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October 5th

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October 5th

Air Moldova warns of fraudsters

Michael David 5 October 2020 21:50

Apparently, fraudsters have been doing mischief for some time now around supposed ticket sales and refunds in connection with the drastic effects of the coronavirus, as Moldova's national airline reports. Passengers are therefore asked to only trust the airline's official contacts and authorized agencies outside Moldova, especially in Romania. At the same time, however, there are reports from passengers who attest to the airline's extremely hesitant process regarding refunds for booked but canceled Air Moldova flights due to the pandemic. This circumstance may now have prompted fraudsters to exploit the problems of affected customers for illegal transactions.

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Next corona victim: Air Asia Japan

Jan Gruber 5 October 2020 18:54

With Air Asia Japan, another airline has had to cease flight operations due to the corona crisis. In a media statement, the carrier justified this step with "extremely challenging operating conditions". Business operations were discontinued with immediate effect following a resolution by the Board of Directors. The Air Asia Group, based in Kuala Lumpur, holds a 33 percent stake in Air Asia Japan. In a statement, the group said: "We respect and have agreed to AAJ's decision as this would reduce AAJ's and the company's cash burn given the extremely challenging operating conditions in Japan." Air Asia Japan itself stated that the travel and quarantine regulations have caused demand to collapse massively and that there is currently no prospect of improvement. "These factors have placed a heavy burden on the company's ability to continue operations," the carrier said in a media statement. Currently, only flights operated by Air Asia Japan are affected. Air Asia Japan can also imagine a comeback: "International connections from Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines to Japan will be resumed in the future when travel restrictions are lifted and the borders to Japan are reopened," said Air Asia Japan in a media statement. However, it remains unclear whether the Japanese branch will make a comeback or whether other carriers from the Air Asia Group will then take over the routes.

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Boeing has no customers for 62 737-Max

Jan Gruber 5 October 2020 18:29

For the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the debacle surrounding the 737 Max and the Corona pandemic have brought together two "worst-case scenarios". New orders for this model have only been secured in isolated cases. IAG announced a large order at the Paris Air Show last year, but the signed letter of intent has not yet been converted into a firm order. Boeing has received a lot of cancellations, 564 in fact, as the Aviation Week portal reports. Even before the Corona pandemic, some airliners, but also lessors, were distancing themselves from the 737 Max series. The current crisis has led to even more customers negotiating with Boeing to withdraw from their purchase contracts. Aviation Week also writes that the US manufacturer has 62 units in the yard for which there is no buyer in sight. These were produced "in stock", so to speak. From Boeing's point of view, however, there is also light at the end of the tunnel. Both the FAA and the EASA clearly indicated that re-certification could take place this year. The manufacturer can deliver - after modifications - but this could be very inconvenient for many customers due to the Corona crisis, so it is to be expected that airlines and lessors could negotiate further postponements of the handovers. Whenever things are going badly at Boeing, there is one man on hand: Michael O'Leary, who delights his in-house supplier with a large order of 737s. The "Irish Independent" writes, without naming any further sources, that Ryanair is in talks with Boeing about ordering 150 to

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Frankfurt will open Terminal 3 “in 2025 at the earliest”

Jan Gruber 5 October 2020 18:12

Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport, which was developed for low-cost airlines and charter airlines, is not due to open until 2025. It has been under construction since 2018 and is expected to have an annual capacity of 25 million passengers. The special feature for Frankfurt am Main is that Terminals 1 and 2 are currently connected. Since the distances are very long, there is a bus line and there is even a train on the roof. The new building will be located almost opposite and will not have a structural connection, as it will primarily handle low-cost airlines and charter flights, which mainly carry point-to-point passengers anyway. Despite the effects of the corona pandemic, Fraport AG is sticking to the completion of the new terminal. So far, it says it has invested around four billion euros in the project. It was also planned that the first of a total of three piers would be used from 2021. Final completion is now announced for 2024. However, due to various circumstances, this could be delayed. However, the capacity of the existing terminals is more than sufficient due to the Corona pandemic and it is currently not possible to predict when they will reach their limits again. Therefore, the opening is now planned for summer 2025, reports the Echo portal. Commissioning will take place based on actual demand. It should also be noted that only Terminal 2020 has been used in Frankfurt am Main since April 1. The second departure hall is closed. The company also explains that the reopening is currently not foreseeable, as there is currently no airport due to the low number of passengers.

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Autumn holidays: strikes in Düsseldorf and Cologne are imminent

Jan Gruber 5 October 2020 17:54

Air travel is not very popular at the moment anyway, but during the autumn holidays in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, employees of the ground handling service provider AHS have been called to a warning strike. According to the Verdi union, these are to take place at Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airports. Delays and flight cancellations could become very likely as a result, even though the offer is already very thin compared to last year. It is unclear whether the threat of a strike could have a negative impact on the currently low demand. Verdi is making serious allegations against AHS and claiming that the wage increase agreed in January of this year is being withheld. However, the collective agreement was never signed by the ground handling service provider, as the union has to admit. As a result, there have been no increases in salaries. Verdi states that due to the lack of salary increases and short-time work, the actual salary is only around 500 to 600 euros per month. Attempts to reach an agreement have been rejected by management. AHS told the portal Airliners.de that these were illegal warning strikes because a peace obligation had been agreed with the Verdi federal board. It was also agreed that the collective agreement would not be implemented until after the Corona crisis. The company stands by this and has offered to implement it by April 1, 2021. However, this was apparently rejected by the union. AHS has now refused to negotiate implementation due to the breach of the peace obligation.

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Wizzair passenger numbers slumped by a third

Jan Gruber 5 October 2020 17:38

The Wizzair Group suffered a significant drop in the number of passengers carried in September 2020. While there were 2.381.214 travelers on board in August, only 1.567.836 passengers flew with the pink budget airline in the following month. A drop of over 34 percent. The comparison with September of the previous year makes only limited sense due to the effects of the corona pandemic on the entire industry. If you compare September 2020 with the same month last year, Wizzair's performance deteriorated by 58,93 percent. Roughly rounded, Wizzair was only able to carry around 2020 percent of the travelers it had on board last year in the recently concluded ninth month of 40. This dip also has an impact on the flight schedule, which Wizzair traditionally does not announce very loudly. In Vienna and at other bases, frequencies have been significantly reduced in the meantime. Individual routes will be paused, at least temporarily. The low-cost airline announced a few days ago that it hopes to be able to offer and operate at least half of the previous year's capacity across its network. When looking at capacity utilization, it is also clear that Wizzair aircraft had fewer passengers on board in September 2020. In July 2020, when travel was busy, it reached 60,5 percent and in August 2020 it even improved to 70,9 percent. However, the dip followed quickly after the peak holiday season: Wizz had a load factor of 2020 percent in September 64,6. The trend is negative due to the general market situation, so falling passenger and capacity utilization figures are to be expected for October 2020 and the following months.

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Austrian Airlines loses 40 million euros per month

Jan Gruber 5 October 2020 17:16

Due to the miserable demand situation across the industry, Austrian Airlines is not only adjusting its winter planning again, but is also expanding short-time working. The offer will be only 30 percent of last year's level. Originally, it was hoped that at least 50 percent could be offered and carried out. "It has already become apparent in recent weeks that we will have to dress warmer than expected this winter. The new entry restrictions from Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and many other countries make adjustments to the offer necessary. We are prepared for this. Our goal is to maneuver our company through this 'storm' with combined forces. We do not know how long this storm will last. Therefore, we must make ourselves weatherproof and reduce the monthly cash outflow as much as possible," says Alexis von Hoensbroech, General Director of Austrian Airlines AG. In the 2020/21 winter flight schedule, Austrian Airlines plans to offer flights to around 60 destinations. This also means that 20 destinations will fall victim to the red pen. Many routes are being served with greatly reduced frequency due to the weak demand, which is mainly due to the strict entry and quarantine rules. In addition to long-haul flights to Newark, Chicago, Washington and Bangkok, Austrian only resumed its flight connection to Shanghai last week. From mid-December, flights to classic holiday destinations such as Cape Town, Mauritius and the Maldives are planned. Subject to extended entry restrictions, these destinations are to be flown to twice a week. Regarding liquidity, the Lufthansa subsidiary announced that it is currently above plan. The last tranche of the loan secured by the Republic of Austria is due to be paid out shortly.

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Munich starts expensive PCR test station

Jan Gruber 5 October 2020 15:11

Digitalized RT-PCR tests have been offered at Munich Airport since today by the MVZ Martinsried laboratory. The results should be sent to users' mobile phones within three to six hours. There is a charge for using the service in Terminal 2 of Franz Josef Strauss Airport. The airport says that the new offer is intended to avoid having to go into quarantine in the destination country. Many, but not all, countries waive self-isolation upon presentation of a negative PCR test, which, depending on the country, must not be older than 72 or 48 hours. Be careful: you cannot "test yourself free" everywhere. Many countries are currently not allowing entry at all. It is therefore particularly important that you independently check the regulations valid on the day of entry. These change frequently, sometimes overnight. The new offer at Munich Airport is not cheap, by the way. The basic package costs 128 euros and must be paid in advance by credit card when booking an appointment online. Other forms of payment are not currently accepted. It is also not possible to take a test without prior reservation and payment.

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Interjet invests in a new Airbus fleet

Granite Pireci 5 October 2020 12:35

The Mexican low-cost airline Interjet has lost almost all of its Airbus aircraft in the wake of the Corona crisis. Now new ones are needed. The leasing contracts expired. This meant that the aircraft also had to be returned to the lessors. The new management around Managing Director Carlos del Valle will now look for a new Airbus fleet, as simpleflying.com reports. And that despite the financial difficulties due to Corona. Four new aircraft from the A320 family are to be delivered as early as October. Ten more are to follow in November, so that the company's Corona year with a fleet of 17 Airbus aircraft will end. But that is only the beginning. In the future, the company wants to have a fleet of up to 120 aircraft. At the same time, del Valle also admits that it wants to discontinue the Sukhoi Superjet fleet. This would also mean that it intends to terminate the contract with the Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut.

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Swiss facing downsizing: 1.000 jobs should go

Granite Pireci 5 October 2020 12:14

As a result of the corona pandemic, many companies have run into financial difficulties - including Swiss. This is why massive job cuts are necessary at the Lufthansa subsidiary. Around 1.000 jobs are to be lost within two years, according to Swiss CEO Thomas Klühr, who is stepping down at the end of the year. And that without anyone having to leave the company. This is to be done through a hiring freeze as well as part-time models and early retirements, according to the online edition of the Salzburger Nachrichten. The Swiss carrier expects business to shrink by 20 percent in the medium to long term. If this forecast comes true, this measure would be enough to get the company back on track. However, if the economic situation does not improve - especially on long-haul routes - layoffs can no longer be ruled out, Klühr continued. This could be decided in the first quarter of 2021 at the earliest.

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