American Airlines adds Costa Rica to preflight Covid-19 testing program

American Airlines made this announcement:

Earlier this week American announced its preflight coronavirus (COVID-19) testing program for customers traveling to international destinations and Hawaii. The initial launch, scheduled for Oct. 15 for passengers traveling from the airline’s hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Hawaii, will now also include passengers traveling to Costa Rica.

In the coming weeks, the airline plans to launch a testing program at its Miami International Airport (MIA) hub for passengers traveling to Jamaica, the Bahamas and Costa Rica. American is also working with CARICOM, an integrated grouping of 20 Caribbean countries, to expand the program to additional markets in the region.

Preflight testing for travel to Costa Rica

Starting Oct. 15, customers traveling from DFW to Costa Rica will have access to the airline’s preflight COVID-19 testing program, in partnership with LetsGetChecked, CareNow and DFW Airport. Customers will be responsible for testing costs.

American will offer three options for preflight testing to customers with flights from DFW to Costa Rica:

At-home test from LetsGetChecked, observed by a medical professional via virtual visit, with results expected in 48 hours on average.
In-person testing at a CareNow urgent care location.
Onsite rapid testing, administered by CareNow, at DFW.

Customers traveling from MIA to Costa Rica will initially have one option for preflight testing, with more options becoming available after the program launches at the hub.

At-home test from LetsGetChecked, observed by a medical professional via virtual visit, with results expected in 48 hours on average.

Testing must be completed within 72 hours of the final leg of departure. Tourists and Costa Rican residents who test negative will be exempt from the country’s 14-day quarantine. Negative test results must be uploaded to the country’s Health Pass.

“We applaud American’s efforts to develop a COVID-19 testing program for international travel and we are proud to partner with the airline to include Costa Rica in their initial launch,” said Gustavo Segura Sancho, Costa Rica’s Minister of Tourism. “Initiatives like these are crucial for the recovery of tourism in Costa Rica, an important economic engine for our country, while ensuring passenger health and safety.”

American resumed its operation in Costa Rica in Sept. with service from its DFW and MIA hubs to San Jose (SJO). On Oct. 7, American will resume service to Liberia (LIR) from DFW and MIA, operating a total of 19 weekly flights to the country.

American’s Clean Commitment
American’s preflight testing program will serve as a key element of the airline’s Clean Commitment, a multifaceted approach to giving customers peace of mind when they travel. American has also launched a travel tool, powered by Sherpa, to make travel planning easier for customers who are eager to reconnect with the people and places that matter most.

About LetsGetChecked
LetsGetChecked is a direct-to-consumer at-home health testing and insights company. Offering an end-to-end model, LetsGetChecked’s Sure-track Test offers consumers an FDA EUA-authorized Coronavirus at-home testing solution. The at-home Coronavirus (COVID-19) test incorporates a nasal swab and PCR lab analysis, offering convenient and secure results on average 48 hours upon receipt in the lab.

About CareNow®
Since 1993, CareNow has been committed to providing high-quality family care, urgent care and occupational medicine services in the North Texas area. Open seven days a week and weeknights until 9 p.m., CareNow has over 40 North Texas locations providing convenient, quality and cost-effective urgent care and is accredited by AAAHC and UCA. CareNow is affiliated with Medical City Healthcare. Medical City Healthcare has 46 urgent care centers in North Texas: CareNow (42) and Medical City Children’s Urgent Care (4).

United Airlines plans to increase service on more than 40 Caribbean and Mexican Beach routes in November

United Airlines today announced it plans to resume service on nearly 30 international routes in November, including flights to cities in Asia, Europe, and South America. Additionally, the airline continues to strategically rebuild its domestic and international network by offering customers service to popular leisure destinations in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Central America and Mexico. Even with these additions, United’s November schedule is still less than half of what it was this time last year. The airline plans to fly 44% of its schedule in November compared to 2019, and a 4-point increase compared to October 2020.

“For the month of November, we have adjusted our capacity to add flying for leisure travel to warm weather and beach destinations in Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean, along with ‘visiting friends and relatives’ travel across the globe,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of International Network and Alliances. “We’re also pleased to announce that beginning this weekend, customers can purchase tickets for United’s new nonstop flights between Chicago and New Delhi, New York/Newark and Johannesburg, and between San Francisco and Bangalore.”

U.S. Domestic

Domestically, United intends to fly 49% of its schedule compared to November 2019. Beginning this November, United plans to offer up to 16 daily, nonstop flights connecting customers in Boston, Cleveland and New York/LaGuardia to popular Florida destinations including Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa. In addition to United’s new flights to Florida, the airline plans to add up to 14 daily flights on 12 routes to Boise, Idaho; Palm Springs, California; and Bend, Oregon.

Starting new service between Washington Dulles and Key West, Florida
Resuming service between San Francisco and Tampa, Florida
Resuming service between Denver and Miami
Increasing service between Los Angeles and Maui to daily

International

Internationally, United intends to fly 38% of its schedule compared to November 2019, which is a 6-point increase compared to October 2020. The airline intends to resume 29 international routes to cities in Asia, Europe and Latin America, including:

Atlantic

Resuming service between Denver and Frankfurt, three times weekly
Increasing service between Houston and Frankfurt to five times weekly

In September, United announced plans to expand its global route network with new, nonstop service between New York/Newark and Johannesburg, South Africa; between San Francisco and Bangalore, India; and between Chicago and New Delhi, India.

Beginning Saturday, October 3, tickets for the following new, nonstop flights will be available for purchase on united.com.*

From	To	Depart	Arrive	Start Date
Chicago	New Delhi	6:25 p.m.	8:10 p.m. ⁺¹	Dec.10, 2020
New Delhi	Chicago	1:55 a.m.	6:15 a.m.	Dec.12, 2020

San Francisco	Bangalore	6:55 p.m.	12:50 a.m. ⁺²	May 6, 2021
Bangalore	San Francisco	3:55 a.m.	8:30 a.m.	May 8, 2021

New York/Newark	Johannesburg	8:45 p.m.	5:45 p.m. ⁺¹	March 27, 2021
Johannesburg	New York/Newark	8:00 p.m.	5:45 a.m. ⁺¹	March 28, 2021

*Subject to government approval, schedule subject to change

Pacific

Across the Pacific, United is converting its current cargo-only flights with nonstop passenger service to Taipei, Taiwan and Seoul, South Korea.

Resuming nonstop service three times weekly between San Francisco and Taipei.
Increasing service between San Francisco and Seoul to five times weekly.

Latin America/Caribbean

Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, United is adding 26 new routes for November, including:

Restarting service between Houston and Santiago, Chile, three times weekly.
Restarting service between Houston and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, three times weekly.
Resuming service to seven Caribbean and Central American destinations, including Antigua, Curacao, Grand Cayman, Managua, Nassau, St. Lucia and Roatan.
Expanding service on over 20 routes to popular beach destinations throughout Mexico, including new sew service to Acapulco and Zihuatanejo and expanded service to Cancun, Cozumel, Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta.

Since the start of the pandemic, United has been a leader in enacting new policies and innovations designed to keep employees and passengers safer when traveling. It was the first U.S. airline to mandate masks for flight attendants, quickly following with customers and employees. United was also among the first U.S. carriers to announce it will not permit customers who refuse to comply with the airline’s mandatory mask policy to fly with them while the face mask policy is in place. United was also the first U.S. airline to roll out touchless check-in for customers with bags, and the first to require passengers take an online health assessment before traveling. The airline also recently announced it plans to apply Zoono Microbe Shield, an EPA-registered antimicrobial coating that forms a long-lasting bond with surfaces and inhibits the growth of microbes, to its entire mainline and express fleet before the end of the year.

United Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

ExpressJet Airlines operates its last flight

ExpressJet Airlines operated its last revenue flight on September 30, 2020.

ExpressJet Airlines flight UA4001 from Memphis landed Wednesday, September 30 in Houston (Bush Intercontinental) around 1:30 p.m. as the last flight.

Garuda Indonesia adds a mask to its new Airbus A330-900 (PK-GHG)

Garuda Indonesia Airways has added a mask design to its new Airbus A330-900 Neo (PK-GHG). Apparently four other aircraft will receive a special mask livery.

Garuda Indonesia made this announcement on social media:

It took 60 people and 120 hours for our Neo to wear a mask! Unlike Neo, we don’t require that much effort to wear a mask!

Let’s take part in this movement by committing to wear mask everywhere we go for a healthy Indonesia.

Garuda Indonesia challenge you to use your creativity to design mask for our 4 other aircraft liveries and get a chance to win Garuda Indonesia Business Class flight ticket!
Click link in bio Official Instagram Garuda Indonesia for the competition’s t&c.

Let’s fly your design through the sky!

Qatar Airways announces winter schedule with plans to expand network to 124 destinations by the end of 2020

Qatar Airways has announced its winter schedule in line with passenger and cargo demand and the continued relaxation of entry restrictions around the world. Having become the largest international carrier during this crisis, the airline has applied its unrivalled knowledge of global passenger flows and booking trends to load a reliable winter schedule passengers can trust.

By the end of 2020, Qatar Airways’ plans to rebuild its network to 124 destinations including 21 in Africa, 10 in the Americas, 42 in Asia-Pacific, 38 in Europe and 13 in Middle East. Many cities will be served with a strong schedule with daily or more frequencies.

Qatar Airways destinations operating by end of 2020*:

Africa

Accra (ACC), Addis Ababa (ADD), Algiers (ALG), Cape Town (CPT), Casablanca (CMN), Dar Es Salaam (DAR), Djibouti (JIB), Durban (DUR), Entebbe (EBB), Johannesburg (JNB), Kigali (KGL), Kilimanjaro (JRO), Lagos (LOS), Luanda (LAD), Maputo (MPM), Mogadishu (MGQ), Nairobi (NBO), Seychelles (SEZ), Tunis (TUN), Windhoek (WDH), Zanzibar (ZNZ)

Americas

Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Montreal (YUL), New York (JFK), Philadelphia (PHL), Sao Paulo (GRU), Washington D.C. (IAD)

Asia-Pacific

Ahmedabad (AMD), Adelaide (ADL), Amritsar (ATQ), Auckland (AKL), Bali (DPS), Bangalore (BLR), Bangkok (BKK), Brisbane (BNE), Calicut (CCJ), Cebu (CEB), Chennai (MAA), Clark (CRK), Colombo (CMB), Dhaka (DAC), Guangzhou (CAN), Hanoi (HAN), Hong Kong (HKG), Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), Goa (GOI), Hyderabad (HYD), Islamabad (ISB), Jakarta (CGK), Karachi (KHI), Kathmandu (KTM), Kochi (COK), Kolkata (CCU), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Lahore (LHE), Male (MLE), Manila (MNL), Melbourne (MEL), Mumbai (BOM), Nagpur (NAG), New Delhi (DEL), Perth (PER), Peshawar (PEW), Phuket (HKT), Seoul (ICN), Singapore (SIN), Sydney (SYD), Tokyo Narita (NRT), Trivandrum (TRV)

Europe

Amsterdam (AMS), Ankara (ESB), Athens (ATH), Baku (GYD), Barcelona (BCN), Belgrade (BEG), Berlin (BER/TXL), Brussels (BRU), Bucharest (OTP), Budapest (BUD), Copenhagen (CPH), Dublin (DUB), Edinburgh (EDI), Frankfurt (FRA), Helsinki (HEL), Istanbul (IST), Istanbul Sabiha (SAW), Kiev (KBP), Larnaca (LCA), London (LHR), London (LGW), Madrid (MAD), Manchester (MAN), Milan (MXP), Moscow (DME), Munich (MUC), Oslo (OSL), Paris (CDG), Prague (PRG), Rome (FCO), Sofia (SOF), Stockholm (ARN), Tbilisi (TBS), Vienna (VIE), Warsaw (WAW), Yerevan (EVN), Zagreb (ZAG), Zurich (ZRH)

Middle East

Amman (AMM), Baghdad (BGW), Basra (BSR), Beirut (BEY), Erbil (EBL), Isfahan (IFN), Kuwait (KWI), Mashhad (MHD), Muscat (MCT), Najaf (NJF), Shiraz (SYZ), Sulaymaniyah (ISU), Tehran (IKA)

*Subject to regulatory approval

American to add two seasonal ski routes from Charlotte

American Airlines in December 2020 will add two seasonal ski routes from the Charlotte hub per Airline Route:

Bozeman, MT (daily 737-800, effective December 17, 2020)

Jackson, WY (weekly A319, effective December 19, 2020)

National Airlines Council of Canada supports call by major unions for sectoral assistance

The National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC), representing Canada’s largest carriers (Air Canada, Air Transat, Jazz Aviation LP and WestJet) welcomed today’s statement by labour leaders from Unifor, the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA), and Air Line Pilots Association Canada (ALPA Canada), calling on the federal government to move immediately to provide sectoral support to the aviation sector.

“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on our industry, our employees and the communities we serve. Tens of thousands of employees have been impacted, flight capacity in the market has been reduced by approximately 85% and billions of dollars in aircraft are parked. Countries around the world have brought forth sectoral support for their aviation sectors, precisely because of the critical role aviation must play in the economic recovery. We support today’s call by Canada’s major aviation unions, for the federal government to move forward quickly with support measures to protect Canadian jobs and investment” said Mike McNaney, President and CEO of the NACC.

Government data released this week by Statistics Canada underscores the truly unprecedented challenge facing the aviation community. Passenger numbers in Canada are down between 90% and 97% since the onset of the pandemic. To put that into perspective, during the months following September 11, 2001 and the SARS outbreak in 2003, passenger numbers dropped by a maximum of 26% and then began to slowly recover.

“The Statistics Canada analysis demonstrates that the crisis facing our sector is unprecedented, and there is no line of sight on when the industry will be allowed to move forward from Stage Zero as all the border and travel restrictions implemented in March are still in effect. This underscores the urgent need for the federal government to bring forward sectoral support, and that the certification and adoption of accurate rapid testing regimes is critical to aviation’s recovery and the tens of thousands of jobs that are dependent on travel and tourism.”

Boeing to consolidate 787 production in South Carolina in 2021

Boeing made this announcement:

As the airline industry continues to address the impact of COVID-19, The Boeing Company said today it will consolidate production of 787 jets at its facility in North Charleston, S.C., starting in mid-2021, according to the company’s best estimate. The decision comes as the company is strategically taking action to preserve liquidity and reposition certain lines of business in the current global environment to enhance efficiency and improve performance for the long-term.

While Boeing’s versatile 787 family has outperformed other widebody airplanes during the challenging market downturn, its production system has been adjusted to accommodate the current difficult market environment while positioning the 787 family to ramp up production as air travel increases.

“Our team in Puget Sound will continue to focus on efficiently building our 737, 747, 767 and 777 airplane families, and both sites will drive Boeing initiatives to further enhance safety, quality, and operational excellence.”

The company began assembling 787-8 and 787-9 airplanes at its Everett site in 2007, and brought the North Charleston facility on line as a second final assembly line in 2010. However, only the North Charleston site is set up to build the larger 787-10 model. Production of the smaller 787 models will continue in Everett until the program transitions to the previously-announced production rate of six airplanes a month in 2021.

In July, Boeing announced an in-depth study into the feasibility of producing 787s at a single location. The review examined the impacts and benefits to Boeing customers, suppliers, employees and the overall health of the production system. The 787 study is part of an enterprise review underway to reassess all aspects of Boeing’s facility footprint, organizational structure, portfolio and investment mix, and supply chain health and stability.

This analysis confirmed the feasibility and efficiency gains created by consolidation, which enables the company to accelerate improvements and target investments to better support customers.

“We recognize that production decisions can impact our teammates, industry and our community partners,” said Deal. “We extensively evaluated every aspect of the program and engaged with our stakeholders on how we can best partner moving forward. These efforts will further refine 787 production and enhance the airplane’s value proposition.”

Boeing said it is assessing potential impacts to employment in Everett and North Charleston and will communicate any changes directly to its employees.

Spark Azur plans to launch operations in February 2021

Spark Air is a new planned airline in Sri Lanka.

The new airline is planning to launch cargo operations from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport with two Airbus A330 freighters in February 2021according to Daily FT.

Image: Spark Air.

SA Express’ employees hope to rescue the airline

SA Express suspended operations on March 18, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 28, 2020, an application was submitted to the Pretoria High Court for the liquidation of the airline. The airline has been under provisional liquidation pending a potential buyer.

The court approved a provisional liquidation of the company.

The former employees now operating under the name of Fly Sax Proprietary Limited have been named as the preferred bidders for the assets of the airline as of September 29, 2020 according to The South African (see below).

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/sa-express-sax-soe-airline-liquidation-tuesday-29-september/

SA Express aircraft photo gallery: