A growing number of Americans want to get the coronavirus vaccine, and a majority also support workplace, lifestyle and travel restrictions for those not inoculated against COVID-19, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. The national opinion poll of 1,005 people, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, suggested the pace of vaccinations may pick up as more vaccines become available and more people want them. Altogether, 54% of respondents said they were “very interested” in getting vaccinated. That was up from a January survey, when 41% expressed the same level of interest, and 38% in a May 2020 poll before a coronavirus vaccine was developed. Interest in the vaccine increased over the past year among whites and racial minorities, with about six in 10 whites and five in 10 members of minority groups now expressing a high level of interest. Twenty-seven percent of Americans said they were not interested in getting vaccinated, which was relatively unchanged from a similar poll that ran in May. But foreshadowing the social challenges that may emerge as the US begins to pull out of the yearlong pandemic, the latest poll showed a majority of Americans want to limit the ways in which unvaccinated people can mix in public.<br/>
general
South America’s airlines are bracing to cut flight capacity in the region beyond original expectations as a second wave of coronavirus infections in Brazil rages on and dampens demand for travel. Chile’s LATAM Airlines, said on Friday it expects flights in March to fall by 65% compared with March 2019, before the pandemic hit. The new guidance shows how badly the second coronavirus wave is affecting airlines in the region, especially in Brazil, which just this week posted a new record for daily deaths. Many countries have shut borders with Brazil while state governors in recent days have imposed ever tighter lockdowns to try to stop the spread. Domestic flights in Brazil are a key market for LATAM. Its main rival there, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, said on Friday it was asking passengers with tickets booked for April to confirm whether they were actually going to take the flight, suggesting they were expecting significant cancellations. “With the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gol is adapting its flight schedules for the month of April,” the airline said.<br/>
Australia is “working with Singapore” to create a travel bubble between the two nations as early as July, officials said on Sunday, in an effort to restart tourism and travel put on hold by Covid-19. Early in the pandemic Australia effectively closed its international border to slow the spread of the coronavirus, with non-citizens banned from visiting except in special circumstances. Deputy PM Michael McCormack said Australia was “working with Singapore at the moment potentially for a bubble (beginning) in July”. “As the vaccine rolls out, not only in Australia but in other countries, we will reopen more bubbles,” he told public broadcaster ABC. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the deal would allow Singaporeans and Australians who had been vaccinated to travel between the countries without quarantining.<br/>
Boeing unveiled a new order for its 737 MAX on Friday, pushing its shares up 6% as it renews efforts to recapture investor confidence following a two-year safety crisis. The deal to sell 24 of the 737-8 model to a backer of Canadian low-cost carrier Flair Airlines comes after Reuters reported it was poised to win another, much larger deal with Southwest. Shares in Boeing rose 6.2% to $267.86. Boeing has been trying to rebuild its image with passengers and airlines following the nearly two-year grounding of the MAX after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people. This week marked the second anniversary of the second accident, with a final investigative report expected any day. Boeing said Miami-based private equity firm 777 Partners, which has a stake in Flair Airlines, agreed to buy 24 737-8 airplanes with an option to purchase a further 60.<br/>
Airbus is canvassing airline support for a potential freighter version of its A350 passenger jet, targeting a key stronghold of US rival Boeing as e-commerce lifts demand for transported goods, people familiar with the matter said. The jet would be the first freighter spin-off of the latest generation of carbon-fibre jets and help stabilise output of wide-body jets that have been badly hit by the COVID-19 crisis. But a launch depends on identifying enough buyers willing to take a punt on fickle cargo demand in the midst of the aviation industry’s worst downturn, which has trampled airline finances. “We are always looking at product developments but do not comment on specific programmes,” an Airbus spokesman said. Air freight demand, which was weak before the COVID-19 crisis, has soared as home-bound shoppers turn to e-commerce, but analysts warn it is volatile and prone to extended downturns.<br/>
Boeing selected a new honcho for its 737 Max jetliner program -- the fifth executive to hold the post since 2018. Ed Clark Jr, a VP who previously served as chief mechanic and chief engineer for the single-aisle aircraft family, was named general manager of the operation, according to a memo sent to employees Friday. His duties include running the Renton, Washington, campus where Boeing has manufactured the workhorse 737s for more than a half-century. The program grappled with parts shortages in 2018, and hundreds of undelivered jets built during a grounding imposed in March 2019 after two fatal crashes. Clark held leadership roles at Southwest, the world’s largest 737 operator, and now-defunct Trans World Airlines before joining Boeing in 2006 as chief mechanic for single-aisle replacement studies. More recently, he was a VP for global technical operations with the planemaker’s global services division.<br/>
AerCap Holding’ $30b deal to buy General Electric’s plane-leasing arm is spurring talk of further consolidation in the sector just as air travel is poised to begin a slow recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. The transaction could be followed by more mergers and acquisitions, according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cowen’s Helane Becker said its valuation should give investors comfort around book values, while a firm the size of the enlarged AerCap will be able to dictate jet design and purchase terms to manufacturers. Fly Leasing Ltd., led by former Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington, has been exploring a sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Hong Kong’s billionaire Cheng family has also gauged buyer interest in Goshawk Aviation over the past year, the people said. Another potential target is Avolon Holdings, whose owner HNA Group is still working to unwind an acquisition spree after being taken over by the Chinese government. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed airlines around the world to cancel jet orders, push back deliveries and defer rental payments. As middlemen, leasing firms have suffered themselves while also playing a critical financing role in keeping deliveries flowing, often with sale-leaseback deals that hand vital cash to carriers. The sector remains highly fragmented on a global basis, meaning more deals could take place without stirring antitrust concerns.<br/>