Star Alliance will establish a management office in the city state of Singapore later this year. This was a decision taken by its Chief Executive Board, comprising the CEOs of its 26 member airlines, who considered a new centre of excellence to be an important dimension of positioning the Alliance to deliver on its post-Coronavirus strategy, and for it to remain innovative, resilient and nimble. All businesses are reimagining a post-pandemic world fundamentally changed by COVID-19, and the associated disruption to global networks, economies, and the livelihoods of many. A consequence of the world’s reaction to COVID-19 has been the destabilizing effect it has had on aviation. This decision to future-proof the Alliance was made against this backdrop. Effectively, Star Alliance will maintain two centres of excellence internationally, in keeping with the global character of the Alliance. The Singapore office will complement the long-standing office in Frankfurt, Germany and will focus on progressing its strategy in digital customer experience. <br/>
star
EgyptAir is looking to expand in Africa as air traffic recovers from the pandemic, even as the carrier seeks more than $300m in additional government aid. The state-owned airline plans to help develop a new Ghanaian carrier and is weighing a joint venture with a Sudanese airline, according to Roshdy Zakaria, CEO of EgyptAir Holding Co. The new airline, likely called Air Ghana, will probably begin operations “in a couple of months,” he said. EgyptAir will provide four Boeing 737-800 aircraft to the Accra-based airline in which it will have a 75% share, Zakaria said. The company is also in talks with Sudan Airways, the troubled state carrier of Egypt’s southern neighbor, for an initiative that might involve establishing a transport hub, Zakaria said. “To spread in Africa, that is our main goal,” the CEO said. “When we have a hub somewhere in the middle of Africa that will give us a chance to reach” new destinations.<br/>
Chairman of EgyptAir Holding Roshdy Zakaria said Monday that the company is preparing a plan with Ghana Airways to found an airline that reaches western and southern Africa starting with four aircraft. The airline will be based in the capital of Ghana, Accra, and 75% of its shares will be held by Egypt while the rest will be owned by Ghana. Speaking of the restructuring EgyptAir is set to go through, Zakaria stated that the final format to be implemented will be EgyptAir Holding as the parent company, and five affiliates. Those are EgyptAir for Airlines, Cargo, Tourism, and Air Services; EgyptAir for Maintenance; EgyptAir for Land Services; EyptAir for Medical Services; and, the Duty Free. The official explained that legal and financial measures are being finalized for the execution to begin, and that current workers at EgyptAir companies will keep their job titles after the restructuring. With regard to the safety of crew members, Zakaria stated that they will get vaccinated as doses have been secured for them from the consignments that Egypt received.<br/>
South African Airways administrators are preparing to wrap up work on the dormant state airline after more than 15 months, yet questions over its future viability remain as the Covid-19 crisis depresses demand. SAA is close to being “both solvent and liquid,” with remaining issues including outstanding employee payments and the appointment of a receiver to take over financial management likely to be resolved this month, a team of business-rescue experts led by Siviwe Dongwana said in an update. While the carrier has cut almost 80% of its workforce and reduced liabilities to 2.6b rand ($177m) from 38b rand after deals with creditors and lessors, there’s no indication of an imminent return to flying. Global air traffic is expected to remain depressed for years, and even relatively strong airlines remain dependent on governments and shareholders for help. <br/>
Domestic bookings at ANA doubled right after the government ended the state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area Monday. ANA recorded about 55,000 reservations for domestic flights Monday, twice the average daily bookings in January and February. Although Monday's reservations are still 50% to 60% of the pre-coronavirus level of the same period in 2019, bookings are seen rising to roughly 70,000 this coming weekend. Japan Airlines also enjoyed a roughly 30% jump in reservations for domestic flights compared with the previous week. Monday's bookings reached about 45,000.<br/>
Austrian Airlines is resuming normal operation for flights to London and Tel Aviv from Vienna after an easing of Covid-19 related restrictions. The Lufthansa Group carrier says it is now able to carry passengers from London to Vienna after an Austrian government ban on aircraft landing from the UK ended at midnight on Sunday. While the ban was in place, Austrian had been flying to the UK capital from Vienna, but with no passengers on the return flight. It now says it will fly the route up to twice daily. The carrier also says it is restarting flights to Tel Aviv today, now that entry restrictions to Israel have been eased. It will operate as frequently as daily on that route. Israel had imposed tough travel restrictions in January, leaving Ben Gurion airport effectively closed, but a cap on the number of travellers was eased this weekend following a ruling by the High Court of Justice.<br/>
Taiwan’s two major carriers — China Airlines and EVA Air — reported contrasting financial results for the year ended 31 December 2020. In separate stock exchange disclosures, EVA Air plunged into the red for the full year, while compatriot China Airlines remained profitable despite a slowdown caused by the pandemic. EVA Air reported an operating loss of NT$827m ($29.1m), reversing the NT$9.44b profit it disclosed in 2019. The carrier halved its full-year revenue to NT$89b. EVA Air ended 2020 with lower cash and cash equivalents, at NT$40.9b. This compares to the NT$51.5b it began the year with. Meanwhile, China Airlines reported an operating profit of NT$2.18b for the year, representing an 18% decline year on year.<br/>