Emirates sees a sharp recovery in demand for air travel next year as coronavirus vaccines are distributed around the world, meaning the carrier’s full fleet of jumbo Airbus SE A380 jets could return to the skies by early 2022. Progress on the production and transportation of inoculations should be evident by the second quarter of next year, President Tim Clark said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday. That will lead to a release in pent-up demand “across all segments” led by those who have had to shelve travel plans during the pandemic, he said. “I can see demand for travel moving at pace,” Clark said. “My own view, and it’s always an optimistic view, is by end of next calendar year or the first quarter of 2022 we’ll have all our A380s flying.” The show of confidence from the veteran airline executive contrasts with a deteriorating outlook for airlines facing the worse crisis the industry has ever suffered. Bankruptcies are happening at a record pace, while the industry’s chief lobby on Tuesday estimated carriers will lose $157 billion this year and next because of the pandemic’s devastating impact on travel. Emirates has seen demand all but dry up on its key routes. The airline is the largest customer of the A380, whose sheer size has made it particularly unviable. The cost of storing and maintaining the fleet contributed to a $3.8b loss in the six months through September. “What we have to face and continue to face is the carrying cost of the A380 fleet, which is very expensive for us,” Clark said. Clark has previously said the development of a vaccine would be key to the A380’s return to wide use. Emirates will receive three of the jumbos by the end of the year, at least one of which will have a premium economy cabin, the executive said Wednesday. That will leave five more to be delivered at a later date.<br/>
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El Al Israel Airlines is considering a bond sale to the public as it fights to stave off collapse after failing to reach a deal on a state-backed loan to help it recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Israel's flagship airline, which also reported a Q3 loss on Wednesday, had secured government backing for 75% of a $250m loan conditional on the group slashing expenses and issuing $150m worth of new shares. The company held the share sale last month, resulting in the 27-year-old son of a US nursing homes tycoon taking a controlling stake. It also agreed with unions to cut 2,000 jobs and reduce the salaries of the highest paid. But El Al said on Wednesday it had failed to reach an agreement for a loan with a financial entity and so was "considering an alternative of raising the loan by issuing bonds to the public." "At this stage there are significant doubts about the continued existence (of the company) as a going concern," it added. CEO Gonen Usishkin said the airline was cutting costs to try to return to growth. "However, without the support of the government, which will provide El Al with the necessary backing so we can advance the debt raising, El Al will have difficulty meeting its future obligations and will face the danger of collapse," he said.<br/>
Mexican low-cost airline Volaris should make money in December and will be profitable in the second quarter of 2021, by which time it is likely to be operating at or around 100% capacity, the company’s CE said Wednesday. Volaris President and CEO, Enrique Beltranena, said he expected the company to be “EBIT positive” in December. But he did not want to predict whether it would make a profit in the final quarter. Beltranena noted that the first quarter of the year was always the company’s toughest in the cyclical business, but that Volaris would be profitable in the second quarter of 2021. <br/>
Israeli leisure carrier Israir’s trustee has expressed several concerns to the latest bidder for the airline, investment fund Fortissimo Capital, over its acquisition proposal. Fortissimo emerged as a bidder on 24 November but the airline’s trustee has sought an urgent meeting with the company to discuss problems with the bid. “It appears that the proposal raises a considerable number of difficulties,” the trustee states in a 25 November communication, pointing out its non-binding nature and the lack of a bank guarantee. The communication adds that the offer is subject to a number of conditions including performing due diligence and granting a 45-day exclusivity period – with a possible 14-day extension. “Wording of the offer indicates that it may be subject to additional conditions that have not been specified at all,” it states. There are also “ambiguities” relating to the “vague obligation” to inject capital into Israir, and the waiving of its debt to parent IDB, subject to tax matters, and – given that Fortissimo plans to take 90% of the company – the trustee has “many question marks” regarding the outstanding 10% share.<br/>