Frontier Airlines said on Friday all its employees will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1 in view of rising coronavirus cases. Companies across the United States are increasingly reinstating masking requirements and mandating vaccination to contain the highly transmissible Delta variant. The airline said employees who choose not to be vaccinated, or are unable to, will be asked to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test on a regular basis. “As we continue to watch the rapid increase of new COVID-19 cases across the United States caused by the Delta variant, I am concerned for the well-being of our team members, their families and friends,” CEO Barry Biffle said. “The good news is that the vast majority of our employees have already taken this important step and have gotten vaccinated.” Frontier Airlines is also encouraging flyers to get vaccinated with certain incentives through its Friends Fly Free program. <br/>
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Spirit Airlines -- which has been beset by flight disruptions all week -- canceled almost 300 flights as midday Friday ET, according to data from FlightAware. The number of cancellations has been rising during the morning hours and comprise more than one-third of its Friday schedule. So far, the data shows that Friday cancellations are the lowest the airline has seen since Sunday. The Florida-based airline said "overlapping operational issues" kicked off a cascade of cancellations for the ultra-low-cost carrier that began Saturday. Spirit axed 450 flights -- or more than half of its schedule -- on Thursday. "We're continuing with our way forward to fly as much as we can while also make progress on repairing our operation and repositioning our crews," Spirit head of communications Erik Hofmeyer told CNN in a statement. "We still have work to do, but we are now in the position to see reductions in cancellations in the days to come." Even still, Spirit passengers have become stranded at airports at airports across the country -- expressing their frustration on social media and vowing to never fly with the carrier again. Industry analyst Brett Snyder of Cranky Traveler said Thursday that while issues might damage Spirit's reputation in the short-term, there will be no long-term business impact. "Eventually, people will forget if the ticket price is right," said Snyder.<br/>
Romanian low-cost carrier Blue Air expects passenger numbers to match 2019 levels this month barring any new Covid travel restriction announcements. Blue Air carried over 300,000 passengers in July, around three-quarters of the number it flew in the same month in 2019 before the pandemic hit. ”Blue Air is on track to reach a full recovery to 2019 levels in August 2021 and indeed across the rest of the summer period, provided there are no further prohibitive restrictions imposed,” the airline says. The carrier adds that it is “now consistently” operating at loads factor of over 80%. Blue Air chief commercial officer Krassimir Tanev says: “In 2021 we have embarked on an ambitious multi-year commercial strategy focused on becoming the ultra-low-cost airline of choice for our customers and strengthening our leadership position on our home market. We have completely re-invented our network to make it even more competitive and attractive, focusing on primary and central airports and introducing 32 new routes under the summer 21 schedule.”<br/>
Britain-based airline Virgin Atlantic is planning to list on the London Stock Exchange, Sky News reported on Saturday. Citing "City sources", it said the airline founded by Richard Branson has received positive responses from institutional investors about aninitial public offering, with an autumn announcement likely. It said the move would almost certainly see Branson relinquish overall control of the business. It added that Virgin Atlantic has hired Citi and Barclays to oversee the listing. The airline is 51% owned by Branson's Virgin Group and 49% by Delta Air Lines.<br/>
Odey Asset Management has sold its stakes in Ryanair Holdings and British Airways’s owner IAG Group, the Daily Mail reported Sunday, as the UK airline industry prepares for further job cuts. Fund manager James Hanbury sold his IAG holding after shares rebounded, the paper said. IAG rose 8.5% this year while Ryanair added 3.4%, both outperforming the 1.4% gain of a Bloomberg index tracking European carriers. UK airlines have warned that thousands of jobs could be lost if the government fails to offer the industry an extension of a furlough program, as travel remains in a slump for a second summer season. The carriers have asked the government for a short-term, sector-specific jobs support plan to tide them through the usually lean winter months, said Tim Alderslade, the CEO of trade group Airlines UK.<br/>
Titan Airways has become the latest UK operator to establish a European Union arm, intending to build an Airbus A321 fleet in Malta. The carrier has secured an air operator’s certificate from the Maltese civil aviation regulator for a division branded Titan Airways Malta. It has already placed a 227-seat A321 on the country’s register, according to the regulator’s official record. The twinjet (9H-ZTA) was formerly part of Titan’s UK-registered fleet. The aircraft, powered by CFM International CFM56 engines, was originally delivered to Air Berlin in 2008. Titan Airways says it plans to put two converted A321 freighters on the Maltese register this summer, and add two more converted freighters next year. The new airline’s head, Alastair Willson, says it intends to open both passenger and all-cargo services with the fleet over the next few weeks. “We will be able to continue and extend our operational reach within Europe and further afield,” the carrier adds.<br/>
Emirates Airline is to restart services between Glasgow and Dubai on Wednesday. The announcement came after the UK government said the United Arab Emirates would move from the red travel list to amber this weekend. The Glasgow-Dubai route will operate until 30 October, initially on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. From September, Emirates will increase the frequency of its Boeing 777-200LR flights to a daily service. Wednesday will mark the first service between Glasgow and Dubai since January. The move to the amber list means fully-vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK from Dubai will no longer need to quarantine in a government-approved hotel. Glasgow Airport owner AGS Airports welcomed the return of the service. COO Mark Johnston said: "Emirates' decision to restart the country's busiest long-haul route is a significant step towards rebuilding Scotland's vital connectivity and will be welcome news to our passengers."<br/>
Jazeera Airways Sunday announced a new record in its cargo business having successfully carried one million kilograms of cargo in July alone, its highest ever since the launch of its cargo operations in April last year. The airline has transported fresh meats, fresh fish, fruits and vegetables, medical supplies, pharmaceutical equipment, flowers, courier and garments, said the statement from Jazeera. The Kuwaiti budget carrier made its fleet available for full cargo flights from the beginning of the global pandemic, enabling Kuwait to secure its needs in produce, medical supplies and other commodities. CEO Rohit Ramachandran said: "This is a new milestone for Jazeera, and another testament for its resilience and flexibility in adapting to changing fundamentals in the aviation industry. Our team did a phenomenal job at securing the necessary certifications from Kuwait-Directorate General of Civil Aviation and from Airbus, and at operating the cargo flights."<br/>
Greater Bay Airlines (GBA), bidding to be Hong Kong’s newest carrier, will make its inaugural flight on October 1, the 72nd anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. The National Day flight, which will take place amid an ongoing surge in coronavirus outbreaks around the globe, will be a charter to Beijing, according to the company’s director. While a timeline has now been set, GBA is still awaiting its operating licence and air operating certificate. It expects to get the latter, which covers the commercial and safety requirements necessary to take-off, on September 17, Stanley Hui Hon-chung said. “In a nutshell, the airline is taking shape,” the director said, while tempering expectations given the collapse in travel demand amid the pandemic. GBA’s flight to Beijing was a deliberate decision, “symbolic” of the airline’s development plan to operate regular flights to the capital and nationwide, Hui said. But the seasoned airline executive expressed unhappiness with unnamed competitors, accusing them of slowing down the company’s bid to take flight, despite no rival having objected to its operating licence bid. “We have been reminded time and again to ensure that we comply with the ATLA [Air Transport Licensing Authority] regulations in the areas of Incorporated and Principal Place of Business [IPPB] and financial strength,” an exasperated Hui said of the application process that began in December.<br/>
South Korea's SK Group will invest up to $100m in the financial technology unit of AirAsia Group, the Malaysian budget carrier said Friday. BigPay, a unit of AirAsia's digital arm, offers a prepaid debit card, local and international money transfers, micro-insurance, bill payments and a budgeting tool. "Our ambition has always been to establish BigPay as one of the largest challenger banks in Southeast Asia," said Salim Dhanani, the company's CEO, who added that BigPay plans to expand into Thailand and the rest of the region with personal loans and short-term lending. "Closing this financing round gives us the ability to build out our offerings, accelerate product development and scale," he said. BigPay has also applied for a digital banking licence in Malaysia as part of a consortium with Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad and private equity firm Ikhlas Capital. SK Group said it would "make a significant contribution to BigPay in both technical and consumer service aspects," according to the statement. AirAsia has suffered from the pandemic slump in global travel and has been pushing to grow its digital businesses, which include a logistics firm and a travel and lifestyle services app.<br/>
Cebu Air, the largest Philippine budget carrier, said it refunded 7.7b pesos ($153m) to customers, completing requests for reimbursements that were filed until June due to the pandemic. The airline processed 991,764 requests and continues to work with customers whose applications are still pending, Cebu Air said. Cebu Air in May raised $250m through the sale of convertible bonds, providing the carrier with funds to help withstand the impact of the pandemic. The company’s net loss widened to 7.3b pesos in the first quarter, from 1.18b pesos a year earlier, as the coronavirus outbreak cut passenger revenue by 92%.<br/>