South Africa has promised another ZAR5b (US$400m) capital injection to help its struggling state airline meet urgent financial obligations, the CE of South African Airways said Thursday. SAA has not generated a profit since 2011 and has already received state guarantees totalling nearly ZAR20b. It needs the money to help pay debts and prop up the business as it implements a turnaround plan. The promise of more govt cash comes after SAA CE Vuyani Jarana told parliament in April that the firm needed the capital injection “now”. “Govt has committed to inject another ZAR5b into SAA. Part of that ZAR5b we will repay some of the creditors, suppliers, then the balance will support us for working capital until around October/November,” Jarana said. <br/>
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United Continental is chopping flights between the US and Mexico, saying travel demand has waned. Service between Los Angeles and Mexico City will end Oct 4, the airline said Thursday. United also will halt flights this summer from the US to the Pacific beach resorts of Huatulco and Mazatlan, and to the Gulf Coast oil town of Villahermosa. “While our Mexico network remains strong, customer demand on certain routes has declined and service to some markets is unsustainable,” United said. United is stepping back from Mexico as Delta Air Lines marks the 1-year anniversary of an alliance with Grupo Aeromexico that allows the carriers to jointly plan schedules and set fares on 1,100 weekly flights. Delta also holds a 49% stake in Aeromexico. <br/>
In revisions to its in-flight food and beverage service last week, United quietly eliminated one of the most traditional – and most often-requested – drinks from its menus: tomato juice. While seemingly inconsequential, that news hit hard and fast, with customers, flight attendants and social media balking at the change. Thursday morning, United buckled, saying: "We want our customers to know that we value and appreciate them and that we're listening. Our customers told us that they were not happy about the removal of tomato juice so we're bringing it back on-board as part of our complimentary beverage offering." United flight attendants had reportedly been hearing a lot of negative feedback from flyers about the unavailability of tomato juice. <br/>
"Extremely ignorant" foreign tourists are putting aircraft at risk by using drones in no-fly zones in New Zealand. The Civil Aviation Authority, which is responsible for aviation safety, is working with Air NZ to produce an inflight video aimed at educating foreign tourists about how to use drones safely while on holiday in the country. "There are particular tourist groups we're aware of where drones are the latest technology," CAA deputy CE John Kay told a parliamentary committee Thursday. The CAA was working with Air NZ to develop an in-flight video about safe drone-flying practice. AN Air NZ spokeswoman said the educational video would be similar to one about safe driving in New Zealand that had been running on its inflight entertainment system since 2015. <br/>
Asiana Airlines is moving toward a rebound after logging healthy earnings in Q1 and improvements in its financial structure. Keen attention is on whether a fiasco involving its rival Korean Air's owner family could further boost Asiana's rebound. According to airline industry officials Thursday, Asiana Airlines is showing systematic progress in its bid to recover from a liquidity crunch. The most recent move was a completed deal on selling its Kumho Asiana Main Tower in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Analysts say the outcome of Korean Air allegations is yet to be noticed in numbers, but it remains to be seen whether the public outrage at Korean Air can have an actual impact on its performance and benefit not only Asiana Airlines but also LCCs. <br/>
Copa Holdings reported a Q1 2018 net profit of US$136.5m, up 35.1% over net income of $101m in the 2017 March quarter, as strong demand overcame rising fuel prices. “Higher load factors and yields produced a significant unit revenue improvement, which outpaced an oil-driven increase in unit costs and resulted in a year-over-year margin expansion,” said the company. Copa’s Q1 revenue increased 16.2% YOY to $715m while expenses rose 14.5% to $571.6m, including a 27.6% jump in fuel costs to $174m. Operating profit for the 3 months was $143.4m, up 23.4% over operating income of $116.2m in Q1 2017. Copa’s Q1 traffic increased 10.4% YOY to 5.2b RPMs on an 8.4% rise in capacity to 6.3b ASMs, producing a load factor of 8.4%, up 1.5 points. Yield improved 5.3% YOY to 13.3 cents. <br/>