EasyJet’s losses soared to more than GBP800m this year, sending the low-cost airline into the red for the first time in its 25-year history, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten the future of companies across the global travel industry. In a sign of increasing desperation for airlines, easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren urged the British government to prop up the sector further as the company slashes winter flight schedules because of plunging passenger demand. “The UK government urgently needs to step up with a bespoke package of measures to ensure airlines are able to support economic recovery when it comes,” he said. Aviation is the latest industry to demand more support from government, joining hospitality, leisure and the arts. It has been one of the hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic, with flights grounded and staff furloughed as governments have been forced into aggressive international quarantines to contain the outbreak. On Wednesday, Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands airports warned that almost 900 jobs were at risk after a 90% cut in demand for travel since March, following similar warnings at other main airports. “Along with other airlines, the company now has to look to summer 2021 for at least a partial recovery in demand. Absent this, the industry will face an existential threat,” said Daniel Roeska, a Bernstein analyst.<br/>
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EasyJet said Thursday it would open a new base in Faro, the main city in Portugal’s popular Algarve tourist region, which has been hammered by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Joao Lopes, easyJet’s executive director in Portugal, said the airline would allocate three aircraft to Faro next year, making it the company’s third base in the southern European nation. It already has bases in Lisbon and Porto. EasyJet hopes to operate 17 international routes to and from Faro between March and October 2021. Lopes said easyJet wanted to “be able to react as soon as the recovery starts (...) and reinforce tourism in Algarve”, a region well known among British tourists for its beaches and golf courses.<br/>
Southwest will continue to add new destinations to help boost revenue even as it seeks pay cuts from workers because of a collapse in travel demand. Expanding into new markets “is really a mandate” as the carrier seeks new customers amid the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Gary Kelly said Thursday. He announced new seasonal service to Montrose, Colorado, which is near ski resorts in Telluride, and set Nov. 15 as the starting date for Southwest’s previously disclosed debut in Miami and Palm Springs, California. The additions enable Southwest to tap more of the remaining demand for flights to beach and mountain locations as domestic passenger counts languish at about a third of 2019 levels. Southwest is incurring “minimal additional costs” in expanding to the new cities and there are other growth pockets to be tapped with the company’s fleet of Boeing Co. 737 jets, he said. “It’s exciting to take the fight to the competition and put idle aircraft and overstaffed employees to work,” Kelly said in a video message to employees. “Fortunately, our route map still has dozens of airports for growth with 737s. We’ll pursue these opportunities aggressively but not recklessly, and in every case they must meet our cash-flow threshold and contribute to our recovery.” <br/>
Boeing is in discussions to sell 737 MAX jets to Alaska Air Group once the plane returns to service following a lengthy grounding, three people familiar with the matter said. The talks are part of a series of negotiations between Boeing and several airlines over jet orders or compensation after the 737 MAX was banned worldwide following two fatal crashes. Boeing and Alaska Air declined to comment. Any deal would be subject to US FAA approval of proposed 737 MAX safety upgrades. Alaska Air already had ordered 37 of the jets before the grounding. If confirmed, a new order from such a major carrier would give Boeing's 737 MAX a sorely needed commercial boost as the US planemaker tries to move beyond a crisis that has hammered its finances. It would also mark a post-crisis test of the balance of power between Boeing and Airbus. The planemaker is battling to keep a foothold in Alaska Air. That carrier once exclusively used Boeing jets, until it acquired Airbus operator Virgin America. However, any new deal between Alaska Air and Boeing is expected to include significant discounts given the MAX's woes and plunging demand for airplanes during the coronavirus crisis, industry sources said.<br/>
Malaysia’s AirAsia Group is looking to slash dozens of planes from its fleet by returning aircraft to lessors, Group CE Tony Fernandes said on Thursday. “We are not going to buy new planes and we are going to return as many as we can. I estimate by the end of next year we’ll be flying 180 planes,” Fernandes told reporters. The group currently has 245 aircraft. He said the group has is already looking at returning 22 planes from this year. Fernandes said AirAsia remains in talks with Airbus about reducing pending orders. “I don’t see us getting into a position where we want to buy planes for a number of years. And even if we want to buy planes, there will probably be a lot of cheap secondhand planes,” Fernandes said.<br/>
Japanese start-up Zipair Tokyo will begin passenger flights to Seoul Incheon on 16 October after a planned earlier launch was delayed by the Covid-19 crisis. The South Korean capital will be served twice weekly from Tokyo Narita, says the JAL low-cost subsidiary. It says it will be the only Japanese carrier to connect the two cities, but notes that the schedule awaits government approval. Established in 2018, Zipair Tokyo had planned to launch passenger flights in May, serving Bangkok first and then Seoul from July. Instead, the carrier began cargo flights to Seoul from Narita on 12 September. “Due to the impact of the new coronavirus infection, we were forced to postpone the launch of our passenger flights,” states the airline’s president Shingo Nishida. “We had more time to prepare for the start of passenger flights than we had originally planned”. In February, Nishida said the airline aimed to establish a “new basic” class of medium- to long-haul airlines, sitting between the low-cost and full-service categories that have the aviation industry “polarised”. There are plans to operate transpacific routes.<br/>
A passenger gave birth at 30,000ft while flying from Delhi to Bengaluru in India. The baby was born on IndiGo flight 6E 122, the airline confirmed in a statement. “We confirm that a baby boy was delivered prematurely on flight 6E 122 from Delhi to Bangalore. There are no further details available,” a spokesperson for the carrier said. Mother and infant were well taken care of according to a fellow traveller on the flight. “Was on @IndiGo6E 6E 122 flight to BLR, woman gives birth mid-indiair, amazing team work of indigo flight attendants,” tweeted Prabhu Stavarmath. “They setup a hospital in minutes and the new born cried mid-air. Dr Shailaja Vallabhani was fortunately on this flight! Thank you God and entire @IndiGo6E crew.” Pictures of the unexpected arrival, which took place on 7 October, show crew members in PPE holding the tiny baby.<br/>