Guest Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Delta’s resumption of 100 flights hints at ‘growing optimism’ Calgary Herald 19 May 2020 MARY SCHLANGENSTEIN JIM URQUHART/REUTERS A plane is nearly empty during a Delta flight departing from Salt Lake City, Utah last month. For the travel and airlines industry, a full recovery from the COVID-19 fallout is expected to take years. Delta Air Lines Inc. plans to restore 100 flights in June, providing a hint that travel demand may be poised to inch up after almost disappearing because of the coronavirus pandemic. The additions — including flights from New York to Paris, and from Atlanta to Cancun — are based on “customer demand,” federal health guidelines and government travel restrictions, Delta said in a statement Monday. The company cautioned that the schedule remains subject to change “due to the evolving nature of COVID -19.” Delta and its rivals slashed flying, parked planes and relied on billions in federal aid as the virus’s spread prompted a 95-per-cent drop in U.S. passengers. A full recovery is expected to take years — and Delta’s capacity this quarter will be 85-per-cent below last year’s level, including a 90-per-cent reduction on international routes. As a result of evaporating demand, Air Canada announced Friday it will lay off more than half of its 38,000 employees next month as it grapples with the fallout from the COVID -19 pandemic. The airline estimates about 20,000 of its employees will be affected. The layoffs, which will take place June 7, will affect a minimum of 19,000 staff and could go as high as 22,800. Less than 24 hours after the airline announced its downsizing plans, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he’s willing to see what can be done to help the ailing company — but remained mum on details. Speaking to reporters outside his Rideau Cottage home Saturday, Trudeau acknowledged the difficult situation facing airlines and the travel industry during the COVID-19 crisis. But even as he offered reassurances that the feds would continue to work with companies and industries hardest hit by the crisis, exactly what help Air Canada can expect to receive from government remains unclear. “We will have conversations with Air Canada as we will with airlines across the sector to try and see how the best way to get through this particular pandemic is,” Trudeau said. Delta’s move to add flights on a handful of marquee routes suggests the potential for the beginnings of a rebound. “For Delta, markets to Europe and the Caribbean are strong performers at this time of year so putting the capacity back into the market is a solid indication of their growing optimism,” said John Grant, an analyst at OAG Aviation Worldwide, a data provider. “But we should all expect airlines to be making adjustments both up and down in the coming months as they respond to demand, further pockets of COVID -19 that may appear and the potential regulatory barriers to travel,” he said. Delta surged nearly 14 per cent to US$21.86 at the close as travel-related companies rallied after an experimental coronavirus vaccine showed signs of promise. A Standard & Poor’s index of major U.S. carriers posted a comparable gain as United Airlines Holdings Inc. jumped 20 per cent to US$23.82, poised for the biggest gain since March 24. In addition to the Paris flights, Delta plans to resume dropped service next month from New York to Amsterdam, Paris and Tel Aviv. The carrier has been flying from Atlanta to Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris, and between Detroit and Amsterdam and London. Delta also will restore daily flights to Shanghai from Detroit and Seattle, subject to government approval. The company already is flying to Seoul from Detroit and Seattle, and from Seattle to Tokyo. The airline will restart a dozen routes to the Caribbean, including Aruba, Jamaica and the Bahamas; four between Atlanta and cities in Central America, and five to cities in Mexico including Cancun and Mexico City. Delta is also making fleet changes amid uncertainty about when passengers will return. The Atlanta-based airline is cutting the number of Boeing Co. 717 jets in service by at least half over the next year, in the latest step to cull older, costlier planes from its fleet. The carrier will stop flying the 110-passenger plane in Minneapolis and the New York area, according to a memo sent to pilots May 15. New York service will move to Airbus SE A220s and A320s, while Minneapolis flights will be made on A320s and Boeing 737s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Coronavirus: EasyJet to resume flights in June 3 hours ago 682comments Share this with Facebook Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share this with Email Share Related Topics Image copyrightTF-IMAGES EasyJet has said it will resume some flights on 15 June, with all passengers and cabin crew told to wear face masks to protect against the coronavirus. The airline announced that it would restart a "small number" of routes where there is enough customer demand. The initial schedule will include domestic routes across the UK and France. EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said that "these are small and carefully planned steps". From June, EasyJet will fly between UK airports including Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Belfast. The airline told the BBC that from mid-June it would be running 189 flights per week on average. The only international service from the UK will fly from Gatwick to Nice. Elsewhere, some services will resume between Portugal, Switzerland and Spain. Which EasyJet services will resume from June? UK Belfast-Birmingham Belfast-Bristol Belfast-Edinburgh Belfast-Glasgow Belfast-London Gatwick Belfast-Liverpool Belfast-Newcastle Birmingham-Belfast Bristol-Belfast Edinburgh-Belfast Edinburgh-London Gatwick Glasgow-Belfast Glasgow-London Gatwick Inverness-London Gatwick Isle of Man-London Gatwick Isle of Man-Liverpool London Gatwick-Belfast London Gatwick-Edinburgh London Gatwick-Glasgow London Gatwick-Inverness London Gatwick-Isle of Man London Gatwick-Nice Liverpool-Belfast Liverpool-Isle of Man Newcastle-Belfast France Bordeaux-Lyon Bordeaux-Nice Paris Charles de Gaulle-Nice Paris Charles de Gaulle-Toulouse Lille-Nice Lyon-Bordeaux Lyon-Nantes Nice-Bordeaux Nice-Paris Charles de Gaulle Nice-London Gatwick Nice-Lille Nice-Nantes Nice-Toulouse Nice-Geneva Nantes-Lyon Nantes-Nice Toulouse-Paris Charles de Gaulle Toulouse-Nice Switzerland Geneva-Porto Geneva-Barcelona Geneva-Lisbon Geneva-Nice Spain Barcelona-Geneva Portugal Porto-Geneva Lisbon-Geneva Mr Lundgren said that further routes would be announced over the coming weeks "as customer demand increases and lockdown measures across Europe are relaxed". The firm grounded its entire fleet in March as global travel came to a near-halt. EasyJet hack: 'I've been left in complete limbo' When will I be able to go on holiday? What are the UK travel quarantine rules? When flights restart, no food will be available on board and customers will have hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes provided. EasyJet said that its aircraft would also be subject to "enhanced cleaning and disinfection". Mr Lundgren said: "These measures will remain in place for as long as is needed to ensure customers and crew are able to fly safely as the world continues to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic." New health standards EasyJet's new rules were drawn up according to latest government advice and in consultation with aviation authorities such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). On Wednesday, EASA and the US Centre for Disease Prevention and Control issued a new set of health standards for airlines hoping to start flying again. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image captionThe EASA has recommended passengers wear face masks amid the pandemic They recommend wearing face masks, physical distancing of 1.5m where possible in airports and washing hands often. They stopped short of calling for social distancing on planes due to the confined space, but added that other measures should be followed at all times. 'Flying safely again' Meanwhile, Heathrow Airport will start using thermal cameras to carry out temperature checks in a trial on some passengers from its Terminal 2 on Thursday. Its chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, told the BBC's Today programme that this measure was already being used in many countries around the world. "It will help us to understand whether this could be part of a common international standard to get people flying safely again," he said. Several other airlines have indicated that they are considering resuming flights in the next few months. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has said that the airline plans to ramp up flights in July when British Airways will also resume some flights. EasyJet's announcement followed the admission earlier this week that a "highly sophisticated cyber-attack" had affected about nine million of its customers. It said email addresses and travel details had been stolen and that 2,208 customers had also had their credit and debit card details "accessed". The firm first became aware of the attack in January, and has informed the UK's Information Commissioner's Office while it investigates the breach. View comments682 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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