US airlines are looking at the upcoming holiday season and the reopening of vital trans-Atlantic route to recover the momentum lost in the last quarter following a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. After a strong summer travel season, air-carriers had to temper their outlook last month for the quarter through September as the fast spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus slowed down new bookings and drove up cancellations. read more A month on, dipping COVID-19 cases have raised industry hopes that passengers would be more confident to fly again. Financial services firm Raymond James conducted an analysis of the TSA's 7-day average passenger screening data, which showed that while the travel demand still lags the peak in late July, it has improved from the lows in mid-September. "Cancellations have abated, bookings are recovering," CE of Hawaiian Holdings Peter Ingram said. "As we get to Thanksgiving and Christmas, we've got the opportunity for a strong, solid recovery." Bookings have also recovered at Delta, which expects domestic travel demand to surpass 2019 levels next year. United The International Air Transport Association (IATA), an consortium of 290 airlines, expects air-carriers in North America to return to profit next year before their counterparts in other geographies. The outlook for the industry's cash cow - business travel - remains uncertain.<br/>
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The United States will accept the use by international visitors of COVID-19 vaccines authorized by US regulators or the WHO, the CDC said late on Friday. On Sept. 20, the White House announced the United States in November would lift travel restrictions on air travelers from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It did not specify then which vaccines would be accepted. A CDC spokeswoman told Reuters Friday, "Six vaccines that are FDA authorized/approved or listed for emergency use by WHO will meet the criteria for travel to the U.S." Late on Friday, the CDC said that "earlier this week, to help them prepare their systems we informed airlines" of the vaccines that would be accepted and added "CDC will release additional guidance and information as the travel requirements are finalized." Airlines for America said it was "pleased by the CDC's decision to approve a list of authorized vaccinations for travelers entering the US. We look forward to working with the administration to implement this new global vaccine and testing framework by early November 2021." Some countries had pressed the Biden administration to accept WHO-approved vaccines, since the US FDG authorized vaccines are not widely used in all countries. The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travelers from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe as well as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The unprecedented US restrictionshave barred most non-US citizens who were in those countries within the past 14 days.<br/>
Britain's transport minister Grant Shapps said on Friday there was still no exact date for when the United States would open for travellers from the United Kingdom, beyond guidance of early November. The lack of clarity on the US opening is one of the final barriers remaining for UK travel after Shapps promised an announcement in the coming days on scrapping the requirement for expensive PCR tests for fully-vaccinated arrivals into England. Asked if he had a specific date for when the U.S. would allow Britons in, Shapps said: "I don't." Transatlantic bookings with airlines like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic surged following the US announcement in September but with no further clarity, concerns are growing that the date could be pushed back. Shapps said he was in touch with his US counterpart and the US ambassador over the matter and that the US still wanted to proceed but it was a matter of working out the technicalities of how to do it. "They're still saying to me, early November," he said.<br/>
The latest wave of coronavirus infections in parts of China dampened domestic traffic during the week-long National Day holiday period in early October. Between 1 and 7 October, Chinese carriers flew close to 9.3 million domestic passengers, a 20% decline compared to the same period in 2020, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). In total, Chinese carriers mounted more than 90,000 domestic flights during the ‘Golden Week’ holiday, which is usually seen as a peak travel season in China. Average load factor across the seven-day period fell 4.8 percentage points to 73.7%, states the CAAC. The administration notes that travel peaked on 30 September and 1 October, before dipping, and peaking again toward the end of the week-long holiday. “Affected by the recent epidemic in individual regions in China, the number of inbound and outbound passenger bookings and passenger load factors in most tourist cities…were slightly lower than the same period last year,” states the CAAC. China’s three largest carriers in August saw traffic levels fall to its lowest in 2021, with capacity also suffering significant cuts. <br/>
Singapore is opening its borders to more countries for quarantine-free travel as the city-state seeks to rebuild its status as an international aviation hub, and prepares to reach a "new normal" to live with COVID-19. From Oct. 19 fully vaccinated people from eight countries, including Britain, France, Spain and the United States, will be able to enter the island without quarantining if they pass their COVID-19 tests, the government said on Saturday. The announcement marks a major step in Singapore's strategy to resume international links. The Southeast Asian nation, one of the world's biggest travel and finance hubs, is home to Asian headquarters of thousands of global companies whose executives have long relied on Singapore's connectivity. The country of 5.45m people has been reporting record daily COVID-19 infections of more than 3,000 over the past few days, though almost all the cases are asymptomatic or mild. About 83% of the population is fully vaccinated, one of the world's highest rates. Singapore recently reimposed coronavirus restrictions to buy time to prepare to live with the disease but the step was met with some rare frustration as the government walks a fine line between reopening and preventing hospitals from getting overwhelmed. PM Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore will reach a new normal and can lighten restrictions when cases stabilise, even if they stay in the hundreds.<br/>
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration's (CCSA) operation centre has agreed to lift capacity limits on domestic flights, allowing airlines to take full flight bookings, according to the Public Health Ministry. The number of passengers was previously limited to 75% of the full capacity. Dr Chawetsan Namwat, director for emergency health hazards and diseases, said that while airlines are allowed to book to full capacity he stressed other Covid-19 prevention measures remain intact. These measures include a ban on in-flight drinking and eating, the need for a good ventilation system and proper social distancing on boarding and leaving aircraft, he said. Dr Chawetsan said that passengers are required to be fully vaccinated or have negative Covid-19 test results 72 hours before boarding while urging those who are ill to avoid travelling. He said passengers will be required to undergo Covid-19 screening. He said social distancing measures and personal hygiene must be strictly observed by the public following the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions to prevent a rebound.<br/>
As major companies look at drastic ways to cut carbon emissions from corporate travel, airlines are bracing for a major hit to business-class travel, a key revenue driver, industry executives and experts say. Several companies, such as HSBC, Zurich Insurance, Bain & Company and S&P Global, have already announced plans to quickly cut business travel emissions by as much as 70%. Some are considering a “carbon budget” as they come under growing pressure from environmental advocates and investors to reduce indirect emissions that contribute to climate change. Flights account for about 90% of business travel emissions. That makes it the lowest-hanging fruit for companies setting reductions targets. The airline industry last week committed to reach "net zero" emissions by 2050 here at a meeting in Boston, decades beyond the corporate travel emissions cut targets. "It's going to be hard on airlines and they're going to need to adapt," Kit Brennan, co-founder of London-based Thrust Carbon, which is advising S&P and other clients on setting up carbon budgets. “I think what we’re going to see, funnily enough, is more of an unbundling of business class where you might get all perks of business class without the seat,” he said, referring to airport lounges and nicer meals. “Because ultimately it all comes down to the area on the aircraft and it takes up.”<br/>