Ukraine will make every effort to maximise compensation for a Ukrainian jet shot down by Iran on Jan. 8 but talks with Tehran, which began on Thursday, will not be easy, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Iranian forces say they downed the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 jet after mistaking it for a missile at a time when tensions with the United States had risen. All 176 people on board - including 57 Canadians - were killed. "We will achieve justice, no matter how much time and effort it costs," Kuleba said in a statement published by the ministry after the two delegations met in Kyiv. The ministry said more details would be reported on Friday. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in February that Ukraine was not satisfied with the size of compensation Iran had offered to families of Ukrainians killed in the incident. <br/>
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SkyWest Airlines reported a $26m loss in the coronavirus-marked second quarter as demand slumped and the airline significantly reduced its network. Operating revenue was $350m, down from $744m in the same period one year ago, the airline tells analysts on its quarterly earnings call. “Covid-19 continues to cause unprecedented disruption across the airline industry,” SkyWest CE Chip Childs said Thursday. “Undoubtedly the next few months will be turbulent.” The regional carrier, which operates flights through codeshare arrangements with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, had 471 aircraft at the end of the second quarter, down from 484 at the end of the first quarter. It expects to shrink further to 450 aircraft by the end of 2020. Chief operations officer Wade Steel says the coronavirus crisis accelerated the carrier’s fleet replacement programme, as it moves more toward Embraer 175 regional jets. By mid-2022, the airline will have 213 of the type in service, up from 156 at the end of 2019, he says.<br/>
Thailand’s bankruptcy court on Thursday said it had accepted a petition from Nok Airlines for bankruptcy protection, as the coronavirus pandemic worsened conditions for the struggling airline. The court set the first day of hearings for Oct. 27. Its acceptance gives the budget carrier an automatic stay on debt worth 26b baht ($828m). Thai Airways, which holds a 13% stake in Nok Airlines, filed for bankruptcy protection in May, while Nok Airlines’ subsidiary, NokScoot Airlines, entered liquidation the following month. Nok Airlines has booked losses since 2014. The airline said on its Facebook page on Thursday that despite its request for bankruptcy rehabilitation, it was continuing services as normal.<br/>
Jetstar is dramatically increasing its domestic schedule for August, returning to 90% capacity of pre-Covid levels. The uptick in services will see more than 100 return flights across six different routes from next month, with a further 25 flights added to the schedule. Jetstar Group CE Gareth Evans said flight booking exceeded expectations in the first month the airline resumed domestic flights - when it was at 60% of the pre-Covid flight schedule. "It's no secret that New Zealanders love to travel, and demand for our low fares to popular leisure destinations, such as Queenstown and Dunedin, have been really strong," he said. "We have also seen an increase in the number of customers flying for business, specifically between Auckland and Wellington. While many other countries are operating a limited domestic network due to Covid-19 related restrictions, it's exciting to see the local tourism market in New Zealand going from strength to strength."<br/>