American Airlines is providing customers additional flexibility in purchasing travel in light of concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19).
American has extended its offer to waive change fees for customers who purchase travel through April 30. Customers will have even more flexibility since any ticket purchased by April 30 will not incur change fees prior to travel. The offer is available for any of American’s published non-refundable fares. Additional updates on existing travel alerts can be found on aa.com/travelalerts.
Any ticket purchased from March 1 at 4:30 p.m. CT through April 30, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. CT will not incur change fees prior to travel.
This is available for any of American’s non-refundable published fares.
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
The world’s first hydrogen fuel cell passenger train takes its first steps abroad after commercial success in Germany.
The Netherlands: second country in Europe to test the hydrogen train
Tests carried out with green hydrogen
Performance equivalent to classic DMU regional trains
41 hydrogen trains already on order in Germany
Alstom has performed ten days of tests of the Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel cell train on the 65 kilometres of line between Groningen and Leeuwarden in the north of the Netherlands. The tests follow 18 successful months of passenger service on the Buxtehude–Bremervörde–Bremerhaven–Cuxhaven line in Germany, where total of 41 Coradia iLint have already been ordered. The latest tests make the Netherlands the second country in Europe where the train has proven itself a unique emissions-free solution for non-electrified lines.
Last October, Alstom and the Province of Groningen, local operator Arriva, the Dutch railway infrastructure manager ProRail and the energy company Engie signed a pilot project agreement to test the Coradia iLint, the world’s first passenger train powered by hydrogen fuel cells, in the Netherlands. DEKRA, an independent testing inspection and certification company, has been appointed test leader. This series of tests is being performed at night at up to 140 km/h without passengers. For the purpose of the tests, a mobile filling station has been erected by Engie for refuelling the Coradia iLint with completely green – sustainably produced – hydrogen.
“The tests in the Netherlands demonstrate how our hydrogen train is mature in terms of availability and reliability, providing the same performance as traditional regional trains, but with the benefit of low noise and zero emissions. It is also easy to integrate in an existing fleet and is compliant with all safety regulations. The Coradia iLint hydrogen train is a reliable emission-free train ready to help transport us to a carbon-neutral Europe,” said Bernard Belvaux, Managing Director, Alstom Benelux.
The Coradia iLint is the world’s first regional passenger train to enter service equipped with fuel cells to convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, thus eliminating pollutant emissions related to propulsion. The completely train is quiet, and its only emission is water. Purpose-built for use on non-electrified lines, it provides clean, sustainable traction with no sacrifice in performance. It has a range of approximately 1000 kilometres – the same as equivalent-size diesel multiple units. The train is developed and produced by the Alstom teams in Salzgitter, Germany and Tarbes, France.
The Dutch railway network has approximatively 1,000 kilometres of non-electrified line on which around 100 diesel trains currently operate daily.
On Saturday 7th of March, the station of Groningen will welcome the press and public to discover the Coradia iLint at the platform between 12:00 to 16:00.
(Reuters) – United Airlines Holdings Inc <UAL> said on Tuesday it expects a non-cash impairment charge of $90 million in the fourth quarter related to its Hong Kong routes, following anti-government protests in the city.
The Hong Kong protests escalated in June over a now-withdrawn extradition bill, but have since developed into a broader movement.
“Due to a decrease in demand for the Hong Kong market and the resulting decrease in unit revenue, the company determined that the value of its Hong Kong routes had been fully impaired,” the U.S. carrier said.
Several airlines including India’s SpiceJet Ltd <SPJT>, Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd <AIABF>, South Korea’s JejuAir Co Ltd <089590> reduced the number of flights to the city in the fourth quarter as the protests grew increasingly violent, disrupting daily life.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Dubai, UAE, November 19, 2019 – Embraer announced today, at the Dubai Airshow, that Falcon Aviation’s newest facility located at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), Dubai’s new airport, has been approved as an Embraer Authorized Service Center (EASC) to expand their support for Legacy 600/650 and Lineage customers in the region.
Falcon Aviation, the UAE’s leading business aviation services, charter, MRO and aircraft management company, may perform scheduled and non-scheduled maintenance, component and part exchange, types of inspections at different levels of complexity for those aircraft platforms.
“We are humbled to extend our partnership with Falcon Aviation and offer owners and operators the best maintenance solutions at Dubai’s newest airport, a strategic hub for our customers in the region,” said Frank Stevens, Embraer’s MRO Global Vice President Services & Support.
“Being part of Embraer’s global network of Authorized Service Centers is a strong endorsement for our services, and we are proud to extend our capabilities by offering support to customers at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport”, said Capt. Raman Oberoi, the COO of Falcon Aviation Services.
Embraer Services & Support has more than 2,300 people positioned in the world to support the customer with all their needs and an award-winning network of more than 80 owned and authorized service centers, field support representatives, flight simulators, as well as two 24-hour Customer Care Centers.
First pilot project with Coradia iLint outside Germany
31 October 2019 – Alstom and the Province of Groningen, local operator Arriva, the Dutch railway infrastructure manager ProRail and the energy company Engie have signed plans for a pilot project to test the Coradia iLint, the world’s first passenger train powered by hydrogen fuel cells, for the first time in the Netherlands. The signature took place as part of the “Klimaattop”, or Climate Summit Northern Netherlands, taking place this week in Groningen.
The tests will be carried out on the track between Groningen and Leeuwarden at up to 140 km/h and will last about two weeks. The ambition is to organise the test during the first quarter of 2020. The objective is to demonstrate that hydrogen fuel cell technology is an appropriate way to achieve zero-emission rail traffic on non-electrified lines in the Netherlands where there are currently diesel trains running.
“Alstom is committed to developing and implementing mobility solutions that permit not only the emergence of fully sustainable transport systems but also help drive the broader energy transition. We look forward to demonstrating what has already been proven in Germany – that hydrogen represents a highly suitable way forward in both cases,” said Bernard Belvaux, Managing Director of Alstom Benelux.
The Coradia iLint is the world’s first passenger train powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, which produces electrical power for traction. The train is quiet and emission-free, emitting only water and steam during operation. It represents a clean alternative for railway operators and regional authorities wishing to replace diesel fleets for operation on non-electrified lines and meet ambitious zero-emission objectives.
The world’s first two hydrogen trains have already been in regular passenger service in Lower Saxony in Germany since September 2018. The local transport authority LNVG will operate 14 Coradia iLint trains on that line from 2021. Also in Germany, RMV this ordered 27 Coradia iLint – the largest fleet of hydrogen trains in the world – for operation from 2022.
The Dutch railway network has approximatively 1,000 kilometres of non-electrified line.
