unaligned

LATAM Airlines CE Roberto Alvo said Thursday he expects the region´s largest carrier to be operating at half of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2020, and that a full recovery was unlikely for at least 3-4 years. LATAM filed for US bankruptcy protection last month, aiming to restructure $18b in debt. It was the world’s largest airline to date to seek an emergency reorganization due to the coronavirus pandemic. Alvo said the company plans to file a $2b plan with the US bankruptcy court in the coming days to address the crisis.<br/>

Austrian short-haul budget carrier Level Europe plans to file for insolvency, it said Thursday, becoming the latest airline casualty of the coronavirus crisis despite the financial might of parent IAG. The small airline, previously known as ANISEC, began operating in 2018. It has six Airbus short-haul jets and is part of IAG-owned Vueling Group. British Airways owner IAG also operates a long-haul airline called Level, which is separate from Level Europe, an IAG spokeswoman said. Level Europe blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for its move to cease trading, joining a growing list of airline failures after planes across the world were grounded for months during coronavirus lockdowns. <br/>

Hong Kong Airlines, kept alive by a working group in charge of HNA Group’s debt restructuring, is asking the local government to consider helping out other carriers after agreeing to a bailout plan for Cathay Pacific Airways. The city’s third-largest carrier said it has been contributing to the passenger and cargo throughput at Hong Kong International Airport since 2006, before the coronavirus pandemic crippled the industry and left most of its aircraft out of service. “We hope that the government will consider their recent airline bailout plan in conjunction with support for other Hong Kong-based carriers, who also help to maintain Hong Kong’s status as an aviation hub,” it said. “We are committed to serving Hong Kong and always open to strong strategic investors to secure our long-term development.” The Hong Kong government earlier this month agreed to provide 70% of the HK$39b recapitalisation plan at Cathay Pacific to protect the city’s position as an aviation hub. “We appreciate the various relief measures taken by the government to maintain Hong Kong's status as an aviation hub,” Hong Kong Airlines said. “We hope that the government will consider continuing their assistance to Hong Kong Airlines, to help us tide over this difficult period.”<br/>

JetBlue Airways will add 30 new domestic routes, restart some suspended flights and extend its premium Mint service to Newark, New Jersey, in a bet on recovery after a collapse in travel demand. The new routes, which are concentrated in the New York area but also include Florida and Philadelphia, are geared toward “small signs” of a rebound in leisure travel, JetBlue said in a statement Thursday. The additions and the restoration of suspended routes in July and August mean the airline will operate more than half its typical summer capacity. JetBlue’s decision to open new routes goes further than the capacity increases at other US carriers, which are using a modest rebound in travel to restore flights they suspended earlier this year as the Covid-19 pandemic all but erased demand. JetBlue is also expanding Mint service to Newark, the premium offering’s 16th city, even though business demand remains hindered by corporate travel restrictions. “As we’ve seen demand come back, the speed with which it returned surprised us, particularly in leisure markets and particularly in the last three to three and a half weeks,” said Scott Laurence, JetBlue’s head of revenue and planning. JetBlue is watching demand carefully since it’s been so volatile -- and as virus hospitalizations rise in some areas.<br/>

Provisional liquidators of South African regional carrier SA Express are attempting to find a buyer for the airline, claiming that they are engaging with six or seven parties which have expressed interest in the company. Their effort follows court approval on 15 June to extend their powers, in order to explore the possibility of attracting investment in the airline. Final liquidation orders for SA Express – which would have simply resulted in the dismantling of the company and disposal of its assets – have been postponed until 6 September, giving the provisional liquidators a three-month window to secure a deal. One of the liquidators, Aviwe Ntandazo Ndyamara, disclosed the situation as he belatedly testified to the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts on 17 June. The liquidators had previously been due to appear before the committee but failed to show – apparently due to a communication mix-up – and the committee chair, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, had threatened to subpoena them. Ndyamara stressed that there had been “no intention” to undermine the process and that the liquidators had wanted to provide a proper update on the SA Express situation. He told the committee that interest in the airline had emerged from several potential investors.<br/>

AirAsia CE Tony Fernandes has highlighted “encouraging” forward bookings and sales as the low-cost carrier seeks to recover from the impact of the coronavirus crisis. “There was a point where you couldn’t see where the light was going to come from,” Fernandes said – but now, “robust demand is coming back.” The carrier hopes to operate roughly 50% of pre-Covid-19 capacity by the beginning of July. Fernandes believes passenger demand could return to 2019 levels by the end of 2021, although he stresses that this is a “guesstimate.” Despite this confidence, the budget carrier is securing three different tranches of liquidity to shore up its position. “As a defensive we’re raising as much capital as we can,” says Fernandes. The main question in the short term is how quickly governments in the region are willing to open their borders given the risk of spreading infection. Over a slightly longer timeframe, AirAsia believes its position as the lowest-cost provider in the region should allow it to benefit from the post-pandemic economic landscape, as customers seek out the cheapest options. Benefits will also, the airline expects, arise from having passengers who tend to be younger than those of legacy carriers, and therefore less likely to be concerned about infection, and from a lower proportion of business travellers.<br/>