Tag: 2020 (Page 4 of 10)

Volaris reports September 2020 traffic results, operating at 84% of 2019 capacity levels

October 6, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

MEXICO CITY, /PRNewswire/ — Volaris (NYSE: VLRS and BMV: VOLAR), the ultra-low-cost airline serving Mexico, the United States and Central America, reports September 2020 preliminary traffic results.

Volaris is well positioned for a continuing post Covid-19 traffic recovery and is regaining capacity at a fast pace, due to its strong ultra-low-cost business model focused on the VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) and leisure segments in the domestic and US-transborder markets. Volaris also continues to see success from its efforts to convert first time flyers through its bus switching marketing campaigns in Mexico.

In September 2020, capacity measured by ASMs (Available Seat Miles) was 84.2% compared to the same month of last year. Demand measured by RPMs (Revenue Passenger Miles) was 75.6% of last year. This represents an increase of 2.4% versus August 2020. Volaris transported a total of 1.3 million passengers during September 2020, an increase of 4.1% versus August 2020. Booked load factor for September 2020 was 74.4%, an increase of 1.8 pp versus August 2020. No shows were back to normal levels.

Click the link below for the full story with financials!

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volaris-reports-september-2020-traffic-013900973.html

Alstom Introduces the Citadis X05 Tram to Athens, Greece

September 17, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Alstom is proud to deliver the first two of the 25 Citadis X05 trams ordered by Attiko Metro, the urban transport authority of Athens, in July 2018. The tram will begin dynamic tests at the end of September before being put into passenger service in February 2021.

The 25 trams will run on the city’s existing network, as well as on any planned extensions. The delivery of the last tram is expected by the end of May 2021.

“Alstom is proud to bring its latest generation of tram to Athens. By providing reliable and modern rolling stock, we commit to supporting the development of urban transport in Athens, to further increase the capacity and availability of the existing lines and their extensions,” said Stavros Vlachos, Managing Director Alstom Greece.

In addition to the manufacturing and supply of the trams, Alstom is also responsible for the on-site testing, training and warranty services, as well as spare parts for the vehicles. These are Alstom’s first trams sold in Greece, after the company provided 28 metro trains in early 2000 for the first Athens Metro project.

The modern Citadis X05 trams will supplement the existing fleet of light rail vehicles for use on the network in Athens and Piraeus. This latest generation from the Citadis range offers superior passenger experience, with 20% more glass surfaces, LEDs for soft, homogeneous lighting, large individual seats, and travel information on large screens via a telematic system. The five-section trams will be 33 metres long, with a capacity of 294 passengers. Double doors along the entire length of the tramway ensure enhanced accessibility.

The Citadis X05, the latest version of the Citadis range, boasts a number of new technologies, including permanent magnet motors for higher efficiency, as well as optimised HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning), which together reduce its energy consumption by 25%. Simplified sub-system integration and maintenance decrease lifecycle costs, while the tramway is 97% recyclable. To date, Citadis X05 has been sold in cities such as Sydney, Paris, Nice, Avignon, Caen, Lusail, Frankfurt and Athens.

2,700 vehicles of the Citadis range have been sold in 60 cities worldwide. Citadis trams have covered over 1 billion kilometres and transported 10 billion passengers since the first tram entered service in 2000.

DHL Shows How Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccine Partners for Success

September 7, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

– In the paper, DHL evaluates how the transport of vaccines as highly temperature-sensitive product can be managed effectively.

– Global delivery of 10 billion doses of serum needs scaled-up medical supply chains

– White paper identifies critical challenges in COVID-19 logistics

– A framework is provided to tackle future health emergencies beyond COVID-19

With first emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines expected to be effective in the last quarter of 2020, logistics providers are challenged to rapidly establish medical supply chains to deliver serums of unparalleled amounts of more than ten billion doses worldwide. DHL, working with McKinsey & Company as analytics partner, is therefore publishing a white paper on delivering stable logistics for vaccines and medical goods during COVID-19, and future health crises.

Currently, more than 250 vaccines across seven platforms are being developed and trialed. As COVID-19 vaccines have leapfrogged development phases, stringent temperature requirements (up to -80°C) are likely to be imposed for certain vaccines to ensure that their efficacy is maintained during transportation and warehousing. This poses novel logistics challenges to the existing medical supply chain that conventionally distributes vaccines at ~2-8°C. In the paper, DHL evaluates how the transport of vaccines as highly temperature-sensitive product can be managed effectively to combat the further spread of the virus. The scope of this task is immense: To provide global coverage of COVID-19 vaccines, up to ~200,000 pallet shipments and ~15 million deliveries in cooling boxes as well as ~15,000 flights will be required across the various supply chain set-ups.

Future public health crisis management to include public-private partnerships

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, demand for medical supplies has surged. For example, UNICEF sourced 100 times more face masks and 2,000 times more medical gloves than in 2019. Bringing medical supplies from their distant sources to use at the frontline has been one of the most crucial activities in pandemic response management in the first phase of the health emergency. For PPE specifically, inbound logistics were a major challenge due to geographically concentrated production, limited airfreight capacity and a lack of inbound quality checks. To ensure stable medical supply in a future health crisis, a comprehensive setup of public health crisis strategies and structures needs to be established by governments with partnerships from both public and private sectors.

To kick start the dialogue among the different actors and improve pandemic resilience in medical supply logistics, DHL provides a framework for the cooperation of logistics companies with authorities, politicians, NGOs as well as the life sciences industry. The framework helps to establish measures to ensure the most stable and safe supply chains possible. Besides an emergency response plan, this includes a partnership network, strong physical logistics infrastructure and IT-enabled supply chain transparency. Lastly, a response unit with a clear mandate should be put in place to implement all critical activities at short notice.

United Airlines Permanently Eliminates Change Fees

August 31, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

The only thing constant is change and at United Airlines, some of the fees associated with changes related to flying are gone for good. The carrier announced today that it is permanently getting rid of change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S., effective immediately. And starting on January 1, 2021, any United customer can fly standby for free on a flight departing the day of their travel regardless of the type of ticket or class of service, a first among U.S. carriers, while MileagePlus Premier members can confirm a seat on a different flight on the same day with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket if a seat in the same ticket fare class is available.

United is also extending its waiver for new tickets issued through December 31, 2020, to permit unlimited changes with no fee. This policy applies to all ticket types issued after March 3, 2020 and is valid for domestic and international travel. With these improvements, no U.S. airline gives their customers more flexibility when booking – and changing – their travel plans than United Airlines.

“Change is inevitable these days – but it’s how we respond to it that matters most. When we hear from customers about where we can improve, getting rid of this fee is often the top request,” said Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, in a video message to customers. “Following previous tough times, airlines made difficult decisions to survive, sometimes at the expense of customer service. United Airlines won’t be following that same playbook as we come out of this crisis. Instead, we’re taking a completely different approach – and looking at new ways to serve our customers better.”

The new change fee policy applies to all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S. 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and customers will not be limited in the number of times they adjust their flights.

Additionally, United is giving customers more flexibility to change their flights on the day of their travel so they can head home if a meeting ends earlier or enjoy a few more hours on vacation. With the ability to list for same-day standby for free, customers will now have an option to take a different flight with the same origin and destination airports as their original itinerary if space is available at departure. This enhanced option will be available to all customers for travel within the U.S. and to and from international destinations beginning on January 1, 2021. Customers who want to switch flights will be able to add themselves to the standby list through United’s award-winning mobile app, on united.com or at the airport no later than 30 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights and one hour before departure on international flights.

The carrier is also improving the travel experience for its MileagePlus members including waiving all redeposit fees on award travel for flights changed or cancelled more than 30 days before departure and allowing all MileagePlus Premier members to confirm a different flight on the day of their travel. As a way to thank MileagePlus Premier members for their loyalty, beginning January 1, 2021, all Premier members will be able to confirm a seat for free on a different flight with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket. This expanded option will allow MileagePlus Silver members and above to confirm a new seat in the same ticket fare class if space is available. Earlier this year, United announced that it will extend status for MileagePlus Premier and Global Services members through January 2022. United also reduced thresholds for Premier qualification by 50 percent for each status level, to make reaching an even higher status tier easier.

For more information on United’s new flexible travel policies, visit https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/change-fee.html

American Airlines Suspends Service to 15 Markets in October

August 20, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) will adjust its October schedule to remove service to 15 markets as a result of low demand and the expiration of the air service requirements associated with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This is the first step as American continues to evaluate its network and plans for additional schedule changes in the coming weeks.

These station suspensions will be effective Oct. 7. For now, these changes are only in place for the October schedule period, which runs through Nov. 3.

The airline will continue to re-assess plans for these and other markets as an extension of the Payroll Support Program remains under deliberation. The full, updated October schedule will be released Aug. 29, and American anticipates releasing its updated November schedule by late-September.

The full list of suspensions is below and will be reflected on aa.com Aug. 29.

Service suspensions beginning Oct. 7

City	Airport Code
Del Rio, Texas	DRT
Dubuque, Iowa	DBQ
Florence, S.C.	FLO
Greenville, N.C.	PGV
Huntington, W.Va.	HTS
Joplin, Mo.	JLN
Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Mich.	AZO
Lake Charles, La.	LCH
New Haven, Conn.	HVN
New Windsor, N.Y.	SWF
Roswell, N.M.	ROW
Sioux City, Iowa	SUX
Springfield, Ill.	SPI
Stillwater, Okla.	SWO
Williamsport, Pa.	IPT

Tesla Announces a Five for One Stock Split

August 12, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) announced today that the Board of Directors has approved and declared a five-for-one split of Tesla’s common stock in the form of a stock dividend to make stock ownership more accessible to employees and investors. Each stockholder of record on August 21, 2020 will receive a dividend of four additional shares of common stock for each then-held share, to be distributed after close of trading on August 28, 2020. Trading will begin on a stock split-adjusted basis on August 31, 2020.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the expected timing and impact of the stock dividend are “forward-looking statements” that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. Various important factors could cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Tesla disclaims any obligation to update this information.

Airbus Adds More Deliveries, Breaks 3 Month Order Drought

August 6, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus delivered 49 aircraft in July, up from 36 in June as it continues to recover from a slump in deliveries during this year’s coronavirus lockdowns, the company said on Thursday.

The aircraft were all narrow-body jets, highlighting a dearth of demand for the industry’s biggest models, which last month prompted Airbus to trim A350 production for a second time.

The month’s deliveries included 47 A320neo-family jets.

Airbus also scored its first orders in three months as it sold two A320neos to an undisclosed customer and two A321neos to Lufthansa Technik, the modification and repairs business of German carrier Lufthansa <LHA.DE>.

So far in 2020, Airbus has delivered 245 jets and sold 369, or 302 after cancellations.

Demand for aircraft has been crippled by the coronavirus crisis and its heavy impact on air travel.

Airbus is boosting deliveries on a monthly basis despite the industry’s worst crisis as it negotiates deals with airlines.

But although deliveries are rising compared to the trough seen in April, several bankers and analysts have questioned how many of the aircraft are being placed into service as airlines struggle to save cash. Some are said to go straight to storage.

Airbus has issued default notices and threatened to sue airlines that refuse to collect planes already built while showing flexibility in deferring jets not yet in the factory.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Keith Weir)

An Airbus A320neo aircraft is pictured during a news conference to announce a partnership between Airbus and Bombardier on the C Series aircraft programme, in Colomiers near Toulouse, France

Air France KLM Announces Second quarter 2020 Results

August 2, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Click the link below to view the entire press release!

https://www.airfranceklm.com/sites/default/files/q2_2020_press_release_en_final.pdf

Emirates to Resume Flights to Stockholm on 1st of August

July 20, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Emirates will resume passenger services to Stockholm with weekly flights from 1 August, expanding its network in Europe to 22 cities, and connecting customers from Europe to the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.

The restart of Stockholm flights means that all Emirates gateways in Scandinavia will have resumed services by August, with flights to Oslo resuming from 4 August and services to Copenhagen being in operation since June.

This will take the airline’s passenger network to 63 destinations in August, offering customers around the world more convenient connections to Dubai, and via Dubai.

Flights between Stockholm and Dubai will operate once a week on Saturdays. Emirates flight EK157 will depart Dubai at 08:40 and arrives in Stockholm at 13:10. The return flight EK 158 leaves Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 15:05 and arrives into Dubai International Airport at 23:20. All times are local.

The flights will be operated with the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER and can be booked on emirates.com or via travel agents.

Dubai is open: Customers from across Emirates’ network can now to travel to Dubai as the city has re-opened for business and leisure visitors with new air travel protocols that safeguard the health and safety of visitors and communities. For more information on entry requirements for international visitors to Dubai, visit: www.emirates.com/flytoDubai

Flexibility and assurance: With the gradual re-opening of borders over the summer, Emirates has revised its booking policies to offer customers more flexibility and confidence to plan their travel. Customers whose travel plans are disrupted by COVID-19 related flight or travel restrictions, can simply hold on to their ticket which will be valid for 24 months and rebook to fly at a later time; request travel vouchers to offset against future Emirates purchases, or request refunds via an online form on Emirates’ website or via their travel booking agent.

Health and safety first: Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes to all customers. For more information on these measures and the services available on each flight, visit: www.emirates.com/yoursafety

Travel restrictions: Customers are reminded that travel restrictions remain in place, and travellers will only be accepted on flights if they comply with the eligibility and entry criteria requirements of their destination countries. Visit: www.emirates.com/travelrestrictions

Dubai residents can check the latest travel requirements at: www.emirates.com/returntoDubai

Inauguration of Dubai Route 2020 Metro

July 15, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Alstom-led consortium delivers extension of Dubai Metro Red Line

A full turnkey integrated system
15km-long
50 Metropolis trainsets
Total value of the project is €2.6 billion

Alstom congratulates Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), on the inauguration of the Dubai Route 2020 Metro. This iconic project was ceremonially inaugurated by H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai on 7 July 2020, and was also attended by Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Alstom’s CEO and Chairman of the Board as well as the top management of the ExpoLink Consortium via video conference technology.

The new line project, commenced in July 2016 and carried out by the Alstom-led ExpoLink consortium, also composed of ACCIONA and Gülermak, consists of a 15km-long line, of which 11.8km is above ground and 3.2km underground, and an interchange on the Red Line. The extension of the metro has seven stations including Jabel Ali Station and the flagship metro station at the Expo exhibition site. The project is worth a total of €2.6 billion.

As part of the Consortium, Alstom was responsible for the integration of the entire metro system including 50 Metropolis trainsets produced in Alstom’s site in Katowice, Poland, power supply, communication, signalling, automatic ticket control, track works, platform screen doors and a three-year warranty on the whole system, as well as the enhancement of the existing metro line by upgrading power supply, signalling systems, miscellaneous communication and track works. The trainsets are 85.5 meters long and composed of five cars per trainset, and they will be able to carry up to 696 passengers each.

The train offers an excellent level of passenger experience, thanks to wide gangways, large doors and windows, three specific areas for Silver, Family and Gold Classes. Eco-friendly, the train is equipped with a full electrical braking system, LED lighting and other innovations to reduce energy consumption.

Alstom is a dedicated and long-standing partner of Dubai’s transportation and mobility development. Alstom delivered the Dubai tramway, the first fully integrated tramway system in the Middle East and the world’s first 100% catenary-free line, which was opened in November 2014. Alstom is also in charge of the maintenance of the Dubai Tram for a period of 13 years.

Service suspensions beginning Oct. 7

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