South African Airways has been put in “business rescue” to try to save thousands of jobs, minister of state enterprises Pravin Gordhan said in the Sunday Times newspaper, in response to criticisms of the move. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday ordered SAA to seek a business rescue just as the airline was close to collapse. Business rescue is a form of bankruptcy protection where a specialist adviser takes control of a company to restructure it. On Sunday, Minister of Public Enterprises Gordhan wrote in an opinion piece in the Sunday Times that the decision to rescue the airline, rather than let it fail as some analysts have argued, would save many of the 10,000 jobs at SAA. “We were not prepared to let the airline fail in an uncontrolled fashion, resulting in thousands losing their jobs, and causing social, economic and financial damage in its wake,” Gordhan said. Economists have questioned the affordability of the 4b rand ($272m) lifeline needed to launch the rescue plan, a majority of which will come from national treasury. Two of the largest trade unions at SAA, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA), have questioned the independence of the process and argue it will favour creditors over jobs.<br/>
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Malaysia Airlines Berhad and Turkish Airlines have expanded their commercial cooperation with a codeshare agreement. The new agreement will allow MAB to put its code on Turkish Airlines domestic flights to Ankara, Izmir and Antalya, in addition to the only 7X-weekly service between Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul. Turkish Airlines will in turn have its codes on 12 domestic Malaysian routes, as well as key South Pacific services from Kuala Lumpur to Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Auckland. Currently, Turkish has no connections between Istanbul and Australia, although the airline hinted in September 2018 that it plans to start nonstop service following the opening of Istanbul’s new airport and the delivery of its Boeing 787-9s.<br/>
Austrian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle both made carbon offsetting announcements Dec 5, although they are using passenger-funded schemes, unlike recent airline-funded initiatives at Air France, BA and easyJet. Norwegian selected Oslo-based climate-tech company CHOOOSE as its offset partner, enabling passengers to offset their emissions when they book a flight. CHOOOSE is already active in over 70 countries. “We’re now putting a price on actual carbon emissions from flying, making it easy for all our customers to take climate action,” Norwegian acting CEO Geir Karlsen said Thursday. Norwegian also became the first airline to sign a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change “Climate Neutral Now” pledge, committing to becoming climate neutral by 2050. Passengers will be able to see how the emissions of their Norwegian flight compare to industry averages. Emissions will be calculated using ICAO’s official methodology. Customers will then be able to opt in, offsetting their emissions through “gold standard” programs that meet UN guidelines.<br/>
SAS has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 in what will eventually be a fleet of eight. The A350-900 will have a three-class configuration totaling 300 seats: 40 in business class, 32 in SAS Plus premium economy and 228 in SAS Go economy. The first route to be operated by the new type will be Copenhagen-Chicago, beginning Jan. 28 2020, followed by other destinations, including North America and Asia. SAS currently has an Airbus fleet of 68 aircraft: 51 A320-family, and 17 A330/A340-family aircraft. As part of a fleet modernization, the tri-national airline will take delivery of 54 additional A320neo-family aircraft and the remaining seven A350-900s through a mix of direct purchases and leases.<br/>
A woman was stung by a scorpion which climbed up her trouser leg during a United flight. The passenger was attacked by the eight-legged arachnid while travelling from San Francisco to Atlanta. She told the TMZ website she started to feel a stinging sensation on her leg after the plane took off on Thursday. When she went to the toilet to investigate the pain, a scorpion fell out of her trousers and scurried away. The passenger was taken to hospital after landing but is expected to make a full recovery.<br/>