It's a problem that's been faced by dozens of companies over the years, through no fault of their own - what happens when your brand name becomes associated with something bad? In the middle of last decade, dozens of companies around the world with the name "Isis" found themselves tarnished by the same name being used by an Islamist terrorist group - many resorted to changing their names. Last year, Mexican beer Corona fell victim to a misinformation campaign spread on social media that associated the brand with the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak (it didn't hurt, in the end - sales actually increased). Now, the world's biggest airline by revenue, America's Delta Air Lines is facing a similar problem - the new, highly contagious strain of COVID-19 that has been labelled "Delta" by the WHO. "We just call it the variant," Delta CEO Ed Bastian told the Wall Street Journal last week. The airline, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, in America's south, is named after the Mississippi Delta region, where the airline started out as a crop dusting business.<br/>
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A E3.4b ($2.9b) Dutch bailout for Air France-KLM’s Dutch unit was necessary and proportionate, EU state aid regulators said on Monday after Europe’s second-top court annulled their decision in May. The Luxembourg-based General Court said that the European Commission, which acts as the bloc’s competition enforcer, had not provided adequate reasoning why KLM was the only beneficiary of the Dutch aid and why the airline had not benefited from French support given to its parent. Judges suspended the annulments, giving the Commission another chance to decide on the case. The Commission said it had addressed the court’s concerns and also examined the Dutch and French aid and their effective beneficiaries. “On this basis, the Commission concluded that the measure is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a member state,” the EU executive said.<br/>
Garuda Indonesia has been brought to court after failing to pay a debt to an air cargo firm PT My Indo Airlines, the two companies said on Monday. The court proposal had no immediate impact to Garuda’s operations, the company said in the statement, adding it will ensure flight services continue. The first court appearance is set for July 27. “We are currently studying the PKPU proposal submitted by MYIA together with consultant appointed by the company to provide further response to the proposal,” Garuda CE Irfan Setiaputra said in a statement, without providing details on the debt amount. PKPU is an Indonesian court proceeding that could be initiated by either debtor or creditor seeking debt settlement. The Indonesia Stock Exchange has suspended trading of Garuda’s shares since June 18 after the airline defaulted on its $500m sukuk a day earlier. Garuda has said it was considering settling its outstanding debt in court as its finances continue to be significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.<br/>