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Emirates is working with global pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, to address the logistical challenges of distributing coronavirus vaccines, according to Emirates President Tim Clark. “The industry is trying to establish best practice involving the third-party supply chain and this logistical exercise, to ensure we get them (vaccines) to the markets that need them so badly, and basically that’s the whole planet,” Clark said Sunday. Last week Pfizer announced that its vaccine candidate, developed in collaboration with Germany’s BioNTech, is more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19. Clark said Emirates and others in the aviation industry were working with Pfizer on the complex logistics of transporting it to the world. “The logistics of distribution of this vaccine of this nature, given the conditions under which it has to be shipped, it’s going to be a challenge for the industry,” Clark added. During shipment and storage, the Pfizer vaccine candidate must be kept at around -100 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 Celsius) in order to maintain optimal efficacy. We’re working on trying to move this Pfizer vaccine in specialty designed containers on our planes, in our holds, and in the cabins, and keeping them at that level through the distribution point,” Clark said. “We have the chillers, we have the freezers, we have the logistical control for the airline to get these vaccines into multiple parts of the world where others cannot.” <br/>

Emirates expects to return to profitability in the next two years, as new travel corridors open and the global aviation industry attempts to rebound from the worst crisis in its history. “I believe that within the next 18 months, two years, we will return ourselves to profitability,” Emirates President Tim Clark said Sunday. “We will certainly be cash positive during the course of the back end of next year, returning to profitability in (financial year) 2022-2023,” he added. Earlier this week, Emirates Group reported a loss of $3.8b for H1, its first loss in 30 years. Revenue collapsed 74% to $3.7b dollars. “There are a lot of things that can change that,” Clark said, flagging a number of key concerns still hanging over the sector. “We are an international company trading on the whole of the world’s operations.” His comments come after new warnings from IATA that the industry cannot slash costs sufficiently to neutralize severe cash burn and avoid bankruptcies in 2021. “Cash is king,” Clark said. “As long as we can keep our cash position in good shape, we believe that we’ll be ready to re-enter the markets, as well and as large as we always did.”<br/>

Southwest cautioned Thursday that the tenuous recovery in air travel could be fading as coronavirus cases spike across the United States. The nation’s fourth-biggest airline said after a modest rise in leisure-travel bookings from August through October, it now sees a slowdown in what were improving revenue trends for November and December. The report from Dallas-based Southwest added to fears that the spreading virus cases will hurt travel demand heading into Thanksgiving, a key period for airlines. Southwest said in a regulatory filing that October revenue is down about 65% from a year ago, and that November and December revenue will be off 60% to 65%. It is unclear whether the weakening booking trends is directly related to the surge in virus cases. Other industry officials left little doubt, however. “Demand is softening, and in the wake of the news, it’s probably not hard to figure out why,” said Nicholas Calio, president of the trade group Airlines for America. Airlines have added more flights for Thanksgiving, but health officials are warning against big gatherings over the holiday. This week, New York limited private gatherings to 10 people, even for outdoor events.<br/>

An Alaska airline forced to file for bankruptcy because of a severe drop in business following the coronavirus outbreak is set to return passengers to the air. Ravn Alaska is scheduled to begin operating flights to six Alaska communities Friday and resume regularly scheduled public chartered flights. Ravn Alaska CEO Rob McKinney said tickets are available for flights between Anchorage and Unalaska, Sand Point, Homer, Kenai and Valdez. RavnAir Group was previously the largest rural carrier in Alaska, employing more than 1,300 people and serving more than 100 communities across the state. The company halted operations in April, laid off staff and filed for bankruptcy because of the economic impact of the coronavirus. The company operated more than 400 flights daily with a fleet of 72 aircraft, but passenger traffic decreased more than 90% after the outbreak of the pandemic. The company is now under new ownership and management.<br/>

Ukraine has said Iran is dragging its feet on investigating the downing of a Ukrainian airliner near Tehran in January by not sharing information and not responding to requests for cooperation. Iran has also rejected Kyiv’s calls for life sentences for those responsible, Deputy Prosecutor General Gyunduz Mamedov told Reuters on Thursday, in written comments ahead of a third round of talks on the crash next month. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 by accident on Jan. 8, mistaking it for a missile at a time when tensions with the United States were high; Washington had killed Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani five days earlier with a drone strike in Iraq. Many of the 176 people killed in the crash were Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Iranian officials, who could not be reached on Friday, the weekend in Iran, have in the past blamed delays in the investigation on technical issues as well as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.<br/>

The revival hopes of collapsed airline, Flybe have been dashed after it missed out on a key contract that would allow it to run flights to Ireland. The Aer Lingus regional franchise was instead handed to Emerald Airlines in a surprise move over the weekend. Emerald Airlines is a new carrier set up by Irish businessman Conor McCarthy. Flybe was one of many regional carries bidding to snatch the Aer Lingus contract, the Telegraph reports. Loganair and Stobart Air, which had run services on behalf of Aer Lingus for the past decade, were also thought to have been involved. The boss of Stobart Air had hoped for a deal to keep running Aer Lingus services for another 10 years, after the carrier was put up for sale by its listed parent, who also owns Southend airport. The embattled airline was pushed into administration earlier this year as COVID-19 hammered the travel industry. But, even prior to the pandemic, in January 2020 Flybe narrowly avoided administration. Europe’s largest regional airline officially collapsed in March. In October, Thyme Opco — a firm linked to former owners Cyrus Capital — has bought Flybe’s remaining assets and plans to relaunch the purple planes in 2021, although on a smaller scale than before.<br/>

Businessman Conor McCarthy’s Emerald Airlines is poised to take over the Aer Lingus regional contract when it is renewed in two years’ time. Aer Lingus sought bids in recent weeks to operate a new contract when the current deal with Stobart Air runs out in December 2022. Emerald Airlines will enter exclusive talks with Aer Lingus to operate the regional service for 10 years after Stobart was ruled out of the race. McCarthy confirmed that Emerald Airlines would enter exclusive talks with Aer Lingus on the new regional services contract, which will run from January 2023. “Emerald Airlines looks forward to these negotiations in the coming weeks with a view to concluding a binding contract and progressing with our ambitious plan to roll out a fleet of 15-plus ATR72 Aer Lingus-branded aircraft from Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Shannon,” he said. Stobart Air confirmed to staff at the weekend that it has not been selected as the preferred bidder, but pledged to continue operating the regional services until its contract ends in December 2022. “Our immediate aim is to maintain services in the short term, and to work hard to resuming normal operations in 2021 post the impact of Covid-19,” the airline told its workers. The loss of the Aer Lingus contract will hit efforts by the airline’s majority owner UK-based Stobart Group, to find a buyer for the Irish carrier.<br/>

Vietnam's Vietjet and UPS, the world's biggest package delivery company, announced on Friday the start of joint operations to fly cargo between Asia and the US. The budget airline and US-based UPS in September began pooling garments, seafood, medical goods and other products from Vietnam, Thailand and neighboring countries, shipping them from Hanoi to the US on weekly flights via Incheon, South Korea. The companies also collaborated on deliveries between Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Like other airlines during the pandemic, Vietjet has suffered from low demand. Vietnam welcomed 3.8m travelers in the first nine months of 2020, down 70.6% from the same period last year, according to the state General Statistics Office. The airline halted most cross-border service, operating only 15,000 flights in the third quarter, mainly within Vietnam and Thailand -- down from 34,000 flights across 12 Asian countries in the third quarter of 2019. It posted a loss of 926b dong ($40m) in air travel in Q3 2020, versus a loss of 1.1t dong in Q2. But the company's fortunes are looking up. "Vietjet has been one of the first airlines in Asia to navigate toward air cargo as part of a new business strategy unfolding in response to the pandemic," said Do Xuan Quang, CEO of the company's cargo operations.<br/>

PAL Holdings, operator of flag-carrier Philippine Airlines, saw its net loss for Q3 widen to P7.92b, as the global health crisis continues to ravage the air-travel sector. The company incurred a net loss of P5.16b in the same period last year. In a disclosure to the stock exchange, PAL Holdings reported a 76.9% drop in its total revenues for Q3 to P8.47b. The flag carrier operator saw its passenger revenues for the quarter go down by 80% to P6.30 billion. The company’s cargo revenues declined 23.5% to P1.84 billion, ancillary revenues dropped 87.5% to P338.25m, and revenues from its other business segments decreased 52.1% to P2.05m. These brought the company’s nine-month total revenues to P45.29b, down 61.6% from last year’s P117.85b. In the nine months through September, PAL Holdings’ net loss to parent equity holders hit P28.85b, or more than three times the P8.49b recorded a year ago. Passenger revenues for the three quarters dropped 65.4% to P35.56b. Cargo revenues declined 12.2% to P6.05b. Ancillary revenues decreased 55.5% to P3.68b.<br/>

Etihad airways on Sunday confirmed that its A380s will remain grounded unless demand grows and there is “sufficient appetite to reassess their viability.” “As Etihad continues to focus on recovery and rebuilding our global network, we will continue to rely on the efficiencies and advantages of our twin engine wide-body aircraft,” an airline spokesperson said. “As always we continue to focus on the wellness and safety of our guests, while providing the world class service they deserve and have come to expect from Etihad.” Last week, Etihad announced a management overhaul aimed at transforming the company into a “mid-size, full-service” carrier with a “leaner, flatter and scale-able” structure. “After our best-ever Q1 performance, none of us could have predicted the challenges that lay ahead in the remainder of this year,” said Tony Douglas, Group CEO, Etihad Aviation Group.<br/>

Emirates airline and FlySafair on Sunday announced an interline agreement, opening up connections for customers to selected routes on FlySafair’s network in South Africa. Through the arrangement, Emirates and FlySafair will offer single-ticket travel and tagging of baggage for travellers transferring from Emirates’ gateways – Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban - to FlySafair domestic points in South Africa, such as Port Elizabeth, East London and George. Customers can also connect to FlySafair’s points without backtracking to their initial destination when catching their flight back to Dubai, the companies said. “We are pleased to begin our interline partnership with FlySafair. Their network complements our South African presence, providing an array of connections for our customers, which makes this a natural partnership,” said Badr Abbas, Emirates’ Senior VP Commercial Operations for Africa.<br/>