Every major US airline has now shunned the US government’s $25b emergency pandemic loans, avoiding the strings attached to that program in favor of the credit market’s warm embrace. United announced Monday that it will raise $9b from institutional investors through a combination of loans and bonds. The US Treasury Department a year ago offered loans to prop up the industry as Covid-19 froze the business, but with terms viewed as onerous. The companies had to issue warrants to the government, and agree to restrictions on dividends, stock buybacks and executive compensation. Delta and Southwest both opted out last year. While United and American borrowed relatively small amounts, they had until next month to decide whether to fully embrace the program -- and its strict terms -- by taking several billion dollars of additional liquidity that was available to them. American bowed out by tapping institutional investors to raise $10b in March, and United has now also backed away. The decisions largely reflect just how robust credit markets have been because of the Federal Reserve’s pandemic support -- its pledge to buy bonds and policy makers’ signal that rates will stay low for years. “The market has been open like crazy for airlines,” said Roger King, a senior analyst at CreditSights. “They have issued debt right and left, and they have less pressure on liquidity.”<br/>
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Heathrow is preparing to nearly triple the fee it charges London’s black cabs collecting passengers from the airport, an increase that drivers warn will be “devastating” to their businesses. Taxis will have to pay GBP10 from July, compared with GBP3.60 at present. The price rise will help Heathrow to recoup the GBP1.4m it lost running the airport taxi rank last year, when passenger numbers collapsed as travel restrictions devastated the aviation industry. Passenger numbers at the airport last year fell to levels not seen since the 1970s, and Heathrow is losing GBP5m per day. But drivers said that increasing the charge for every journey from the airport to GBP10 would mean the work is barely worth their time. Access to Heathrow is tightly controlled, and taxis must queue in a parking area on the outskirts of the airport while waiting to be directed to terminals to collect passengers. Waiting times were about three hours before the pandemic, but have routinely stretched to 24 hours over the past year, according to taxi drivers. To make ends meet, some drivers are doing four to five-day stints “essentially living at the airport” while they queue for passengers, and only returning home to see their families at weekends, said Sam Houston, a driver who is a regular in the queue.<br/>
Heathrow Airport passenger numbers fell 83% in March compared to the same month last year, Britain’s biggest airport said in a statement on Monday, as the pandemic continued to hit travel. Britain’s aviation industry is hoping that flying will rebound in late May once COVID-19 restrictions are eased.<br/>
Hong Kong residents stranded in Britain have largely welcomed a government decision to lift the city’s coronavirus-related ban on arrivals from the country that began in May, though some have criticised what they see as poor coordination. CE Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said city residents would be allowed to return on any Hong Kong-bound flights from Britain as long as they were able to secure an air ticket and a hotel room for compulsory quarantine upon arrival. However, the period of mandatory quarantine would remain unchanged at 21 days, she said. “We are lifting the flight ban. There’s no need for people to take designated flights, they can take any flight from London to Hong Kong. They just need to make their own arrangements to book flights and hotels to come back,” Lam said. “We know many Hong Kong residents are keen to come back.”<br/>
Airbus has named Alberto Gutierrez as its COO, succeeding Michael Schoellhorn who will take over as the head of the company’s Defence and Space division. The change follows Defence and Space chief Dirk Hoke’s decision to leave the European aerospace giant. Gutierrez is currently executive VP of military aircraft. Airbus’s CTO, Grazia Vittadini, is also leaving after nearly two decades, to be succeeded by Sabine Klauke. She will also hold the post of executive VP of engineering, taking over from Jean-Brice Dumont who steps up to replace Gutierrez. Klauke is currently the executive VP of engineering for the Defence and Space division.<br/>