The intellectual property, stock and equipment of the U.K. airline Flybe have been purchased by a firm associated with Connect Airways that owned the airline at the time of its administration in March of this year. BBC News reports that Thyme Opco is linked to the hedge fund company Cyrus Capital which was the majority shareholder in the consortium. Cyrus held 40% of the shares in Connect with Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Aviation owning 30% each. A Thyme Opco spokesperson…
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has reportedly given approval for the return of the Boeing 737 MAX to the region’s skies. The agency had reported on Sept. 11 that test flights of the aircraft had been completed in Vancouver, Canada due to Covid restrictions. Data from those test…
Almost nine months into the global pandemic that has decimated the U.K. tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors, the U.K. government announced on Wednesday the formation of a task force to ‘support the travel industry and the safe recovery of international travel’. The Global Travel Taskforce will report to Prime Minister…
South Africa has reopened its borders to international leisure passengers for the first time since March when the COVID-19 pandemic fully impacted worldwide aviation. A Lufthansa 747 from Frankfurt was the first aircraft to land at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International airport (JNB) on Thursday morning. Though foreign aircraft carrying out…
In a positive strategic move, Ryanair announced that the airline’s fourth base in France would open at Paris Beauvais (BVA), from 3rd December 2020. The Irish carrier already has bases in Toulouse, Marseille Provence and Bordeaux. François Rubichon, BVA’s Chairman of the board, said, “(BVA) is the first base announced…
Ryanair’s U.K.-based cabin crew have followed the airline’s U.K-based pilots in accepting a deal to secure jobs as the aviation industry copes with the significant decrease in passenger demand because of the COVID-19 crisis. The 4-year agreement negotiated with the UNITE union includes productivity improvements and pay cuts of between…
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has commenced a review of airline customer refund processes in light of the COVID-19 crisis. With the unprecedented levels of flight cancellations due to the pandemic, U.K. airlines have been failing to comply with European regulatory deadlines on refunding passengers. The U.K. officially left…
Deutsche Lufthansa AG shareholders have agreed to support a bailout package from the German government which will assist the airline group to survive in a post-COVID environment. At the ‘Extraordinary General Meeting’ held on Thursday, the €9 billion ($10.1 billion) package which gives the government a 20% stake and two…
Austrian registered short-haul airline LEVEL Europe has ceased trading with immediate effect citing the Covid-19 crisis for its application for insolvency. The carrier commenced operation in 2017 as ANISEC Luftfahrt, a subsidiary of Spain’s Vueling, operating six aircraft from the Airbus A320 family. The airline operated from Vienna to destinations…
British Airways has filed plans this week to expand domestic and international flights commercial passenger operations in July. Routesonline reports that the U.K. carrier will recommence services from London Heathrow to eight key domestic markets during the month including Edinburgh (20 weekly), Belfast City (14 weekly) and Manchester (14 weekly).…
