general

China expects a significant rebound in domestic travel over the upcoming Golden Week holiday after the sector was pummelled by the novel coronavirus for months, with some flights selling out and travel platforms reporting a surge in hotel bookings. The pent-up demand is fuelling optimism the Chinese travel industry has reached a turning point, with hopes the eight-day holiday from Oct. 1 will supercharge a tentative pickup seen in recent months, even as some trepidation over the virus lingers. China’s resurgent travel industry offers a striking contrast to business in some other parts of Asia as well as in the United States and Europe, where the novel coronavirus is still circulating and gatherings are restricted. The holiday to mark modern China’s founding is traditionally one of its busiest times for travel, and not just at home. Last year, 782m trips were made, with more than 7 million people travelling abroad, according to government data. "The demand on tourism that was suppressed for nine months will probably be released in these eight days," said online travel platform Trip.com, estimating that 600m trips could be made.<br/>

With the coronavirus crisis putting a chill on travel, European airlines are reducing fares to attract passengers and fill the planes that are still flying. Travel restrictions adopted by many countries to stem the spread of the disease have clobbered airlines, bringing air traffic to a near halt in the spring. And while traffic picked up during the summer, it is now falling off again. According to Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic in Europe, traffic has been slowing over the past couple of weeks, and is now 54% below its comparable level last year. A European airline trade association has put August traffic even lower, at just 30% of 2019 levels. Eurocontrol is now more pessimistic about a recovery for the sector. In the spring it had expected traffic to be 30% below 2019 levels in October, but it now sees a 57% drop. While the pandemic has left airlines starved for cash, they have begun to cut fare prices. According to ForwardKeys, a company which analyses the tourism market, airlines trimmed fares from Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands to destinations in southern Europe by 15% in August compared with the same period last year. In a study released Thursday it found that prices on some routes were down by more than one third.<br/>

Nearly 1 million people are expected to travel by air during the Chuseok fall harvest holiday despite the government's advisory asking people to remain at home to help contain the spread of COVID-19, transportation authorities said Monday. The Korea Airports Corp. estimated that some 963,000 people will use domestic airports, excluding Incheon International Airport, during this year's extended Chuseok holiday, which starts Wednesday and ends Sunday. The figure represents a 25% drop from last year's tally of 1.29m. But the projection is by no means considered low and comes as a concern, as state health authorities remain in a hard battle against a new wave of local transmissions that broke out in mid-August. The projected drop in the rate of airport usage is also smaller than March and April figures, when the country went through its first wave of mass outbreaks centered around Daegu. During the two months, the rate of air travel plummeted more than 50% on-year to 285,400 and 251,700, respectively.<br/>

The Australian government said Monday it will extend a COVID-19 relief package for domestic airlines by four months in its annual budget, as one economics forecaster predicted the country would record a A$198.5b ($140b) deficit. The federal government will continue underwriting domestic flights until Jan. 31, 2021, and flights to regional locations until March 28 when it delivers its annual budget on Oct. 6, Deputy PM Michael McCormack said. The extension reflects uncertainty about how long the new coronavirus will impact the Australian aviation industry, which has seen most of its revenue wiped out by the closure of national and internal state borders. Previously the government gave a Sept. 30 end date for the relief package. “The disruption caused by current border arrangements has made life difficult in the aviation industry, with cancelled flights, refunds and passenger frustration,” McCormack said. “Uncertainty affects the ability of airlines and airports to plan for recovery and undermines consumer confidence, which amounts to a significant cost to industry and ultimately the Australian economy.” McCormack did not put a dollar figure on the support package extension but said the government had already spent more than A$150m on it since introducing it in April.<br/>

FAA Chief Steve Dickson is set to conduct an evaluation flight at the controls of a Boeing 737 Max next week, a milestone as the US planemaker works to win approval to resume flights, the agency told lawmakers. The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Dickson, who was previously a commercial airline pilot, plans to undergo simulator training before the flight and will then share his observations with FAA technical staff. The FAA told lawmakers that Dickson and FAA Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell “will be in Seattle next week to take the recommended training.” The flight by Dickson will fulfill “his promise to fly the aircraft before the FAA approves its return to service.” Earlier Friday, Europe’s chief aviation safety regulator said the Max could receive regulatory approval to resume flying in November and enter service by the end of the year.<br/>

Airbus is considering reduced working time in production areas in France over the next two years to help the European planemaker limit job losses prompted by a collapse in global air travel due to Covid-19. The move would help it preserve skills in order to restart single-aisle aircraft production at rates similar to last year between 2023 and 2025, Airbus human resources head for France, Donald Fraty, wrote in a letter sent to workers on Friday. “Airbus faces an unprecedented crisis,” Fraty wrote, referring to an expert report on the economic situation presented to the work’s council on Thursday. “The prospects for resuming our activities are deeply uncertain.” Airbus has pledged to slash 15,000 jobs across its operations, with France braced to absorb about one-third of those, as it grapples with an unprecedented industry slump that has seen almost all its airline customers postpone or switch orders. CEO Guillaume Faury stepped up warnings over jobs this week, saying the situation had worsened and that carriers were in a more difficult situation after the summer holiday period than he had hoped. The planemaker is seeking a majority agreement with staff that opens the way to furloughing and other tools that will lower the number of compulsory redundancies, Fraty wrote. If approved, reduced working time would apply from Jan. 1, with partial unemployment prolonged for everyone in France until the end of this year. The work’s council is due to decide on the plan on Oct. 15.<br/>