Business class was that silent and spacious sanctuary for the well-heeled, at least until the pandemic destroyed global aviation. But as flights creep back, this once-exclusive haven is being invaded, by the masses. Flush with cash and a record number of air miles after a year on the ground, leisure travelers are splurging on premium seats for their first trips back. They’re not just after the plated food, champagne and little cosmetics that typically come with the higher fares. Rather, they’re trying to minimize the risk of catching Covid in the cheek-to-cheek jostle of coach. The popularity of these lucrative seats -- especially among passengers who’d usually shoehorn into economy -- is an unexpected boon for airlines weathering a crisis that’s forecast to have cost them a staggering $174b in losses by the end of 2021. As vaccinations roll out at pace in the Middle East, the UK and the US, free-spending vacationers are emerging as a new market to exploit for carriers desperate to claw back revenue. There’s every chance these people will become permanent residents up the pointy end. Carriers from Deutsche Lufthansa AG to Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. are now starting to question whether business travel as the world once knew it will ever return to pre-crisis levels. That means for the next few years at least, there’ll be a steady supply of premium-class seats priced to sell to the general public -- for cash, loyalty points or a mix of both.<br/>
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American tourists who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to visit the European Union over the summer, the head of the bloc’s executive body said Sunday, more than a year after shutting down nonessential travel from most countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The fast pace of vaccination in the United States, and advanced talks between authorities there and the European Union over how to make vaccine certificates acceptable as proof of immunity for visitors, will enable the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, to recommend a switch in policy that could see trans-Atlantic leisure travel restored. “The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Sunday. “This will enable free movement and the travel to the European Union. Because one thing is clear: All 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that are approved by E.M.A.,” she added. The agency, the bloc’s drugs regulator, has approved all three vaccines being used in the United States, namely the Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson shots. Von der Leyen did not offer a timeline on when exactly tourist travel might open up or details on how it would occur. But her comments are a top-level statement that the current travel restrictions are set to change on the basis of vaccination certificates.<br/>
Russia’s government no longer plans to hand out state support to airlines “just like that” because the civil aviation market is recovering, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev told reporters Friday. Passenger air traffic in Russia has been gradually recovering since autumn, primarily on domestic flights, as the government has eased some coronavirus restrictions. But demand, still remains far off pre-crisis levels. The government provided airlines with support totalling almost 21b roubles ($280m) during the crisis and helped Aeroflot by buying shares in a new share offering worth more than 50b roubles. “To give money out just like that is the easiest path, but it’s the least realistic. We think after all that the market is restoring itself,” he said. But he said airlines were welcome to appeal to the government for state assistance if they thought they needed it and could justify the reason for their application.<br/>
Iran said on Saturday that it would bar travellers from India over a COVID-19 variant to avert its spread in the already stricken country. Officials, however, did not say if any cases of the variant first identified in India in late March had been detected in Iran, the epicentre of the pandemic in the Middle East. “The Indian coronavirus is a new threat we face,” President Hassan Rouhani said in remarks broadcast on state TV. “The Indian virus is more dangerous than the English and Brazilian variants,” he added. Iran's civil aviation organisation announced on local media that all flights to and from India and Pakistan would be halted from midnight Sunday.<br/>
Kuwait's directorate general of civil aviation said early on Saturday in a tweet that it had suspended all direct commercial flights coming from India, effective April 24 and until further notice. The move was on the instructions of health authorities after an evaluation of the global coronavirus status. All passengers arriving from India either directly or via another country will be banned from entering unless they have spent at least 14 days out of India, the statement said. Kuwaiti citizens, their first degree relatives and their domestic workers will be allowed to enter. Cargo is unaffected.<br/>
Hong Kong and Singapore will announce a start to their highly anticipated two-way air travel bubble as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, after multiple delays. Flights under the agreement -- which allows people to travel quarantine free between the financial hubs -- will begin from May 26, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak publicly. The number of flights will be increased by June 26 if there aren’t further outbreaks in either city, one of the people said. Hong Kong and Singapore have been working on the creation of a travel corridor for months after plans for a November start were shelved due to a virus flareup in the Chinese territory. A plan to announce its revival last week was also canceled at the last minute by the Singapore side, people familiar with the matter said at the time. The Hong Kong government said a discussion with Singapore on the re-launch “is at an advance stage and the government will make announcement as soon as practicable.” Singapore last week said the two cities had not fixed a date to announce the resumption of the bubble, but “will do so once we are ready, hopefully very soon.”<br/>
Companies and wealthy individuals in China have sharply increased their use of private jets this year, with total flights almost doubling compared to pre-pandemic levels as the country’s economic recovery prompts a shift in business travel. Domestic use of jets either hired privately or flown exclusively for their owners are up 87 per cent this year compared to the same period two years earlier, according to data from WingX Advance GmbH, a data company. The rise comes alongside China’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Although the global pandemic began in China in late 2019, the ruling Communist Party managed to bring it under control relatively quickly by sealing the country’s borders and imposing harsh lockdowns and mass testing. China’s growth has outpaced other major economies, surpassing pre-pandemic rates by the end of last year and restrictions on domestic travel have been eased. Richard Koe, managing director at WingX, said the frequency of commercial flights globally is still down by 29% this year compared to last year, while private jets are 18% busier but remain down on 2019. Private jet operators say the rise in demand in China also reflects remaining limitations on commercial airlines, as well as concerns from executives about sharing planes with large numbers of fellow passengers.<br/>
South Korea plans to allow the operation of non-landing international scenic flights at Seoul Gimpo International, Daegu International, and Busan Gimhae International airports. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) expects this to commence early May, after the necessary clearances are obtained, and each airport will operate up to three daily flights, it said in an 18 April statement. Passengers will be subject to public health measures as well as customs and immigration checks, and are allowed to purchase duty-free goods. Gimpo, Daegu, and Gimhae were considered suitable based on these and other factors; Cheongju International and Yangyang International airports are among those under review. Such operations have only been allowed at Seoul Incheon International airport and according to MOLIT, seven local airlines operated 75 flights from December to March. The ministry says these were well-received and it received feedback from the aviation and duty-free industries to expand operations to local airports. MOLIT first outlined such plans in a 3 March statement, as part of broad measures to support and eventually revitalise the local aviation industry. The ministry was also considering allowing international transit at local airports.<br/>
Lao Airlines is suspending all domestic flights until May 5 after the government on Wednesday introduced new measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Vientiane. The order was issued after 28 more people tested positive for the virus. A Prime Minister’s order prohibits all Vientiane residents from leaving or entering the capital except for people given permission by the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. In light of this order, all forms of public transport such as buses and planes between Vientiane and the provinces will be suspended. “We are suspending all domestic flights based on instructions from the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control and the recent prime minister’s order. As of today, we have cancelled all domestic flights including six flights from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, Luang Namtha, Phongsaly and Oudomxay,” the Director of Lao Airlines’ Commercial Department, Mr Noudeng Chanthaphasouk, told Vientiane Times on Thursday.<br/>
Despite daily infections reaching a record high of 2,070 cases in Thailand last week, the country is determined to reopen to international tourists starting with Phuket on July 1. The Tourism and Sports Ministry on Friday committed to its plan to welcome vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine requirements. However, that leaves only two months to prepare and it will require a massive effort to ensure the plan can proceed. Tourism operators are demanding clarification from the government about entry regulations, international flights administration, travel bubble agreements, and Covid-19 vaccination efforts. Previous timelines predicted 70% of the population would need to be inoculated by June, but that projection now seems hopelessly optimistic. Reflecting that lack of progress, some tourism operators remain uncertain about the benefits of reopening when Thailand has yet to inoculate much its population. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the government is working on creating standard operating procedures as the country races to nail down rules in order to meet its reopening deadline.<br/>
The US FAA has disclosed new details about an electric problem that forced the grounding of more than 100 recently-produced Boeing 737 Max. Though the issue primarily affects jets delivered by Boeing after the FAA lifted the grounding in November 2020, several Max delivered before the grounding are also affected, according to the agency. Regulators globally grounded the Max in mid-March 2019.The issue involves “potential degradation of bonds associated with electrical grounding of equipment that could affect the operation of certain systems”, says the FAA in a 22 April “Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community”. Potentially affected Max systems include standby power control units, “P6” circuit breaker panels and main instrument panels, it adds. Boeing notified the FAA about the concern, which it discovered “after electrical power systems did not perform as expected during the testing of a newly manufactured Model 737-8 airplane,” says the FAA’s notice. Boeing publicly disclosed the problem on 9 April but did not specify how many aircraft were affected. Boeing recommended airlines pull affected jets from service.<br/>
China’s biggest air show will be held from Sept. 28 to Oct. 3, the show’s organiser said on Friday, one of the few major air exhibitions still planned for this year. The biennial International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition had been scheduled to take place in the southern city of Zhuhai in November last year, but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The show usually draws key suppliers such as Airbus, Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) and has traditionally been used by Beijing to show off its growing aviation capability, including military fighters and drones, to the outside world. It remains unclear whether the show will attract a big crowd of foreign visitors. China still imposes rigorous quarantine rules and health checks on international travellers.<br/>