LATAM Group adjusts operational projection to 25% in April

LATAM estimates the passenger operation in April 2021 to reach 25% (measured in available seat kilometers – ASK) compared to the same month in 2019 and a pre-pandemic context. This operational projection is in line with the demand, which has been affected by new border closures and passenger travel restrictions due to the current impact of COVID-19 in the region.

The group plans to operate approximately 400 daily domestic and international flights this month, connecting 114 destinations in 15 countries. Meanwhile, in the Cargo Division, there are more than 1,150 cargo freighter flights scheduled.

All projections are subject to the evolution of the pandemic, as well as travel restrictions in the countries where LATAM operates.

During March 2021, passenger traffic (measured in revenue passenger-kilometers – RPK) was 22.6% in relation to the same period in 2019, based on an operation of 31.5% (measured in available seat-kilometers – ASK) compared to March 2019. As a result, the load factor decreased 23.3% percentage points to 59.5%.

With regard to the cargo operation, the load factor in March reached 67.2%, 9.1 percentage points higher than the same month of 2019.

LATAM Group Operational Estimate – April 2021 (measured in ASK):

Brazil ● 27% projected operation (versus April 2019) ○ 38% domestic and 16% international ● Total April routes: 72 domestic (equivalent to 190 daily flights) and 9 international.

Chile ● 18% projected operation (versus April 2019) ○ 50% domestic and 5% international ● Total April routes: 17 domestic (equivalent to 66 daily flights) and 11 international.

Colombia ● 64% projected operation (versus April 2019) ○ 107% domestic and 26% international ● Total April routes: 23 domestic (equivalent to 99 daily flights) and 2 international.

Ecuador ● 20% projected operation (versus April 2019) ○ 54% domestic and 11% international ● Total April routes: 6 domestic (equivalent to 14 daily flights) and 3 international.

Peru ● 31% projected operation (versus April 2019)○ 48% domestic and 25% international ● Total April routes: 18 domestic (equivalent to 67 daily flights) and 15 international.

Cargo Division ● 78% projected operation (versus April 2019) ○ 61% domestic belly y 36% international belly* ○ 128% freighter

*Belly: goods transported in the cargo hold (lower deck) of the aircraft.

Top Copyright Photo: LATAM Airlines (Chile) Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner CC-BGP (msn 38469) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 953352.

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Finnair to accept COVID-19 vaccination certificate as an alternative to negative test result or an immunity certificate when travelling to Finland

Finnair will start accepting a COVID-19 vaccination certificate from the first vaccination dose as an alternative to a negative test result or a certificate of a previous COVID-19 infection, on Finnair flights to Finland from May 11, 2021. In line with the recommendation by the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare, Finnair has since late January required that all passengers travelling to Finland – excluding transfer passengers – present either a negative test certificate or an immunity/recovery certificate as a prerequisite for boarding.

In addition, as of May 11, there is no requirement for children under the age of 16 to present a health certificate, but Finnair recommends children between 12 and 15 years of age arrive with proof of a negative test result. This is to speed up the arrival procedure at Helsinki Airport, where passengers with a negative test result are exempt from testing on arrival.

“Vaccines have proven their power in fighting the pandemic, and vaccination certificates will play a key role in the upcoming EU Digital Green Certificate to ensure the health and safety of travellers,” says Kimmo Ketola, Medical Director at Finnair. “The likelihood of a vaccinated person being infected and transmitting COVID-19 is very small.”

Finnair will accept vaccination certificates for all COVID-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization or the European Medical Agency. The vaccine needs to be administered at least 21 days before the travel date. The certificate needs to include the customer’s name, date of birth, the name of the vaccine producer, the time and place the vaccine was administered, as well as the issuer of the certificate.

As an alternative to the vaccination certificate, customers can present proof of a negative COVID-19 test result or a certificate of a previous COVID-19 infection. Travelers can find more information on the required certificates on Finnair’s Travel updates page.

Many countries have their own requirements for pre-departure testing or vaccination certificates, so travelers are advised to refer to their local authority’s website prior to departure, to ensure smooth entry.

Finnair closely follows the development of health and safety measures in travel, and regularly updates its own procedures when necessary. Finnair flights have comprehensive health and safety measures in place, including a requirement to wear a mask during the flight. Measures are also in place when boarding and disembarking the aircraft, as well as during the flight.

Top Copyright Photo: Finnair Airbus A350-941 OH-LWB (msn 019) (Oneworld) LHR (Rolf Wallner). Image: 948295.

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Hawaiian Airlines lands in the Lone Star State

Hawaiian Airlines on April 22 celebrated the inauguration of its twice-weekly nonstop service between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (above) and Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL). Hawai’i’s hometown carrier introduced its in-house music and dance group, The Hawaiian Airlines Serenaders, to the “Live Music Capital of the World” as it welcomed guests aboard its first flight to Hawai’i.

Flight HA81 departs Austin on Thursday and Sunday at 10:10 a.m. with a 1:30 p.m. scheduled arrival in Honolulu, allowing guests to check in to their accommodations and begin exploring O’ahu or connect to any of Hawaiian’s four Neighbor Island destinations. The flight from Honolulu to Austin, HA82, departs on Wednesday and Saturday at 10 a.m. and arrives at 10:10 p.m.

Hawaiian will increase AUS-HNL service to three weekly flights from May 28 through Aug. 13 to meet summer travel demand.

In recognition of the inaugural service coinciding with Earth Day, Hawaiian encouraged guests heading to Hawai’i to travel pono – responsibly – by gifting them a reusable utensil kit, part of the airline’s new eco-minded collection of products that that launched this week.

Above Copyright Photo: Fernandez Imaging.

Top Copyright Photo: Fernandez Imaging.

Aero K launches operations in South Korea

Aero K (formerly KAIR Airlines) (Cheongju, South Korea) launched low fare operations on April 14, 2021 from Cheongju to Jeju Island.

The new airline acquired its AOC on December 28, 2020.

The airline is using a single Airbus A320 (HL8384) with a second (HL8385) and third (HL8386) due soon.

In 2016 INTRO Aviation invested in the set-up of this new and first real low cost carrier in South Korea. The airline will serve routes between South Korea and China, Taiwan and Japan with a fleet of Airbus A320s.

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Upstart Cally Air takes delivery of an ex-airBaltic Boeing 737-300

Cally Air is a new airline based in Nigeria. It is based at Margaret Ekpo International Airport in the Cross River State capital of Calabar. The new airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737-300 (737-31S, 5N-BYR, msn 29266) on April 6, 2021. The airframe is leased from Magnetic Leasing. A second Boeing 737-300 (5N-BYQ, msn 30334) will follow.

Photo: Cally Air/Cross River Watch.

According to crossriverwatch.com The company is a joint venture of the Cross River State Government and DANA Group.

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Israir to stop flying during the Sabbath

Israir Airlines has announced it will no longer operate flights (both to Eilat and to overseas destinations) during the Sabbath (Friday evening to Saturday evening).

Top Copyright Photo: Israir Airlines Airbus A320-232 4X-ABG (msn 4413) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 923820.

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Air Canada to extend its sun destinations ban until the end of May

Air Canada has extended the ban on sun destination passenger flights to the Caribbean and Mexico from April 30 to May 31 due to COVID-19.

The carrier is operating some critical cargo-only flights to the region.

This announcement follows WestJet which is suspending similar flights until June 4.

Top Copyright Photo: Air Canada Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 C-FSNQ (msn 61222) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 953407.

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Etihad Airways to early retire its Boeing 777-300ER fleet

Etihad Airways will retire its Boeing 777-300ERs after this year according to its CEO and Reuters.

Etihad wants to become profitable in 2023 and will shrink its operations to become profitable.

At least half of the 24 777-300ERs are already parked and some are operating as freighters.

Top Copyright Photo: Etihad Airways Boeing 777-3FX ER A6-ETE (msn 34601) DUB (Greenwing). Image: 932226.

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Ethiopian launches high-end COVID-19 testing lab at its hub

Ethiopian Airlines Group, Africa’s leading Airline, is pleased to announce that it has joined hands with BGI Health Ethiopia, a subsidiary of China’s biotech giant, the BGI Genomics Co., Ltd, to launch high-end COVID-19 testing laboratory at its main hub and the continent’s busiest airport, Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. The testing center is opened to revitalize the passengers’ business by creating seamless travel experience that includes COVID-19 testing to passengers that are departing or transiting via Addis Ababa.

The state-of-the-art COVID-19 testing lab is equipped with cutting-edge technologies to provide quick and accurate testing for passengers. Currently, the lab has a capacity to carry out 1,000 COVID-19 tests a day with a potential to grow further after expansion. Regular test results can be obtained within three hours, leading to a convenient travel arrangement by reducing waiting time for testing and result collection.

Further to significantly reducing the time and energy spent for testing, the launch of the testing center at the airport will elevate Ethiopian customer service and consolidate the airlines’ safety measures at the airport and onboard. Timeliness of COVID 19 test results has been an issue of concern for passengers who wish to transit or extend their stay in Ethiopia and the provision of testing at the airport simplifies customers journey with Ethiopian. The laboratory -performs RT-PCR and IgM antibody tests for COVID-19 to departing, arriving and transit passengers with high level of efficiency in delivering the results. As a result, Ethiopian hopes to see a revival of passenger traffic following the move.

Top Copyright Photo: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner ET-AYC (msn 65091) PAE (Nick Dean). Image: 949882.

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KLM introduces Wi-Fi on European flights

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has begun installing Wi-Fi technology on a number of aircraft of its Boeing 737 fleet. Starting today, passengers can get acquainted with using the Internet on KLM flights within Europe. The first Boeing 737-800 is now equipped to offer this service.

To achieve this, KLM has partnered with the communications company Viasat, which will supply and maintain the necessary technology. Viasat’s Wi-Fi equipment will be installed on a total of eighteen Boeing 737-800s. The schedule calls for this installation to be completed by the end of this year.

“KLM continues to invest in the on-board product, so that we can continue to meet our customers’ expectations and emerge from this crisis stronger than ever. On-board Wi-Fi is an important service that customers want to enjoy for the entire duration of their journey. KLM’s internet service is already being used extensively on our intercontinental flights. Through this partnership with Viasat, we are ensuring that our customers can be online on European flights as well.”

Boet Kreiken, EVP Customer Experience

Free messaging

Internet connections are made possible by connecting passenger devices directly to Viasat’s European satellite. During the flight, KLM offers a choice of three internet packages: Messaging, Surf and Stream.

Messaging allows passengers to send and receive messages via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, etc., free of charge. Those who want to use more data can pay a fee and select either Surf or Stream. Customers can choose the package that best suits their needs. Those who want to watch movies should choose Stream, while Surf offers enough data for those who just want to shop online or read news articles.

Passengers can purchase the Internet packages via the KLM Portal during their flight.

KLM Portal: greater flexibility and control over the journey

The KLM Portal provides access not only to the Internet, but also to upgrades for connecting and return flights; service in the event of delays and cancellations; and services offered by our travel partners, such as booking excursions. This offers the customer greater flexibility and control over their journey.

A passenger at risk of missing their connection due to a delay, for example, can rebook their next flight to one with a later departure time via the KLM Portal. And an Economy Class passenger who wants to fly Economy Comfort on the return trip can arrange this for themselves in the Portal on the way to their destination (if availability permits).

After connecting to the Wi-Fi network on board, a passenger will not only be able to access all functionalities of the KLM Portal, but will be able to use the KLM app and KLM.com at no charge as well. The Portal is the same on every aircraft, meaning customers will have a consistent user experience no matter where they are.

All intercontinental aircraft in 2022

KLM already offers Wi-Fi on board the Boeing 787 and Airbus A330 fleets and is currently installing it on the Boeing 777 aircraft. As it stands now, 81 per cent of the intercontinental fleet is equipped with an Internet connection. Passengers are expected to have Internet access on board all intercontinental aircraft by the first quarter of 2022.

Top Copyright Photo: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 737-8K2 WL PH-BGA (msn 37593) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 941678.

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