Cash-strapped SAA says a govt cash injection of ZAR5.5b (US$376m)approved for the 2019/20 financial year is expected at the end of the month but it still needs more money, a presentation to lawmakers showed Wednesday. SAA has debt of about ZAR12.7b, consisting of ZAR9.2b of legacy debt and a ZAR3.5b working capital facility provided by banks. The airline requires ZAR2b by December to fund working capital for its 2019/20 financial year, the presentation said. SAA, the turnaround strategy of which has been stymied by mismanagement and inability to service its debt in an increasingly competitive aviation environment, also received a ZAR5b govt bailout in its 2018/19 financial year. The carrier’s long-term strategy is based on an equity injection of nearly ZAR22b. <br/>
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SAS is offering passengers the opportunity to purchase biofuel as part of the airline’s sustainability strategy. The initiative is a not-for-profit service, simply adding to biofuels already being bought by the airline. Customers will be able to purchase 20min “blocks” of flight time powered by biofuel, says SAS, on a per-passenger basis. The price is currently fixed at US$10 or R10 for a block. Passengers will have the option of buying biofuel when booking tickets and subsequently in the run-up to departure. “The amount of biofuel will not necessarily be used on the actual flight the traveller has bought a ticket for,” the airline points out. “But it will be used to replace fossil jet fuel to the equivalent amount in SAS’s operations.” SAS’s environmental policy includes a target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25% by 2030. <br/>
While the world's Boeing 737 MAX fleet remains grounded, a solitary Air Canada plane has been spotted in the skies, shuttling between Quebec and Ontario. In a rare exemption, approved by Canadian aviation regulator Transport Canada, the 11 flights in August and September were partly to maintain the qualifications of senior training pilots, Air Canada said in response to a query about flight tracking data. A spokesman for Air Canada said the airline was not able to use similar 737s within its fleet "to maintain check pilot authority in alignment with (Canadian aviation regulations)". "So we are utilising the 737 Max during planned maintenance movements to maintain qualification." <br/>
Cash-starved Air India is putting its crew on a diet, changing their inflight menu to special low-fat meals. A spokesman for the airline said Wednesday that the objective is to provide healthy and cost-effective meals to crews on domestic and international flights. The airline declined comment on media reports that the cost per meal, mostly vegetarian, will fall to one-third of the current US$11 per meal. The new menu was introduced Monday on flights originating from New Delhi and Mumbai and will be extended to other routes soon. The decision comes at a time when the Indian govt is trying to divest from Air India, which has debts of nearly $8b. After an earlier failed attempt to sell the airline off last year, PM Narendra Modi's govt is expected to try again in October. <br/>