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Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlines said Wednesday it had struck a so-called code sharing agreement with Emirates, allowing both companies to offer more destinations to their passengers. Emirates passengers will be able to travel to eight destinations in Greece via Athens, while the agreement will allow Aegean to expand its international network via Dubai. Aegean, a member of the Star Alliance airlines group, currently flies to 138 destinations at home and abroad with a fleet of 64 aircraft, including new Airbus A320 and A321 neo jets.<br/>

Brussels Airlines is analysing a number of development paths to expand its fleet and staff base, as passenger demand returns and it looks to capitalise on its restructuring initiative. The carrier has been implementing a restructuring programme, known as ‘Reboot Plus’ and says it has achieved a “very strong and competitive” cost position. This involved slashing the workforce and cutting back its short- and medium-haul fleet, from 42 aircraft in pre-crisis 2019 to 30 in 2020. “With this cost position, that we must protect carefully, and the constructive collaboration with our social partners, we have the ability to move to the logical next step,” it says. The airline is “investigating different growth scenarios” to expand fleet and staff numbers, it says, and plans to unveil more details soon. In order to reinforce its resources over the winter season, it is aiming to hire additional external cabin crew and extend the contracts of 200 temporary flight attendants. Brussels Airlines is also seeking to recruit more pilots and is hiring maintenance and ground-operations personnel. The carrier says the season will be “unpredictable”, given the continuing uncertainty over re-emergence of Covid-19. “Corporate demand is still unstable and operational bottlenecks at airports and system partners will continue to put pressure on our operational stability,” it adds. It says the expansion of personnel is intended to address the potential winter issues. “This should increase the operational stability in the winter season while creating a more fair distribution of workload,” it states.<br/>

From next Monday, passengers flying on Singapore Airlines will no longer need to wear face masks on board some flights, as SIA joins other international airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic that have had similar policies in place since earlier this year. Only passengers travelling to or from destinations that require a face mask on flights will need to wear one, said SIA in reply to media queries. Masks are also not required in Changi Airport. Countries are currently divided in their Covid-19 regulations. In Europe, Germany and Spain still require passengers to wear a mask while the Netherlands and the United Kingdom do not. In South-east Asia, all countries require masks with the exception of Thailand. Australia requires masks while New Zealand does not, and Canada requires masks while the United States does not. SIA said it will update its website on the changes to its mask-wearing rules as they evolve, and that passengers should constantly check for the latest version. The airline's updating of its policy follows the latest guidelines from the Government, which remove the need for face masks in all indoor settings except public transport and healthcare facilities such as hospitals.<br/>

All Nippon Airways and low-cost unit Peach will restore domestic flying to pre-pandemic levels in the coming months, as it eyes “proactively increasing” international flights if and when Japan’s border restrictions ease further. From October, the carrier expects domestic flights to be operating at the same level as the beginning of 2020, right before the coronavirus pandemic struck globally. In a schedules update issued 24 August, ANA says domestic trunk routes, including between Osaka Itami and Sapporo, as well as between Tokyo Haneda and Hiroshima, will see one additional daily flight added from 30 October. The carrier will also resume flights on a number of domestic routes, including Tokyo Narita-Nagoya, as well as Tokyo Narita-Osaka Itami, from 30 October. As for international flights, the airline hints at further network ramp-ups “in response to recovering demand”, which it expects to announce on 30 August. ANA’s low-cost unit Peach, meanwhile, will resume flights to Seoul Incheon from Tokyo Haneda, as well as increase flights from Osaka Kansai, from 30 October. Japan still has onerous entry requirements for international travellers, including requiring expensive polymerase chain reaction tests before departure, a move that has dampened travel demand to the country. However, there are indications that Tokyo is looking to ease some of these measures, with an announcement expected imminently. As for cargo, ANA will maintain its current network and frequency, citing sustained demand across the network. It will “offer additional charter flights…as well as utilise passenger aircraft for cargo operations” should the need arise. Separately, ANA and compatriot Japan Airlines have jointly signed a codeshare agreement with three Japanese regional operators, as part of efforts to revitalise regional travel in the country. The ‘Essential Air Service Alliance’ will allow JAL and ANA to market and sell tickets across the three carriers: Amakusa Airlines, Oriental Air Bridge, as well as Japan Air Commuter.<br/>

Air India is planning to add six second-hand B777-200s and twenty-five A320-200Ns by the first quarter of 2023 to renew its fleet in the short-term before it can take deliveries of new aircraft, the Economic Times has reported. The widebodies will be ex-Delta Air Lines aircraft and are expected to deliver to Air India by October 2022. They will be used on the carrier's most lucrative US routes. Delta Air Lines retired ten B777-200(LR)s and eight B777-200(ER)s during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three -200(LR)s are due to be converted into freighters for Cargojet Airways (W8, Hamilton, ON), while one -200(ER) has been acquired by the Arizona Cardinals football franchise and is operated by Jet Aviation Flight Services (Teterboro). The remaining aircraft are in storage. Air India did not clarify which of the two variants it would add, and did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment. It currently operates three -200(LR)s but is planning to sell them. According to earlier reports, the dry-lease of the B777s will be for two years. The A320neo will be sourced from the open market, and their identity has yet to be confirmed. They are scheduled to start delivering in early 2023 and will be used primarily on domestic routes.<br/>

Air New Zealand Ltd on Thursday reported a bigger annual loss due to a months-long COVID-19-related lockdown in Auckland and border closures for much of the financial year. The carrier, however, said its total flying capacity for fiscal 2023 would be at 75%-80% of pre-pandemic levels, helping it guide to a significant improvement in performance compared with 2022. New Zealand began a gradual reopening of its international border in April in a boost to its national carrier. Domestic demand has also made a robust recovery following the removal of COVID-related curbs, though high crew illness levels during the winter season have led the airline to trim some of its capacity. Air New Zealand said earlier this month it would operate its domestic and international schedule at 90% of pre-COVID capacity for the next six months. The airline still did not provide earnings forecast for 2023, citing uncertainties around inflationary cost pressures and volatility in jet fuel prices, and said it would not pay dividends until earnings “substantially recover”. The fiscal 2022 loss of NZ$725m ($448.6m) before tax and items was larger than the NZ$444m loss a year earlier and Refinitiv estimate of NZ$718m, but within its forecast of a loss of under NZ$750m.<br/>