Western Air Announces First Flight to U.S.

Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 07:19 PM ET

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A Western Air E145 (Photo: Western Air)

Bahamian airline Western Air has announced the launch of its first flights to the United States. The San Andros-based carrier will launch flights between the Bahamian capital of Nassau and Ft. Lauderdale on May 19. The flights will be operated on the carrier’s Embraer E145 aircraft and flown twice daily. The flights will be the airline’s first scheduled international flights, previously operating exclusively domestic scheduled flights.

As part of the announcement, the airline also added that approval has been received to operate charter flights from the Bahamas to the United States. For scheduled flights to the United States, Western is offering passengers open tickets, the same ticket style for the airline’s domestic operations. Passengers will have the flexibility to change their flights within six months of purchase with no change or cancellation fees. Travelers will also get a free checked bag with their ticket purchases.

An Alternate to Bahamasair

For Bahamians, Western Air has become an alternative to government-owned Bahamasair for domestic travel. The airline was founded in 2001 and has become the largest privately-owned airline in the country. Headquartered in San Andros, on Andros Island, the airline maintains inter-island hubs in the country’s two largest cities, Nassau and Freeport. In Freeport, the airline runs its own private terminal and maintenance facility.

Western Air’s domestic operations stretch across the island nation. Daily jet flights are operated from Bimini in the west to Cat Island in the east of the country. The airline claims to have the best on-time record in the Bahamas and even offers a reward program of the 11th roundtrip being free for frequent travelers.

The airline started operating with various turboprop aircraft including Fairchild Metro and Metroliners and Saab 340s. In 2018 the airline became the second airline in the country to operate jet aircraft with the announcement of purchasing used Embraer E145 aircraft. Deliveries have continued since then and the E145 has become the backbone of the airline’s fleet with five aircraft in service currently. The airline plans to accept more aircraft deliveries in the coming years and continue to expand operations.

The South Florida market is highly competitive for Bahamian travelers. Locals often travel to Florida to complete shopping at lower prices. They also use the area as a launching point for additional travel across the U.S. The Ft. Lauderdale to Nassau sector is highly competitive. In addition to Western Air’s new service, the route is operated by Bahamasair, JetBlue, Southwest, and Silver Airways.

Going the other direction, tourists use South Florida as a launching point for vacations to the Caribbean country. In addition to competition in Ft. Lauderdale, multiple flights a day are operated from Miami to Nassau, as well as from West Palm Beach.

Daniel Morley

Daniel has always had aviation in his life; from moving to the United States when he was two, to family vacations across the U.S., and back to his native England. He currently resides in South Florida and attends Nova Southeastern University, studying Human Factors in Aviation. Daniel has his Commercial Certificate for both land and sea, and hopes to one day join the major airlines.

Kenya Airways Offered $217 Million Debt Reprieve as it Eyes Sustainability Post-Pandemic

Victor Shalton

Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 11:56 AM ET

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Ryan Ewing

A Kenya Airways 787-8. The airline has decided to lay off half of its pilots. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Kenya has offered its national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) a KES25 billion shillings ($217 million) lifeline on unpaid interest, which will help it survive and sustain operations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline discloses in its latest annual report for the period to December 2021 that it failed to honor interest payment on the loan, which was issued in two tranches to save it from collapsing.

“As of 31 December 2021, the group and company had not made payments of interest on the government of Kenya loan as set out in the loan agreements. The loan agreements require payment of interest by the 20th day of June every year,” says the airline.

“The group sought and was granted waivers and deferrals on the unpaid interest on the shareholder loan,” it said.

The amount of KES25 billion includes the first tranche of KES11.1 billion ($96.2 million) in 2020 and the second tranche of KES14.4 billion ($124.8 million) in 2021. “The loans are repayable after five years and attract interest at the rate of 3% per annum, the accrued interest being payable by June 20 each year,” according to the financial report.

Additionally, the Kenya Airways Group also obtained waivers from commercial financiers before the end of 2021 on several facilities for the purchase of aircraft and the funding of pre-delivery deposits, the report reveals.

This was in line with the group’s contractual right to defer payment for at least 12 months. Consequently, the balances were not classified as current liabilities in the financial report.

According to the annual report, the Kenyan government has committed, through a letter of support, to continue to provide the required financial support to the Kenya Airways Group to enable it to implement its restructuring plan and meet its financial obligations as they fall due, for at least the next 12 months from December 31, 2021.

Need to Restructure

KQ itself needs to complete a restructuring before it can proceed to create a pan-African airline as well as find a financial backer for a combined airline group with South African Airways which they aim to create next year.

KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka acknowledged, though a round of cost cuts should be done by June 2022, a six-month Seabury Securities consultancy contract that will help the airline cut costs, improve efficiency, and return to growth ends in September.

The Kenyan government is supporting the process but requires the carrier to reduce its network, fleet size, and workforce, Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani said in his budget speech on April 7.

A series of money induced by the government towards the airline’s restructuring has been termed by Kilavuka as “the last shot at making sure that we have a concrete, measurable, realistic structure that will be successful for the airline.”

The two national carriers are reportedly planning a series of investor roadshows to help find a financial backer.

The campaign will see events staged in Africa, London, and the United States to attract a majority investor for a holding company.

Victor Shalton

Victor Shalton's love for aviation can be traced to when he was 11-years-old. As a seasoned aviation writer, he takes pride in providing the best aviation coverage around the globe and is passionate about advancing his skills in the aviation space. In addition, he loves travelling, writing, arts and while his speaking engagements have taken him around the world, he is proud to call Nairobi home.

U.S. Federal Judge Voids CDC Air Travel Mask Mandate

Vanni Gibertini

Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 04:00 AM ET

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Benjamin Pham

A TSA officer checks a traveler’s ID while wearing a mask and gloves and standing behind an acrylic shield at the airport checkpoint. (Photo: TSA)

One of the most controversial measures that were introduced during the peak of the pandemic was the mandate to wear masks in many public places and on all means of transport, including aircraft.

Last week, the Federal Government extended the mandate until May 3, after it was supposed to come to an end on April 18 and quoted the rising number of COVID-19 cases, due to the rapid spread of the BA.2 variant of the coronavirus, as a reason for the extension.

However, on Monday, April 18, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle from Florida declared the mandate unlawful because it falls outside the scope of the law quoted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to justify the measure.

“Sanitation” means “Cleaning”

According to Judge Mizelle’s 59-page ruling, the mandate was issued following an improper interpretation of the word “sanitation”. Mizelle argued that the 1944 statute mentioned in the measure gives the Federal Government authority to issue regulations regarding “sanitation” to fight the spread of communicable diseases, but the word “sanitation” only refers to “cleaning something”, the CNN explains. Therefore, since masks are not intended to clean anything or to maintain it clean, they cannot be mandated as a result of that regulation.

Furthermore, the Federal Judge suggests that where non-complying passengers are “forcibly removed from their airplane seats, denied board at the bus stops, and turned away at the train station doors” is comparable to “detention and quarantine,” which does not fall within the scope of the statute in question.

This power to conditionally allow individuals to travel or detain them based on their likelihood to transmit communicable diseases can only be applied towards “individuals entering the United States from a foreign country”, continues the CNN quoting the ruling, and therefore is not applicable to domestic travel within the U.S.

It is not clear whether the Justice Department will file an appeal against this ruling or how quickly the mandate can be rolled back.

Airlines Call for the Removal of Restrictions

In response to the federal judge’s ruling on April 18 and the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) decision not to enforce masks, airlines and airports were quick to strike the mask mandate down. Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Southwest, United, Delta, American and JetBlue officially announced that masks will be optional for passengers on all of their domestic flights and at major U.S. airports.

Last week, the association Airlines 4 America — an advocacy group representing 10 of the biggest airlines in the United States, including all the major carriers — sent a letter to the CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and the Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra urging to put an end to all the COVID-related restrictions affecting travel including the pre-departure testing for international travelers and the mask mandate for all passengers.

“The public health environment has changed dramatically since those requirements were put into place, in large part due to the Administration’s success in getting our population vaccinated. Hospitalizations and deaths have been falling since mid-January despite a recent uptick in cases in certain cities. These realities, along with the immunity provided by boosters and prior infections, coupled with effective treatments and the high level of safety onboard a plane due to effective ventilation and HEPA air filters provide a rationale for lifting pre-departure testing and mask requirements for air travel,” the letter said.

It is a common opinion among airline executives that the mask mandate is stifling demand for travel, preventing the full recovery of airline traffic to pre-pandemic levels. In February during a press event, Breeze Airways CEO and Founder David Neeleman told Airlinegeeks, “I do believe people are deterred from traveling because of the mask mandate. Every time I get to an airport, I get that sinking feeling of having to wear a mask for the following six hours.”

Vanni Gibertini

Vanni fell in love with commercial aviation during his undergraduate studies in Statistics at the University of Bologna, when he prepared his thesis on the effects of deregulation on the U.S. and European aviation markets. Then he pursued his passion further by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Air Transport Management at Cranfield University in the U.K. followed by holding several management positions at various start-up carriers in Europe (Jet2, SkyEurope, Silverjet). After moving to Canada, he was Business Development Manager for IATA for nine years before turning to his other passion: sports writing.

Italy Takes First Steps Toward Multimodality with Rail, Airport Operator Agreement

Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo

Monday, April 18, 2022 at 07:00 AM ET

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Parker Davis

Two Italian rail and airport operators agreed two a multimodal transport deal. (Photo credit: EUROCONTROL)

On March 17, FS Italiane Group and airport manager Aeroporti di Roma signed an agreement to begin the integration of sales systems as well as passenger and baggage check-in operations directly at the main Italian railway stations connected to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport.

Aeroporti di Roma, an Atlantia Group company, manages the airports of Rome Fiumicino and Ciampino — which is located near Rome — and carries out other activities connected with and complementary to the airport management. Fiumicino has two passenger terminals and is dedicated to business and leisure customers on domestic, international and intercontinental routes, while Ciampino is mainly used by low-cost airlines, express couriers and for general aviation activities.

The FS Italiane Group controls more than 16,700 kilometers of rail infrastructure and a road network of 30,000 kilometers and manages services in rail, road, passenger, freight and public road transport.

According to a June 2021 report by the intergovernmental organization for air traffic control in Europe, EUROCONTROL, rail transport will not be able to effectively replace air transport entirely, but certainly, a multimodal transport solution — on that would combine planes and trains in a more seamless manner similar in ways to airline interline agreements — is very attractive in terms of optimizing sustainability and improving connectivity. Investment in transportation should therefore be balanced between both industries, with each feeding into the other throughout their systems.

The integration of trains and airplanes is just one action to curb climate change and reduce transport emissions, and the aviation industry has said it recognizes the need to go green and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, according to the ambitious goals of the European “Green Deal.”

Looking Ahead

To develop the train-and-air solution in Italy, the first step is the implementation of commercial agreements with air carriers at Fiumicino Airport to integrate the sales and distribution systems with the possibility to carry out passenger and baggage check-in operations directly at the main railway stations connected to the capital city airport. The aim is to board the train at a station and disembark directly at the destination of arrival, even overseas, in a simple, fast and convenient way.

In that way, the station would, in a way, become an extension of the airport terminal, a set-up that is already present in other locations around the world.

According to the press release, the infrastructural development of the Fiumicino Airport station is planned, as well as the development of road transport to improve road conditions and the inclusion of direct nonstop trains from Rome to Fiumicino airport.

The Italian aviation authority, ENAC, has already given the airport management company 300 million euros ($324 million), of which around 110 million euros have been earmarked for Aeroporti di Roma to facilitate the restart.

The agreement also includes, as part of Urban Air Mobility, the design and construction of a vertiport at Rome’s Termini Station, and the first commercial operations between Fiumicino airport and the metropolitan city of Rome are expected in 2024, a year before the 2025 Jubilee. Rome has recently applied to host EXPO 2030 and these are forward-looking choices to prepare the Italian capital.

Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo

Vincenzo graduated in 2019 in Mechanical Engineering with an aeronautical curriculum, focusing his thesis on Human Factors in aircraft maintenance. In 2022 he pursued his master's degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Palermo, Italy. He combines his journalistic activities with his work as a Reliability Engineer at Zetalab.

Easter Travel Overloads Australian Aviation

Mike Mangano

Monday, April 18, 2022 at 06:00 AM ET

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Parker Davis

A Qantas 787 Dreamliner lifting out of Paine Field in Washington. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

This year’s Easter weekend has seen Australian airports and airlines struggle to manage the highest amount of passengers some airports have seen in over two years. News outlets across the country have been sharing footage of lines extending outside terminals as over 250,000 passengers made their ways through Australia’s major airports on April 14 alone, with Thursday representing just the start of the expected vacation period.

Although a positive sign for Australia’s tourism industry, which has faced two years of economic downturn during Australia’s Covid-19 lockdowns, passengers were far from happy with overloaded customer services. Long waiting times have resulted in airports requesting passengers arrive at least two hours earlier than normal, with security companies desperate to fill rosters and even corporate staff being called in to help.

Staff Shortages A Major Factor

The record amount of passengers moving through airports this weekend have revealed one major shortcoming in Australia’s aviation industry — there simply aren’t enough staff to handle passengers. It’s the most obvious of many teething issues as Australian airlines emerge from the long, Covid-19-induced hibernation of the aviation sector.

Extreme measures have been implemented to maintain security staff at Sydney Airport. Security company Certis has announced it will pay bonuses of 1,000 Australian dollars ($739) for security guards willing to work every rostered shift between April 14 to April 26. The incentive has caused the United Workers’ Union to voice concern that such an arrangement will lead to a Covid-19 explosion, since the requirements for positive cases in Sydney still include seven days of isolation, along with other close contacts.

Airline staff shortages have also added to passenger anger. Qantas flight QF616 from Melbourne to Brisbane was entirely void of luggage, owing to lack of staff. In a statement released by Qantas, the airline stated, “A small number of flights have departed without baggage in recent days. Decisions were made to have these flights depart without baggage to ensure that customers could get to their destination and not face long flight delays or cancellations.”

The statement added, “Qantas will operate a flight this afternoon carrying only baggage (no passengers) between Melbourne and Sydney with one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, helping move baggage that was unable to be carried yesterday.” Despite the plans, many passengers have still found themselves without baggage.

A Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner taxiing at JFK Airport. (Photo: Shaquille Khan)

These issues were exasperated by Transport Workers’ Union claims that Qantas’ outsourcing of baggage handling roles has led to a panicked response by the airline. Qantas has denied the outsourcing is the cause of disruptions, despite 200 of its own corporate staff being called in to assist passengers.

Into the Spotlight

Qantas has been under increased pressure of late, with consumer advocacy group Choice formally lodging a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over its flight credit policy, which Choice describes as, “potentially misleading and deceptive conduct.”

It comes as the ACCC finalized a three-year long investigation into Qantas’ purchase of a 19.9% stake in Brisbane-based airline Alliance Airlines, which led to no action taken by the consumer watchdog. This recent investigation, along with Qantas’ call centre issues where customers wait hours at a time only to be disconnected, brings Qantas further into the spotlight of public criticism.

The credit policies in place mean passengers were are unable to use credits for flights cheaper than the original, requiring customers to pay more money for airfares despite Qantas holding their previous payments.

Choice explained: “If you have a $500 credit for a Sydney to Melbourne flight and the price is now $475, you wouldn’t be able to use the credit, even if you waived the $25 loss. Instead, you’d have to buy a new ticket and leave your credit untouched.”

The ACCC has invited customers to engage in a consultation, stating: “In particular, we’re interested if the available fare prices for flights are higher when you try to book using your flight credit than when you try to book using other forms of payment (such as cash or credit card) on Qantas’ website.”

The statement follows investigations by Australian media corporation Channel 9 and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation into alleged price gouging. The ABC stated that evidence suggests prices were increased when a customer wished to use flight credits.

Last week, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce backtracked over comments he made after suggesting passengers were not “match fit” for flying. Paying passengers have been using social media to vent their negative experiences and anger over perceived lack of customer care and accountability.

The airline did not respond immediately to Airline Geeks’ request for comment.

Mike Mangano

Mike’s love affair with flight and mechanical objects in the sky began at an early age, fascinated by space documentaries and the vintage Flight Simulator ’95. He currently works as an instructor for UAVs and is training to receive his Private Pilot Licence with the goal of working in manned flight instruction. An avid reader of all things aviation and manned space flight, Mike stays close to developments in aerospace while reminiscing and sharing the rich history of flight with others. He loves writing, engineering and science.

Air India Prohibited from Transporting Dangerous Goods to Delhi for 15 Days

Putu Deny Wijaya

Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 06:00 AM ET

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Parker Davis

An Air India Boeing 777-300ER in Washington D.C. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Ben Suskind)

Air India failed a recent safety audit at Delhi Airport, prompting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Indian aviation’s regulatory body, to make the decision to prohibit the airline from transporting any goods deemed “dangerous” to the city for 15 days. The airline failed to pass an audit measuring its compliance with ICAO guidelines, prompting the decision. The prohibition will be in effect from April 7 to April 23.

Hazardous Terrain

Following a DGCA examination of its handling facilities at Delhi Airport, Air India’s authorization to handle hazardous items has been suspended for 15 days, according to the Times of India. Certain things, ranging from combustible commodities to radioactive materials, need authorisation to be transported in airline cargo holds.

According to sources, Air India’s hub lacked storage room to segregate hazardous and radioactive commodities, as well as skilled people to handle non-risk goods and an emergency management system. These are only a few of the problems that resulted in the carrier’s license being revoked. To continue transporting sensitive products in and out of Indian airports, all Indian airlines must pass inspections.

An AI representative stated in a statement, “A normal DGCA audit was conducted in Delhi for multiple departments. Regarding our domestic freight facility in Delhi, the regulator has made certain remarks. This is being followed as well.”

ICAO Regulations

Aviation authorities, such as the DGCA, follow International Civil Aviation Organization requirements for flying hazardous materials. When it comes to managing these potentially delicate or hazardous items, this assures that airlines, sending and receiving airports are all on the same page.

When cabin workers make statements about lithium-ion batteries aboard airplanes, passengers may have had a glimpse of these laws in operation. Power banks and other batteries must be transported in handbags to avoid creating a cargo hold fire. Flights are equipped with lockable bags to enclose the batteries and put out any fire or smoldering in the event of a mishap aboard.

Air India’s Turnaround Strategy

Air India now has 15 days to remedy the errors discovered during the audit and request to have its suspension removed. Given the potential effect of such a suspension on the airline’s profitable cargo operations, the company is likely to resolve its concerns. The airline is also in the midst of a 100-day turnaround effort that started in January, after its purchase by the Tata Group.

The loss-making airline has long struggled to invest in world-class infrastructure, something the Tatas intend to rectify in the near future. Fixing serious problems like this one will take precedence till then.

Putu Deny Wijaya

Putu Deny Wijaya was always an aviation enthusiast by heart, growing up in Indonesia where air transport is very vital. His first love is The Queen of The Skies, serving the trunk routes between Jakarta and Denpasar. He brought along this passion with him throughout college by conducting his bachelor study abroad in the Netherlands for the purpose of experiencing a nonstop 14-hour long-haul flight. For Putu the sky's the limit when talking about aviation. He hopes that he would be able to combine his passion for aviation and knowledge of finance at the same time.

LATAM to Train Crews to Be Autism Aware

Ian McMurtry

Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 05:00 AM ET

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Parker Davis

A LATAM Boeing 777 on approach to Amsterdam. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fabian Behr)

LATAM will begin training and certifying their employees in dealing and assisting families who fly with autistic travelers. The airline is working alongside the U.S. organization Autism Double-Checked to make sure that airline personnel meet the requirements of handling and understanding autistic passengers on LATAM flights.

The airline says that the point of this mission is to continue to foster an environment of inclusivity, respectfulness and appreciation for LATAM employees. LATAM employees will work towards the notion of creating empathetic assistance towards autistic passengers and in doing so will become the first airline in the region to get the Autism Double-Checked green light for its clients in the future.

When asked to talk about the achievement, LATAM CEO Roberto Alvo said, “At LATAM, we dream of a world that does not discriminate, but rather includes; where all people have the same opportunities and are respected and accepted in any environment. Our relationships are based on respect, welcome and empathy for all people, without exception. This vision has led us to begin this process that will allow us to move towards a more inclusive group. We hope to become an even more diverse LATAM from within, supporting the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace in the future.”

The LATAM training will take part in three separate core focuses, being Autism Aware, Autism Ready and Autism Double-Checked. Autism Aware will focus on understanding sensitivity tools and traits that can be seen in autistic travelers. Autism Ready provides job-specific training and reading situations that may unfold and necessary steps to help the passenger in these events. Finally, Autism Double-Checked will public information about LATAM’s autism understanding and the help they can provide when marketing the airline to those passengers with needs.

A LATAM 767-300 arrives in São Paulo/Guarulhos. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | João Machado)

A New Horizon

Formed by Alan Day and David M. Tait, OBE, the Autism Double-Checked program focuses on creating travel experiences for families with autistic family members and creating vacations that allow those traveling to enjoy the experience without hassle. The program allows families to be in an environment where staff understand the autistic person’s issue and can assist with any problems without causing issues for the family in the process. The Autism Double-Checked program plans to release a searchable directory in the future of data collected about brands that are autism aware in the leisure and travel industry.

“We are very pleased and impressed with LATAM’s understanding of travel for people with special needs, and the role that they are playing in creating a better onboard environment for autistic passengers. Families with autistic people are eager to travel, and LATAM is opening up new opportunities to this community. With this, LATAM is also demonstrating how much they value their employees by empowering them with professional training. Their leadership in the airline industry is admirable,” noted Autism Double-Checked co-founder Alan Day.

Ian McMurtry

Although Ian McMurtry was never originally an avgeek, he did enjoy watching US Airways aircraft across western Pennsylvania in the early 2000s. He lived along the Pennsylvania Railroad and took a liking to trains but a change of scenery in the mid-2000s saw him shift more of an interest into aviation. He would eventually express this passion by taking flying lessons in mid-Missouri and joining AirlineGeeks in 2013. Now living in Wichita, Kansas, Ian is in college majoring in aerospace engineering and minoring in business administration at Wichita State University.

AirAsia Malaysia Eyes Return to Indian Airports

Putu Deny Wijaya

Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 02:12 AM ET

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Edited By:

Jack Dawin

A Philippines AirAsia A320 aircraft (Photo: aeroprints.com [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)])

AirAsia Malaysia is planning a comeback to Indian airports. In the next months, the airline has big ambitions for India.

AirAsia Malaysia recently welcomed the restart of flights to India, with the airline’s executives declaring ambitious future plans. The airline has already resumed flights to certain South Indian towns, with others slated to begin in the coming weeks. AirAsia hopes to develop a stable network between Malaysia and India by the end of this year, buoyed by an increase in international travel.

India has resurfaced on the world map.

AirAsia Malaysia has resumed flights between Kuala Lumpur and a number of Indian cities, boosting direct connection between the two countries. The airline has reopened flights to India following a two-year break because of the COVID-19 epidemic, as previously reported.

On April 13th, Bo Lingam, Group CEO of AirAsia Aviation Group Limited (AAAGL), and Riad Asmat, CEO of AirAsia Malaysia, met with Ms. C. Sushma, Chargé d’Affaires of the High Commission of India in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to celebrate the restart of services between the two nations. Ms. C. Sushma expressed her thoughts as follows:

“With the opening of both countries’ borders, we are confident that two-way traffic will resume smoothly and grow progressively. This is an important step in reconnecting India and Malaysia as people-to-people connectivity lie at the foundation of this important partnership.”

On April 1st, AirAsia Malaysia began flying between Kuala Lumpur and Bengaluru (2x weekly) and Chennai (4x weekly), as well as Tiruchirappalli (4x weekly). On April 18th, April 22nd, and May 1st, respectively, flights to Kochi (1x weekly), Kolkata (1x weekly), and Hyderabad (4x weekly) will begin.

From next month, AirAsia will begin five new flights between India and Thailand. On May 1st, flights from Jaipur and Kochi to Bangkok will begin, followed by flights from Kolkata on May 2nd. On May 4th, additional services from Chennai and Bengaluru to Bangkok will begin.

The Future Is Being Conceived

In the following months, Asmat intends to develop a stable network between India and Kuala Lumpur. Noting the carrier’s significance in the Indian market, he said that AirAsia will continue to assess and extend its network to meet the growing demand for air travel, which would include the introduction of 30 total weekly flights from Malaysia to India by the end of May.

He also said that AirAsia Malaysia will soon return to pre-Covid capacity, operating more than 140 weekly flights to and from India, with a total of 71 weekly flights planned by the end of 2022.

Carriers Benefit from Open Skies

Both India and Malaysia have eased entrance rules, allowing airlines to resume lucrative routes that had previously been halted. While India’s government reopened its international borders to tourists in October 2021 and its commercial airspace to scheduled foreign flights on March 27, 2022, Malaysia’s border reopened to international passengers on April 1st.

The India-Malaysia route sees a lot of passenger traffic, and AirAsia would want to take advantage of it once again. The group’s long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X will begin flights to New Delhi on April 20th, so it’s not only South India that’s getting the love.

Putu Deny Wijaya

Qantas Will Begin Flying to Seoul and Bengaluru in The Near Future.

Putu Deny Wijaya

Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 02:10 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Jack Dawin

A Boeing 787 departing London Heathrow [Photo:AirlineGeeks | James Dinsdale]

Qantas said on Friday that flights between Sydney and Bengaluru would begin in September, while flights between Sydney and Seoul will begin in December, marking a return after a 14-year hiatus. Since resuming international flights, Qantas has added six additional international routes or is planning to do so.

In December, Qantas will begin flying to Seoul

Qantas stated on Friday morning Sydney time that it will begin flying its A330s to Seoul on December 10. A search of the Qantas booking system indicates A330-300 flights departing Sydney (SYD) on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. That aircraft, QF87, will depart at 09:35 for a journey of 10 hours and 45 minutes to Seoul (ICN), arriving at 18:20. The A330 returns to Sydney after 90 minutes on the ground to execute QF88. The Airbus departs ICN at 19:50 for an overnight journey to Sydney, arriving at 08:15 the next morning. Jetstar’s low-cost affiliate has added additional Seoul flights to complement Qantas’ offerings. Jetstar’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner will fly three times a week between Sydney and Seoul starting November 2. Qantas last flew to Seoul on a regular basis in 2008, but CEO Alan Joyce claims that South Korea is Australia’s fourth-largest business partner and that Koreans consider Sydney to be one of the best tourist destinations in the world.

“With expected strong business, premium leisure, and low-cost travel demand on the route, we see an opportunity for both Qantas and Jetstar to fly on the route,”, the Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, commented.

From September, Qantas will provide flights between Sydney and Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, after the debut of flights to Delhi (DEL) late last year, Qantas is establishing another another route to India. This time, Qantas is partnering with IndiGo, and flights between Sydney and Bengaluru (BLR) will begin on September 14. QF67, which will be operated by an Airbus A330-200, will leave Sydney four times a week at 09:30 on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. At 16:55, the Airbus will arrive at BLR after 11 hours and 55 minutes in the air.

The return flight, QF68, leaves Bengaluru on the same days. The plane will depart at 18:35 and travel southeast through the night, arriving in Sydney at 10:30 the next day. Bengaluru is home to 13 million people, according to Qantas, and the burgeoning technology and financial services centre has significant ties to Australia, but no direct flights.

“As economic and investment linkages between Australia and India’s population of over one billion people increase, the signing of the Australia-India free trade agreement is a driver of travel demand,” says Alan Joyce.

“Our new direct flights to Bengaluru, together with our planned codeshare with IndiGo, have the potential to completely transform how many people travel between Australia and India.”

All three new routes are supported by the NSW Aviation Attraction Fund, which is co-funded by the State Government and Sydney Airport. Qantas’ Sydney-Bengaluru flights have also been backed by Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport.

Qantas is reorganizing its worldwide network.

Qantas is taking advantage of the relaunch of its international flights to reorganize its network. Since resuming international service late last year, the airline has launched or plans to launch six new international routes, including Darwin-Dili, Melbourne-Dallas-Fort Worth, Sydney-Bengaluru, Perth-Rome, Sydney-Seoul, and Melbourne-Delhi.

Meanwhile, Qantas said on Friday that in April, its international capacity (including Jetstar) would exceed 40% of its pre-COVID capacity. Since Australia’s borders reopened last November, headed by New South Wales, the Qantas Group has transported almost 500,000 passengers on 27 foreign itineraries, with another six routes resuming next week, according to the airline.
Mr. Joyce said, “It’s apparent that Australia is back on the map for foreign tourists.” “Since the borders reopened, demand for our foreign flights has recovered, giving us the confidence to establish these additional routes.”

Putu Deny Wijaya

Interview: Oneworld CEO on Pandemic Response and Environmental Sustainability

John Flett

Friday, April 15, 2022 at 03:45 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 in oneworld livery at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria. (Photo: AirlineGeeks.com | John Flett)

The Oneworld alliance currently has fourteen member airlines serving a network of over 1000 destinations in more than 170 territories. Following an event in Nigeria to celebrate Royal Air Maroc’s second anniversary of membership in the alliance, Airline Geeks asked Oneworld chief executive officer Rob Gurney for comments on the response to the coronavirus pandemic by the alliance and the overall airline industry. Mr. Gurney was also asked to comment on what he saw as the main learnings that indicate things must change significantly for the benefit of Oneworld and the wider aviation industry.

AirlineGeeks [AG]: What do you feel the Oneworld alliance did well and is doing well in response to the pandemic?

Rob Gurney [RG]: In 2020, our immediate priority amid the onset of the pandemic was to support our member airlines and establish the groundwork for the enablers to support strategic recovery from the pandemic. We also took a fiscally prudent approach to conserve cash but maintain all critical operations.

We partnered closely with our member airlines on strategic recovery initiatives to enable the restart of travel. For example, we launched a COVID-19 testing trial with American Airlines and British Airways to demonstrate the role that testing can play to safely reopening travel. In 2021, we partnered with member airlines to develop a solution that will facilitate the exchange of health credential solutions on connecting journeys, eliminating duplicative checks of customers’ health credentials at the transit point.

As global travel resumes, we are progressing a number of strategic initiatives that will deliver further value to member airlines and customers, details for which we will share in due course.

AG: In broad terms what do you feel the airline industry did well?

RG: At the beginning of the pandemic, the industry took quick action to right-size its capacity and protect its liquidity when faced with a difficult operating environment marked by rapidly changing government travel restrictions that impacted consumer travel demand. This further underlines the agility and resilience of the airline industry, following several challenges in the past two decades. The industry also quickly implemented health and well-being measures to ensure the safety of customers, including the wearing of masks and increased/enhanced cleaning, and actively communicated them.

As an industry, we continued to demonstrate how partnerships make us stronger. Airlines actively partnered across the industry in advocating for the safe restart of travel, speaking as one voice. Within Oneworld, partnerships among member airlines grew significantly notwithstanding the pandemic, for example, the partnership between American Airlines and Qatar Airways and the West Coast alliance between Alaska Airlines and America.

As a global alliance, we worked closely with our counterparts at SkyTeam and Star Alliance in advocacy efforts and raising customer awareness of what our member airlines were doing to keep customers safe onboard. As global travel gradually resumes, we firmly believe that partnerships will occupy an even more important position in airlines’ strategic plans, particularly as they emerge with smaller networks and fleets.

AG: What do you see as the main learnings that indicate things must change significantly for the benefit of Oneworld and the wider aviation industry?

RG: Environmental sustainability and the role played by the aviation industry came into greater focus during the pandemic, despite a significant reduction in flight activity. There is an immense opportunity for the airline industry to take a leadership role in this space, beyond the efforts that are already in progress.

As an alliance, we are strongly committed to advancing sustainability and that is why we made a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, about six months after the start of the pandemic. We have continued to build upon this commitment with a sustainable aviation fuel target (10% by 2030) and joint SAF sourcing and procurement with our member airlines. In the future, we intend to announce additional initiatives to further demonstrate the strength of our commitment to sustainability.

The author’s trip to Morocco and Nigeria was provided by Royal Air Maroc.

John Flett

John has always had a passion for aviation and through a career with Air New Zealand has gained a strong understanding of aviation operations and the strategic nature of the industry. During his career with the airline, John held multiple leadership roles and was involved in projects such as the introduction of both the 777-200 and -300 type aircraft and the development of the IFE for the 777-300. He was also part of a small team who created and published the internal communications magazines for Air New Zealand’s pilots, cabin crew and ground staff balancing a mix of corporate and social content. John is educated to postgraduate level achieving a masters degree with Distinction in Airline and Airport Management. John has held the positions of course director of an undergraduate commercial pilot training programme at a leading London university. In addition he is contracted as an external instructor for IATA (International Air Transport Association) and has been a member of the Heathrow Community Fund’s ‘Communities for Tomorrow’ panel.