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Thai Airways International has released details of its winter flight schedule, valid from 1 January to 27 March 2021. The airline is in the midst of a restructuring supervised by Thailand’s Bankruptcy Court, a process that will continue through 2021. It suspended most of its services as a direct result of the Covid-19 lockdown last March. Subsequently, it filed for shelter under the country’s bankruptcy legislation to allow it to initiate a restructuring process. Earlier this month it announced that close to 5,000 employees would take early requirement or accept up to 80% cuts in salary in 2021 while the airline resumes full commercial services. Since last March it has relied almost entirely on ad-hoc repatriation flights with a partial shift to limited “commercial flights” starting last month for passengers eligible under Thailand’s strict immigration restrictions. Story lists flights.<br/>

Japan’s ANA Holdings plans to issue new shares following a board meeting as early as next week, two sources said, a move that would see it raise around Y200b to bolster its balance sheet. Japan’s biggest airline has picked Nomura Holdings and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as two of the joint global coordinators for its first share offering since 2012, said the sources, both of whom declined to be identified because the information was not public. The issuance is expected to raise around Y200b ($1.9b), one of the sources said. No one was immediately available for comment at ANA outside of regular working hours.<br/>

Air NZ is investigating after one of its crew members tested positive for Covid-19 in China. The staff member tested negative to the virus in New Zealand on November 18 but on arrival in Shanghai on November 22 returned a positive test. Air NZ said the person was well and had no symptoms of Covid-19 – all other crew have returned negative results. It said the positive case would remain in isolation while Air NZ and the Ministry of Health worked with Chinese authorities to bring the person home. “Operating crew on layover in China go into a managed isolation hotel as a standard procedure. The crew will remain in isolation while we work with Chinese authorities, New Zealand Ministry of Health and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to make arrangements for their safe return home,” an Air NZ spokesman said. When they returned to New Zealand the crew would follow the direction of the ministry around isolation and further testing, Air NZ said.<br/>

It might be less spiritual than the Buddhist mantra-chanting flight in Thailand, but EVA Air's latest "flight to nowhere" idea could be just as magical -- by helping people find love in the sky. EVA Airways, one of the largest carriers in Taiwan, is partnering with travel experience company Mobius on a campaign called "Fly! Love is in the Air." These are flights for singles on Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year Day. "Because of Covid-19, EVA Air has been organizing "faux travel" experiences to fulfill people's desire for travel. When single men and women travel, apart from enjoying the fun in travel, they may wish to meet someone -- like a scene in a romantic movie," Chiang Tsung-Wei, the spokesperson for You and Me, the speed dating arm of Mobius, says. Each of the dating experiences includes a three-hour flight that departs from Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport and circles the airspace above Taiwan, plus another two hours of a romantic date back on land. Participants are encouraged to have in-depth conversations with each other on board while sampling meals prepared by Michelin-starred chef Motoke Nakamura. They are also encouraged to keep masks on when they're not eating or drinking. <br/>

For Isabelle Chan, eight, and her six-year-old sister, Natalya, the highlight of their Inside Singapore Airlines tour was when they got to serve food and drinks to their mother while dressed in the airline's iconic sarong kebaya. The two girls were among 500 participants who secured a slot for the first tour session, which was held Saturday. A basic tour ticket to the centre, which is normally closed to the public, costs $30 for those aged 12 and above, and $15 for children aged three to 12, excluding goods and services tax (GST). The junior cabin crew experience costs $88, excluding GST, and includes the SIA sarong kebaya. The national carrier is operating four sessions of the Inside SIA tour over two weekends - yesterday and today, as well as on Nov 28 and 29. Each session has a maximum capacity of 500 people. More than 20,000 people had expressed interest in the tour, said SIA CE Goh Choon Phong. "We are going to focus on making sure that whoever visits us gets a great experience," he added. Despite the overwhelming response, he said the airline has no plans to open up further sessions for now.<br/>