ExpressJet Airlines, a US regional carrier that ceased operations in September, has requested to resume scheduled service under its own brand. In a filing with the DOT on 15 April, the Atlanta-based carrier says it plans to fly point-to-point routes to underserved cities that have lost air service ”as a result of US airline industry consolidation and Covid-19-driven route reductions”. ExpressJet’s fleet includes a single leased Embraer ERJ-145 with tail number N844HK, a 17-year-old airframe with 50 seats that is currently in storage, according to Cirium fleets data. It plans to expand to 10 of the type in the next 12 months, the filing says. ”ExpressJet intends to resume operations… as an independent carrier at small and mid-size communities, initially on routes with an average stage length of approximately 540 miles using EMB145 aircraft in a single-class configuration,” the airline writes. The carrier expects to spend $60.4m in its first year of operations, beginning in May. It anticipates carrying 400,000 passengers during that year, and ramping up to 261 employees. ExpressJet aims to operate 1,500 flights monthly by April 2022.<br/>
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Aer Lingus faces further cost cuts if the Government fails to act on a plan to restart air travel, the carrier’s new chief executive, Lynne Embleton, has warned staff. The National Civil Aviation Development Forum this week published a recovery plan that calls for the Government to axe Covid-19 quarantines in favour of testing and vaccine proofs to aid the recovery of air travel. Embleton warned Aer Lingus staff in an internal memo that there is now a risk of losing this summer, which is when the airline stands to earn most of its revenues. “Should the current negative trajectory continue, it would have a significant financial impact on the airline and we would have to carefully assess its implications,” her note stated. She noted that Aer Lingus’s current skeleton flying programme is having a stark impact on the airline.<br/>
Cebu Pacific has signed an agreement with three international financial institutions for the private placement of $250m in convertible bonds, with the transaction expected to complete in the following weeks. The Philippine low-cost carrier disclosed that it signed the agreement on 16 April with the World Bank’s lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IFC Emerging Asia Fund and Indigo Philippines, an affiliate of US-based private equity firm Indigo Partners, it stated in a filing to the Philippine stock exchange today. The IFC Emerging Asia Fund is a $693m private equity fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Company. Indigo Partners owns stakes in airlines including Wizz Air, Frontier Airlines, Volaris and JetSmart. Cebu Pacific’s board approved the $250m investment on the day of the signing.<br/>
Philippine billionaire Lucio Tan has been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus, his daughter Vivienne Tan said. The 86-year-old owner of Philippine Airlines and Philippine National Bank is “in stable condition, responding well and recovering,” his daughter said.<br/>