Delta is in early talks with governments to add more quarantine-free flights overseas, a company executive said on Tuesday, as the aviation industry turns to such testing-backed programs to revive demand battered by COVID-19. The US carrier is rolling out two quarantine-free flights this week to Europe, where passengers are required to be tested for the novel coronavirus. The flights, which are restricted to essential travel to meet government requirements, begin later on Tuesday with a departure from Atlanta to Amsterdam. “This is the first step,” said Perry Cantarutti, Delta’s senior VP, alliances and international. “Our focus is not just across the Atlantic. I think we’d like to see a similar program across the Pacific... It’s a combination of certainly identifying the need and then finding an opportunity where you’ve got government authorities that are willing to have that conversation,” he added, without specifying the governments involved in the talks. Even as COVID-19 vaccinations kick off this week in the United States and Canada, airlines see testing as the fastest way to resume international travel without quarantines since inoculation campaigns take time.<br/>
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Aeroflot said Tuesday it would designate a special seating area on its aircrafts for passengers refusing to wear medical masks. Aeroflot spokeswoman Yulia Spivakova said: “Dedicated seats are allocated to passengers who declare their refusal to use masks after (the aircraft’s) doors close.” She added this was a common practice worldwide and a necessary measure. Aeroflot said on Monday that passengers would only be allowed to board its flights wearing a mask that fully covered their mouth and nose. Russia grounded international commercial flights during the coronavirus lockdown it imposed earlier this year. It has since resumed flights to some destinations, including the UK, Turkey and Tanzania.<br/>
IAG and its Spanish unit Iberia will hold board meetings this week to decide whether to go ahead with the acquisition of Spanish carrier Air Europa, Spanish news website ElConfidencial said on Tuesday. IAG agreed to buy Air Europa for E1b in November 2019, but has been seeking to reduce the price amid the travel crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both IAG and Iberia declined to comment, while officials at Globalia, the owner of Air Europa, were not immediately available for comment. The deal was designed to enhance IAG’s operations on routes to Latin America and the Caribbean.<br/>
China Airlines has taken delivery of its first Boeing 777F, as it sets its sights on expanding its cargo business in the coming year. The aircraft, registered B-18771, is the first of six 777F aircraft China Airlines will operate, with deliveries spanning between 2020 and 2023. It will take delivery of another two 777Fs by January 2021. The carrier will operate the new 777Fs on cargo routes between Taiwan and North America, as well as to Asia, as it hopes to tap into burgeoning demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. China Airlines will use the 777Fs — first ordered in 2019’s Paris air show — to replace its ageing 747-400Fs. Cirium fleets data indicates the carrier to have 18 in operation, and a further two in storage. The carrier also joins compatriot EVA Air as 777F operators, with the latter operating a fleet of five examples, and a further three more on order. China Airlines has doubled down on cargo amid the pandemic, noting that revenue from freighter operations between January and November has grown 83% year on year. The airline is also looking to grow cargo capacity by 15% in 2021.<br/>
Vietnam Airlines, budget carrier Jetstar Pacific and Vietnam Air Services Company will supply over 414,000 extra seats from Jan 27 to Feb 26,2021 to serve increasing travel demand during the peak season during the Lunar New Year Holiday. This will bring the total seats on flights operated by the Vietnam Airlines Group during the traditional holiday to 2.4m, equivalent to nearly 12,000 flights. The group said many flights have been 50-90% booked. Passengers are advised to book tickets via the group’s official channels such as websites or ticket agents, and request an invoice to avoid buying fake or overpriced tickets.<br/>