The realization that most business can be conducted virtually teamed with a confusing array of testing and quarantine restrictions means many people don’t plan to resume their regular travel routines even once the coronavirus pandemic has subsided, a study by Inmarsat found. As many as 83% of passengers globally are reluctant to fall back into their old travel habits and 31% will travel less often by air, the survey of some 10,000 frequent fliers conducted by the London-based firm and released Tuesday showed. Fear of infection means only just over one-quarter of people in the Asia-Pacific region say they feel confident enough to fly again within six months. When Covid-19 all but shut international borders and closed down central business districts earlier this year, much of the world’s population, outside of those in essential services, was forced to start working remotely. Companies have also slashed expense budgets, including travel, as they reel from the economic impact of the virus. Many firms have found productivity has actually increased, questioning the need for people to always be in an office. “We’ve sat in our houses for a long time, we’re very used to doing business virtually now,” said Chris Rogerson, Inmarsat Aviation’s vice president of global sales. “Business travel will come down a little bit as we get used to these interactions being more digital, and airlines will have to adapt to this.” That’s added bad news for carriers. Corporate travel can drive between 55% and 75% of profit for top airlines, although it may only account for as few as 10% of passengers, because business travelers are more likely to purchase higher class or refundable fares. <br/>
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Boeing on Tuesday reported more cancellations of its beleaguered 737 Max jets, just as regulators wrap up their review of the planes following two fatal crashes. The aircraft manufacturer is facing dual crises of the 737 Max grounding, now in its 20th month, and the coronavirus pandemic, which as devastated air travel and the market for new aircraft. Boeing customers canceled 12 orders for the 737 Max in October and the company posted no new ones. Including aircraft Boeing removed from its official backlog, its outstanding orders shrunk to 4,275 from 4,325 last month. The FAA is wrapping up its evaluation of changes Boeing made to the planes after two 737 Max crashes killed 346 people and prompted a worldwide grounding of the jetliners in March 2019. That review will wrap up in the “coming days,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said Monday. The process has been expected to finish in mid-November and an order to end the grounding would be followed by pilot training, which is expected to take weeks. “Even though we are near the finish line, I will lift the grounding order only after our safety experts are satisfied that the aircraft meets certification standards,” Dickson said. American Airlines has scheduled the planes to fly commercially at the end of December, the earliest of the US carriers that have purchased them. The airline is also planning to allow customers to tour the planes and have its pilots and mechanics answer their questions in an effort to boost confidence in the jets.<br/>
Ireland will ease travel curbs for arrivals from "red" regions of Britain and the European Union hardest hit by COVID-19 from Nov. 29 by cutting their quarantine period to as little as five days from 14 currently if they test negatively for the virus. Ireland began implementing the EU's "traffic light" system for non-essential EU travellers this week, ending some of the bloc's tightest controls that were strongly opposed by its two main airlines, Ryanair and Aer Lingus. People arriving from "green" regions with fewer than 25 COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people in the last 14 days do not need to restrict their movements, neither do those travelling from "orange" areas if they produce a negative test taken in the previous three days. "Red" regions - those with infection rates of 50 or more per 100,000 and positive tests of 4% - must restrict their movement for a minimum of five days before they can take a test that, if returned negative, ends their quarantine, the government said. Only Greenland is now categorised as a low-risk green region, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), with Finland, Norway and parts of Greece deemed to be orange.<br/>