Norwegian to restart short haul flights from the UK and serve a wider European network from July

Norwegian Air Shuttle has made this announcement:

Norwegian is pleased to announce that in line with other European carriers and as a result of increased customer demand the airline will begin to operate flights between London Gatwick to Oslo, London Gatwick to Copenhagen, Edinburgh to Oslo and Edinburgh to Copenhagen from July 1. 2020.

London to Oslo will be operated seven times a week, London to Copenhagen six times a week, Edinburgh to Oslo and Copenhagen twice a week respectively.

Since April Norwegian has only operated eight aircraft on domestic routes in Norway. Now another 12 aircraft will re-join the fleet and be put into operation across Scandinavia to serve our popular core destinations.

From July Norwegian will operate 76 routes across Europe from the airline’s Scandinavian hubs compared to the 13 domestic Norway only flights served today. Other destinations include Spain, Greece and key European cities.

Further destinations and frequency increases will be announced in due course subject to passenger demand and government travel restrictions.

Ryanair announces new Stuttgart and Dusseldorf flights from July 1

Ryanair has announced 26 routes from Dusseldorf and Stuttgart starting on July 1, 2020.

– Sunshine holidays including Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro & Spain

– City breaks including Barcelona, Bologna, Copenhagen & Naples

– Business routes including Dublin, Milan & London

Speaking today, Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said:

“Ryanair is delighted to offer its low, low fares from Dusseldorf and Stuttgart on 26 routes, including brand new routes from Dusseldorf to Barcelona, Dublin and London and from Stuttgart to Barcelona. Ryanair will be pleased to accommodate all Lauda passengers who have booked on these routes which will be operated on wet lease basis by Lauda A320 aircraft until the end of the summer.”

Note: Lauda, a Ryanair Group airline, will no longer offer scheduled services in its own name from Stuttgart and Dusseldorf.

In other news, Ryanair has also announced it will restore over 20 routes to/from Romania commencing on July 1, 2020, as part of Ryanair’s summer 2020 schedule.

Finally, Ryanair has also announced it will restore almost 200 routes to/from Poland commencing on July 1, 2020.

Air Malta to operate to 22 destinations this summer

Air Malta has made this announcement:

Air Malta is slowly restoring its network and will operate to/from 22 destinations for Summer 2020

Madrid added as a new destination
12 new destinations for sale
After the closure for over three months of Malta’s International Airport for commercial operations, Air Malta will commence its summer its schedule on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, connecting Malta to 22 destinations within Europe.

Air Malta flights to Rome, Lyon and Marseille will now join the previously announced flights to Catania, Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Vienna, Zurich, Geneva, and Prague commencing on July 1, 2020.

As from July 15, 2020, the Maltese Airline will also start operations to Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, London Heathrow, Lisbon, Madrid, Palermo, Paris Charles De Gaulle and Orly.

August will also see Air Malta restarting flights to/from Manchester.

A ’new’ city destination on the list is Madrid. After a break of over 10 year of not operating to the Spanish capital, Madrid, Air Malta will restart scheduled services to the city on Saturday, July 18, 2020. The announced operations to Luxembourg will now be transferred to Brussels except for the planned flights to Luxembourg on July 4th and July 11 which will be operated as scheduled.

Air France to serve close to 150 destinations this summer (80% of normal)

Air France has made this announcement:

As air traffic picks up, Air France is gradually reinforcing its flight schedule for summer 2020.

By the end of June, the flight schedule will represent 20% of the capacity usually deployed over this period. Subject to the lifting of travel restrictions, the gradual increase in the number of frequencies and destinations will continue, reaching 35% of the flight schedule initially planned in July and 40% in August.

Air France plans to serve close to 150 destinations, i.e. 80% of its usual network, with priority given to strengthening its domestic network. Several routes will resume between Paris and the French regions, as well as inter-regional routes, particularly to and from Corsica. The number of services will also be increased to the French overseas departments and territories, as well as to Europe, mainly to Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal.

Long-haul services will gradually resume on a large part of the network, both for passenger and cargo transport, which is particularly buoyant.

The flight schedule will be operated by 106 of the 224 aircraft in the Air France fleet.

“We can see that people need to travel again and will gradually be resuming services to 150 destinations in France, Europe and the rest of the world this summer. After this difficult period, we are delighted to be welcoming our customers back on board, so that they can travel this summer and be reunited with their loved ones. All Air France staff, both on the ground and on board, are committed to guaranteeing our passengers the highest levels of health & safety“, said Air France CEO Anne Rigail.

Flight schedule for July and August 2020 to and from Paris-Charles de Gaulle

Metropolitan France	Ajaccio, Bastia, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Brest, Calvi, Clermont Ferrand, Figari, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Pau, Perpignan, Rennes, Toulon, Toulouse
French overseas departments & territories, Caribbean & Indian Ocean	Antananarivo, Cayenne, Fort de France, Havana, Mauritius, Papeete, Pointe à Pitre, Saint-Denis de La Réunion, Santo Domingo, Saint Martin
Europe	Alicante, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Belgrade, Bergen, Berlin, Bilbao, Billund, Birmingham, Bologna, Bucharest, Budapest, Cagliari, Catania, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Faro, Florence, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Hanover, Heraklion, Ibiza, Krakow, Lisbon, Ljubljana, London, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Mykonos, Naples, Newcastle, Nuremberg, Olbia, Oslo, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Porto, Prague, Rome, Santorini, Seville, Sofia, Split, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Turin, Valencia, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb, Zurich
Middle East	Beirut, Dubai, Cairo
Africa	Conakry, Cotonou, Djerba, Douala, Nouakchott, Tunis, Yaoundé + other destinations subject to obtaining the required government authorization.
North America	Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, Toronto
South America	Panama City, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Sao Paulo
Asia	Bangalore, Bangkok, Bombay (Mumbai), Delhi, Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo

Flight schedule for July and August 2020 to and from Paris-Orly

Metropolitan France

Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi, Figari

The flight schedule from the French regions, the days of operation and the resumption date of the various routes can be consulted online at airfrance.com.

This flight schedule is subject to change and remains subject to obtaining the required government authorization. It will take into account the current health & hygiene measures in the various countries or destinations served.

Updating the flight schedule will result in the cancellation of bookings for flights that are not operated. Commercial measures, which can be consulted online at airfrance.com and at all sales points, will enable the customers concerned to postpone their trip free of charge or to cancel it, by requesting a bonus voucher or a ticket refund.

Before travelling, Air France recommends its customers contact the relevant authorities to check the entry and travel requirements for their destination and transit countries, which may have changed due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Air France reminds customers that surgical masks must be worn on all its flights and that temperature checks are carried out prior to boarding. Daily aircraft cleaning operations have been stepped up and a specific procedure for the regular disinfection of cabins with an approved virucidal spray has been introduced.

IATA: Airlines will need further help to get through the winter, overall bookings are down 82% year-on-year

IATA has released this statement:

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that the airline industry faces a hard winter and called on governments around the world to continue providing relief measures as the COVID-19 crisis continues.

Airlines are expected to post a loss of $84.3 billion in 2020 and government financial relief is a lifeline to many airlines. The bulk of airlines make their money in the northern summer season, while the winter season, even in the best of times, is a struggle to remain profitable. For example, the 2019 net profit margin for European airlines followed the normal seasonal pattern and was 9% and 17% respectively in Q2 and Q3 (northern summer). But it started at -1% in Q1 and finished the year at 2% in Q4 (northern winter). The winter season will be even more challenging amid the recovery from COVID-19.

Public opinion research in the first week of June 2020 showed greater caution among travelers in returning to travel. Only 45% of travelers surveyed intend to return to the skies within a few months of the pandemic subsiding. A further 36% said that they would wait six months. That is a significant shift from April 2020 when 61% said that they would return to travel within a few months of the pandemic subsiding and 21% responded that they would wait about six months.

The survey findings are corroborated in key passenger trends demonstrating continuing market uncertainty:

Overall bookings are down 82% year-on-year compared to June 2019.
Long-haul forward bookings for the first week in November 2020 are 59% below normal levels. Historical trends show about 14% of airline tickets are sold 22 weeks in advance of travel. Current bookings for 1-7 November show that tickets have been sold to only 5% of the 2019 number of passengers.
Passengers are booking closer to the time of travel. Bookings for travel 20 or more days in the future accounted for 29% of bookings made in May 2020, down from 49% in 2019. Similarly, 41% of bookings made in May 2020 were for travel within 3 days, more than double the 18% in May 2019.

“People are returning to the skies but the horizon of uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis is extending. Forward bookings are down, and people are hedging their travel bets by booking closer to the time of travel. Airlines in the Northern hemisphere rely on a strong summer season and a predictable booking curve to get them through the lean months. But neither of these conditions are in place and airlines will need continued help from governments to survive a hard winter. Airlines will need much more flexibility to plan schedules around these changing consumer trends. Financial and operational flexibility equals survival,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

IATA highlighted four keys areas where governments could assist airlines:

Extending the waiver from the 80-20 use-it-or-lose-it rule in the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines. In these extraordinary times, airlines need much more flexibility to plan schedules and business critical decisions should not be compromised by slot allocation guidelines designed for normal times. “There were good reasons why the 80-20 rule was waived for the summer season. Regulators should apply the same common-sense approach again and waive the rule for the winter season as well. Airlines need to focus on meeting what consumers want today, without trying to defend the slots needed for what their schedule might look like a year from now,” said de Juniac.
Continued financial assistance in ways that do not increase industry debt levels which have risen sharply. Some governments are exploring measures including subsidizing domestic operations and waiving airport and air traffic control charges.
Extensions to wage subsidies and corporate taxation relief measures. The wage subsidy schemes have provided some $35 billion in relief to airlines. Tapering these more slowly would give airlines more time to recover and minimize job losses. Relief for corporate and indirect taxes such as VAT, passenger taxes or fuel taxes would support market stimulus.
Avoiding increases in charges and fees. While airports and air navigation service providers have suffered revenue falls, steep increases in charges must be avoided during the restart period as this will severely impact airline financials and market recovery. Similarly, governments should cover the costs of new health measures imposed as a result of COVID-19.

“Each day sees more people traveling. That’s good for the economy. The numbers are moving in the right direction, but we are by no means anywhere near normal or sustainable levels of activity. Financial relief measures are still desperately needed. And policy-relief measures like a slot usage waiver remain critical. Governments need to grant that by no later than the end of July to provide at least that certainty for this beleaguered and battered industry,” said de Juniac.

From John Hopkins: Meanwhile the number of new COVID-19 worldwide cases is not showing signs of slowing down.

SAS routes that are resuming in July, fleet to increase to over 40 active aircraft

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS has made this announcement:

SAS is now launching its schedule for July. In total, the new traffic program will see capacity increased from 30 aircraft in June to over 40 in July, equivalent to just under 30 percent compared with the corresponding period last year.

As demand slowly but surely increases, SAS is resuming flights to many destinations from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. In addition to a number of routes from Copenhagen, SAS is also resuming international flights from Oslo to a number of destinations, including Reykjavík, and continuing its operations to Finland and London from Stockholm.

Further destinations will gradually be added from all three countries as demand returns.

“As restrictions and inbound travel rules are relaxed, we are seeing a rise in demand for travel. However, it remains just as important that travellers keep themselves informed of the rules that apply to each country and destination at all times, and that people stay at home if they are experiencing any symptoms. We would also like to remind you of the measures that SAS has implemented in order to reduce the risk of infection spreading and the changes that these measures entail for your journey, e.g. the requirement to wear a face mask during flights,” says Freja Annamatz, Head of Media Relations.

In July, SAS will fly to the following destinations:

From Copenhagen:

• Aalborg

• Aarhus

• Faeroes

• Malaga

• Palma de Mallorca

• Alicante

• Athens

• Nice

• Split

• London

• Berlin

• Dusseldorf

• Frankfurt

• Hamburg

• Munich

• Stuttgart

• Amsterdam

• Bologna

• Rome

• Milan

• Brussels

• Faro

• Gdańsk

• Geneva

• Zurich

• Reykjavík

• Palanga

• Vilnius

• Arlanda

• Oslo

• Stavanger

• Bergen

• Trondheim

• New York

• Chicago

• San Francisco

From Oslo:

• Alta

• Bardufoss

• Bodø

• Evenes

• Kirkenes

• Longyearbyen

• Tromsø

• Lakselv

• Ålesund

• Bergen

• Haugesund

• Kristiansand

• Kristiansund

• Molde

• Stavanger

• Trondheim

• Athens

• Malaga

• Alicante

• Palma de Mallorca

• Split

• Barcelona

• Billund

• Gran Canaria

• Nice

• Aalborg

• Aarhus

• Stockholm

• Copenhagen

• Reykjavík

Stavanger to Aberdeen
From Stockholm

• Ängelholm

• Gothenburg

• Kalmar

• Kiruna

• Luleå

• Malmö

• Östersund

• Skellefteå

• Umeå

• Visby

• Malaga

• Alicante

• Palma de Mallorca

• Aten

• Thessaloniki

• London

• Rome

• Milan

• Faro

• Split

• Helsinki

• Oslo

• Copenhagen

QANTAS to sell its minority share of Jetstar Pacific which will become Pacific Airlines

QANTAS Group has confirmed it will sell its 30 percent minority share of Jetstar Pacific Airlines of Vietnam to co-owner Vietnam Airlines

QANTAS wants to focus on its other airlines.

Jetstar Pacific made this announcement:

Vietnam Airlines and QANTAS Group (Australia) have agreed to promote changes to Jetstar Pacific to improve business production and profitability of this low-cost airline, while promoting scale and the brand power of Vietnam Airlines in the domestic market.

Jetstar Pacific will conduct the procedures needed to change the brand name to Pacific Airlines, with a new logo and brand recognition set inspired by Vietnam Airlines’s main color. The time Jetstar Pacific officially operates under new name Pacific Airlines will be based on authorities decision.

Pacific Airlines will also convert booking system from Navitaire to Sabre – Vietnam Airlines system in operation – to synchronize the flight, booking procedures and features for customers with Vietnam Airlines.

After changing the brand name, Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines will continue to create a product series that not only meets the diverse needs of customers from low-to high-end cost segment, but also increases value, benefits for both customers and businesses.

Jetstar Pacific Airlines became the first low-cost airline in Vietnam when it was launched in May 2008. The carrier flies to 16 domestic and international destinations with its fleet of 10 Airbus A320 aircraft.

Jetstar Pacific is owned by two major shareholders. Vietnam Airlines holds 70 percent, and the QANTAS Group holds 30 percent.

Jetstar Pacific Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Corsair International formally ends the Boeing 747 era

Corsair International operated its last Boeing 747 revenue flight (SS 927 PTP-ORY with F-GTUI) on March 26, 2020. The Jumbos has been grounded since due to COVID-19 and the drop in passenger demand.

The pictured F-GTUI departed Paris (Orly) on June 15 bound for Kemble to be scrapped. The airliner performed a low pass after takeoff as a final salute after receiving a water cannon salute.

Now the airline has decided to permanently retire the Boeing 747 fleet with this announcement:

Translated from French:

Corsair is accelerating the renewal and modernization of its fleet with the exit of the three Boeing 747-400s.

After more than 30 years of operations, the departure of the last Boeing 747 on Monday, June 15, 2020 marks the end of the operation of the Jumbo within the company, and the French aerial landscape.

The already scheduled withdrawal of the 747s is part of Corsair’s strategy and thus confirms its desire to operate a homogeneous fleet, composed exclusively of Airbus A330s. The new fleet will bring more flexibility in terms of frequencies and will allow the company to operate more efficient and more environmentally friendly aircraft.

The last Boeing left Corsair after having transported more than 7 million passengers and operated more than 2,000 times around the Earth.

1990 marked the start of the Jumbo’s life at Corsair, then recognized as the largest commercial aircraft in the world. Corsair offered configurations up to 592 seats and allows millions of travelers to move.

The legendary Queen of the Skies has transported the company’s customers around the world by carrying out exceptional flights for more than 30 years, whether on behalf of pilgrims, medical flights, special missions for the UN or cultural and sports operations. The 747 has also marked the memories of thousands of customers who flew to distant destinations like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tahiti and Bangkok.

Corsair was one of the only two air carriers in the world to have operated all versions of the 747, from 100 to 400, and the SP.

Preceded by its two little brothers, “SUN” and the “SEA”, which left on June 9 and 12 respectively after having transported more than 7 million passengers each, “TUI” leaves the Corsair fleet having exceeded the emblematic threshold of 100,000 flight hours.

Above Copyright Photo: Corsair International Boeing 747-422 F-GTUI (msn 26875) YUL (Gilbert Hechema). Image: 912653.

Corsair aircraft slide show:

American Airlines strengthens requirement that customers wear face coverings on board

American Airlines has announced a stronger policy for customer face coverings as part of its commitment to the safety and well-being of customers and team members.

American, like other U.S. airlines, already requires customers to wear a face covering while on board aircraft. American already enforces this policy at the gate and will deny boarding to customers who don’t comply. American now may also deny future travel for customers who refuse to wear a face covering. American made this change after working in conjunction with Airlines for America on an industrywide response.

We believe the face covering requirement is important, so customers will notice more reminders of our policy as they travel with us, both at the airport and in flight.

Some passengers are exempt from the face covering requirement, such as young children and those with a disability or medical reason for why they cannot wear a face covering. The policy also does not apply while eating or drinking.

Details of the updated policy for face coverings will be communicated to American Airlines team members this week, and the policy will go into effect June 16. American also requires team members to wear face coverings while at work.

United Airlines strengthens onboard mask policy to further protect passengers and employees against COVID-19 spread

United Airlines announced today that, along with other Airlines for America (A4A) members, it will strengthen mandatory mask policies to further mitigate against the spread of COVID-19 and help continue to keep passengers and crew safe. While the overwhelming majority of passengers are complying with United’s mandatory policy, starting on June 18, any passenger that does not comply when onboard a United flight will be placed on an internal travel restriction list. Customers on this list will lose their travel privileges on United for a duration of time to be determined pending a comprehensive incident review.

United currently requires all passengers to wear a face covering onboard its flights and expects that policy to remain in place for at least the next 60 days. The only exceptions to this policy are individuals who have a medical condition or a disability that prevents them from wearing a face covering, those who cannot put on or remove a face covering themselves and small children. Customers are expected to wear a mask for the duration of the flight, except when eating or drinking.

“Every reputable heath institution says wearing a mask is one of the most effective things people can do to protect others from contracting COVID-19, especially in places like an aircraft where social distancing is a challenge,” said United’s Chief Customer Officer, Toby Enqvist. “We have been requiring our customers to wear masks onboard United aircraft since May 4 and we have been pleased that the overwhelming majority of passengers readily comply with our policy. Today’s announcement is an unmistakable signal that we’re prepared to take serious steps, if necessary, to protect our customers and crew.”

Under this new policy, if a flight attendant notices or is informed of a customer onboard who is not wearing a face covering and that passenger does not fall within an exception, the flight attendant will proactively inform the customer that for the health and safety of everyone, face coverings are mandatory for all customers and crew on board. They will also offer to provide the customer with a mask if needed. If the customer continues to be non-compliant, flight attendants will do their best to de-escalate the situation, again inform the customer of United’s policy, and provide the passenger with an In-Flight Mask policy reminder card. If a customer continues to not comply, the flight attendant will file a report of the incident, which will initiate a formal review process. Any final decision or actions regarding a customer’s future flight benefits will not occur onboard but instead take place after the flight has reached its destination and the security team has investigated the incident.

“U.S. airlines are very serious about requiring face coverings on their flights. Carriers are stepping up enforcement of face coverings and implementing substantial consequences for those who do not comply with the rules,” said A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. “Face coverings are one of several public health measures recommended by the CDC as an important layer of protection for passengers and customer-facing employees.”

In April, United became the first major U.S.-based airline to require flight attendants to wear a face mask while on duty, and beginning in May, expanded that mandate to include all employees and customers on board. This includes front-line workers like pilots, customer service agents and ramp workers when on board an aircraft, along with any other United employees traveling using their flight benefits.

“Wearing a mask is a critical part of helping make air travel safer,” said Dr. James Merlino, Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at Cleveland Clinic. “The more people in a given space wearing masks, the fewer viral particles are making it into the space around them, decreasing exposure and risk.”

The airline’s mask policy is an important part of the United CleanPlus program, which brings together one of the most trusted brands in surface disinfection – Clorox – and the country’s top medical experts – Cleveland Clinic – to inform and guide United’s new cleaning, safety and social distancing protocols. As part of this program, United is taking a layered approach to help protect passengers and employees on board. In addition to requiring masks, United Airlines planes have HEPA grade filters that recirculate air every 2-3 minutes, and the airline is using electrostatic sprayers to disinfect the cabin before flights.

In addition to the onboard actions, United has implemented dozens of other new procedures at other points in the travel journey including offering touchless check-in for baggage at more than 200 locations, asking customers to complete a health assessment at check-in, installing sneeze guards and adjusting the boarding process.

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