Air Canada is launching non-stop, year-round service between Toronto and Yellowknife that it says will help support both tourism and business in the region. The route, which will fly three times a week, is expected to start service in December. The Montreal-based airline says customers will also be able to seamlessly connect from Yellowknife to flights by its partner airline Canadian North. Mark Galardo, executive vice-president of revenue and network planning, says flights will be timed for easy connections through Toronto to elsewhere in Eastern Canada, the US and sunny destinations. Caroline Wawzonek, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment for the Northwest Territories, says in the release that the route marks a significant increase in air transport options that will increase opportunities for the region. Air Canada already flies twice daily between Yellowknife and Vancouver and has daily service between Yellowknife and Edmonton.<br/>
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Three major airlines in Asia are back in the black, rebounding from their pandemic doldrums as global travel picks up, and they’re all saying that China could be the next bright spot for them. Just this week, Singapore flag carrier Singapore Airlines posted a record net profit of S$2.16b ($1.61b) for the financial year ended March. This was its highest net profit in its 76-year history and a stark reversal from the loss of SG$962m recorded in the previous financial year. In a further sign of financial strength, the airline also announced its intention to redeem SG$3.1b of mandatory convertible bonds. It comes six months after the company redeemed another tranche of mandatory convertible bonds worth SG$3.5b. Japan’s All Nippon Airways also saw its first full year profit since the Covid-19 pandemic started. ANA recorded a net profit of 89.4b yen ($650.3m) for the year ended March, compared to a net loss of 143.6b yen the year before. This has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2019 fiscal year that ended March 2020. At that time, ANA posted a net profit of just 28b yen, less than a third of its current net profit. Japan Airlines also saw a turnaround in its financial year ended March, with full year net profit coming in at 34.4b yen, in contrast to the 177.5b yen loss in the same period a year ago. All three airlines are looking to China to power further growth. SIA said travel demand from March to June “remains robust,” underpinned by the recovery in air travel in East Asia. “Forward sales remain healthy across all cabin classes, led by a strong pick up in bookings to China, Japan, and South Korea,” the carrier said in its earnings statement. Executive vice president for commercial Lee Lik Hsin said during the earnings briefing on May 17 that the airline is “excited” about China’s reopening, and that travel will recover when stakeholders like tour operators ramp up their bookings to China in the months to come. This sentiment was also shared by JAL. While the Japanese carrier managed to capture demand from international passengers on Japan-bound routes in its previous financial year, the international segment is expected to see further growth given the easing of restrictions on the China routes. ANA did not name any specific country or region it was looking to for growth, but the airline said the environment in the industry “is improving rapidly,” with domestic flights seeing an easing of activity restrictions, and international flights seeing countries lift entry restrictions.<br/>
Korean Air is facing growing headwind in its bid to acquire domestic rival Asiana Airlines as U.S. and European transport authorities are increasingly reluctant to give the green light, citing concerns about monopoly, according to industry officials and media reports, Friday. According to Politico, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reviewing options to file a lawsuit to block the acquisition of Asiana Airlines by Korean Air. The possible lawsuit is based on concerns that the acquisition could harm competition in passenger and cargo transportation between the U.S. and Korea. However, the decision to file a lawsuit has not been finalized. While the U.S. does not have jurisdiction over Korea-based airlines, Politico reported that it could explore measures to prevent corporate consolidation if it has a negative impact on competition within the U.S. The DOJ has been reviewing the Korean Air-Asiana merger since November 2020. The key concern is the potential impact on overlapping routes in the U.S., which could harm local airlines. Both Korean Air and Asiana Airlines operate flights to New York, Los Angeles (LA), San Francisco and Seattle. If the DOJ files a lawsuit, it would be the first case in which the U.S. government has initiated legal action to block a merger between foreign airlines. "At the last meeting with the DOJ on May 12, Korean Air learned that the authority has neither taken a position nor confirmed the timeline. Korean Air and the DOJ will continue the dialogue until the final decision is made by the DOJ," a Korean Air official said. In addition, the EU's executive body informed Korean Air by issuing a statement of objections (SO) on May 17 that the merger could limit market competition. The European Commission's investigation revealed concerns about the potential contraction of passenger transportation services on routes to four European countries ― France, Germany, Italy, and Spain ― as well as the potential impact on cargo transportation services between Europe and Korea. The commission's basic position is that there is a lack of solutions to address monopolistic issues in the operation of passenger and cargo transportation services on these four routes following the merger. Korean Air proposed giving up some slots on major routes to Europe. However, these proposals were reportedly rejected by the EU.<br/>
South Korea’s Asiana Airlines is boosting capacity across its international network, operating 413 flights to 54 international destinations in May, an increase of 26 routes compared with May 2022. May sees Asiana increasing frequency on several routes from Seoul Incheon, namely the Chinese cities of Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Changchun. It is also boosting frequencies on Seoul-Hanoi to 14 from 10, and Seoul New York to 10 times weekly from seven. For the summer, Seattle will be boosted to daily. June will see Asiana boost frequencies to Cebu, which is going to daily service. It will also reboot its Seoul-Manila Clark service, which it has not operated since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, Asiana is adding frequencies to Almaty, Istanbul, and Ulaanbaatar. As the summer progresses, the carrier will increase capacity to Sapporo, Nagoya, Okinawa, and Saipan. July will also see it boost capacity to the Chinese cities of Chengdu, Harbin, and Shenzhen. Australia’s Qantas has announced that it will reach its pre-pandemic international capacity by March 2024. Upcoming flight launches include Sydney to New York via Auckland in June, as well as the resumption of its Melbourne-Hong Kong service. China’s Hainan Airlines also announced that it will resume Shenzhen-Brussels from 21 June, Beijing-Edinburgh on 26 June, and Beijing-Dublin on 27 June. All three services will be twice-weekly, with Hainan operating Boeing 787-9s to Brussels, and Airbus A330s to Edinburgh and Dublin. Citing the relaxation of border restrictions, Taiwan’s China Airlines will launch a three-times-weekly Kaohsiung-Seoul Gimpo service from 6 July using 737-800s. Fiji Airways is also beefing up its North Asia network and will add a third weekly service to Hong Kong in August, and a fourth in October – the carrier resumed Hong Kong services in April. “Hong Kong has traditionally been a strong link for us as the main gateway to China,” says Fiji Airways CE Andre Viljoen. “We are pleased with how well this market has picked up in a short amount of time…our forward bookings for Hong Kong for the next six months are 15% ahead of 2019. Based on this, [Fiji Airways] is confident that a fourth service will also do well.” Before the coronavirus pandemic, Fiji Airways had operated to Hong Kong five times weekly.<br/>