Allegiant to require customers to wear face masks

Allegiant Travel Company today announced that, beginning July 2, customers will be required to wear face masks during all phases of travel, including at the ticket counter, in the gate area, during boarding, on the aircraft and during the flight. This policy update builds on Allegiant’s comprehensive health and safety program by bringing an extra layer of protection to customers, crew and team members at Allegiant airports.

In early May, Allegiant became the first U.S.-based airline to provide all passengers with complimentary Health and Safety Kits, which include a face mask and cleansing wipes. The airline has strongly encouraged passengers to wear face masks, with most adopting the practice. Allegiant employees are required to wear face masks when they interact with customers.

Customers can use their own face mask or covering, or the mask provided in Allegiant’s Health and Safety Kit. Children ages 2 and under are exempt from the new policy, as are passengers with disabilities or documented medical conditions. Passengers will also be allowed to remove face coverings to briefly eat or drink. The new policy is highlighted when customers book their flights, as well as in confirmation and reminder emails ahead of their departure date. Acknowledgement of this policy will also be included in a health questionnaire required at check-in. Customers who do not comply will not be allowed to fly.

Additionally, when booking a flight, customers can request to be notified if a booked flight exceeds 65 percent capacity. If they’re not comfortable traveling at that time, they can choose from a number of options, including being rebooked on another flight.

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Bain Capital to acquire Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia has made this announcement:

Virgin Australia is today a step closer to re-launch with the announcement that Bain Capital has entered into an agreement with its Administrators to become the new owner of the airline.

The Virgin Australia Group will now work closely with Bain Capital on its vision for the business moving forward.

Virgin Australia Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Paul Scurrah, said that today was a significant step forward in securing the airline’s future.

“This is a great day for Virgin Australia and a huge milestone as we move forward with Bain Capital,” said Mr Scurrah.

“Bain Capital has spent many hours over the past weeks speaking to us and getting a deep understanding of our business and working to secure a deal with our administrators. We know they are committed to investing in the airline and we are thrilled to be working with them into the future.

“It was always the goal to bring our airline out of administration as quickly as possible in a stronger financial position and this announcement brings us a step closer to that. Bain’s investment will cement our future as a major Australian carrier, secure thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and ensure we can continue to bring competition to millions of customers for many years to come.

“We thank our customers and partners for their loyalty and support during such a challenging period. Australia needs a second airline and, with the significant backing of Bain Capital, we’ll continue to serve our customers with competitive fares and high-quality air travel into the future.

“We also thank Deloitte partners John Greig, Sal Algeri, Richard Hughes and Vaughan Strawbridge, and the teams at Morgan Stanley, Clayton Utz and Houlihan Lokey for their work getting us to this point.”

Approved for release by John Greig, Administrator, Deloitte.

Virgin Australia aircraft photo gallery:

Ravn Air Group to be liquidated

Ravn Air Group made this announcement:

Bankruptcy Court Approves a Plan of Liquidation That Enables an Auction and Sales Process:

The Honorable Brendan L. Shannon in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on June 25 approved a Plan of Liquidation that also includes a sales process for “going concern” bidders who are interested in buying the company and its three airlines during an upcoming auction that will take place following the 4th of July holiday weekend.

The auction will offer Ravn, with its secured lenders, an opportunity to sell the company and all or a substantial portion of its assets in a sale that would be approved by the Court on July 9th. Leading into today’s hearing approximately 30 bidders expressed interest in buying all or some of the Air Group’s assets. Of these, five strategic buyers submitted bids to buy the entire Air Group.

“The outcome of today’s hearing turned out as we had hoped, and we are excited that our employees, our customers, and the many communities we serve will now have a very real opportunity to see Ravn back in the skies later this summer. While this has been a very difficult process for everyone affected, we strongly believe it will be a success for our creditors and all Alaskans if our upcoming auction leads to a successful buyer who wants to preserve the vital jobs and essential air service that Ravn previously provided to over 115 different communities in our state,” said Dave Pflieger, Ravn’s President & CEO.

A specific date for the auction has not yet been set, but it will occur prior to the July 9th hearing. Should there not be a sale of the company as a “going concern,” the Chapter 11 Liquidation Plan that the Court approved today calls for Ravn’s assets to be put into a Liquidation Trust and sold by the Liquidation Trustee.

Before it filed for Chapter 11 protection on April 5, 2020, following a 90% drop in bookings and revenue due to the arrival of COVID-19 in Alaska, and a resultant state-mandated travel ban to slow the spread of the Pandemic, Ravn was Alaska’s largest and most vital regional air carrier. The company and its three separate airlines were supported by over 1,300 employees, and it carried passenger, mail, freight, and charter customers to more than 115 destinations throughout Alaska.

Headquartered in Anchorage, Ravn Air Group operated a safe and highly reliable fleet of 72 aircraft on more than 400 flights per day, annually carrying over 750,000 passengers per year, from hubs and communities including Anchorage, Fairbanks, Galena, Barrow, Nome, Kotzebue, Unalakleet, Bethel, Aniak, St. Mary’s, McGrath, Dillingham, and King Salmon. In late 2018, Ravn acquired Peninsula Airways and its five Saab 2000s as part of a sale process that ended PenAir’s two-year financial bankruptcy and added the company to the Ravn Air Group portfolio. Later, in 2019, Ravn Air Group started Essential Air Service flying to St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands with its highly reliable 29 & 37 seat DHC-8 (Dash 8) aircraft.

Ravn Air Group’s two Part 121 air carriers are FAA-approved Safety Management System (“SMS”) airlines. In addition, in May 2018 and again in April 2020, RavnAir Alaska became one of a few regional airlines in the U.S. to pass the challenging International Air Transportation Association’s (IATA) Safety and Operational Audit (IOSA), and in 2019 RavnAir Alaska became the first and only IOSA-approved Part 121 regional airline in the State of Alaska.

Emirates announces addition of seven more cities to its list of passenger destinations

Emirates will be offering scheduled flights for passengers from seven additional cities in the month of July. These include Khartoum (from July 3), Amman (from July 5), Osaka (from July 7), Tokyo Narita (from July 8), Athens (from July 15), Larnaca (from July 15) and Rome (from July 15).

This takes the total number of destinations that Emirates is offering to 48, facilitating additional travel options through a convenient connection in Dubai for customers across the world, while undertaking extensive measures to ensure the health and safety of customers and employees.

Customers from Emirates’ network will also now be able to travel to Dubai following the announcement earlier this week that the city will be open for business and leisure visitors from July 7, 2020, with new air travel protocols that facilitate travel for UAE citizens, residents and tourists while safeguarding the health and safety of visitors and communities.

Customers can book to fly between destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe or the Americas, through Dubai, as long as they meet travel and immigration entry requirements of their destination country.

Flight bookings can be made online at emirates.com or via travel agents. Customers can find more information about Emirates’ flights and current services at: www.emirates.com/wherewefly

Health and safety first: Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes to all customers. For more information on these measures and the services available on each flight, visit: www.emirates.com/yoursafety

Travel restrictions: Customers are reminded that travel restrictions remain in place, and travellers will only be accepted on flights if they comply with the eligibility and entry criteria requirements of their destination countries. Visit: www.emirates.com/wherewefly. Visitors to Dubai should hold an international health insurance policy covering illness from Covid-19 for the duration of their stay. More information on entry requirements for international visitors to Dubai can be found here.

Lufthansa Group shareholders pave the way for stabilization measures

Lufthansa Group has made this announcement:

On June 25, the shareholders of Deutsche Lufthansa AG voted in favor of accepting the capital measures and the participation of the Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) of the Federal Republic of Germany in Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The corresponding proposal received the necessary majority at today’s Extraordinary General Meeting of the company.

The package provides for stabilization measures and loans of up to 9 billion euros. The WSF will make silent capital contributions of up to 5.7 billion euros to the assets of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. It will also establish a 20 percent stake in the share capital of Deutsche Lufthansa AG by way of a capital increase. This capital increase was approved at today’s Extraordinary General Meeting. The shareholders also voted in favor of granting two conversion rights for parts of the silent capital contributions. These conversion rights are intended, on the one hand, to safeguard the Federal Government in case of a takeover of Lufthansa and, on the other hand, to secure the interest payments for the silent capital contribution. Both conversion rights can be transformed into a further five percent of the company’s share capital should these conditions be met. The package will be supplemented by a loan of up to 3 billion euros with the participation of KfW and private banks.

Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG says: “The decision of our shareholders provides Lufthansa with a perspective for a successful future. On behalf of our 138,000 employees, I would like to thank the German federal government and the governments of our other home countries for their willingness to stabilize us. We at Lufthansa are aware of our responsibility to pay back the up to 9 billion euros to the taxpayers as quickly as possible.”

As a result of the resolution of the Extraordinary General Meeting, the company’s liquidity is secured on a sustained basis. The companies of Lufthansa Group are working at full speed to get their operations up and running again. The airlines’ flight schedules will therefore be consistently expanded in the coming weeks. The flight schedule for the next few weeks will be published at the beginning of next week. The plan is to include 90 percent of all originally planned short-haul destinations and 70 percent of all long-haul destinations in the flight schedule again by September.

Around 30,000 shareholders attended the Extraordinary General Meeting. A total of 39.0 percent of the share capital was represented. Of these, 98 percent of the capital present voted to accept the company’s proposed resolution. This means that far more than the necessary two-thirds majority voted in favor of adoption.

The European Commission had already approved the stabilization package before the start of the Extraordinary General Meeting.

A decision on the approval of the stabilization measures in the other home markets of Lufthansa Group will be made in the near future.

In other news, Lufthansa and the Independent Flight Attendants’ Union (UFO) have agreed on June 24, on a package of measures amounting to more than half a billion euros to counter the economic effects of the crisis.

The package of measures includes the suspension of pay increases, a reduction in flying hours with a corresponding reduction in pay and temporary reductions in contributions to the company pension scheme.

Additionally, both parties have agreed on a package of voluntary measures and severance programs. These include unpaid leave, voluntary measures to further reduce working hours, and the subsidized, early transfer to a company pension scenario.

“This agreement is an important signal to our employees, our shareholders and today’s Extraordinary General Meeting. In this way, we want to avoid redundancies in Lufthansa cabins,” said Michael Niggemann, Executive Board Member Human Resources and Legal Affairs of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “We also see this deal as a sign of a regained and constructive social partnership with the UFO.”

Nicoley Baublies, UFO chief negotiator, sums up: “The agreement that has now been reached for Lufthansa cabin staff provides the urgently needed job security. In the current crisis, such contributions, which imply security but also cuts for every cabin employee, will hopefully lead to a clear approval of the rescue package of the German government at today’s Annual General Meeting. The coming months will be very challenging for us as social partners. With this package and the other solutions that we have found together, we are finally placing our social partnership on a new and visible foundation.”

With the crisis package that has now been agreed upon, the company will be able to avoid layoffs for the 22,000 cabin staff of Deutsche Lufthansa AG during the crisis. The agreements reached still require the approval of the UFO members.

KLM secures financing of EUR 3.4 billion to weather the COVID-19 crisis

KLM has announced that it has secured financing for a total amount of EUR 3.4 billion.

COVID-19 has caused aviation to virtually come to a standstill worldwide in recent months. The pandemic has an unprecedented impact on KLM Group’s activities. In order to cope with this difficult period and to secure the future of the company, KLM has already taken a large number of measures to maintain liquidity shortly after the outbreak. Nevertheless, KLM needs additional financing in the coming period. This has been the subject of intensive discussions with the Dutch state and banks in recent months.

“Due to COVID-19 KLM is currently in an unprecedented crisis. The financing package is necessary to secure the long and difficult road of recovery in the coming period. This is a very important step and I express my gratitude on behalf of all KLM colleagues to the Dutch state and the banks for their confidence in our organisation and our future. With the financing package, KLM can continue to fulfil its important social role in economic recovery and sustainability. In the coming period, we will be working on the restoration of the route network and, on the other hand, on the development of the restructuring plan and the far-reaching conditions that have been imposed on the package.”

KLM CEO Pieter Elbers

The financing ensures that KLM can continue its activities and that the company’s position is strengthened towards the future. The conditions imposed by the Dutch State on the financing package relate to the entire KLM Group and include terms of employment of all KLM Group employees, the variable remuneration of management and top management, restructuring, dividend, governance, network quality, sustainability and liveability.

After careful discussions with both the Dutch state and banks, KLM has agreed on the structure of a financing package to ensure liquidity. The financing package and the conditions under which this package is provided by the Dutch state are subject to parliamentary approval in the Netherlands. The financing package should also be approved by the European Commission under the Temporary Framework for State aid measures introduced in the context of COVID-19.

Once this approval has been obtained, KLM will consult with trade unions to work out and detail together the conditions that the government imposes on the employment conditions of KLM employees.

The financing package consists of:

A 90% State guaranteed revolving credit facility of EUR 2.4 billion with a maturity of 5 years. The facility is granted by 11 banks, of which three Dutch banks and eight foreign banks.

A direct State loan of EUR 1 billion with a maturity of 5.5 years. The loan, provided by the Dutch State, will be subordinated to the revolving credit facility.

Following the completion of the parliamentary process, the first EUR 665 million drawing under the new revolving credit facility will be used to repay and terminate the existing revolving credit facility drawn on 19 March 2020. At that time, KLM will also withdraw a pro rata amount (EUR 277 million) from the direct State loan. Follow-up withdrawals under both the revolving credit facility and the direct State loan are only possible if certain conditions imposed by the State are met.

KLM will therefore draw up a restructuring plan that meets these conditions and determines the path for post-COVID-19 recovery. The plan also aims to review KLM’s current activities and adapt KLM to the changed economic reality.

Further information on the financing package

Revolving credit facility

A revolving credit facility of EUR 2.4 billion, granted by 11 banks, of which three Dutch banks and eight international banks.
The main features include:
- 90% guarantee granted by the Dutch state
- Maturity of 5 years
- Coupon at an annual rate equal to EURIBOR (floored at zero) plus a margin of 1.35%
- A cost of guarantee granted by the Dutch state equal to 0.50% in year 1, 1.00% in year 2 and 3, and 2.00% after year 3

Direct state loan

A direct term loan of EUR 1.0 billion, granted by the Dutch state to KLM.
The main features include:
- Maturity of 5.5 years
- Coupon payable annually at a rate equal to EURIBOR 12 months (floored at zero) plus a margin of 6.25% for year 1, 6.75% for year 2 and 3, and 7.75% for year 4 and 5
- Subordination to the new revolving credit facility

The revolving credit facility and the direct loan will be drawn on a pro rata basis. KLM’s first drawing under the new revolving credit facility will be used to repay and terminate the existing revolving credit facility drawn on 19 March 2020 for an amount of 665 million euros. At that time, KLM will also withdraw a pro rata amount from the direct State loan. Follow-up withdrawals under both the revolving credit facility and the direct State loan are only possible if certain conditions imposed by the State are met.

The syndicated revolving credit facility was coordinated by the three Dutch banks: ABN, ING and Rabobank. KLM received financial advice from Rabobank and legal advice from Allen & Overy LLP.

KLM aircraft photo gallery:

Air Canada shows off its first refurbished Airbus A330 cabin

Air Canada made this announcement on social media:

We’re celebrating new firsts! Like AC311 from Montreal to Vancouver, the first flight operated with our newly retrofitted Airbus A330 now featuring our newly reconfigured cabin design.

ONE Airlines ceases operations

ONE Airlines of Chile announced on June 24 2020 that it had ceased operations.

Through a letter to its workers, the owner of ONE (Over Night Express), Claudio Fischer, informed the workers of the decision to close the airline.

The reason given was the difficult financial situation caused by the current pandemic (COVID-19). Fischer also blamed the competition from SKY, JetSMART and LATAM Airlines who are offering charters at prices that ONE cannot compete, and also the lack of financial support from the Chilean government, making ONE’s operation non-viable during the present time and near future. The company has not been flying since April this year.

ONE Airlines mainly operated on the behalf of mining interests in northern Chile for seven years, initially with a couple of Boeing 737-400s leased from Xtra Airways.

Above Copyright Photo: Alvaro Romero. Boeing 737-36N CC-AIT (msn 28554) at Santiago.

The company later added the pictured Boeing 737-300 CC-AIT in December 2013 and 737-300 CC-DAN during 2019.

The Puerto Montt based airline Aerocord (also owned by Fischer) is continuing its operations.

Alvaro Romero reporting from Chile.

El Al extends grounding until July 31

El Al Israel Airlines has made this announcement:

Following a further assessment, El Al has decided to extend the suspension of its flights until July 31, 2020 (Sun d’Or flights are also suspended until July 31, 2020).

The Company will continue to operate cargo flights to/from Israel and passenger flights as required.

HiSky Moldova leases an Airbus A319 from ALC

Air Lease Corporation (ALC) Has announced a long-term lease placement for one used Airbus A319-131 aircraft with HiSky Moldova. Scheduled to deliver this September, this aircraft will be the second aircraft in the fleet of the Moldovan startup airline.