South Africa’s govt ruled out an intervention in the ongoing battle between the struggling state airline and unions leading a strike, with Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan refusing to step in to fund wage demands. The state has already given South African Airways more than US$1.4b over the past 3 years, Gordhan said Tuesday. The country is facing severe fiscal constraints and no more aid can be made available, he said. “The pattern of bailouts has become a moral hazard,” said Gordhan, who met with the unions in Pretoria. “A restructuring of SAA’s business is required to return the airline to profitability. In addition to growing revenues, efficiencies must be improved and costs will need to be reduced across the board.” <br/>
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THAI reported a 2019 Q3 net loss of THB4.7b (US$152.7m), widened from a THB3.7b loss in the year-ago period. Q3 operating revenue also declined to THB46b, down 4% from THB48b. The poor result came despite a 3% cut in operating costs to THB50.8b. The airline had previously said it would reduce nonessential expenses and reduce salary of top executives, although the report did show an increase in employee benefits and crew expenses. THAI’s other secondary income did get a slight help from THB2b collected from airport fees, which is now reflected in the reports. THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham described the results as “normal” for an airline facing stiff competition. Sumeth estimates losses will narrow to THB2b for Q4. <br/>
Japan’s major airlines have revealed how they will use their new slots at Tokyo Haneda, with a mix of new destinations, additional frequencies, and flights switched from Tokyo Narita. Japanese regulators have created 50 additional daytime international slots at Haneda because of airspace changes. Half of these were earmarked for Japanese airlines. The slots are eligible for use from the end of March 2020. The govt has previously announced the numbers awarded to ANA and JAL, and also which countries the slots must be used for. However, until now the Japanese carriers had not specified the exact routes they will serve with the new slots. ANA will use some of its slots to introduce 5 new cities to its network, with flights from Haneda to Istanbul, Milan, Moscow, Stockholm, and Shenzhen, China. <br/>