SIA is tapping existing investors for up to S$15b (US$10.48b) through the sale of shares and convertible bonds to offset the shock to its business from the coronavirus outbreak. The fundraising is being underwritten by the airline's biggest investor, state-owned Temasek Holdings, which owns about 55% of the group. SIA's shares went into a rare trading halt earlier in the day after plunging to their lowest in 22 years as investors feared the pandemic will have a deep impact on the company. "Under the current dire circumstances, the rights issue is the best tactical move for SIA. It underscores the carrier's strategic importance to Singapore and the island state's position as both a financial centre and aviation hub," Shukor Yusof, head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, said. <br/>
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South African Airways acting CE Zuks Ramasia will retire April 14, less than a year after assuming the position. The carrier says it has accepted a request from Ramasia for early retirement. Her interim successor will be announced “in due course”, adds the airline. Ramasia became acting CE June 10, 2019, following the resignation of Vuyani Jarana. The former GM of operations had been appointed to run the struggling airline while it searched for a permanent successor to Jarana. She joined SAA as a cabin-crew member in 1992, rising through the ranks to become GM of operations in 2012. “Her journey was truly an example of how a number of women are progressively moving up the ranks in previously male-dominated industries,” states SAA chair Thandeka Mgoduso. <br/>
From March 28 only essential workers will be allowed to travel long distances. Air NZ has cancelled dozens of domestic flights in the lead up to a travel ban coming into force for everyone except non-essential staff working through New Zealand's coronavirus lockdown. After PM Jacinda Ardern announced Monday that New Zealand would go into at least 4 weeks of lockdown from Thursday in an effort to try contain the spread of Covid-19, Air NZ scrambled to add capacity on its domestic network to help desperate Kiwis get home. It now appears most people have made it home and demand for domestic flights has dried up. Auckland International's domestic arrivals and departures pages show 43 Air NZ flights have been cancelled Friday. <br/>