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The popular Hawaiian tourist destination Kauai has opted out of the state’s pre-travel coronavirus testing programme and re-imposed a mandatory quarantine for all inbound passengers, once again disrupting Hawaiian Airlines’ return to normal service. Beginning on 2 December, travellers to the island will again be required to enter a 14-day quarantine, with no option to bypass it by bringing evidence of a pre-departure negative test. The mayor of the island, which is located 193km northwest of the capital Honolulu, says on 30 November that the government is imposing the measure to stop community spread of the highly-contagious disease and ease pressure on the island’s limited local hospital system. The state’s governor approved an emergency rule which allows for a “a temporary moratorium of the Safe Travels programme and return to a mandatory 14-day quarantine”, the county of Kauai writes on its website. The rule takes effect at 00:01 local time on 2 December and applies ”to all incoming travellers, including mainland, inter-island residents and visitors”. Honolulu-based Hawaiian Airlines, which operates an average of 12 daily round-trip flights to Kauai’s main metropolitan centre Lihue, says it will once again cut service to the island.<br/>

EasyJet is to reduce its onboard luggage allowance from Feb. 10 next year, a move which will incentivise more people to pay to select their seat or check a bag into the hold. Under the new rules, all passengers can bring a small bag for free, but only those who pay for a seat in the front of the plane or extra leg room can also bring a larger bag to go in the overhead locker. EasyJet is only flying 20% of its capacity this winter due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic, and has said it continues to review options for additional funding after posting a GBP1.3b annual loss. The airline said the new luggage rules, which bring its approach more into line with larger rival Ryanair, would be positive for customers. “Our new policy will improve boarding and punctuality for everyone, as well as give our customers certainty of what they will have with them onboard,” easyJet’s chief commercial and customer officer Robert Carey said Tuesday. Previously, all easyJet passengers were allowed to bring a large bag for the overhead locker, although some of these were placed in the hold when the lockers became full.<br/>

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air is expanding in Norway to take advantage of a shift towards domestic tourism caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline’s CE said on Tuesday. The step could add to the troubles of Norwegian Air and rival SAS, which have dominated domestic Norwegian air travel. Norwegian Air has said a cash crisis could force it to halt operations early next year, while Swedish-Danish SAS has secured a package to help it survive a collapse in demand. “We flew to 48 Norwegian destinations even before the pandemic,” Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi said. “International flights are increasingly exposed to government restrictions... domestic markets have become more important in the short term.” He said Wizz Air was also increasing its flights in Italy to take advantage of tourism there. In Norway, domestic travel is still limited. Avinor, a Norwegian airport operator said passenger numbers were down more than 70% versus the same time in 2019. Wizz Air already launched new Norwegian routes in October. Varadi said cash had become the main performance indicator during the pandemic and Wizz Air was working to come out of the coronavirus crisis with maximum liquidity.<br/>

Ghaith Al Ghaith says the current 60 weekly flights on the Tel Aviv - Dubai route won't be enough for both tourism to UAE and connection flights. flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith believes that the 60 weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai this winter will not be enough to meet demand. He believes there will be demand for 100 flights a week. Al Ghaith was in Israel last week for the launch of flydubai's Tel Aviv - Dubai route with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in attendance at Ben Gurion airport. Low-cost UAE carrier flydubai initially planned two daily flights but quickly increased it to three daily flights because of his demand. In addition, Israir Airlines is operating two daily flights to Dubai from today, Arkia Airlines begins two daily flights from Thursday and El Al launches two daily flights from December 13. Al Ghaith said, "Dubai is a destination that justifies this frequency of flights not just for one or two weeks but more than that. A special situation has been created by the coronavirus. Our country is safe and green and because there are not many destinations that you can fly to without going into isolation, there is an opportunity that we are seizing with both hands. We have identified the potential in the field, both through travel agents and wholesale tourism and mutual demand."<br/>

At least three of the prospective bidders for Israeli leisure airline Israir have submitted enhanced offers to acquire the carrier. The trustee overseeing the divestment of Israir from its parent IDB had set a 30 November deadline for best and final bids. Dor Alon Energy has put forward options including an offer it values at 125m shekels ($38m) comprising a 100m-shekel cash payment, a further 8m shekels for additional costs, and forgiveness of a $5m debt to IDB. Aircraft management specialist Global Knafaim Leasing is claiming a bid of 166m shekels through a 40m-shekel cash payment plus the allocation of shares worth another 109m, as well as wavier of the IDB debt. The trustee also states that BGI Investments is putting forward an improved offer for Israir, comprising a combined cash offer and share allotment. BGI is prepared to pay 75m shekels in cash as well as 15.2m shares, equating to 20% of the company’s capital.<br/>

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has issued a tender notice to dry lease up to eight narrowbody aircraft, with the first example to be delivered at the start of next year. It intends to lease the aircraft, which it states should be of up to 2012-vintage, for a period of six years, or up to the aircraft’s first 12-year check. PIA has set the delivery schedule to run from January to December next year. The aircraft should also be configured with at least 170 seats in an all-economy layout, in addition to a soft divider after the first two rows. It is unclear if the aircraft is intended to replace its existing fleet of narrowbodies. <br/>

Philippine Airlines on Tuesday said it is ready to offer nonstop flights after the government allowed the visa-free entry of returning Filipinos or “balikbayans” beginning Dec. 7. “We are ready to do our part to serve our balikbayans and perk up the Philippine tourism industry to help sustain Filipino jobs and livelihoods,” the flag carrier said. PAL said it has “nonstop flights” to the Philippines for travelers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and some Asian countries. The nonstop flights are “designed for a safe travel experience that avoids connecting via other countries,” it added. PAL also assured the public it has “strong” health and safety measures to protect its passengers.<br/>

Regional Express says it can break Qantas and Virgin Australia's stranglehold over the domestic aviation market by offering full-service travel at budget airline prices when it starts flying between capital cities next year. In what's slated to be the biggest shake up in Australian aviation since the launch of Virgin Blue 20 years ago, Regional Express (Rex) on Wednesday will start selling tickets for flights between Sydney and Melbourne commencing March 1, 2021. The regional carrier's deputy chairman John Sharp said all fares will come with the same perks as flying with Qantas, such as checked baggage, food, pre-assigned seating and online check-in. Eight business class seats on Rex's Boeing 737s will come with Wi-Fi and airport lounge access, with those add-ons and seats with "Rextra" leg room available to other passengers for a fee. "We’re a Qantas with a Jetstar price," Sharp said. "We [will] make it work because we’ve over the years developed a business that runs at a very low cost." Rex will launch in March with three leased Boeing 737s, which Virgin flew before it went into administration in April, and will initially operate nine return Sydney-Melbourne services daily. Two more jets will arrive by Easter, allowing Rex to add Brisbane to its domestic network in the first half of 2021 followed by other capital cities if all goes well. The group said it plans to grow its fleet to eight to 10 jets by the end of the year and wants to be flying on Australia's 10 busiest domestic routes within 18 months. Sharp said he expected Virgin, Qantas and its budget arm Jetstar to respond aggressively to Rex's arrival, but said the group had gone toe-to-toe with the larger airlines on regional routes for 20 years.<br/>