Korean Air Lines is poised to sell its in-flight catering and duty-free businesses, joining other embattled carriers in offloading assets including art collections to raise cash after the coronavirus plunged the aviation industry into crisis. The Korean flag-carrier will sign an agreement as early as next week to sell its catering business to private equity firm Hahn & Co. for about 1t won ($840m), Korea Economic Daily reported Friday, citing an unidentified source. Korean Air last month confirmed it was in talks with Hahn for both the catering and duty-free units and the two had outlined a sale plan. A spokesman for the airline said Friday that talks were ongoing. Covid-19 has put airlines under extraordinary pressure as travel restrictions force them to ground planes and drastically rein in costs through layoffs, salary cuts and other steps. Many have turned to capital markets and governments for financial support. Others have taken more novel approaches, such as BA auctioning some of its art collection. Japan’s ANA Holdings said this week it is selling a pilot-training center in Tokyo, while Korean Air has also already announced plans to sell a plot of land in Seoul and its stake in a marina operator. <br/>
general
The aviation industry has taken a direct blow from the coronavirus, with an estimated 8,600 aircraft -- one-third of the global fleet -- grounded during a month that is normally the high season for vacations. A total of 383 planes stood idle at Roswell International Air Centre in New Mexico, known an "aircraft boneyard," as of Aug. 18, according to Cirium, a UK aviation analytics company. The number represents a sharp increase from 103 at the beginning of this year. Many US airline companies are parking Boeing's 737s and 777s at Roswell for fees of $10 to $14 a day. As airline companies around the world reduce flights, they are being forced to store the planes at boneyards such as Roswell. Cirium puts the number of such aircraft at 8,600 as of mid-August, or roughly a third of the global fleet. Furthermore, demand for travel is not recovering rapidly. Data from British airline information company OAG shows that in Europe, where mobility restrictions were eased, international flights in the third week of August were still about 60% less than at the same time last year.<br/>
Airlines find themselves facing a critical dilemma as they resize their networks for a new post-coronavirus normal, and must walk a tightrope between furloughing pilots and keeping them on staff to maintain network flexibility, experts say. During a webinar hosted by FlightGlobal, three industry experts weighed in on what airlines must do to keep balance between shrinking their pilot workforces in the short term to save money, while keeping enough pilots working or in easy reach if and when a significant recovery begins. “It’s a meaningful conundrum,” Oliver Wyman aviation practice partner Geoff Murray. Murray, also a former US airline pilot, warns of a “pilot re-shortage” once passengers begin returning to air travel. “Airlines are very distracted in terms of survival as a key issue right now, but when you look at the market dynamics, that problem of a global supply issue can quickly resurface in a post-recovery environment,” says Keith Butler, managing director at CAE Parc Aviation. “Airlines need to now start planning on how to deal with that.” Story has more. <br/>
The Trump administration’s efforts to require airlines to collect contact tracing information from US-bound international passengers has stalled, five people briefed on the matter said Friday, adding such a mandate is unlikely this year. Major airlines and administration officials have held talks for months over a long-standing effort by the CDC to mandate the collection and reporting of tracing information from passengers arriving to the US from foreign destinations. In June, Reuters reported the White House had tasked an interagency working group with adopting an interim solution that could be in place by Sept. 1 as the issue gained urgency with the coronavirus outbreak. After a White House meeting this week, airline and US officials, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said no plan is likely to be adopted and in effect before the end of 2020. Some government officials have raised privacy concerns about moving forward with any contact tracing requirements. White House spokesman Judd Deere said Friday “the White House continues to work with the airlines on the best solution to protect the health and safety of the public not only during this ongoing pandemic but for future ones as well.”<br/>
Passenger planes are taking more direct routes “as the crow flies” as the empty skies have shaved 30 miles off the average journey, it has emerged. Jon Proudlove, a senior figure at the air traffic control firm NATS, said that flights which usually have to take a longer route because of congestion in the air can now fly straight to their destination, meaning they arrive quicker. The Sunday Times reported that this has reduced the average length of flights in Britain and Europe by 30 miles - savings which add up to about 30,000 miles a day. Travel expert Paul Charles said this would be welcomed by consumers who prize airlines whose flights take off on time and do not arrive delayed. Research by his firm, the PC Agency, and AudienceNet, found that more than 80 per cent of frequent flyers said that punctuality or length of flight was the most important factor when choosing an airline. Charles said: “The upside of this for consumers is they will get better punctuality. We know that a plane that takes off on time and arrives on time is important to travellers. It has knock on implications, for example if you have a car hire or something booked you don’t want to arrive late for that.”<br/>
Canada's transport agency said Friday it will take a Boeing 737 MAX out for a test flight, more than a year after two deadly crashes led to the jetliner's grounding around the world. Transport Canada said it would conduct the test flights in US airspace during the week of August 24. Agency staff will also conduct flight simulator tests at Boeing's facility in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has been making strides towards getting the MAX certified to fly again, with test flights in late June, but authorities have not yet given the green light. In early August, the US FAA unveiled a list of recommended changes to ensure the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX. "Transport Canada remains committed to ensuring that flight restrictions in Canada remain in effect until the department is fully satisfied that the manufacturer and the FAA have addressed all safety concerns and that training requirements for flight crews are in place," the agency said.<br/>
Europe's travel recovery stalled at the start of August after a stronger performance in July, as quarantine rules and warnings over rising infection rates created uncertainty and deterred tourists from booking trips abroad. In July, ticket numbers for cross-border air travel within Europe stood at 28% of 2019's levels, as Europeans began to travel again after months of lockdown. But by the first week of August, volumes had fallen to 18%, according to data provided by travel analysis group ForwardKeys. Britain brought back quarantine rules for arrivals from Spain on July 26, just over two weeks after saying travel there was safe, and so far in August has added France, Croatia and Austria to the list with less than two days notice. Rising COVID-19 infection levels in Spain have also prompted Austria, Sweden and Germany to warn against travel to the whole country or regions within it, creating uncertainty, and dampening airline hopes for a strong recovery. Europe's biggest airline by passenger numbers, Ryanair, said on Monday it was already seeing the impact of new restrictions on bookings and it would reduce its flight capacity plans for September and October. Looking ahead, tickets issued for Q4 for intra-Europe air travel are down 70% on last year, said Olivier Ponti, VP at ForwardKeys. The fast-changing situation also means people are leaving it much later to make plans, searching for flights and booking much closer to their intended departure date than they did last year, he said.<br/>
Boeing said Friday it is developing a hand-held wand that emits ultraviolet light to neutralize bacteria and viruses, part of a suite of methods to disinfect flight deck surfaces and controls, as well as surfaces throughout the cabin. Concerns by airline workers and passengers about the spread of COVID-19 has fueled a rush by companies to roll out new technology for aircraft sanitization. The wand would eliminate the need for using alcohol or other disinfectants that could damage sensitive electronic equipment, Rae Lutters, chief engineer for Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator program, told a media briefing. Boeing is looking at licensing the technology and hiring third-party companies in the fall to begin manufacturing the wands for commercial use, it said.<br/>