Over 1,000 flights are being planned for the 2-week 'Operation Matterhorn' repatriation programme following leisure giant Thomas Cook Group's collapse. The first day of the programme, Sept 23, involved 64 flights and the transport of more than 14,700 passengers – over 95% of those due to return from holiday on that date, says the UK Civil Aviation Authority. It states that another 74 flights carrying 16,500 customers are scheduled to operate Sept 24, and that more than 1,000 flights will be carried out by the time the repatriation ends Oct 6. It has not identified specific carriers involved in the repatriation but various operators – from flag carriers and budget airlines to wet-lease specialists and leisure airlines – were recruited to conduct a similar effort when Monarch Airlines ceased flying 2 years ago. <br/>
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The German govt has pledged to offer the Thomas Cook subsidiary Condor a 6-month bridging loan of E380m, subject to the approval of the EC. Condor’s parent company, the Thomas Cook Group, went into compulsory liquidation Monday after the British govt declined to add GBP150m to a potential rescue package, attracting criticism from opposition parties. In Berlin, economics minister Peter Altmaier stressed that “the problems of Condor in Germany are not homemade”, and that the travel firm was an independently profitable business. He added that the decision to inject liquidity into the 64-year-old company, subject to the EU finding no contravention of rules against state aid, was not a political one. <br/>
Leisure firm TUI Group has yet to assess the impact of rival Thomas Cook Group's collapse on its own operations, but stresses that it is facing its own external pressures which are likely to continue into the next fiscal year. TUI Group chief Friedrich Joussen says the company is looking to support its customers who have been affected by the collapse of its competitor, offering replacement flights for TUI passengers who had been booked on flights operated by Thomas Cook Airlines. Joussen adds that TUI is examining the short-term impact of Thomas Cook Group's situation as the fiscal year closes. But he states that the "challenging" market environment is "likely to persist" into 2019-20 and that, while its business model is "resilient", TUI needs to focus on becoming more cost-competitive. <br/>
A French commercial court is considering the 2 remaining offers for all or part of Aigle Azur’s assets after EasyJet dropped out of the running as a liquidation deadline looms. Two rescue offers for the carrier—which went into receivership earlier this month—remain on the table, a union source Tuesday, with a decision due by Sept 27. If the court deems neither offer suitable, the airline will be liquidated. Lionel Guerin, the former head of Air France unit HOP, is behind one of the rescue plans still being considered, while the other is led by Gerard Houa and his holding Lu Azur, which owns 20% of Aigle Azur and was at the centre of a failed shareholder coup that took place just before the airline went into receivership. <br/>
Ryanair said its UK-based cabin crew have backed a 4-year deal that will see a new pay structure introduced and guaranteed income increase. The agreement, which was negotiated with Unite, will cover the airline’s directly-employed cabin crew in the UK until March 2023. About 80% of the union’s workers backed the deal. Ryanair said the labour agreement would deliver a new pay structure with increased guaranteed income and a 5/3 roster. Last week, Ryanair pilots based in Britain cancelled 5 days of strikes set for Sept 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th. The pilots, who are members of pilots union Balpa, announced the strikes after earlier walkouts caused little disruption. <br/>
Australia’s civil aviation safety authorities have given Singaporean carrier SilkAir the go-ahead to move its grounded Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft from Singapore to Alice Springs for storage. The CASA states that it has repealed a temporary prohibition of 737 Max operations in Australian airspace. The SIA subsidiary has 6 737 Max 8s, Cirium’s fleets data reveals. The flight will also be operating without its manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system (MCAS). Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage managing director Tom Vincent declined to comment on the SilkAir move, but would only say that his company is "in discussion" with a number of airline customers with regard to storing the 737 Max aircraft. <br/>
Icelandair has reached an interim compensation agreement with Boeing to cover losses incurred by the Boeing 737 MAX grounding, which has already had a US$140m impact on the airline’s EBIT. Updating the markets, Icelandair said the confidential compensation agreement “covers a fraction of the company’s total loss” from the grounding. Icelandair estimated a $140m EBIT hit for the period to Aug 1, but added this figure has since increased because the MAX is still not flying. Talks with Boeing over a wider compensation settlement for the overall flight suspension are ongoing. Aug 16, Icelandair said it was not anticipating the 737 MAX to return to service until the end of Dec 2019. Icelandair has brought in 5 leased aircraft over the summer to minimise the impact of the MAX suspension. <br/>
Passengers on all Emirates Airline flights to the US will have the option to board using biometric checks by the end of 2019. The airline said it has become the first non-US carrier to receive approval for biometric boarding from US Customs and Border Protection. Customers flying from Dubai to Emirates’ 12 US destinations will be able to opt to use facial recognition technology at departure gates, which the airline said will allow identity checks to be made in 2 seconds or less. Use of the system is optional, and the airline said it does not store passengers’ biometric records as the data is managed by CBP. The technology was piloted on Emirates’ flights from Dubai to New York and Los Angeles during the summer peak period. “The results were encouraging, with some flights achieving 100% biometric boarding ,” the carrier said. <br/>
Bamboo Airways is looking to raise around US$100m from its planned IPO in 2020 to expand its operation in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, the company said Tuesday. “The fundraising will help us to expand our fleet and increase our domestic market share to 30% from 10% now,” Bamboo Airways said. The airline, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group , now operates 10 aircraft on 25 domestic and international routes and was just given green light by the govt to increase its fleet to 30 aircraft by 2023. Bamboo Airways plans to be the first Vietnamese airline to launch direct flights to the US from Vietnam, its chairman Trinh Van Quyet said last month. Vietnam’s aviation market has seen a double-digit annual growth over the past 10 years. <br/>