South Africa almost doubled the level of funding for South African Airways to ZAR16.4b (US$1.1b), cash that will go toward supporting a restructuring plan for the technically insolvent carrier. The bailout will be used to service and pay debt previously guaranteed by the state over the “medium term,” finance minister Tito Mboweni said in his budget speech Wednesday. The amount compares with ZAR9.2b earmarked for SAA in October. “It is the very sincere hope of many that this intervention will lead to a sustainable airline that is not a burden to the fiscus,” Mboweni said. While the planned shuttering of multiple domestic routes at the end of this month has drawn opposition from president Cyril Ramaphosa, the government intends to respect the authority of the business-rescue process. <br/>
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Two months ago, it was the world’s hottest airline stock. Now, investors are shunning it. Air Canada lost C$39b (US$3b) in market capitalisation from its January peak, making it the worst-performing airline on the Bloomberg World Airlines Index this year. Its shares have slumped 28% on deepening fears that the spread of the coronavirus will hinder travel. Tuesday, the carrier extended the cancellation of all flights between Canada and China to April 10 over concerns about the virus known as Coved-19. It also stopped daily non-stop flights between Toronto and Hong Kong until April 30 due to reduced market demand. Air Canada still has a positive longer-term outlook despite facing near-term pressure from coronavirus risk, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce analyst Kevin Chiang said. <br/>
Air travellers cannot receive cash compensation if their flight is delayed by a passenger biting others and assaulting crew members, an adviser at the Court of Justice of the EU said Thursday. Such incidents were "extraordinary circumstances," advocate general Priit Pikamae wrote in a non-binding opinion, a form of guidance that is normally followed by the court. A traveller flying from Brazil to Norway via Portugal in Aug. 2017 with TAP sought E600 compensation in accordance with EU law, after his flight departed late from the Brazilian city of Fortaleza. The plane had to be diverted to disembark a passenger biting and assaulting crew members before it could land back in Brazil, delaying the following outgoing flight. <br/>
Air NZ has maintained profitability even as it adapts to a lower growth environment, reporting a NZ$198m (US$124m) EBIT for the 6 months ended Dec 31, 2019, down from $217m in the year-ago period. “Our capacity discipline on existing routes, stimulation of leisure traffic with the domestic fare restructure and entrance into attractive new international markets has driven good revenue performance in the first half,” says chairman Therese Walsh. Operating revenue gained 3% to $3b, in tandem with 3.2% growth in the passenger segment that accounts for more than 85% of total revenues. The carrier attributes this to “solid demand” across its domestic and Pacific Islands networks, as well as new routes into Asia and North America. <br/>
SAS is concerned about the powerplant reliability issues as it prepares to select an aircraft type on which to base a future regional operation. The carrier has indicated that the Airbus A220 and Embraer E2 family are the candidates under consideration. But both are powered by versions of the Pratt & Whitney geared-fan engine – the PW1500G for the A220 and the PW1900G for the E2. Several recent engine shutdown incidents, affecting Swiss and Air Baltic A220s, have led to investigations into the root cause and regulatory directives governing powerplant operation. The E2 is also affected by the directives owing to the PW1900G’s similar architecture. SAS CE Rickard Gustafson says the airline wants to replace the Boeing 737-700s and Airbus A319s, and set up a separate regional division with a single-type fleet. <br/>