Hyatt To Expand Thompson Hotels Portfolio in the Southern US

New Thompson hotels in Georgia and Texas expected to boost the lifestyle brand’s footprint in the region

Hyatt Hotels Corporation  announced yesterday the continued growth of the Thompson Hotels brand throughout the Southern United States with deals for two new properties—Thompson Savannah and Thompson Buckhead—expected to open in Georgia in 2021. Marking the brand’s entry into the state, these projects will join four other Thompson hotels already under development including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. These six new properties are expected to join Thompson’s nine hotels across the United States and Mexico, many of which have resumed operations and are welcoming back guests.

"We are excited to announce the future openings of six new Thompson hotels in Georgia and Texas, which, together with Thompson Nashville, will bolster the brand's presence in the Southern US," said Crystal Vinisse Thomas, Hyatt's director of global lifestyle brands. "In this new and uncharted era of travel, we recognize the importance of unique, lifestyle-driven hotels that inspire travelers seeking refined and evocative experiences. We look forward to inviting our guests to rediscover southern hospitality through the tailored lens of the Thompson Hotels brand--celebrating the rich culinary, music and artistic foundations of the South through exceptional service, crafted design and an elevated social scene."

Qantas plans special flights to say goodbye to the Queen of the skies.

The Australian carrier Qantas has announced a special programme of events to say farewell to its last remaining Boeing 747!

The airline will operate three one-hour “farewell jumbo joy flights” departing from Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, in response to requests from employees and customers for one final chance to fly on the iconic Queen of the skies aircraft.

Qantas 747 Fleet Captain Owen Weaver said the 747 has a special place in the hearts of many Australians.

“The 747 has been a magnificent aircraft and it’s fitting that we celebrate the end of five decades of history-making moments for the national carrier and aviation in Australia,” Captain Weaver said.

“Since the first 747 joined the Qantas fleet in 1971, these aircraft have operated numerous rescue flights to bring Australians home during times of crisis and provided a safe passage for many travellers taking their first international flight to or from Australia. These three flights will offer the final opportunity to fly on the Qantas 747 before it leaves, with some of our frequent flyers and aviation enthusiasts as fond of the aircraft as we are, having spent thousands of hours onboard over the years. There is an enormous amount of nostalgia and affection associated with our 747 and for those who miss out on a seat on the flight, they will at least be able to catch a glimpse of the aircraft as it takes to Australian skies for the last time.”

The key things you need to know about Manchester Airport this week

As flights increase, and more airlines resume services, Manchester Airport continues to keep passengers safe as they travel through the Northern hub. Here is the latest information and advice from the airport to make your journey as seamless, safe and easy as possible.

Travel Corridors:

Manchester Airport welcomed the announcement at the weekend from the UK Government, which allows people to fly to more than 55 countries without the need for quarantining on return to England.

The Northern hub flies to a great deal of these destinations, giving those passengers across the airport’s catchment area who want to fly, the chance to do so safely. The change comes into effect from 10th July and the full list of countries included can be found here: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors

It is also important to take account of the latest Foreign and Commonwealth Travel advice relating to any restrictions in your destination. This can be found here https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

More UK travel jobs being lost.

Funway Holidays will cease trading in September due to the “severe” impact of the coronavirus crisis, reported the UK's leading travel trade publication, the TTG. 

The managment of the 27-year-old business confirmed the business will be closed on 30 September after honouring its obligations.  The firm employs just under 50 people and has said that all bookings after 1 September 2020 would be cancelled. 

Funway Holidays sales and marketing director Nick Talbot, said: "It’s an incredibly sad day for the Funway team and our closure reflects just how severely the travel industry is being impacted by Covid-19."

 Awaze, the owners of Cottages.com, Hoseasons, Landal GreenParks and Novasol has confrimerd it will be streamling its operations, which could see up to 50 people lose their jobs.

DFDS the large Danish ferry company has announced that 650 people will be made redundant because of the downturn in business as a result of the pandemic.  The firm employs some 2200 in the UK at Dover, Newcastle and Newhaven.  

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UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has published its Annual Safety Review for 2019.

The AAIB received 826 occurrence notifications in 2019 and opened 37 field investigations, eight of which were into fatal accidents in the UK resulting in 10 deaths. A further 124 investigations were opened by correspondence.

The AAIB published two special bulletins, 29 field investigation reports and made 12 safety recommendations. In addition, 153 significant safety actions were taken by manufacturers, operators and regulators to address safety issues identified during AAIB investigations. This demonstrates the considerable range and scale of the safety action already taken or planned by the industry and regulators in response to AAIB investigations.

In 2019 all the fatal accidents that were investigated in the UK involved general aviation aircraft or gliders with the most common factor being loss of control in flight. The most common factor in commercial air transport accidents and serious incidents was system/component failure or malfunction.

In terms of its global reach, the AAIB appointed an accredited representative to 96 overseas investigations, including 45 involving UK registered aircraft. The Branch deployed to investigations in Belgium, the USA, Ethiopia, Chile, UAE, Italy, Portugal, Montserrat and Kazakhstan.

The largest U.S. air carriers have all signed letters of intent on federal loans.......

According to news agency Reuters, all the largest U.S. airlines have signed letters of intent on federal loans as they battle with the effects of the downturn in denamd because of the coronavirus COVID-19, with United Airlines warning employees that a surge in outbreaks was hitting bookings, threatening a travel rebound.

United was among five carriers - along with Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, and Southwest Airlines - that the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday had signed letters of intent regarding the terms under which they could receive U.S. funds under coronavirus relief law known as the CARES Act.

Mesa drops over 75% in blocked hours in June 2020

Mesa Air Group, Inc. has reported the operating performance for June 2020 for Mesa Airlines.  Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Mesa Airlines, is a regional air carrier providing scheduled passenger service to 66 cities in 29 states, the District of Columbia and Mexico. As of June 30th, 2020, Mesa operated a fleet of 145 aircraft with approximately 175 daily departures and 3,400 employees. Mesa operates all of its flights as either American Eagle or United Express flights pursuant to the terms of capacity purchase agreements entered into with American Airlines, Inc. and United Airlines, Inc.

Mesa Airlines reported 9,247 block hours in June 2020, a 75.8 percent drop from June 2019 as a result of reduced schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also reported a controllable completion factor of 100 percent for both its American and United operations.

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Finnair Traffic Performance in June 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic impact was still clearly visible in the June traffic figures but the number of passengers more than doubled from May 2020 and cargo-only demand remained strong

In June, Finnair carried 55,200 passengers, which is 96.0% less than in the corresponding period of 2019 but 107.2% more than in May 2020.

The overall capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) decreased in June by 96.9% year-on-year. Finnair's traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) decreased by 98.4%. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) decreased by 42.4% points to 43.8%. All passenger traffic figures were still heavily impacted by the significant COVID-19 pandemic related capacity reductions, which was visible especially in the Asian and North Atlantic figures as there were no scheduled flights to Asia and only one North Atlantic scheduled flight in June.

The ASK decline in Asian traffic was 100.0%. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 99.5%. In European traffic, the ASKs were down by 93.1%. The ASKs in domestic traffic decreased by 88.7%.

RPKs decreased in Asian and North Atlantic traffic by 100.0%, in European traffic by 96.7% and in domestic traffic by 89.4%.

Garmin expands G1000 NXi integrated flight deck upgrade portfolio to include the Embraer Phenom 300

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., today announced certification of the G1000® NXi integrated flight deck upgrade for the Embraer Phenom 300 business jet equipped with the Prodigy Flight Deck. The G1000 NXi boasts an

array of modern features, including wireless connectivity, SurfaceWatch™ runway monitoring technology, visual approach guidance, HSI map and more. The displays also preserve the same mechanical footprint and harness connections so time to complete the G1000 NXi upgrade is minimized.

Constant Aviation Sets Sights on the Future at Orlando Sanford Airport Location

In just three years since acquiring its Orlando Sanford International Airport facility, Constant Aviation has added nearly 35,000 square feet of hangar space and invested more than $2 million in physical improvements. Today, the company, which specializes in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, is ensuring its continued success at the site by extending its hangar leases for an additional eight years. These lease extensions will allow Constant Aviation to serve customers in Florida and along the East Coast uninterruptedly through the end of the decade.

ATSG Deploys 767 Freighters to Support DHL Network

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATSG) announced today that it deployed a Boeing 767-300 converted freighter in June in support of the DHL Express network in Asia under the terms of a stand-alone ACMI agreement with DHL-Bahrain. This agreement is to provide capacity support for general express freight and delivery of COVID-19 related relief supplies to Sydney, Australia. ATSG subsidiary Air Transport International (ATI) is operating the flights from Hong Kong to Sydney via Guam.

An additional Boeing 767 has been deployed under a separate ACMI agreement between DHL Express and ATSG to serve routes from Chicago O’Hare Airport (US) to Cologne Bonn Airport (Germany) via East Midlands Airport (England). ATSG subsidiary ABX Air is operating this route to provide DHL additional capacity to meet the high level of service expected within its network.

Avolon updates its position

Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company, has issueed an update for the second quarter of 2020

- Maintained a strong liquidity position at quarter end, with total liquidity (including unrestricted cash and undrawn secured warehouse facilities) in excess of US$5 billion;

- Avolon’s capital strength was further enhanced in Q2 with a 34% reduction in near-term capital commitments to the end of 2021, resulting in a year to date cumulative 52% reduction in capital commitments in the 2020-2023 timeframe;

- Executed the opportunistic buyback of US$639 million of Avolon senior unsecured notes maturing between 2021-2024, at a discount to par, further reducing near-term debt maturities;

- As at 30 June, many of our customers had entered into short-term rental deferral arrangements or were in arrears on their rental obligations. As a result, Avolon’s aggregate increase in trade receivables and deferred revenue asset implied a lease revenue collection rate during the first half of 2020 of 68%, with two thirds of the collection shortfall related to deferral arrangements;

Traffic stats for Icelandair in June

The operations of Icelandair Group were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic although some travel restrictions were lifted in the second half of the month and Icelandair started slowly expanding its flight schedule again. The Company’s freight services decreased much less due to the situation than the capacity reduction of the Icelandair route network.

The total number of Icelandair’s passengers was around 18,500 in June 2020 compared to around 553 thousand at the same time last year, decreasing by 97%. The load factor on Icelandair’s flights was 50.9% compared to 88.0% in June 2019. The total capacity was 96% less than in June last year. On-time performance was 90% in June 2020 compared to 64% in June 2019.

The number of passengers on domestic flights was around 12,000 in June, decreasing by 52% from the year before. The total capacity was down by 63%. The load factor was 71.5% compared with 72.3% the year before.