aviation ecosytem
Stockholm Skavsta Airport announces plans for solar power plant
Airport Slots And Facilities – Implications Of Policy Choices For Airline Competitiveness
• What are the alternative ownership models to privatisation?
• What do governments need to consider when deciding whether airports should be privatised?
• What form should regulation take, in order to strike a balance between national and private interests?
• Who ‘owns” airport slots? How should slot policy be regulated and developed?
• What future is there for managing airport capacity that cannot meet demand? To prevent chaos and one that limits growth?
Upcoming Event
Virtual Event: CAPA Live November
CAPA Live will bring together a variety of industry experts to explore how aviation is looking back to the future...winners & losers of the pandemic. Speaker highlights CEOs of airasia.com, KLM, Ryanair, Avianca, Air Arabia, Virgin Atlantic & more.
Upcoming Event
Virtual Event: CAPA Live December
CAPA Live will bring together a variety of industry experts to explore the 2021 Outlook thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaker highlights include CEOs of AirAsia, Jetstar, Icelandair, airBaltic & more.
IAG stated (22-Oct-2020) its planned capacity for 4Q2020 is to be no more than 30% compared to 2019, and no longer expects to reach breakeven in terms of net cash flows from operating activities during 4Q2020. IAG stated "overall bookings have not developed as previously expected due to additional measures implemented by many European governments in response to a second wave of COVID-19 infection". [more - original PR]
VINCI Group reported (20-Oct-2020) the following financial highlights for VINCI Airports for the nine months ended Sep-2020:
- Revenue: EUR818 million, -58.4% year-on-year;
- Passengers: -67.9%;
- 3Q2020: 15 million, -79.1%. [more - original PR]
Qatar Airways announced (22-Oct-2020) the delivery of three A350-1000s. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker stated: "Due to COVID-19's impact on travel demand, we will continue to fly greener and smarter by keeping our fleet of Airbus A380 grounded, as it is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft in the current market". The carrier now operates 52 A350s. [more - original PR]
Qantas Airways chairman Richard Goyder stated (23-Oct-2020) the "Key to the recovery from this crisis" for Qantas is Australia's borders, however, "Ultimately, the pace of that recovery is uncertain". Mr Goyder said: "In the past month, we've seen some positive signs of a fresh recovery" and the "lifting of some restrictions with New Zealand is very encouraging. So, too, is the potential for travel bubbles with parts of Asia". Mr Goyder said Qantas and Jetstar are "keeping a close eye on new markets that might open up as a result of these bubbles", and "may find that Korea, Taiwan and various islands in the Pacific are top Qantas destinations while we wait for our core international markets like the US and UK to re-open". [more - original PR]
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