Almost 130 people travelled on the first Aer Lingus flight from Manchester Airport in England to Barbados on Wednesday. The Irish carrier is launching its first transatlantic services from Britain this year. Aer Lingus said 128 people boarded its Airbus A330-300 to take off for the Caribbean island from Manchester at 10.15am on Wednesday. The airline will begin services to New York JFK Airport on December 1st and follow that 10 days later with the launch of flights to Orlando, Florida. Lynne Embleton, Aer Lingus CE, said the flight marked the beginning of the next stage of the company’s long history with Manchester Airport. She pointed out that there was strong demand from the north of England for transatlantic services. Karen Smart, Manchester Airport managing director, said it was “huge boost” to the region that Aer Lingus chose the gateway as it first UK base for transatlantic flights. “The routes across the Atlantic to Barbados and the USA will no doubt be hugely popular with the 22 million people that live in our catchment area, especially with the US opening up to British travellers next month,” she added.<br/>
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Asia Aviation, the operator of Thailand’s biggest budget carrier Thai AirAsia, plans to raise as much as 17.9b baht ($535m) from new loans, share sales and convertible-debt offerings as it attempts to restock coffers depleted by the worst crisis in aviation history. A revised financial restructuring plan for the company has been put forward and Asia Aviation is consulting with new investors, shareholders and creditors, Asia Aviation said in an exchange filing late Tuesday. The holding company joins a plethora of airlines globally trying to repair their balance sheets after Covid-19 all but put a stop to international air travel in early 2020. While climbing vaccination rates are seeing travel spring back in some parts of the world, in Asia it’s nowhere near pre-pandemic levels. Asia Aviation CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya said the fresh funds should allow the airline to increase flights amid an expected recovery in tourism and travel. Thailand’s capital Bangkok has administered at least two doses of Covid vaccine to 71% of its adult population, paving the way for the city to welcome back inoculated visitors without mandatory quarantine from Nov. 1., officials said Wednesday.<br/>