Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
According to foreign media reports, Virgin Atlantic is cutting its daily capacity by 80 per cent due to the ongoing epidemic. Starting from 26 March 2020, the airline will begin to prioritize routes according to customer needs and will change its operation mode.
Most importantly, Virgin Atlantic will permanently suspend flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and Newark (EWR) from now on. It is unclear what other routes Virgin Atlantic will suspend from 26 March.
In addition, the airline will stop 75 per cent of the aircraft operations in the fleet from 26 March 2020 and 85 per cent of the aircraft operations in April 2020.
According to Planespotters.net, Virgin Atlantic has 41 aircraft in its fleet, including the A330, A350, B747, and 787. At the height of the grounding, it will ground up to 35 aircraft.
Virgin Atlantic calls on employees to enjoy eight weeks of unpaid leave in the next three months to help the airline deal with the covid epidemic and reduce costs significantly without layoffs.
Earlier, Virgin Atlantic sent a letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in an attempt to seek a package of economic aid from the British government, total 7.5 billion pounds and requested the British government to extend the grounding time of major airlines, so as not to lose their rights to fly in and out of the airports.
At present, Virgin Atlantic has decided to reduce the salary of its CEO Shai Weiss for the period from April to July, and salaries of its executive team will be reduced by 15 per cent. Its proposal to increase the annual salary increase of all employees will be postponed from March to August.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Austrian Airlines completely stops its scheduled flight operations on 20 March 2020. Its last scheduled flight arrives in Vienna from Chicago in the morning of 19 March 2020.
According to Austrian Airlines, its outbound scheduled flights from Vienna will be halted gradually from 18 March 2020, owing to the spread of the covid pandemic in the world forcing numerous countries to close their borders. The flights will be cancelled until 28 March 2020, subject to changes in market demand.
In the coming days, Austrian Airlines will evacuate Austrians from other covid-affected countries and "rely upon the offering of the Lufthansa Group" for re-booking passengers.
Austrian Airlines stays positive about its relaunch after the pandemic is over. CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech explains, "This is not a 'goodbye'. The airline is taking a flexible approach towards restarting the business so that we can be ready to go as soon as possible once demand recovers."
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Uzbekistan Airways is suspending international flights from 16 March 2020. The suspension will continue until 5 April 2020.
According to Uzbekistan Airways, the final international flights on 16 March 2020 are on the route to Taskhent from Delhi (flight HY426) and the Tashkent - Riga - Tashkent flights (HY103/HY104). Other international flights and regional flights to the CIS countries are suspended.
Uzbekistan Airways will perform charter flights to evacuate Uzbekistanis from foreign countries. Uzbekistanis arriving in Tashkent will be quarantined for 14 days.
The Uzbekistan government announced that all land transportation services and international flights to Tashkent will be cancelled on 16 March, with exception of the above flights of Uzbekistan Airways. Besides, all schools in Uzbekistan are effectively closed for three weeks. Pupils and students will attend virtual lessons at homes. These online school lessons are conducted by the Uzbekistan Ministry of Education.
Uzbekistan's first covid case is recorded on 15 March 2020, a Uzbekistani returning from Paris on a Uzbekistan Airways flight. By 16 March 2020, there are four covid patients in the Central Asia country, including the Uzbekistani's son and daughter. To manage the pandemic, the Uzbekistan government has stopped exports of surgical face masks, and will increase face mask production by 10 times the volume of previous production to meet internal demand.
Web Refs: https://www.uzairways.com/en/press-center/news/uzbekistan-airways-suspends-all-international-flights; https://www.minhangshi.com/m/h5/detail/8027761
Pictures by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Wisdom Air suspended flights from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son on 1 October 2019. Above and below are the pictures shot in Chiang Mai in January 2019.
Pictures by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
LOT Polish Airlines has heeded the Polish Government's call to suspend all international flights from Warsaw and other Polish cities, starting from 15 March 2020.
According to the Polish Government, Poland's 'lock down' procedures start from 14 March 2020, beginning with the closures of all shopping malls and hypermarts. From 15 March 2020, all commercial train and flight services including LOT's passenger flights will be suspended for 10 days. Cargo flights are not affected.
The commercial flight suspension may be prolonged depending on the situation of the covid pandemic in Poland.
All Polish people and foreigners with working permits in Poland that return to Poland must be quarantined for 14 days.
Besides, all foreigners without jobs in Poland are not allowed entry to Poland from 15 March 2020.
The Poland Government also announced that supermarkets, grocery shops and pharmacies are allowed to open during the pandemic to cater to daily essential needs.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bamboo Airways has postponed its Prague flight launch from 29 March 2020 to 26 April 2020.
Bamboo Airways also has plan to launch non-stop scheduled flight to Munich from Vietnam later this year.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Due to the COVID-19 (covid, in short) epidemic in South Korea and Japan, Lao Airlines has suspended scheduled flights from Vientiane to Busan, Incheon and deferred its inaugural flight to Kumamoto, Japan from 18 March 2020 to an undisclosed date.
Lao Airlines has suspended flights to Busan and Incheon since 29 February 2020. It plans to resume flights to these cities from 1 April 2020.
The Lao national flag carrier says although Lao PDR does not have any covid case, its profits have shrinked by 50 per cent due to the earlier suspension of flights to China. It has resumed flights to Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Guangzhou, Changsha, Chengdu, Changzhou and Pudong following the relaxation of international flights from China.
To reduce further losses, 30 per cent of Lao Airlines' employees are now on no-pay leave. Lao Airlines has more than 1000 employees.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image courtesy : Airbus
According to Russian Aviation Insider, Aeroflot Group's fleet will reach 401 aircraft by 31 December 2020.
As of 31 December 2019, Aeroflot Group has a total of 359 aircraft.
In 2020, Aeroflot Group will receive 10 other A350-900, 2 B777-30ER wide-body aircraft and the remainder, A320neo and Superjet 100 narrow-body aircraft. The first A350-900 has been received and transferred to Aeroflot Russian Airlines.
Aeroflot Group members include Aeroflot Russian Airlines, Rossiya Airlines, Pobeda Airlines and Aurora Airlines.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image : Himalaya Airlines' first aircraft A320 in its former livery.
Himalaya Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A319 aircraft from the aircraft final assembly line of Airbus in Tianjin on 3 March 2020.
The A319-115 was however received in the livery of Tibet Airlines. The aircraft will be eventually repainted in Kathmandu before deployment on its Kathmandu - China routes.
The A319 aircraft delivered to Himalaya Airlines is equipped with CFM-56 engines and 128 seats, including eight Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats.
Himalaya Airlines has a fleet of 4 Airbus aircraft to date, including its first A320 in its earliest livery.
