TOMORROWS TRANSPORTATION NEWS TODAY!

Category: Coronavirus (Page 33 of 33)

LATAM to Reduce Operations 70% and Offer Reschedule Flexibility

  • 70% corresponds to a 90% reduction in international flights and 40% in domestic operations. All customers with affected international and national flights from today can reschedule their journeys until December 31, 2020, at no additional cost

Following new border closures of various countries and the subsequent drop in demand, LATAM Airlines Group S.A. and its subsidiaries will reduce their capacity by 70%, equivalent to a 90% decrease in international operations and 40% in national flights.

“We made this difficult decision following border closures that have made operating to a large part of our network impossible. If these unprecedented travel restrictions are extended over the next few days, we cannot rule out further reductions to our operation,” said Roberto Alvo, Chief Commercial Officer and CEO-elect of LATAM Airlines Group.

All passengers with affected national or international flights from today (March 16, 2020), will be able to reschedule their flights until December 31, 2020, at no additional cost.

LATAM’s customer service channels are currently receiving high numbers of enquiries, impeding the ability to attend customers. To be able to focus on passengers with the most pressing requirements, LATAM requests that customers do not call more than 72 hours prior to their flight.

Delta to Suspend Los Angeles to Sydney Service March 18 Through mid-April

Following self-quarantine restrictions issued by the Australian government, Delta is temporarily suspending service from Los Angeles to Sydney beginning March 18 through April 11.

The last flight from L.A. to Sydney will depart Tuesday, March 17. The last flight from Sydney to L.A. will depart Thursday, March 19.

See here for a list of all current schedule changes.

CHANGING YOUR FLIGHT

Delta has waived change fees for customers traveling to, from or through Australia through May 31. Additional details are available on delta.com.

To help address customers with immediate travel needs, Delta is asking those who do not have travel in the next 72 hours to wait and contact the airline closer to their trip. Customers can also change or cancel a flight anytime before their travel date using My Trips on Delta.com.

To provide even more flexibility, any Delta ticket expiring in March or April is being extended to enable rebooking and travel until Dec. 31, 2020. If you’re not able to adjust your plans in time and don’t make your flight, your ticket number automatically becomes an unused eCredit within 24 hours that can be used to rebook a flight in My Trips or with Delta Reservations.

CAPPED FARES

To ensure customers can travel with financial peace of mind, Delta will cap fares to and from all destinations Delta serves throughout the U.S. and Canada through March 31. These fare caps are in place in all cabins, from Delta One to Main Cabin.

PROVIDING A SAFE AND CLEAN ENVIRONMENT  

Delta’s highest priority is to ensure the health and safety of customers and employees. The airline is regularly disinfecting check-in kiosks, ticket counters, gate areas, jet bridges, and more multiple times a day. More information on our cleaning procedures can be found here. 

La Compagnie Takes Measures Due to Coronavirus COVID-19

  • MEASURES TAKEN BY LA COMPAGNIE 

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus COVID-19, our teams have been doing everything possible to guarantee the safety and health of our passengers and cabin crew.

We regularly consult all relevant international authorities to make sure that we follow – and even surpass – their instructions on health precautions related to the effort to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.

Aircraft cleaning procedures, which were already of the highest standard given our all-business class offer, have been reinforced to guarantee a safe and relaxing experience for our passengers. Our brand-new A321neo also features a state-of-the-art air circulation system that renews cabin air every 3 minutes.

COMMERCIAL POLICY

In light of President Trump’s recent restrictions on travel between Europe and the U.S., effective March 13th at midnight for a period of 30 days, we have been forced to reassess our flight schedule for the upcoming months.

We must suspend all scheduled flights from March 18th to April 12th, 2020,resuming with one daily flight between Paris and New York from April 13th once the restrictions are lifted.

The launch of the seasonal route from New York to Nice is pushed back to June 1st, 2020.

In the unlikely event that your flight has been cancelled by La Compagnie in light of the Covid-19 situation, you will be notified directly via the contact details provided in your booking and will be offered solutions to modify, postpone or cancel your flights.

Any passengers with a flight scheduled between now and May 31st, 2020 who would like to postpone their departure may do so, regardless of fare conditions and at no charge, or receive a non-refundable but transferrable voucher (valid for 12 months).

American Airlines Announces Additional Schedule Changes in Response to COVID-19

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) will implement a phased suspension of additional long-haul international flights from the U.S. starting on March 16. This suspension will last through May 6. This change is in response to decreased demand and changes to U.S. government travel restrictions due to coronavirus (COVID-19). The airline will:

  • Reduce international capacity by 75% year over year — from March 16 to May 6
  • Continue to operate one flight daily from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to London (LHR), one flight daily from Miami (MIA) to LHR and three flights per week from DFW to Tokyo (NRT)
  • Continue short-haul international flying, which includes flights to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Central America and certain markets in the northern part of South America, as scheduled

In addition to the international changes, the airline anticipates its domestic capacity in April will be reduced by 20% compared to last year and May’s domestic capacity will be reduced by 30% on a year over year basis.

International Route Changes

By region, the new schedule changes include the following: 

Asia, effective March 16 

  • American will suspend all remaining flights to Asia, except for three flights per week from DFW to NRT 

Australia and New Zealand, effective March 16

  • Suspending service from Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL) effective March 16, which was slated to end seasonal flying on March 28
  • Suspending service from LAX to Sydney (SYD) effective March 16

Europe, phased suspension 

  • American will continue to operate one flight daily from DFW to LHR and MIA to LHR
  • Suspending flights from New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), and LAX to LHR gradually over the next seven days to reaccommodate passengers and crew
  • LHR, Dublin (DUB) and Manchester (MAN) flights from Charlotte (CLT), Philadelphia (PHL) and Phoenix (PHX) will be suspended faster, as these airports are not approved gateways by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Final eastbound flights from CLT, PHL and PHX will be on March 15; final westbound flights returning from LHR, DUB and MAN will depart March 16
  • Continued suspensions in other parts of Europe, as previously announced, including the delayed start of some seasonal routes as well as flights to and from Amsterdam (AMS), Barcelona (BCN), Frankfurt (FRA), Madrid (MAD) and Munich (MUC) Paris (CDG) and Zurich (ZRH) through early May, or later, based on guidance from the U.S. government and customer demand 

South America, effective March 16 

  • Suspending service from JFK and MIA to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) and Georgetown, Guyana (GEO)
  • Suspending service from DFW, JFK and MIA to São Paulo (GRU)
  • Suspending service from DFW and MIA to:
    • Chile: Santiago (SCL)
    • Colombia: Bogota (BOG)
    • Ecuador: Guayaquil (GYE) and Quito (UIO)
    • Peru: Lima (LIM)
  • Suspending service from MIA to:
    • Brazil: Brasilia (BSB) and Manaus (MAO)
    • Colombia: Barranquilla (BAQ), Cartagena (CTG), Cali (CLO), Medellin (MDE) and Pereira (PEI)

These capacity reductions assume no slot waivers are in place other than those previously granted. At airports where demand exceeds airfield and/or terminal capacity, access is governed by slots that grant airlines permission to take off and land at specific times. Given the decrease in demand related to COVID-19, American has requested temporary relief from this usage requirement — otherwise known as requesting a slot waiver — to better align capacity with demand without the risk of losing valuable takeoff and landing slots for the future. American will continue to review its network and make adjustments as needed if waivers are granted.

Wynn Resorts to Temporarily Close Wynn Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (March 15, 2020)– Wynn Resorts has decided to temporarily close Wynn Las Vegas and Encore as part of its continuing effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).

The Company has committed to pay all full-time Wynn and Encore employees during the closure.

The closure will be effective Tuesday, March 17 at 6 pm and is expected to be in effect for two weeks, after which time the Company will evaluate the situation. A limited number of employees and management will remain at the resort to secure and maintain the facility. For additional information and updates, please visit www.wynninfo.com.

Ryanair Suspends All Italian Flights Until Wednesday April 8

– Government extends restrictions to all of Italy

Ryanair today (Tues 10 Mar) announced the suspension of its full flight schedule to/from and within Italy, following the decision of the Italian Government to “lock down” the entire country to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

These additional cuts will be implemented as follows:

  1. From 24:00hrs Weds 11 Mar until 24:00hrs Wed 8 Apr, Ryanair will suspend all Italian domestic flights.
  2. From 24:00hrs Fri 13 Mar until 24:00hrs Wed 8 Apr, Ryanair will suspend all Italian international flights.

All affected passengers have received email notices today informing them of these flight cancellations. Passengers looking for repatriation can obtain a free move to an earlier Ryanair flight operating up until midnight Fri 13  Mar. Affected passengers will be able to choose between a full refund or a travel credit that can be redeemed on Ryanair flights in the next 12 months.

Ryanair continues to comply fully with WHO and national Government guidance and travel bans. The situation is changing on a daily basis, and all passengers on flights affected by travel bans or cancellations, are receiving emails and are being offered flight transfers, full refunds or travel credits.

Ryanair apologises sincerely to all customers for these schedule disruptions, which are caused by national Government restrictions and the latest decision of the Italian Government to lock down the entire country to combat the Covid-19 virus.

Norwegian to Cancel Approximately 3000 Flights and Implement Temporary Layoffs Due to COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19 situation, Norwegian is preparing to cancel approximately 3000 flights between mid-March and mid-June. This represents approximately 15 percent of the total capacity for this period. The company has also put several other measures in place, including temporary layoffs of a significant share of its workforce.

The past week, Norwegian has experienced reduced demand on future bookings. The company will cancel about 3000 flights to meet the change in demand. The cancellations represent approximately 15 percent of the total capacity for the period mid-March to mid-June. It will affect the entire network and more details will be shared as soon as they are ready to be implemented. Affected customers will receive information about these changes as soon as they take place.

“This is a critical time for the aviation industry, including us at Norwegian. We encourage the authorities to immediately implement measures to imminently reduce the financial burden on the airlines in order to protect crucial infrastructure and jobs,” said CEO Jacob Schram of Norwegian.

“Unfortunately, cancellations will affect a significant share of our colleagues at Norwegian. We have initiated formal consultations with our unions regarding temporary layoffs for flying crew members as well as employees on the ground and in the offices. We will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with unions and employees to work through this difficult situation together,” said Schram.

Norwegian will continue to share updates with its customers, the financial market and the media once new measures are implemented.

Air New Zealand Suspends 2020 Earnings Guidance

Due to increased uncertainty surrounding the duration and scale of the Covid-19 outbreak, Air New Zealand has today announced that it will be withdrawing the full year 2020 earnings guidance it issued to the market on 24 February 2020 and reconfirmed at its interim results announcement on 27 February 2020.

Air New Zealand has taken numerous steps to mitigate the impact of reduced demand resulting from Covid-19, including reducing capacity on its Asia, Tasman and Domestic networks, redeploying its fuel efficient 787 Dreamliner fleet to drive operational efficiencies and using tactical pricing to stimulate demand on the impacted sectors. However, the airline now believes that the financial impact is likely to be more significant than previously estimated and with the situation evolving at such a rapid pace, the airline is not in a position to provide an earnings outlook to the market at this time. An update on earnings expectations will be provided when appropriate.

Over the course of the past week the airline has seen additional softness in demand with a decline in bookings across its network. The further spread of Covid-19 to countries outside of China, including New Zealand, has driven a downward shift in demand.

Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says that it is increasingly clear that Covid-19 has created an unprecedented situation and it is difficult to predict future demand patterns.

“We have been continuously monitoring bookings and in recent days have seen a further decline which coincides with media coverage of the spread of Covid-19 to most countries on our network as well as here in New Zealand,” says Mr Foran.

In response the airline has implemented further capacity reductions to its network, which include extending the suspension of its Shanghai service through to the end of April, and additional consolidation of services across the Tasman, Pacific Islands and Domestic network in March and April.

As a result of these actions, Air New Zealand has reduced total capacity into Asia by 26 percent, and total overall network capacity by approximately 10 percent since the outbreak of Covid-19 started.

Like the vast majority of its industry peers, the airline is also pursuing a range of mitigations in response to the swift decline of demand. These include the deferral of non-urgent capital spend and non-critical business activity across operational and corporate functions.

Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran has voluntarily offered to reduce his base pay of $1.65 million by approximately 15% ($250,000) with the support of the Board, and Air New Zealand’s Executive team will extend their salary freeze that has been in place since May 2019. On top of this, the airline has implemented a hiring freeze for all roles that are non-critical and will offer operational staff the option to take unpaid leave in addition to managing annual leave balances.

“Air New Zealand is a strong and resilient business operated by a world-class team with deep experience having navigated prior shocks to our business and industry. While we have already made swift adjustments to our operations, we are prepared to take further actions to address the ongoing demand impact of Covid-19,” says Mr Foran.

Summary of Air New Zealand’s response since the Covid-19 outbreak

  • Overall capacity reductions of approximately 10% across the network, including:
    – Asia capacity reduction of 26% through June, including extension of Shanghai route suspension through April 
    – Tasman capacity reductions of 7% through June 
    – Pacific Islands capacity reductions of 6% through June 
    – Reductions across the Domestic network of approximately 4%, with a 10% to 15% reduction in March and April
  • Various labour initiatives including a voluntary reduction in CEO pay, a hiring freeze for all non-critical roles and voluntary unpaid leave for operational staff
  • Deferral of non-urgent capital spend and any non-critical business activity

Delta Suspends Atlanta-Rome Flights March 11 through April 30

  • New York-JFK to Rome service continues
  • Seasonal service between Detroit and Rome is postponed until May 1.

Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, Delta is temporarily suspending service between Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Rome Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport (FCO) starting Wednesday, March 11 through April 30.

Additionally, seasonal Detroit to Rome service will be delayed to May 1. It was originally scheduled to begin April 1.

Delta is also extending its suspension of service from New York – John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) to May 20. Service from New York-JFK to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is postponed to May 21.

Customers traveling between Rome and the United States will continue to have access through New York-JFK from March 11 through April 30. New York-JFK to Rome will be Delta’s only flight to Italy during this period.

The airline’s flight schedule between the U.S. and Rome will be as follows:

FlightMarchApril
JFK-Rome (no changes)5x Weekly5x Weekly

Making changes to your flight

Customers with affected travel plans can go to the My Trips section of delta.com to help them understand their options. These may include rebooking on alternate Delta flights, rebooking on flights after April 30, rebooking on alternate or partner airlines, refunds or contacting us to discuss additional options. Delta continues to offer a change fee waiver for customers who wish to adjust their travel plans.

For all flight changes due to COVID-19, visit: https://news.delta.com/changes-our-flying

The latest information about Delta’s response to COVID-19 is available at: news.delta.com/coronavirus

Newer posts »