Air Canada Cancelling Select Flights to China

[Guest]

WORLD NEWS

JANUARY 28, 2020 / 2:45 PM / UPDATED 25 MINUTES AGO

Air Canada cancelling select flights to China in response to coronavirus

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Air Canada said on Tuesday it is cancelling select flights to China to better match capacity with expected demand as the spread of the new coronavirus rattles travelers.

Air Canada currently operates 33 flights a week to China and the resulting capacity reduction is relatively small, a company spokesman said by email. Those customers who are affected will be notified and provided with alternate travel options.

The coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China has killed 106 people and spread across the world.

[runaway]

Share price got  hammered the last 2 days!!

[boestar]

Hammered?  less than a $2 hit.  it was trending downward over the last week or so anyway

 

[FA@AC]

As of now LH, LX, OS and BA have cancelled all flights to Mainland China until the end of Feb.

[dagger]

Air Canada Suspends Flights to Beijing, Shanghai 

---

MONTREAL, Jan. 29, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada said today that following the Government of Canada's Advisory to avoid non-essential travel to mainland China it is temporarily suspending all direct flights to Beijing and Shanghaieffective January 30, 2020 until February 29, 2020.

Air Canada's last flights departing Canada will operate today and the return flights will operate from Beijing and Shanghai tomorrow, January 30, 2020. Affected customers will be notified and offered options, including travel on other carriers where available, or a full refund. Air Canada regrets this situation and apologizes for the serious disruption to our customers' travel plans.  

Air Canada will continue to monitor this evolving situation closely in consultation with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada and Global Affairs and will adjust its schedule as appropriate. 

Air Canada currently operates direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, FA@AC said:

As of now LH, LX, OS and BA have cancelled all flights to Mainland China until the end of Feb.

I wonder how the crews (AC) are dealing with their exposure, in flight or overnight at the hotel etc.  Will HKG be the next destination to be suspended? 

[FA@AC]

7 minutes ago, Marshall said:

I wonder how the crews (AC) are dealing with their exposure, in flight or overnight at the hotel etc.  Will HKG be the next destination to be suspended? 

I don't think the risk of exposure is currently considered significant in PEK or PVG, but AC had put measures in place and was good about addressing concerns.  IFS was allowing FAs to opt out of operating to China if they chose.  I don't know about Flight Ops.  Crews recently in PEK and PVG reported that nearly everything was closed and that the streets around the layover hotels were unusually quiet even for the time of year.

I guess it's moot now given the announcement in Dagger's post above.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, I see our government has just announced that they have secured a plane (I wonder who's)  to evacuate Canadian Citizens from Wuhan.  I wonder if this will include the same precautions that other countries ( The French, Australian, Americian and South Korean governments are quarantining their citizens returning from Wuhan.,)  have established for  their returnees? The US for example is said (according to the press) that their quarantine will be for 14 days which is the incubation period for the virus.

 

 

 

[dagger]

6 minutes ago, Marshall said:

Thanks, I see our government has just announced that they have secured a plane (I wonder who's)  to evacuate Canadian Citizens from Wuhan.  I wonder if this will include the same precautions that other countries ( The French, Australian, Americian and South Korean governments are quarantining their citizens returning from Wuhan.,)  have established for  their returnees? The US for example is said (according to the press) that their quarantine will be for 14 days which is the incubation period for the virus.

 

 

 

It's an interesting challenge to quarantine people in Canada in. You can't just put everybody in an armoury or arena; you need separate quarters in case there is one person who could infect the group. In summer, you could commandeer a university dorm. You're not likely to find an empty hotel, etc. I suppose self-quarantining is an option - that's what every country is doing with one-off cases.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, dagger said:

It's an interesting challenge to quarantine people in Canada in. You can't just put everybody in an armoury or arena; you need separate quarters in case there is one person who could infect the group. In summer, you could commandeer a university dorm. You're not likely to find an empty hotel, etc. I suppose self-quarantining is an option - that's what every country is doing with one-off cases.

Def. a interesting process. The BBC has published to following re the US plan and it appears the quarantine period is now fluid.

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Two hundred Americans to face quarantine in California

• 2 hours ago

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Some 200 US citizens are due to be quarantined in California after arriving from Wuhan, China amid the coronavirus oubreak.

The passengers, mostly diplomats, were evacuated via a chartered flight that landed on US soil on Wednesday.

They will be quarantined for at least 72 hours, but could be kept isolated for up to two weeks if they have any symptoms, officials said.

The flight landed at a US air base near Riverside, California.

Earlier, the flight stopped in Anchorage, Alaska, to refuel while the 201 were given an initial screen for symptoms. None exhibited any signs of the coronavirus, according to the state's chief medical officer. Five cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the US as of Tuesday.

The Department of State, which chartered the flight, said places aboard were offered to government workers, with unfilled seats sold to US citizens on a "reimbursable basis", though it was unclear if the agency was offering to pay back the reported $1,000 per ticket cost.

It was originally scheduled to land at the civilian Ontario International Airport, some 30 miles (48km) from Los Angeles, but was diverted to the March Air Reserve military base.

The Ontario airport had prepared for the arrival of the chartered flight on Tuesday by setting up showers, bathrooms and beds in a hangar. The decision to move the flight to the air base came that evening.

The switch was made for logistical reasons, Curt Hagman, a San Bernardino county official said.

Mr Hagman had earlier said passengers could be quarantined for up to two weeks.

The US Department of Defence said they will work with Health and Human Services officials to care for the evacuees. Any passengers who fall ill will be transported to a civilian hospital.

 

[Kasey]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/coronavirus-air-travel-1.5444326

 

All flights cancelled till end of FEB!

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Kasey said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/coronavirus-air-travel-1.5444326

 

All flights cancelled till end of FEB!

I wonder if the airlines who are cancelling their flights will continue to accept interline passengers coming from the few, if any , airlines that will continue to serve the embargoed points? 

[Kip Powick]

Re Plane..

Although the Military C-17 could do the job, it would be a very uncomfortable flight, certainly without the amenities that a airline could provide. I see the US used a 747 , (don't know who owns it). The C-17 would be cost effective but the " freebies"  flying in it would probably launch suits  for the stress of being in the Military aluminum tube.

If the CDN government can't tell us who is preparing the aircraft, it would be because of negotiations concerning the $$$$ and if it is, and probably will be, a private company the Canadian govt is likely to be "hosed".

Anybody remember the Lebanon lift ????

[Seeker]

1 hour ago, Kip Powick said:

Re Plane..

Although the Military C-17 could do the job, it would be a very uncomfortable flight, certainly without the amenities that a airline could provide. I see the US used a 747 , (don't know who owns it). The C-17 would be cost effective but the " freebies"  flying in it would probably launch suits  for the stress of being in the Military aluminum tube.

If the CDN government can't tell us who is preparing the aircraft, it would be because of negotiations concerning the $$$$ and if it is, and probably will be, a private company the Canadian govt is likely to be "hosed".

Anybody remember the Lebanon lift ????

The obvious solution is for the government to charter an AC Triple or 87 to do the flight - the crews, aircraft and dispatch system are all fully compliant, capable and experienced.  May be some difficulty in finding crews but would assume that it could be done with managers and volunteers.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, seeker said:

The obvious solution is for the government to charter an AC Triple or 87 to do the flight - the crews, aircraft and dispatch system are all fully compliant, capable and experienced.  May be some difficulty in finding crews but would assume that it could be done with managers and volunteers.

One of the problems with revealing who is operating the plane is the idea that will be firmly in the mind of the travelling public re the need to disinfect the aircraft used for the mission before it is used for any commercial flight.  Re using a AC plane etc likely a aircraft would be free (one of the ones that will no longer be needed due to the flight cancellations). Re using managers, they of course have every right to refuse and I doubt that AC or any other airline would take any action against them.  Back in the day of bomb threats, no one was forced to inspect the aircraft, it was left up to a few CP police and us volunteers (union and non union).