Beach resorts and small hotels alike throughout Mexico and the Caribbean are racing to ensure guests have access to Covid tests as new travel requirements take effect. Starting Tuesday, the US government will require travelers over age 2, including US citizens, to show proof of a recent, negative Covid-19 test result before boarding flights to the United States. Mexico had remained a relative bright spot for vacations abroad, partially because it lacks the testing or quarantine requirements that some other destinations have implemented, but the new rules have hurt bookings. “There’s no doubt, the test requirement is a short-term negative,” United CCO Andrew Nocella said during a quarterly call Thursday. “But as these tests get out there and that ... reopens borders not only to Mexico but around the world, we think that’s a good medium- and long-term change and will prompt more and more demand.” United on Monday unveiled a new platform that provides travelers testing requirements for their destinations, local testing sites and a portal to upload their test results that would be required to fly. ″We are going to work really, really hard to make sure it’s really, really easy to travel with United even with the new testing requirements,” United’s chief customer officer Toby Enqvist said on last week’s call.<br/>
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Lufthansa Group airlines are introducing a requirement for all passengers and crew members to wear only medical protective masks on flights to and from Germany. The company’s rule will comes into force on February 1. From that date, passengers will be required to wear either a surgical mask or an FFP2 mask or mask with the KN95/N95 standard during boarding the flight and when leaving the aircraft. Everyday masks will be no longer permitted. The airlines of the Lufthansa Group had already introduced a requirement to wear a mouth-nose mask on board their flights in May of last year, making them one of the pioneers worldwide. By adapting the regulation, the Lufthansa Group is now taking up the resolution passed by the federal and state governments in Germany on January 19. <br/>
Ethiopian Airlines, which lost 157 passengers and crew in the second fatal crash of a B737-8 in early 2019, has been advised not to accept a settlement offer of US$500m to US$600m by Boeing, but to sue the manufacturer for punitive damages in the US, reports The Seattle Times. In a letter to CEO Tewolde GebreMariam on January 24, 2021, Chicago-based law firm DiCello Levitt Gutzler - which Ethiopian Airlines hired to provide advice on its claims against Boeing – warned the offer fell “grossly short” of what the airline could win before a US jury. This was particularly so since Boeing recently accepted responsibility for criminal fraud during the aircraft’s certification by regulators, said the letter signed by co-founding partner Adam Levitt. The settlement Boeing offered was “a mere fraction” of the actual damage, the lawyers told Tewolde, and accepting it would “be a tremendous political and financial mistake for Ethiopian Airlines,” they claimed. The letter conveyed the attorneys’ concern that direct settlement negotiations between Boeing and the airline’s management were close to finalisation and that a “financially disastrous” deal for the airline may be imminent.<br/>
ANA will introduce in April a sabbatical system that will allow its employees to pursue personal interests such as studying for up to two years, company officials said Tuesday, as travel demand plunges amid the coronavirus pandemic. The airline's move, unprecedented in Japan in terms of length of the leave, comes as ANA tries to curb labor costs, having furloughed many cabin crew members due to the virus spread. Around 15,000 ANA pilots, and cabin and ground staff will be eligible for the new sabbatical system to pursue goals that necessitate long-term planning such as studying abroad, obtaining qualifications and working temporarily at other companies, they said. While the leave will be unpaid, the company will provide 200,000 yen for those who within fiscal 2021 start their sabbatical of more than one year. The airline will cover employees' social security contributions during their absence that can last at least one month. Those taking the sabbatical can choose from several options of length -- up to five months, one year, 18 months and two years.<br/>