Government of Panama accepts IATA Travel Pass

The Government of Panama will accept the IATA Travel Pass as a digital travel credential for passengers to store their COVID-19 test result, which is a current requirement for entry into the country. Panama thus becomes the first nation in the region to accept this new IATA application. 

Luis Oliva, Administrator General of the Authority of Government Innovation of Panama (AIG), said: "The development of solutions that make travel easier is the result of a long history of fruitful collaboration with IATA. This latest joint initiative highlights our shared commitment to drive the adoption of digital health certificates that facilitate the resumption of international air travel."

In parallel to the Panamanian government's acceptance of the IATA Travel Pass, Copa Airlines will run a live trial of the tool in late May. Once concluded, the airline aims to make IATA Travel Pass available to its passengers as a one-stop shop for checking compliance with the travel rules and storing the applicable certificates, while providing governments with full assurance of passenger identity and the authenticity of the credentials being presented.

Emirates may need further funding if air travel fails to recover soon

Continued low-level demand for air travel, despite the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, has led Dubai-based Emirates to admit that a further round of funding may be required later in the year, most likely through a further injection of equity from the Dubai government, the Gulf carrier’s sole shareholder.

Talking to the online World Aviation Festival, Tim Clark, Emirates’ president, commented: "We are good for another six, seven or eight months in terms of cash. We have sufficient cash coming in to be able to keep the day-to-day operation at a neutral basis," adding: "But like everybody else, if in six months global demand is where it is today then we are all going to face difficulties. Not just Emirates".

The carrier lost US$3.4 billion in the year’s first half, while it managed to obtain US$2 billion in equity from the Dubai government in 2020. While he would not say when, Clark also advised that Emirates would make a recommendation to the government on raising cash, which would likely come in the form of an equity injection or raising debt. However, Clark was also confident that should demand pick up, by September/October the cash situation could be turned round.

Emirates has resumed flights with all 151 Boeing 777 jets which mainly carry cargo, along with 20,000 to 30,000 passengers daily. He indicated that Emirates may retain some of its older 777 passenger jets that are due to retire but convert them into cargo-only planes while freight demand remains high. Clark had intended to retire in 2020 but has remained at the helm to guide the carrier through the pandemic and to set it on its future course before he retires, though he has not given a projected date when.

Source: AviTrader

Airbus to create new aeroparts companies in France and Germany

Airbus has reaffirmed its intention to build a stronger aerostructures assembly value chain across its industrial system to its social partners, and considers aerostructures assembly as core to its business. Airbus presented its plans to create two integrated aerostructures assembly companies at the heart of its industrial system in order to reinforce its value stream management and prepare the company for its short- and long-term future.

As part of these plans, and upon successful completion of the ongoing social process, the new company in France would bring together the activities currently managed within Airbus in Saint-Nazaire and Nantes together with those of STELIA Aerospace worldwide. Another company in Germany would bring the activities of Stade and Structure Assembly of Hamburg together with those of Premium AEROTEC in Nordenham, Bremen and partly in Augsburg, while rebalancing activities towards the upper part of the value chain and reviewing its involvement in the manufacturing of detail parts.

These two new aerostructures assembly companies, both wholly owned by Airbus, would no longer be suppliers to Airbus but become integrated within the Airbus perimeter, simplifying both governance and interfaces in a new industrial setup. Their distinct status would also enable them to focus on their industry segment and be leaner and more agile, fostering competitiveness, innovation, and quality to the benefit of the Airbus programs of today and tomorrow.

Airbus also intends to create a new global player in the detail parts business, anchored in Germany. Born out of today’s Premium AEROTEC, this new entity, with its scale and advanced technologies, would be empowered to capitalize on the significant long-term growth prospects with Airbus as well as external customers, on both civil and military platforms.

In Spain, Airbus continues to work on solutions with its social partners to optimize the current industrial and aerostructures set-up in the Cádiz area in order to ensure its viability, resilience and competitiveness for the future.

Source: AviTrader

New Zealand and Australia Create a Travel Bubble

Tearful reunions were all around Auckland airport on Monday since residents from Australia could travel freely to New Zealand without a quarantine obligation for the first time in more than a year.

According to the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, all people residing in Australia or New Zealand can enjoy quarantine-free travel, as long as they meet the health, immigration, and other standard border clearance requirements.

While Australia has previously allowed Kiwis to enter the country without quarantine, New Zealand is following suit only now. However, if you arrive in New Zealand from any other country, you must quarantine for 14 days at your own expense.

“The bubble marks a significant step in both countries’ reconnection with the world, and it’s one we should all take a moment to be very proud of,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a news release.

Both Australia and New Zealand did a great job keeping the Covid-19 infection cases low in their countries due to tight restrictions.

Source: Aviation Voice

Emirates Starts Using IATA’s Health Passport App

Dubai’s flagship airline Emirates has started trialing an International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass. It is a mobile app designed to help passengers share their Covid-19 test results with airlines and travel authorities.

Passengers traveling from Dubai to Barcelona on flight EK185 were the first to use the “digital passport“ to keep the information transparent and available to Emirates. Flights from Dubai to Barcelona and London Heathrow to Dubai were chosen as starting points for the application’s trial.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer, said: “The ability to process passengers’ COVID-19 relevant data for travel digitally will be the way forward. We are pleased to have been pioneers and partner with IATA in trialing this initiative in real-time and soon will be launching other initiatives to further enhance our customer experience.”

The application only supports uploading information about the test results, but it will soon be upgraded with a function allowing to share vaccination certificates. It will also have an integrated registry of travel requirements and a registry of testing centres and labs at passengers’ departure locations.

Source: Emirates

Turkish Airlines Resumed Boeing 737 MAX Operation

Turkey’s national carrier Turkish Airlines put one of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft back into service following the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Boeing 737 MAX lift.

The first flight Turkish Airlines made using its Boeing 737 MAX after the type’s grounding was from Istanbul airport to Ankara. TK2138 took off from Istanbul Airport at 10:10 a.m. and landed at Esenboğa Airport in Ankara just before 11:00 a.m. At 11:50, the aircraft flew back to Istanbul, landing at just after 13:00. At 16:00 the same afternoon, it headed from Istanbul to Izmir and returned just after 19:00.

Turkish is one of the European airlines that rely heavily on Boeing 737 MAX, with 75 MAXs joining its fleet in the future. The only companies ahead of Turkish Airlines by Boeing 737 MAX orders are IAG and Ryanair Group.

At the moment, Turkish Airlines has 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and one Boeing 737 MAX 9 in its fleet. The MAX 8 variant has a two-class cabin, 16 seats in business and 135 in the economy. The single MAX 9 has a capacity for 16 business and 153 economy passengers.

Source: Aviation Voice

Air Canada shares turbulence after government takes equity stake

Bailout sees Ottawa take a 6% stake in the airline through discounted share purchase

Air Canada shares fell sharply on Tuesday on fears that its market value would be diluted after the Canadian government took a discounted equity stake in the flagship carrier as part of a deal for C$5.9 billion ($4.7 billion) in aid.

But analysts and investors said Air Canada's decision to accept the bigger-than-expected aid package, which was announced on Monday, was the right decision for Canada's largest carrier to ride out the crippling downturn in air travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The deal gives Ottawa a roughly 6 per cent stake in Canada's largest carrier at a discount of 14 per cent, which prompted several analysts to cut their price targets.

"We believe some investors could be negatively surprised by equity dilution and a repayable loan for refunds," Scotiabank Konark Gupta wrote in a note, while reiterating a "sector perform" rating on the stock.

Air Canada shares opened more than 4 per cent higher before sinking about by 6.7 per cent, before recovering to trade about 2.8 per cent lower at C$26.24 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Canada is wrestling with soaring Covid-19 cases driven by the new coronavirus variants and a comparatively slower vaccination rollout than in the United States, raising questions about the reopening of air travel.

That could put pressure on Canadian authorities to maintain crippling temporary restrictions, such as a three-day hotel quarantine for arriving passengers which airline executives have said should be phased out ahead of the summer season.

"The bigger issue for AC and its investors is the timing around the vaccine rollout and eventual lifting of travel restrictions, as most markets that have reopened show strong pent-up demand," Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth said in a note.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday praised the deal with Air Canada as "good and fair".

TD Securities analyst Tim James described the funding as providing a backstop for the carrier.

"We believe that Air Canada's access to this capital will prove to be insurance as opposed to necessary liquidity required to finance operations or capital expenditures in 2021 and beyond," Mr James wrote in a note in which he cut his target price on Air Canada to C$29 from C$31, while reaffirming a "hold" rating.

Canada's government is also engaged in aid talks with WestJet Airlines and Transat AT. Air Transat, which has suspended flights until June due to pandemic guidelines, has said it needs at least C$500 million in financing this year.

"While we expect similar negotiations at competitors, the longer things drag on, the tougher it will be on AC's Canadian competitors," Ms Syth said.

Peter Letko, senior vice president at Letko Brosseau and Associates, which is an Air Canada shareholder, said the government deal "removes worries" amid concerns that the pandemic could drag on.

Air Canada also said it would ease restrictions on future refunds for passengers, a key part of the government talks.

The agreement – the largest individual coronavirus-related loan that Ottawa has arranged with a company – was announced after the airline industry criticised Mr Trudeau's Liberal government for dawdling.

Source: TheNational.com

France to scrap certain domestic flights where the train offers a viable alternative

As part of a series of beneficial climate and environmental measure, French MPs have voted to ban all domestic flights in France where trains offer a viable alternative in two and a half hours or less travel time. It is estimated that planes that fly these short-haul routes produce 77-times the volume of CO2 per passenger compared to trains. However, the measure, which was put forward by the climate set up by President Macron has been seen by many as only a half measure as the original proposition was to include all flights where routes were also covered by train journeys of four or less hours. Thus, while flights between Paris Orly Airport and Nantes, Bordeaux and Lyon will be scrapped, those to Toulouse, Marseille and Nice will remain unaffected.

Mathilde Panot, of the hard left La France Insoumise, said the measure had been “emptied”, while her colleague Danièle Obono said retaining the four-hour threshold would have made it possible to halt routes that “emit the most greenhouse gases”.

When the French government gave Air France-KLM a €7 billion bailout a year ago to cope with the effects of the pandemic on airlines, one of the conditions was that certain internal flights would be dropped from Air France’s schedule, while Air France-KLM Chief Executive Benjamin Smith has said the airline is committed to reducing the number of its French domestic routes by 40% by the end of this year.

France’s new law will be watched closely by other countries. Austria’s coalition conservative-green government introduced a €30 tax on airline tickets for flights of less than 217 miles (350km) last June and a ban on domestic flights that could be travelled in less than three hours by train. (€1.00 = US$1.19 at time of publication.)