Thailand travel Mart to be postponed due to coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

 

Due to escalating health concerns related to the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 in Thailand and other countries around the world, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has decided to postpone the Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2020 (TTM+ 2020) in Phuket, Thailand scheduled 1-3 June 2020. 

Currently, there are no new dates of the event to be rescheduled to, however, TAT confirmed that the venue shall remain in Phuket.

This decision was made after extensive and careful consideration of the current situation and outlook alongside our commitment to cooperate with government efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The health safety of all participants and everyone in Phuket is of the utmost importance to us and we will do everything in our power to comply with the health measures set by the Royal Thai Government and the World Health Organization (WHO).

"We appreciate all participants for showing interest and support of this major travel trade event and apologize for any inconvenience that this postponement may cause. We stand united with you to address and overcome the current challenges to our tourism industry and look forward to collaborating with you for our mutual interest." TAT said in a statement. 

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Chief Financial Officer at SAS Torbjorn Wist quits as coronavirus crisis grounds most of the carriers aircraft.

The Chief Financial Officer of Scandinavian Airline System - SAS has decided to quit the company as scores of aircraft are grounded during the current coronavirus pandemic that has decimated European air travel. 

Torbjorn Wist will leave the struggling airline in September - if not before with plans to take on a similar position at the shipping group Wallenius Wilhelmsen.  “This has not been an easy decision given the current market turmoil, but this is a result of a process that started well before COVID-19 became a global issue,” Wist said in a statement, adding “Let there be no doubt that my one and only priority in the coming months is to help ensure SAS’ continued role as a critical infrastructure provider in Scandinavia” whilst requesting the SAS board look sooner rather than later to look for a replacement.  It's not known if the airlines plan to reduce the salaries of top-level management during the crisis had input into Wist decision to leave. 

SAS confirmed that it had "initiated the process of finding his successor and Wist will continue in his current role during his notice period, or until a successor is in place."

British Airways extends its revolving credit facility as aircraft are placed in storage

British Airways aircraft in temporary storage at Bournemouth Airport                                                    Photo NPAS 

International Airlines Group (IAG) the group behind some of Europe's major airlines, including Ireland's Aer Lingus, Spain's Iberia and the UK's British Airways has announced today that British Airways has been able to extend its US dollar secured Revolving Credit Facility for one year from 23 June 2020 to 23 June 2021. 

The amount available under the extended facility is $1.38 billion. Including the extended facility and some smaller additional facilities recently arranged, IAG has total undrawn general and committed aircraft financing facilities equivalent to €2.1 billion currently, compared to €1.9 billion at the end of 2019. IAG has not drawn down on any of its facilities.

IAG continues to have strong liquidity with cash, cash equivalents and interest-bearing deposits of €7.2 billion as at 27 March. Total cash and undrawn facilities are currently €9.3 billion.  In addition, the Group is exploring a number of operational and treasury initiatives to improve further its cash flow and liquidity and will update the market in due course.

Loganair to seek more government aid.....

One of the UK's largest regional airlines Loganair is to seek a government bailout as the airline struggles to continue to operate, which it says is due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. 

Loganair was the sister airline to flyBMI, which went into administration with massive debts in February 2019.  Both airlines were owned by Airline Investments Limited, which has been accused of asset stripping flyBMI in the days and hours before placing it into administration, to avoid paying millions in compensations for delayed and cancelled flights.

Loganair is continuing to fly most routes at present - according to its website the carrier is operating schedules on the following routes until 20th April.

- Aberdeen-Kirkwall

- Aberdeen-Manchester

- Aberdeen-Norwich

- Aberdeen-Sumburgh

- Glasgow-Barra

- Glasgow-Benbecula

- Glasgow-Campbeltown

- Glasgow-Islay

- Glasgow-Stornoway

- Glasgow-Tiree

- Isle of Man-Liverpool

- Isle of Man-Manchester

- Kirkwall-Sumburgh

- Orkney inter-isles air services

- Stornoway-Benbecula

- City of Derry-London Southend 

easyJet grounding all aircraft.....

The UK based European budget carrier easyJet has confirmed its is grounding all its Airbus aircraft as a direct result of the unprecedented travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline's boss said he had fully grounded its entire fleet of aircraft,  Johan Lundgren, easyJet CEO now that repatriation flights have been completed - "I am extremely proud of the way in which people across easyJet have given their absolute best at such a challenging time, including so many crew who have volunteered to operate rescue flights to bring our customers home.  We are working tirelessly to ensure that easyJet continues to be well-positioned to overcome the challenges of coronavirus." 

American Airlines supporting the American Red Cross with fundraising to fight coronavirus COVID-19

American Airlines is partnering with long-standing national partner American Red Cross to raise funds for the nonprofit’s efforts on the frontlines of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. American is proud to be a $1 million member of the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program.

The Red Cross has activated its fullest resources to support the COVID-19 response. Monetary donations are the best way to assist those in need at this time, which will help provide support for blood drives and critical relief services through trained Red Cross personnel who are on the ground, assisting with the outbreak. From now through April 30, AAdvantage® members can earn 10 miles for every dollar donated to the Red Cross with a minimum $25 donation. Visit the Red Cross website to donate now.

Donations designated to the coronavirus outbreak will be used to:

CEO Ed Bastian updates customers on Delta's commitment to health & safety    Delta's chief executive Ed Bastian shared the email below with Delta customers on Sunday.  Our Commitment Remains: Your Update from Ed Bastian  Three months ago, I would have never dreamt our world would be facing such volatile times, but I remain confident we will prevail because of you and the people of Delta. To support you and our communities, we are carrying medical supplies globally via cargo flights and operating repatriation flights to get you and your loved ones home. If you are a medical volunteer, we are offering free flights to certain U.S. regions that have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 (coronavirus) to support medical professionals on the front lines. As we make swift decisions to support your health and safety, we will keep you continually informed so you can make the best travel decisions for you and your family.  We remain committed to:   Taking care of you. Your safety is our primary focus, and we’ve elevated our efforts for you during this pandemic. Our new level of Delta clean won’t be reserved just for times of crisis – we’re expanding new practices to all flights starting April 1. This means you will have fogging on domestic aircraft overnight as we have done internationally and sanitization of high-touch areas like tray tables, entertainment screens, armrests and seat-back pockets via our extensive cleaning checklist on all trips. And if a plane doesn’t pass our spot check before you board, our teams are empowered to hold the flight and call back the cleaning crew. We’re also minimizing touchpoints between you and others by temporarily moving to essential food and beverage service onboard all U.S. domestic and short-haul international flights and at our Delta Sky Clubs®, as well as evaluating adjustments to long-haul international flying. We also understand you have significant life moments like graduations and weddings this time of year and many of those plans are in flux. As a dad with three grown children and one still in high school, I empathize with you. We continue to make it easier to change or cancel your flights with no fee via My Trips on Delta.com.

Return home schedules from Lufthansa Group airlines as Austrian Airlines flies its longest ever nonstop journey

From the beginning of next week, a return flight schedule will be in effect for the airlines in the Lufthansa Group. This will initially be valid until 19 April 2020. 

Harry Hohmeister, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG: "This situation has a historic dimension. Hardly anyone wants to or is currently allowed to travel. That is why our returnee flight schedule is now essentially geared to the needs of European citizens who want to return to their home countries. We are now flying as many people home as possible!"

The intercontinental return flight schedule in detail

Long-haul flights are offered as scheduled from Frankfurt and Zurich. Lufthansa's intercontinental flight schedule from Frankfurt is as follows: three times a week to Newark, Chicago (both USA), Montreal (Canada), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Bangkok (Thailand), Tokyo (Japan) and Johannesburg (South Africa). 

Air Baltic use Airbus A220 to fly faces masks and respirators from China to Latvia

The Latvian airline airBaltic used an Airbus A220-300 registered as YL-CSI to bring nearly one million face masks and respirators all the way from China to its home base of Riga.

The flight from Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport in China took just over six and a half hours to complete and covered a distance of some 4815 kilometres.

Antwerp - London City Airport route will restart on May 4th 2020 says Air Antwerp

Air Antwerp has confirmed it plans to restart its route to London City Airport on May 4th 2020, despite the airport currently being closed, with no firm date to reopen. 

Due to the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 crisis, the London docklands' airport closed to all private and commercial flights and had hoped to be open at the end of April.  Yet according to some health officials, this could be right in the middle of when UK's capital will reach peak contagion levels leaving the authorities and national health service struggling to cope.

Air Antwerp suspended its operations temporarily as of 22 March, but confirmed in a statement it "will resume operations on the route on Monday 4 May 2020".

Passengers who hold an Air Antwerp booking (WP code) on a flight between now and May 3rd‚ can change or cancel their reservation free of charge by contacting Air Antwerp Customer Services 

(Photos Air Antwerp)

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Qatar Airways may need to ask for state aid......................

There make come a time in the not too distant future that Qatar Airways will have to seek government support, it's Chief Executive told Reuters today.

The stark warning comes as the airline has remained flying whilst most other global carriers have greatly reduced or suspended operations entirely to help combat the spread of coronavirus COVID-19. Indeed over the next two weeks, the Doha based carrier expects to operate some 1,800 flights.

“We have received many requests from governments all over the world, embassies in certain countries, requesting Qatar Airways not to stop flying,” Akbar al-Baker told Reuters by phone from Doha.  “We will fly as long as it is necessary and we have requests to get stranded people to their homes, provided the airspace is open and the airports are open,” Baker said. The airline has been operating special ad-hoc charter flights, including those to Ireland from Australia, but at increased rates. “We are not taking advantage … this is a time to serve people who want to be with their loved ones in a very trying time,” Baker said. 

Hotel closures for Marcus Hotels & Resorts

Marcus Hotels & Resorts is temporarily closing a select number of properties across its portfolio. This decision includes the Hilton Milwaukee City Center; Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee; Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Wisconsin; The Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma and The Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel in Nebraska. 

"The safety and well-being of our guests and associates is our number one priority. The lodging industry is facing unprecedented challenges due to the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic. In light of these challenges and our current business levels, we have made the difficult decision to close a select number of properties across our portfolio,” said Michael R. Evans, President of Marcus Hotels & Resorts. “During these difficult times, our leadership team is meeting daily to monitor the situation, and we will continue to explore every option to help our associates, our guests and our properties. Our sincere hope is that these closures will not be for an extended period of time and that our dedicated teams will all be back together again very soon and welcoming guests to our hotels."

Canadians Continue to Fly Back Home With Air Canada

A new special flight is scheduled from Algeria

Additional flights are expected from Ecuador and Peru

Air Canada continues its repatriation efforts, alone bringing back nearly 8,500 passengers today

Air Canada announced today that, in collaboration with the Government of Canada, it will operate its first special flight from Algiers on Tuesday. Additional flights from Peru and Ecuador are also planned to depart in the coming days.

Algiers

The flight from Algiers to Montreal is currently scheduled to operate on March 31st on an Airbus A330 with 292 seats.

Quito