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The CEs of American Airlines, United and Southwest will testify on Dec. 15 at an oversight hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on the impact of $54b in COVID-19 government payroll support for US airlines. The hearing will look at "the effect on the airline industry’s workforce, and the effect of airline operational performance on American consumers," according to a committee statement. American CEO Doug Parker and Southwest Gary Kelly, who are both stepping down in early 2022, will testify, as will United CEO Scott Kirby. Delta COO John Laughter also will testify, as will Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. Lawmakers are expected to quiz executives about how carriers used pandemic-related federal aid, staffing issues and other matters. US airlines and carriers around the world were hard hit by reduced business and tourist travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in March 2020, Congress approved three rounds of taxpayer bailouts totaling $54b to cover much of US airline payroll costs through Sept. 30 of this year as a result of the pandemic. Nelson said in October that the airline industry "created a COVID-19 relief plan that no other industry got." Lawmakers want to know if voluntary employee buyouts offered by airlines, despite receiving payroll assistance, caused operational problems at some carriers that have resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights in recent months. The leaders of the US House of Representatives Transportation Committee separately have asked industry trade group Airlines for America (A4A) to answer questions about the government payroll aid that the carriers received.<br/>

South African Airways has signed an interline agreement with regional operator CemAir as the state-owned flag carrier continues on a path towards privatisation and the divestment of low-cost unit Mango. The interline agreement ”informs SAA’s continuing strategy to grow the carrier, responsibly, profitably and sustainably” following the resumption of operations in September, SAA said on 7 December. The CemAir tie-up adds destinations such as Luanda, Durban, Hoedspruit, George, Kimberly, Bloemfontein, Plettenberg Bay, Margate, Sishen and Gqeberha to SAA’s network, it adds. CemAir, which is based in Johannesburg, mainly uses a fleet of Bombardier CRJs, plus Dash 8 and Beech 1900 turboprops on a domestic-focused network. Days earlier, on 2 December, SAA announced that the business rescue plan for its grounded low-cost subsidiary Mango had been approved by creditors. That milestone ”paves the way for Mango to find an equity partner”, SAA states, reiterating that it does not see a future for the unit within its restructured business. “There are no reasonable prospects of Mango succeeding should it be operationalised prior to obtaining an investor or equity partner,” SAA said in mid-November. ”SAA’s position is that this process should be finalised as soon as possible.”<br/>

While China has seen recurring waves of coronavirus infections in recent months, analysts from HSBC believe domestic travel demand is still holding strong. Still, they warn that changes in travel preferences — amid the discovery of mutated variants of the virus — could impact the profitability of the country’s three largest carriers. In a research report dated 7 December, the analysts note that the ‘Big Three’ — comprising Air China, China Eastern Airlines, as well as China Southern Airlines — are “well positioned and capitalised in the post-pandemic world”, as a “resilient” domestic market provides a “cushion” to an uncertain international travel market. “We believe the pent-up demand in the China domestic market remains solid despite ongoing waves of Covid-19 cases. We have observed that when Covid-19 cases subside, demand and air capacity pick up rapidly,” the report states. Chinese domestic traffic fell to an all-year low in August, as the country battled a significant uptick in infections, caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Since then, traffic has gradually rebounded, though it is far from surpassing the high levels reported earlier in the year. “While we see no near-term turnaround in China’s strict Zero-Case policy, we learnt that local government has become more agile in tracking, isolating and handling sporadic local cases, insulating the broader economy from the impact of a small-scale regional lockdown,” state the HSBC analysts. Still, they caution that the frequency at which fresh waves of infections are detected are getting shorter, which they believe could lead to travellers preferring short-haul domestic destinations, instead of travelling further afield. The potential shift in travel choices “may potentially bring downside risks” to profitability, say the analysts.<br/>

Air New Zealand customers can upload their domestic My Vaccine Pass to their Airpoints profile, the airline has announced. From December 14, the airline will be requiring proof of either full vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure to travel domestically. "Travel will look different this summer but we're confident the innovative changes we've made to the Air NZ mobile app will make the extra travel requirement as seamless as possible," Air NZ Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty said. Geraghty says Air NZ is one of the first airlines in the world to develop a digital solution for customers to upload their vaccination status to their loyalty profile. "There will be opportunities to check in via all of our touchpoints including our app, online or at the kiosk. However, uploading your domestic My Vaccine Pass to your Airpoints profile will be easiest way to travel this summer. And the good thing is, members will only have to do this once," she said. "We've applied a privacy lens across the whole digital solution. The QR code or domestic My Vaccine Pass itself is not retained by Air New Zealand; we're just verifying the Pass is valid." <br/>