Airline stocks take flight again on Moderna vaccine success November 16, 2020 Airline stocks took flight in the last few minutes as Moderna revealed that its coronavirus vaccine was 95 per cent effective. For the second Monday in a row, shares in listed carriers have soared on the back of announcements regarding vaccines. Last week Pfizer said that its vaccine, which it has developed with Biontech, was [...]
Moody’s downgrades credit ratings of UK’s largest airports November 12, 2020 Three of the UK’s largest airports have had their credit ratings downgraded by Moody’s as the pandemic continues to hammer global air travel. Heathrow Finance, which owns the UK’s biggest airport, has had its corporate family rating reduced from Ba1 to Ba2. Obligations rated at Ba2 are judged to have speculative elements and are subject [...]
Norwegian Air to run out of cash within months November 10, 2020 Embattled Norwegian Air this morning warned that it could run out of cash in the first quarter of 2021, unless it manages to find a fresh source of financing. Reporting its third quarter results, the low-cost carrier said: “Norwegian is dependent on additional working capital in order to continue operating through the first quarter of [...]
Pilots’ union calls for ministers to commit to ending travel ban on 2 December November 4, 2020 The UK’s pilot union has called for the government to commit to end the ban on international leisure travel on 2 December. Under the rules of the new national lockdown, which begins tomorrow, all but essential overseas travel from England will be banned. When the measure was announced on Saturday it was denounced as a [...]
Engineer Senior to close Dutch plant as aviation demand shrinks November 3, 2020 Aerospace engineer Senior this morning announced that it would close its plant in the Netherlands as the coronavirus pandemic continued to crush the aviation industry. In a trading update this morning, the London-listed firm said that aerospace sales were down 45 per cent for the third quarter, and 36 per cent for the year to [...]
Airlines plead for emergency support as international travel banned November 1, 2020 The UK aviation industry has made fresh pleas for emergency financial support from ministers after international travel was banned for the duration of the new lockdown. From 5 November to 2 December, foreign holidays have been banned – as well as overnight stays in the UK. The decision is a hammer blow to the country’s [...]
What’s in store for the airline industry this winter? October 30, 2020 Although every industry has suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic, few have been as hard hit as the world’s airlines. At the beginning of the year, the idea of a world without global air travel was for most people a relic of a long-forgotten past, but seven months of extreme turbulence have flipped that notion [...]
United Airlines opens door to London-New York travel with free Covid testing October 29, 2020 US carrier United Airlines has today announced the world’s first free transatlantic coronavirus testing trial in a glimmer of hope for the travel industry. Under the scheme, the airline will offer every passenger over the age of two on flights between Newark and London Heathrow a test for the disease. The trial will run between [...]
Exclusive: Private jet sector remains ‘robust’ amid air travel slump October 27, 2020 The number of flights made on private jets in August was nearly three per cent higher than in the same month last year, new data for City A.M. has shown. Analysis from business aviation broker Colibri Aircraft showed that there were 68,525 such flights in August, a 2.8 per cent rise year-on-year, despite the coronavirus [...]
Aircraft orders flatline in September after worst ever quarter October 26, 2020 No commercial aircraft were ordered last month as the global aviation industry recorded its worst ever quarter on record due to the coronavirus pandemic. From July to September, there were just 13 orders placed for planes, a decline of 91.4 per cent on the same quarter last year. There were four orders in July, and [...]