A passenger who had tested negative for coronavirus before a flight went on to infect four others during the journey, according to a new medical report. A total of seven passengers sitting in relatively close proximity to one another ultimately tested positive for Covid-19 following the flight, states the report from New Zealand’s Institute of Environmental Science and Research. The passengers had travelled from different parts of the world to converge on the flight departing from Dubai in the UAE on 29 September. The destination for Emirates flight EK448 was Auckland in New Zealand, with a two-hour refuelling stop in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia where none of the passengers got off or on the aircraft. The total journey time was 18hr 02min, making it one of the longest flights currently operating. Story has full details.<br/>
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Alaska Air said Monday it would lease 13 new Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes from aircraft lessor Air Lease, handing its traditional jet supplier a boost less than a week after Boeing won US approval to fly the MAX again. Alaska also disclosed plans to sell 10 Airbus A320s to Air Lease, reducing its reliance on European jets inherited from a takeover of Virgin America and moving back towards being a carrier that labelled its jets "Proudly All Boeing". The deal is seen as Boeing's opening shot together with an influential lessor in a campaign to rehabilitate the 737 MAX, which was grounded for 20 months following two fatal accidents. The US planemaker is trying to secure eye-catching deals with other major carriers to sell the 737 MAX at heavily discounted prices to help rebuild what was once its fastest-selling product, industry sources said. Boeing has identified Alaska Air as one of the candidates to buy the 737 MAX jet along with Southwest, Delta and Ryanair, the sources said. Alaska Air, which is based in Boeing's main commercial factory city of Seattle, said it expects deliveries of the 13 737 MAX jets to start from the fourth quarter of 2021 and continue through 2022. The company's 13 leased 737 MAX aircraft will be in addition to the 32 737 MAX jets it currently has on order with Boeing, Alaska Air said, adding that it expects to be flying five 737 MAX planes by summer of 2021.<br/>
Troubled long-haul, low-cost carrier AirAsia X has lost civil suits mounted by two lessors over lease debts for six aircraft. The carrier disclosed on 20 November that it was served with the judgement pertaining to legal action taken by BOC Aviation and ILFC, now owned by AerCap. AirAsia X and its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary AAX Leasing Two were ordered to pay BOC Aviation around $23.4m in unpaid leases, as well as GBP75,000 as cost for the claims. The two parties also have to pay the lessor an undisclosed “post-judgement interest” relating to the $23.4m claim. These pertain to the lease of four aircraft, details of which were not disclosed by the carrier. With ILFC, the court ruled that AirAsia X, as well two other subsidiaries AAX Leasing Four and AAX Mauritius, were to pay GBP6.6m in claims to the lessor. These relate to two other aircraft. With both court orders, AirAsia X states that there “will be a cash outflow equal to the amount of the said order”, but stressed that there was no operational impact. It adds that it is seeking legal advice about the orders, in light of its proposed debt restructuring exercise, and will provide any further updates. BOC Aviation sued AirAsia X in late August, relating to a breach of obligations under lease agreements. The lessor also alleged that the carrier had breached its obligations under four guarantees related to the lease agreements.<br/>
Israel’s flag carrier El Al will join flydubai in launching 14 weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai, as opportunities start to open up on what could prove to be an exceptionally busy route. The first El Al flight is scheduled for December 13, while flydubai’s Tel Aviv bound service commences on Thursday. Until a mutual visa entry agreement comes into force between the countries, or until there is another bilateral solution, Israeli travellers can enter the UAE with a foreign passport that allows entry to the destination and/or receive a valid visa prior to the flight. “Three months after the historic first commercial flight ever between Israel and the UAE - and the first Israeli flight to overfly Saudi Arabia - we are pleased to announce the start of our scheduled flights to the UAE,” said Michael Strassburger, P for Commercial at El Al. It was on an El Al commercial flight that the first Israeli delegation – and also having Jared Kushner of the US - landed in Abu Dhabi on August 31. It set the wheels in motion for the signing of the Abraham Accords in Washington on September 15. The flights will be operated by a Boeing 737-900 aircraft as well as the airline's newest addition, the 787 Dreamliner. <br/>
Air Busan said Tuesday it will resume flights to the Chinese city of Ningbo next month to meet travel demand from businessmen. The budget carrier unit of Asiana will begin offering one flight per week on Dec. 6 on the Incheon-Ningbo route after suspending the route for 10 months due to the coronavirus impact on the airline industry, the company said in a statement. Instead, the carrier plans to suspend the Incheon-Shenzhen route beginning Nov. 27, it said, In July, the company resumed the Incheon-Shenzhen route, but it suspended other Chinese routes to Ningbo, Chengdu, Qingdao, Yanji, Zhangjiajie, Xian, Hainan and Haikou. <br/>