Next year’s IATA AGM will be held in Shanghai, the airline association announced today at this year’s gathering in Boston. The 19-21 June 2022 event will be hosted by China Eastern, IATA says. For the event to go ahead with its usual large overseas presence, the Chinese government would need to remove the pandemic-related border restrictions that are currently in place amid a health strategy that is often characterised as ‘zero-Covid’. ”Our intention is very clear, we want to hold these events in person,” says IATA DG Willie Walsh of the challenges those government policies might create. “We’re not looking to rearrange it to a later date. “We want to get back to our normal routine of holding our events in June.” The Chinese event will be the 78th running of the AGM. The AGM was previously held in Beijing in 2012 and Shanghai in 2002. <br/>
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KLM is “in the midst” of discussing a possible narrowbody aircraft order with Airbus and Boeing. That is according to KLM chief executive Pieter Elbers, who says the airline is returning to a fleet replacement process that had been underway when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. “We’re now in the midst of the discussions with the two of them,” Elbers says when asked about narrowbodies offered by Airbus and Boeing. “We are speaking here with the suppliers.” He made his comments on 4 December in Boston during IATA’s World Air Transport Summit. Elbers notes KLM already renewed its regional-aircraft fleet with Embraer E-Jets and its widebody fleet with 787s and 777s. Now, KLM’s focus returns to replacing 737s. KLM and affiliate Transavia operate nearly 100 737NGs, which have an average age of 12 years, according to Cirium fleets data. Some are more than 20 years old.<br/>
Vietnam Airlines is finalising steps to get its fleet ready to return to the sky when many domestic flights are to be resumed in early October. With top priority put on safety, Vietnam Airlines has made careful technical examination and maintenance on the airplanes, which have been kept at airport without operating for months, before taking off, according to Vietnam News Agency. It said special attention has been paid to ensuring smooth and safe operations of the aircraft’ engines to ensure utmost safety of flights. Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines will continue to strictly apply pandemic prevention and control measures throughout the flights. All land staff as well as pilot and crew members of Vietnam Airlines have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, it added. <br/>
Air Seychelles has announced it is being restructured within the confines of the Indian Ocean archipelago's bankruptcy protection laws, with an administrator having now been charged with drawing up a turnaround plan. A statement issued jointly by Air Seychelles and the Seychelles Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation on Monday, October 4, placed the blame for the airline's unsustainable debt burden on its former Etihad Airways-led administration. The Emirati carrier has since sold its 40% stake back to the Seychellois government, which now controls 100% of its shareholding. "Air Seychelles has faced significant challenges over the past 18 months arising from the COVID pandemic and its impact on international travel and tourism. However, Air Seychelles’ financial difficulties arise mainly due to significant debt that was incurred during the stewardship of the airline by Etihad Airways, which was previously a 40% shareholder in the company. This debt comprises amounts that were owed directly to Etihad and also loans of almost USD72 million that were funded by the capital markets and are now controlled by bondholders of EA Partners," it said. Although it is now the carrier's sole shareholder, the Seychelles government has warned that it would be unable to shore up its finances given capping arrangements recently agreed with the International Monetary Fund whereby no further government subsidy to Air Seychelles is permitted. <br/>