Finnair plans to increase capacity to a host of European holiday destinations and key US markets as it envisages rebounding summer traffic following a successful vaccine rollout. The carrier says it will operate to over 60 destinations this summer, with a focus on tourism hotspots such as Reykjavik, Bodo, Nice, Lisbon and Vilnius. Frequencies will be added to Greek islands such as Rhodes, Chania and Santorini, as well as to Mallorca, Malaga and Alicante in Spain. “We closely follow how travel regulations develop across our markets and have the flexibility to increase flights based on demand, seizing opportunities created when travel restrictions are lifted,” states Ole Orver, Finnair’s CCO. Within its North American network, Finnair will restart flights to Chicago and Los Angeles in mid-June and increase frequencies on its New York route to up to three flights per week. Finnair plans to introduce a new AI-powered solution to help customers explore available destinations and keep up with the latest travel restrictions using an interactive map.<br/>
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The CE of British Airways said there was a “great opportunity” for Britain and the US to open a travel corridor given their high vaccination rates, and said he was optimistic for European travel from June onwards. Airlines are readying their planes, pilots and crew for travel this summer, hoping for a bounce back after over a year of pandemic restrictions, although governments have yet to agree the details of how and when the restart will work. BA CE Sean Doyle, who took the helm of the IAG-owned airline in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis last October, said that travel between Britain and the US should be restriction-free. “If you look at the progress of vaccinations that the UK and the US have made, they’re almost neck and neck,” he said, speaking to an online industry conference. “I think the US is a great opportunity to get up and running again.” Travel between Europe and the United States is also on the cards.<br/>
Qatar Airways spent years in the shadow of Emirates Airline. An aggressive run at its rival during the pandemic has helped it eclipse Emirates as the world's biggest long-haul carrier -- for now. Doha-based Qatar is flying planes that are often near-empty on routes around the globe to increase market share. It is using a downsizing at Emirates to hire staff. And while other airlines have reduced services to markets closed by Covid-19, state-backed Qatar is pursuing new landing rights to emerge stronger post pandemic. In the past 12 months, Qatar has flown more seats further than any other airline on cross-border routes, according to data firm OAG. In the week starting Monday, the carrier is scheduled to fly more than twice the international capacity of Air France, over two-thirds more than Delta and over 13% more than Emirates. Across both domestic and long-haul travel, American Airlines remains the world's largest flier. Whether Qatar remains the world's biggest long-haul carrier by capacity partly depends on how quickly other airlines restore schedules, and if it has built up enough goodwill with customers to start filling flights as the world resumes travel. "We are ready for competition, we have never shied away from competition, we like competition," Qatar Airways CE Akbar Al Baker said, in a veiled reference to Emirates.<br/>
Japan Airlines has announced temporary changes to its domestic network in response to the Japanese government’s efforts to contain COVID-19 in the country. Japan Airlines Group, the airline’s parent company, is expecting a slight decline in travel demand next month in response to the rising number of Covid-19 cases reported in Japan, and it will implement several service reductions and aircraft changes between April 29 and May 31. Japan on Sunday declared its third state of emergency for Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic as the daily Covid-19 case numbers in Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo, and Kyoto continue to rise. The government is requesting strong restrictions and closures over the next two weeks, which include an annual week-long holiday, and is asking people to refrain from participating in non-essential activities or traveling to and from areas in Japan where case numbers are surging. The temporary service cancellations to Japan Airlines Group’s domestic network affect Japan Airlines, J-Air, Japan Air Commuter, Hokkaido Air System, Japan Transocean Air and Ryuku Air Commuter. The conglomerate has added 1,298 flights to its list of scheduled flights to be canceled in May. A total of 8,903 scheduled flights have been canceled for the month of May, which includes scheduled flights already canceled prior to the government’s state of emergency declaration. Japan Airlines Group will only operate up to 65% of its domestic network in May.<br/>
When Virgin Australia teetered on the brink of collapse as Covid-19 grounded flights, Qantas Airways chief executive Alan Joyce warned against bailing out the airline. He said the government should not “pick winners and losers” by bailing out “badly managed” companies. Canberra subsequently rejected Virgin’s request for a A$1.4bn loan and within weeks Qantas’s main rival entered administration, a process that led to 4,000 job losses and a big reduction in capacity under new owner Bain Capital. Since then Qantas has adopted a more positive approach towards financial aid and snaffled up to A$2bn through taxpayer funded Covid-19 schemes. This has kept its planes flying during the pandemic. Unlike governments in France, Germany and New Zealand, Canberra has decided against taking an equity stake in its national carrier or attaching stringent conditions to bailout cash. Trade unions and Qantas rivals are now crying foul, with Rex, a regional airline, branding Canberra’s aviation support scheme a “Qantas package”. “Qantas is now so desperate that it is willing to risk universal ridicule just to get its hands on more cash at any cost,” said John Sharp, Rex deputy chair. Joyce hit back by comparing Rex with the ill-fated black knight in Monty Python and The Holy Grail, who lost his limbs fighting over a plank of wood. The dispute reflects Rex’s concerns that the so-called “flying kangaroo” is flooding regional routes with lossmaking flights to knock it out of the market — a claim it has made in a complaint to competition authorities. But it also raises questions about the conservative government’s handling of overall aviation support programmes worth in excess of $2.5b.<br/>