Impact of coronavirus on aviation industry.

[PHXPhlyer]

Woody:
I saw that when it came out but yesterday or day before, Doug Parker, CEO of American, said that layoffs would happen unless another stimulus package was passed by Congress and signed by Trump.
Apparently they are still negotiating but deal has to be done today to prevent layoffs. ~500 million difference between House and Admin offers.

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

Edit to previous post:
It is 500 billion difference not 500 million.
What's 5 thousand million amongst friends?

PP

[ian16th]

I read it as the complete package to the 'US-based airlines' is:

The loan is provided by the United States Department of the Treasury as part of a US $25 billion aid package for US-based airlines.

Still a bob or two above my pay grade.

[Woody]

For anybody who’s around on Thursday

https://ukaviation.news/british-airways ... -two-747s/

[Woody]

Looks like the ANC have screwed up again

https://www.capetownetc.com/news/emirat ... to-follow/

[ian16th]

It is their well practised SOP.

[barkingmad]

“There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about”.

This is a topic of which I was blissfully ignorant whilst occupying seats 0B and 0A, now I know a little more and it looks like the airlines will need some time to settle back into ‘normal’ practice, whatever that will be;



Is there anyone in this forum who has been involved in this art/science and who may comment from better experience than mine?

[Woody]

https://www.da.org.za/2020/10/ancs-sham ... aEV7Lo-KcE

[Woody]

Maybe getting closer

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/trave ... me-2020-10

[Woody]

For anyone on Flightradar24 tomorrow morning

https://ukaviation.news/british-airways ... ds-aiport/

[Woody]

Party time

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54505840

[G-CPTN]

Mr Cruz will stay on as non-executive chairman for a transition period.

[Mrs Ex-Ascot]

Well, this is progress; https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -test.html

[barkingmad]

Following his “Postcard From Rhodes“, Guy de la Bédoyère has written about his flight home, which sounds like an episode of Little Britain directed by Mike Leigh.

“As we headed back to the airport our phones started screeching alarms about the earthquake in the Aegean. We felt and heard nothing but it was a reminder there are more risks in life than just COVID-19.

On the Jet2 flight home I was fascinated by a family or families that involved at least three adult women and several children all seated together two rows in front of us. Their masks were fashion accessories. Not one of them seemed to be able to sit still for a minute. Up and down like yo-yos with at least two vast and obese prepubescent youngsters obsessed with wandering up and down the aisle while the rest of them, children and adults alike, climbed over each other and the seats ceaselessly, with the adults blatantly consuming large bottles of alcohol they had brought on board. By the time we reached London after four hours of this a couple of them were distinctly ‘tired and emotional’.

The hapless Jet2 staff, all aged about 21, were quite unable to bring themselves to do anything about these renegades, despite complaints from other passengers. One of the airline rules is that anyone aged over six is supposed to wear a mask, but that cut no ice.

Fuelled by booze, the women were becoming aggressive. Eventually a dark warning was given that the miscreants would be apprehended by the ‘authorities’ at Stansted. Needless to say this had all the impact of being threatened with the comfy cushion and a cup of tea. They took not the slightest notice. The masks remained only decorative embellishments to any part of their bodies apart from the relevant orifices. The cabin crew continued to do nothing and needless to say there wasn’t the slightest sign of the Covidstasi at Stansted either. Nothing could have exemplified better the futile impact of rules and regulations on people who won’t play ball and the utter meaninglessness of this Government’s authority when challenged.

This was my second arrival at Ghost Airport Stansted in just over a month. And like the last occasion (in September) I had my Government Passenger Locator Form and QR code at the ready. This time I didn’t even notice any signs about showing the form. In any case the form will be useless now. Jet2 had moved our seats in Rhodes meaning that as far as the world-beating UK Government team of PLR QR scrutinizers will be concerned we were sitting somewhere that in fact we weren’t (you have to give your seat number). I look forward to trying to convince them that the Biro alteration to our boarding passes made at Rhodes will prove we were in a different row and not next to the Covid storm in row 21 where we had been originally positioned. Or you know what? Maybe we won’t hear anything at all.

As for the Stansted passport staff, the two 12 year-olds on duty woke up momentarily to wave us casually towards the automatic booths before drifting back into catatonic states. And that was that. We picked up our bags from the laughably non-socially distanced carousel zone and headed out into the night, collected the car, and drove home to face the prospect of another futile lockdown as the lights go out all over Europe. Shall we see them once again in our lifetimes?”

[Mrs Ex-Ascot]

For a change MOL not coming out with a load of b*llocks;https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... icits.html

[Ibbie]

Heard him on R4 Today earlier this morning. He was talking sense then as well.

[PHXPhlyer]

Like a Roach Motel or The Hotel California

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/luft ... index.html

Six 747s flew into a Dutch airport -- but then couldn't leave
Francesca Street, CNN • Published 2nd November 2020

Lufthansa-Twente-airport
(CNN) — Six Lufthansa Boeing 747-400s landed at Twente Airport, a small Dutch air hub in the northeast of the country, back in the summer -- but then were stranded for months.
The aircraft were taken out of service due to the German airline's reduced flight schedule in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and arrived at Twente over the course of June and July.
As soon as the planes landed on the airport's tarmac, they were rumored to be heading for demolition.
Sure enough, five of the six aircraft were later sold to aircraft recycling firm GE Aviation Materials, based at Mojave Airport in California.
But there was a catch -- the Netherland's Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) forbade the planes from leaving Twente.
So commenced a complex negotiation process, with the stalemate eventually resolved last Thursday.

Prior to this resolution, the ILT told CNN Travel that the planes couldn't depart because Twente Airport didn't have the right safety certificate.
At Twente, larger jets -- like Boeing 747s -- are currently permitted to land for purposes of demolition, but can't take off.
Tiny Twente Airport is home to just one runway. Previously used for both civil and military aviation, the airport has been for commercial use only since 2007, also describing itself online as "the ideal location for business aviation."
There's also an on-site dismantling firm -- Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions (AELS), which has scrapped jets previously owned by airlines including KLM and Lufthansa.
"The airport's infrastructure is momentarily not suitable for the takeoff of larger and heavier aircrafts," an ILT spokesperson told CNN Travel last Wednesday. "Nor has the aerodrome operator requested for permission to deviate from the international safety rules. This can pose security risks."

Lufthansa told CNN Travel that when the airline landed the six Boeing 747s back in the summer, larger jets were permitted to take off for non-commercial and storage reasons.
The dispute was set to be resolved in court with a lawsuit between ILT and Technology Base, the airport hub, but a compromise was reached: The ILT granted "a one-off exception" allowing the airplanes to leave. The ILT said there were are some safety requirements that must be met -- namely that the 747s carry "little fuel" and that the "aircraft must be light."
"Both parties agree that the current state of affairs cannot be repeated," ILT said in a statement last Thursday. "Lufthansa aircraft can thus depart from Twente Airport. The first aircraft will leave shortly."
"We welcome this agreement," a Lufthansa spokesperson told CNN Travel on Thursday.
Many airlines were already planning to retire the Boeing 747, dubbed "the Queen of the Skies," from their fleets, before the coronavirus pandemic further accelerated this exit.
British Airways, for example, retired its final Boeing 747 airplane in October 2020, months ahead of schedule.
A popular airplane with pilots and passengers alike, the 747 is widely being replaced with newer and more efficient jets.

PP

[Woody]

Some rare good news at the moment, even if it’s over six years late

https://www.ifn.news/posts/berlin-brand ... onal-week/

[Undried Plum]

Airlines have been warned that on-board disinfection measures could corrode sensitive flight equipment and damage wiring, and may “compromise airworthiness” if applied incorrectly.

The caution, issued by the US Federal Aviation Authority, states that “the majority” of disinfectants which are effective against the Covid-19 virus “may not be suitable for use on an aircraft, except in very limited or localized application”.

Many airlines use 'fogging' techniques to disinfect cabins, spraying disinfectant at regular intervals between flights – but the FAA warns that liquid may enter electrical systems.

“Liquids can intrude into flight deck switches and seals. Excessive liquid intrusion can lead to electrical shorts in the near term and unexpected corrosion in the long term.”

It continues: “[Aircraft] operators should approach the disinfection process similarly to any maintenance or repair action for which improper execution may compromise airworthiness.”

[PHXPhlyer]

One less thing that I have to worry about since having "The Magic Birthday" slightly over a year ago.
Now that I think of it I haven't seen the inside of a flying machine or even an airport for over a year after 43 years of aviating.
My, how time flies, even though I don't anymore.

PP