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PM Justin Trudeau’s government criticized moves by Canada’s largest airlines to cut jobs and routes amid tightening restrictions on travel to curb the spread of Covid-19. Air Canada said Wednesday it will reduce flights by about 25% from planned capacity in the first quarter, resulting in about 1,900 lost jobs. The country’s second-largest carrier, WestJet, announced similar cuts last week. Air Canada is suspending flights to some remote regions, including all routes serving Labrador on the Atlantic coast. The company cited weak demand and new measures imposed by the federal and provincial governments in recent weeks, one of which is a requirement that travelers provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test before flying to Canada. A spokesperson for new Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the government is “disappointed” with the cuts and is “developing a package of assistance to the Canadian airline industry,” which will have strings attached. “Before we spend one penny of taxpayer money on airlines, we will ensure that Canadians get their refunds, regional communities retain air connections to the rest of Canada and Canadian air carriers maintain their status as key customers of Canada’s aerospace industry,” said Allison St. Jean, a spokesperson for Alghabra. The comments come as the Liberal government and airlines discuss potential aid for the sector. Airlines have been vocal about how Canada’s closed borders and strict quarantine rules are suppressing demand for travel. Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor, said he wasn’t aware of any “meaningful” negotiations between the government and the airlines.<br/>

United is waiving fare difference charges for international passengers who choose to travel to the United States before the nation’s blanket coronavirus testing requirement begins on 26 January. United says on 13 January the move will allow passengers more leeway in rebooking flights should they wish to travel prior to the date the new policy takes effect. “United will waive the fare difference for customers rebooking international tickets originally purchased on or before Jan. 12, 2021 for scheduled travel to the US through Feb 15, 2021,” the airline says. It adds that customers must choose to rebook their travel to begin on or before 25 January. Late last year, major US carriers eliminated booking change fees on most tickets, but this is the first time that they are expanding the free rebooking options to include fare differences. On 12 January, the US government said it will require inbound international air travellers to provide a negative coronavirus test result that is less than 72h old before entering the country.<br/>

United is pushing back its plans to return to New York’s John F Kennedy International airport by one month as the coronavirus crisis continues to disrupt US air transport. The carrier says that instead of launching flights from JFK to the West Coast on 1 February as previously planned, they will begin four weeks later. In addition, the airline said it will begin with just one daily round-trip each between JFK and San Francisco International airport and Los Angeles International airport, instead of the two each that it had scheduled. United says it hopes to double the frequency to two round trips per day by the end of March. “Due to new travel restrictions and the continued impact of Covid-19 on customer demand, we are delaying the start of our service between New York’s JFK Airport and our hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles until February 28, 2021,” the airline says. “Throughout the pandemic, United has been a leader in nimbly reshaping our schedule, and we look forward to offering this convenient service and a best-in-class product from New York City to the west coast in the coming weeks.” <br/>

Condor has complained to federal competition authority Bundeskartellamt about Lufthansa Group’s decision to terminate a feeder flight agreement. Confirming its receipt of the complaint, the Bundeskartellamt says it will investigate the matter. Condor has not yet replied to a request for comment. Lufthansa says: “As a result of the worst crisis in worldwide aviation, we are forced to significantly reduce our fleet, and unfortunately we need to cut thousands of jobs. It would be irresponsible to neglect capacity utilisation of our own aircraft and therefore endanger additional jobs at Lufthansa.” The airline group told Cirium in December that its decision to terminate the feeder flight agreement with Condor was part of a wider plan to “prioritise utilisation of [the group’s] own capacity”. That plan, Lufthansa adds, was made in early 2020 and included termination of wet-lease contracts with five partner airlines for around 30 aircraft in total. Lufthansa has decided to maintain commercial co-operations only if they secure jobs within the group, it says. “Contracts that result in a transfer of passenger flows from Lufthansa to other airlines will not be continued.” The long-standing co-operation enabled Condor – a former Lufthansa subsidiary – to provide customers with mainline feeder flights into its own network within a complete package. Condor passengers were able to gain points in under Lufthansa’s loyalty programme.<br/>

Singapore Airlines has raised US$500m in its first US dollar bond issue, which the company will use to buy new aircraft as the global aviation industry prepares for a post-pandemic travel rebound. The transaction was finalised early on Thursday and the price was set at US treasuries plus 260 basis points, according to a term sheet. The size of the five-and-a-half-year deal was finalised after bookrunners received bids above US$1.5b, and the bond carries a 3% coupon rate, the term sheet shows. SIA said the issuance was oversubscribed with the final demand at more than US$2.85b, and it was anchored by "high-quality institutional investors". The proceeds will be used for aircraft purchases, related payments and other general purposes including refinancing of existing borrowings, the airline said. "The issuance further strengthens the company’s liquidity position, and provides SIA with the financial flexibility to capture medium-to-long-term growth beyond the COVID-19 pandemic," it said.<br/>

Thai Airways acting president Chansin Treenuchagron has offered reassurance that the carrier is working “diligently” to ensure its rehabilitation plan will be submitted by its “specified timeframe”. The Thai flag carrier said on 5 January that it would submit the plan by 2 February, after being granted a one-month extension to a previous deadline of 2 January. The plan requires approval by the airline’s creditors. “Due to the ongoing circulation of news regarding the rehabilitation plan of Thai which may cause public confusion, Thai would like to reassure to the public that Thai’s rehabilitation plan is still in progress without any interruption under supervision of the [Central] Bankruptcy Court,” Treenuchagron said Wednesday. “The rehabilitation plan involves many creditors and complex issues that require consultation from professional advisers and experts in order to submit the rehabilitation plan within a limited period.”<br/>

The family of a longtime Nigerian diplomat killed in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 Max in Ethiopia has joined litigation against the company in US federal court. Lawyers for heirs of Abiodun Bashua accused Boeing of negligence in development of the Max. The 67-year-old Bashua had held many foreign service jobs for Nigeria and worked with the UN Economic Commission for Africa over a 40-year career. He was among the 157 people killed when a Max operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa. “Thinking of him sitting in a plane, a place he was very comfortable ... watching a bunch of people falling to the ground and knowing that they were about to perish, knowing that for the first time in a long time he could not do anything about it, is one of those memories that haunts me today,” one of his sons, Lekan Bashua of Chicago, said Wednesday during a news conference organized by the family’s lawyers. The Bashua family lawsuit, which also named Boeing contractors Rosemount Aerospace and Rockwell Collins, was filed last month in U.S. district court in Chicago, where lawsuits filed by dozens of families have been consolidated into two cases — one for the Ethiopian crash and the other for a 2018 Max crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people. Most of the other lawsuits were filed in 2019. Lawyers said it took longer for the extended Bashua family to decide on its legal team.<br/>

Austrian Airlines is preparing to retire Boeing 767s as part of a wider fleet-reduction effort. The Lufthansa Group carrier says the first 767-300ER will leave its fleet in early March, and that two further aircraft are scheduled to be retired in autumn. Cirium fleet data shows that Austrian has six 767-300ERs within a fleet that also includes 777-200ERs, Airbus A320-family jets, Embraer 195s, and De Havilland Dash 8-400 turboprops. Around half of the 80-strong fleet is listed as being in storage. Austrian’s 767s and most of its 777s joined the fleet through its acquisition of Lauda Air in 2001. Built in 1991, OE-LAT is the oldest 767 in Austrian’s fleet; the youngest was manufactured in 2000. The airline says it intends to reduce its fleet to 60 aircraft by the beginning of 2022.<br/>