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The COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity for smaller airlines to make gains in the Canadian market, but they face a steep challenge against Air Canada and WestJet, according to financial analysts. National Bank's Cameron Doerksen and associate Alex Hutton wrote in a note to clients last week that while the airline industry has been disrupted by the pandemic, it has also "created an opportunity for smaller airlines to aggressively expand and for new players to enter the market." "Even though travel demand remains depressed, conditions are arguably favourable for new competitors to make their mark," the analysts wrote, pointing to several contributing factors including aircraft availability and low lease rates, a larger pool of qualified pilots, and airports that are looking to attract new airlines in order to make up for lost revenue. "Perhaps most importantly, the pandemic has significantly impacted Canada's large incumbent carriers Air Canada, WestJet, Transat and Sunwing, all of which have taken on more debt to survive the crisis. Furthermore, all these carriers have significantly reduced their networks and trimmed capacity, which could provide an opening for other smaller airlines to fill the void." The Canadian airline market is currently dominated by Air Canada and WestJet, which control about 80% of total domestic seat capacity. But, as Doerksen and Hutton noted, there is potential for a "land grab" in market share by airlines such as Flair Airlines and Porter Airlines. "We believe Flair is already having an impact on pricing on routes where it competes directly with Air Canada and WestJet," the analysts wrote.<br/>

The airline industry is “not out of the woods yet”, SAS CE Anko van der Werff has cautioned, as companies face the prospect of managing huge debt burdens built-up through Covid-19. During a World Routes online conference, van der Werff said the crisis “doesn’t end when the planes are full again; it’s now only the second phase, which is the more important phase, which I think is about to begin”. He warns that “coming our way is a wall of debt” which will hit airlines in Europe particularly hard as these, he argues, have largely not restructured themselves as effectively as those in Latin America and the USA. Airlines, he suggests, have taken rapid decisions based on the need to ensure solvency instead of keeping one eye on the longer term. “In my view, a lot of these airlines are lagging behind. [During the pandemic] it was about how do we survive. If you don’t think [about the] future, then you might take some wrong decisions.” This applies to SAS as well as other carriers: van der Werff says capex was reduced too much in the heat of the pandemic, hindering progress in the bounceback. He qualifies this by noting that, with the intensity and duration of the pandemic unknown, it was prudent at the time to aim for maximum liquidity. Tougher times could also aid the trend towards greater consolidation in Europe. Van der Werff adds that much of the state-aid financing airlines took on was conditional on not being used for M&A activity, which has largely held back consolidation up to now.<br/>

Starting Monday, four Scandinavian airlines are set to drop in-flight mask requirements for regional itineraries. Travelers flying between Denmark, Norway and Sweden will no longer require masks on board. SAS, Norwegian, Wideroe and Flyr will do away with their mask mandates. Wideroe spokeswoman Silje Brandvoll told Norwegian radio: "The Norwegian infection control guide no longer requires domestic passengers to wear face masks."<br/>

Japanese operator All Nippon Airways is introducing mixed-fleet flying between the Airbus A380 and A320 family, enabling crews to switch between long- and short-haul operations. ANA will be the first carrier to bring in the capability between the types, following clearance from the Japanese civil aviation regulator. The carrier has three A380s, which were introduced to operate services to Hawaii, as well as some 40 A320-family jets. Airbus mixed-fleet flying enables pilots to be cleared to operate more than one type from the airframer’s range – allowing crews to be utilised more efficiently. “[It] also enables airlines to interchange differently-sized aircraft at short notice without crew-scheduling difficulties, allowing them to better match aircraft capacity to passenger demand,” says Airbus. Airbus Japan president Stephane Ginoux says the capability provides “increased flexibility”, adding: “The increase in revenue hours flown by pilots due to less standby and downtime results in a significant improvement in productivity.”<br/>

The first flight under the expanded quarantine-free travel scheme for travellers vaccinated against Covid-19 will touch down in Singapore on Wednesday, in the next step of Singapore's border reopening. SQ329, which is operated by SIA, is expected to touch down at Changi Airport at 5.55am on Wednesday. It will depart from Amsterdam in the Netherlands at 11.15am local time (5.15pm Singapore time) on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the first Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flight from the United States, SQ23, is expected to depart from New York at Tuesday night local time, and land in Singapore at 5.20am on Thursday. The Netherlands and the United States are among eight countries that the Republic will open up Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) to from Tuesday. The other countries are Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain and Britain. Singapore had earlier opened up VTLs to Germany and Brunei on Sept 8. It will jointly launch VTLs with South Korea on Nov 15.<br/>

The Airbus A380 is designed for long-haul flying, thanks to its hefty size and famously quiet inflight experience. But come November 2021, Singapore Airlines will deploy a superjumbo on a short-haul flight lasting a mere 60 minutes. Travelers heading on certain flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will board what is believed to be the shortest A380 passenger flight currently in service. Singapore Airlines confirmed that the A380 will also be deployed on an "ad hoc basis" on flight routes SQ106 (SIN-KUL) and SQ105 (KUL-SIN) three times a week from November 4 to December 2, 2021. The A380 will also be flying on Singapore Airlines' SQ126 (SIN-KUL) and SQ125 (KUL-SIN) route four times a week from November 5 to December 3. Singapore Airlines also recently announced plans to reinstate its grounded A380s on select return flights from Singapore to London from mid-November. A Singapore Airlines' spokesperson said the A380 Kuala Lumpur flights were scheduled "for operational requirements." Announcing the return of the A380 last week, Singapore Airlines' global public affairs head, Siva Govindasamy, said that Singapore Airlines' recognizes the A380s enduring appeal for passengers, and that's partly why the airline's returning the aircraft to rotation. "The A380 is a wonderful aircraft," Govindasamy said. "Some people just book the A380 specifically to fly on it."<br/>

Air New Zealand says it's in urgent talks with the government asking them to recognise other COVID-19 vaccines, not just Pfizer. In the meantime, the airline has grounded a handful of vaccinated pilots. It comes as thousands of Kiwis returning to New Zealand are immunised against COVID with something other than Pfizer - meaning they're not recognised as vaccinated. But late on Monday, the Government conceded that's about to change. "An alternative for people who may be willing to be vaccinated but have a particular concern about the mRNA vaccines and we've nearly finalised that advice," Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told reporters. "Once… decisions have been made, there'll be an announcement about that." Among the heavy hitters to lobby the government over the matter is Air New Zealand. About 3% of its pilots say they don't want Pfizer and some have opted to get the Janssen vaccine while on a layover in the US. "We have a handful of pilots who have been vaccinated with a vaccine not currently recognised by the Ministry of Health," the airline says. "Air New Zealand recognises these pilots as being fully vaccinated and have been in urgent talks with the Government over an exemption or change in the order to allow these pilots to continue operating. While we await confirmation, these pilots are not flying."<br/>