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November 24, 2020

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November 24, 2020

Lufthansa collects one billion euros on the capital market

Jan Gruber 24 November 2020 18:06

Deutsche Lufthansa AG raised one billion euros on the capital market. The group issued an unsecured bond with a term of 5,5 years. According to the company, this was oversubscribed around four times following investor talks held yesterday. The securities, with a denomination of 100.000 euros, bear interest at 3,0 percent per year and have a term until May 29, 2026. The transaction followed the issue of a 600 million euro convertible bond by Deutsche Lufthansa AG on November 10. Both issues further strengthen the company's liquidity position. As of September 30, the company had liquid funds of 10,1 billion euros at its disposal (including the largely unused state aid from Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium). "The great success of both transactions underscores the capital market's confidence in our company and our restructuring measures. This means we can continue to use a wide variety of advantageous financing instruments. We have already successfully refinanced the majority of our financial liabilities of 2021 billion euros that expire in 3,2," said Wilken Bormann, Executive Vice President Group Finance of the Lufthansa Group. Furthermore, Lufthansa will not exercise the first right of termination of a hybrid bond due on August 12, 2075. The value is 500 million euros and has an interest rate of 5,125 percent. The aviation group will not be able to terminate early until February 12, 2026. In addition, the coupon will be reset on February 12, 2021. The interest rate will then be 4,783 percent and the cycle will be five years.

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Alaska Airlines is leasing 13 more Boeing 737 Max 9s

Amely Mizzi 24 November 2020 16:35

The US-American Alaska Airlines is increasingly relying on Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. In addition to the order of 32 units, the carrier is leasing 13 aircraft from ALC. In return, according to the statement, ten Airbus A320s will be sold to this lessor. For the short term, it will be a sale-and-leaseback deal, as the Airbus jets will remain in use for some time. From the end of 2021, these will be replaced by 13 Boeing 737 Max 9s leased from Air Lease Corporation. Boeing has little to gain from the deal between ALC and Alaska Airlines, as no additional aircraft were sold as a result. The lessor is providing the 13 aircraft from its own pool. At least: The aircraft manufacturer has thus avoided further cancellations. Since the two fatal crashes, the order backlog has fallen sharply.

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Lufthansa: “No vaccination card requirement planned”

Amely Mizzi 24 November 2020 16:20

Germany's largest airline, Lufthansa, unlike Qantas, does not want to make travel dependent on proof of corona vaccination in the future. The Australian carrier has taken the lead and announced that international flights will soon only be permitted with proof of vaccination. A Lufthansa spokesman said on Tuesday that the crane group is not currently pursuing any such plans. It also pointed out that the states are responsible for entry regulations. Plans are currently being made in many countries to carry out mass vaccinations. The industry, but also politicians, are currently considering how travel will work in the future. More information can be found at this link.

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Nordica: LOT and Xfly go their separate ways

Jan Gruber 24 November 2020 14:52

For several months now, it has been apparent that the cooperation between Xfly and the Polish airline LOT is on the brink. The Estonian government has repeatedly made it clear that it wants to buy back the minority share. Now Xfly boss Erki Urva confirmed in a local TV interview that the Polish Star Alliance member will be pulling out. The Nordic Aviation Group was founded as the successor to Estonian Air. Various flights from Tallinn were offered under the Nordica brand. Due to a lack of AOC, the company initially cooperated with Adria Airways. After the Nordica subsidiary Regional Jet (now Xfly) received its own approval, a cooperation was entered into with LOT. The Polish state airline acquired a 49 percent stake in the ACMI and charter provider. The Nordica brand was abandoned last year. Selected routes from Tallinn were continued under the commercial responsibility of LOT. But that is not enough for the government and if it is going to provide state aid, it also wants to regain complete and sole control over the group of companies. Therefore, the cooperation with the Polish carrier will end at the end of November 2020. The state has already injected 30 million euros through Nordica. Now Estonia will once again become the sole owner of the Nordic Aviation Group, which includes Nordica, Xfly and Transpordi Varahaldus. The latter company is a leasing company that owns four Bombardier CRJ-900s operated by Xfly. The lessor is to be merged with the sister company Nordica. The termination of the cooperation with LOT also means that their flight numbers will no longer be used in the future. However, there are no plans for flights under the EE code

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Agreement between Tuifly and VC not in sight

Jan Gruber 24 November 2020 12:58

There is no sign of a quick agreement between the German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit and Tuifly. The employee representatives feel badly treated due to an internal circular signed by managing director Oliver Lackmann. This circular claims that pilots are the only group of employees who do not want to make a financial contribution to the company's safety. At the beginning of November 2020, the Tuifly management ended negotiations with Vereinigung Cockpit without result. At the time, the VC said that the talks had ended on the employer side and that the company was demanding strong concessions but refusing to waive redundancies for operational reasons. "We condemn TUIfly's blocking stance," commented Marcel Gröls, Chairman of Collective Bargaining Policy at VC. "We have certainly taken steps in the right direction in weeks of sometimes tough negotiations. Giving up now is not an option when you consider what is at stake. Now, with the help of state money, a profound restructuring is to be pushed forward that has nothing whatsoever to do with the current crisis. We are resisting this. In addition, the statement by TUIfly management is also wrong in terms of content, because the pilots are very much prepared to make a significant and painful contribution to the future of the company. We always told the employer this in the negotiations." The union is once again demanding that state and federal politicians intervene and is referring to the state aid amounting to three billion euros so far. It is also emphasized that the VC is still available for negotiations.

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Munich launches “biometric boarding pass”

Jan Gruber 24 November 2020 12:12

Star Alliance's biometric passenger control went into operation at Munich Airport on Tuesday. This is intended to enable travelers to enter the security area and the aircraft without presenting their boarding pass. For the time being, participation is reserved for members of the Miles&More frequent flyer program. Test operations are currently underway in Munich at gates G28 and G30 and at the entrances to the security check. Cameras identify registered passengers via their faces. The MNS mask does not have to be removed. The system, which will initially be used exclusively at Munich and Frankfurt airports, can be used on Lufthansa and Swiss flights. Miles & More members have been able to register for this in the Lufthansa and Star Alliance app for a week. Over 1.000 registrations have already been made.

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Corsair should still go to the Air Caraibes owners

Jan Gruber 24 November 2020 12:03

Back in 2015, Tui wanted to sell its then subsidiary Corsair International to the owners of its competitor Air Caraibes. The plan failed, however, because the unions resisted and the interested party ultimately withdrew. But now it could soon happen, because Intro Aviation wants to pull out. Corsair International has also been severely affected by the effects of the corona pandemic and is suffering particularly badly from the sometimes complicated entry and quarantine regulations, as it specializes in long-haul connections from Paris-Orly. The company is currently owned by Intro Aviation and Tui. The French state has promised the carrier a loan of at least 100 million euros, local media report. The sale to a consortium associated with the founders of Air Caraibes could now take place before the end of the year. They are to take over Corsair International completely. No information has yet been given about the possible purchase price. With the sale, Tui would then finally be out of the former 100 percent subsidiary. A project that was actually planned to be implemented five years ago.

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Aegean receives 120 million euros from the state

Jan Gruber 24 November 2020 11:48

Greece is supporting Aegean Airlines and thus indirectly its regional subsidiary Olympic Air with aid amounting to 120 million euros. A further 60 million euros are to be raised by the shareholders. The package has been submitted to the EU Commission for approval. As soon as the competition authorities have given the green light, Greece plans to transfer 120 million euros to the country's largest carrier. The company has recorded significantly lower revenues due to the corona pandemic, but is considered particularly important for the economy. The amount of aid is well below that permitted by the EU Commission as maximum support per airline. The competition authorities are currently capping the maximum amount at 32 billion euros. Aegean says it has posted a loss of 160 million euros since the start of the corona pandemic. 65 million euros of this is attributable to the second quarter of the current financial year alone. Domestic traffic fell by 55,7 percent to 1,22 million passengers in the first half of the year.

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Greece: Air traffic controllers are called to strike

Jan Gruber 24 November 2020 11:40

In Greece, severe restrictions on air traffic are to be expected on Wednesday and Thursday, as two unions are calling on air traffic control employees to strike. On November 25, 2020, members of the Greek Air Traffic Controllers Association have been called upon to stop work between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. This will be followed by union members of the Union of Electronic Engineers for Air Traffic Safety between 12:00 p.m. and 18:00 p.m. Both employee representatives have announced a 26-hour joint strike for November 2020, 24. The unions are protesting against government plans to outsource air traffic control to an independent authority. Salary cuts and deterioration of working conditions are expected.

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For a good cause: Zurich sets up “heartfelt” donation boxes

Jan Gruber 24 November 2020 10:57

Zurich Airport has long offered travelers the opportunity to donate their change to social projects. Currencies from all over the world can be inserted, with some passengers even donating casino chips. The airport stated that around a quarter of a million Swiss francs "come in" every year. The money is passed on to various charitable organizations and social projects, in full. As the donation boxes are now getting on in years, Zurich Airport has come up with a heart-warming new solution. The new donation balls are heart-shaped and are intended to attract additional attention. The "hearts" indicate which organization the money is being donated to. This is passed on by the airport without any deductions or costs. All currencies are accepted and donors remain anonymous. Since mid-November, the new donation hearts have been found at a total of eleven locations at Zurich Airport: in Check-in 1 and 2 and in all departure areas of Docks A, B, D and E. A team of nine volunteers empties the donation containers and sorts out the notes and coins. Over the last 13 years, banknotes from a total of 239 countries have been collected. These include currencies from countries that no longer exist, including Yugoslavian dinars, Biafran pounds and East German marks. Gold and silver coins have also been thrown in. The volunteers also often find chips from casinos and other strange donations, such as wedding rings, in the donation balls.

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