I49 Air and Space Transport

Empty flights cast an air of doom

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Jul-21

The Board of Airline Representatives of Australia’s executive director Barry Abrams has warned that the nation’s coronavirus-induced lower caps on inbound passenger numbers means that some international flights to Australia will no longer be commercially viable. Two-thirds of flights into Sydney will be restricted to no more than 26 passengers, while no passengers will be permitted on the remainder. Likewise, most flights into Melbourne will be restricted to a maximum of 13 passengers. The impact of reduced passengers loads may be partially offset by strong demand for air freight.

CORPORATES
BOARD OF AIRLINE REPRESENTATIVES OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

International airlines may be forced to suspend flights to Australia after arrival cap halved

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Original article by Matilda Boseley, Royce Kurmelovs
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jul-21

National cabinet recently agreed to reduce the number of international arrivals from 6,070 to 3,035 a week, with the cuts to take effect as from 14 July. Board of Airline Representatives executive director Barry Abrams says the cuts will make it hard for international airlines to maintain their current frequency of flights to Australia, while he has rejected suggestions airlines are trying to take advantage of the cut in arrivals by price gouging.

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BOARD OF AIRLINE REPRESENTATIVES OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Virgin to give away business-class flights

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 24-Jun-21

Virgin Australia has announced it will give away free business class flights and Velocity frequent flyer points to encourage passengers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. It will also be encouraging its staff to get vaccinated, offering them flexible work arrangements to help them make appointments, along with extra annual leave, lounge memberships and business class flights. Sixty-five per cent of its flight crews and airport teams have been vaccinated against COVID-19, while 58 per cent of its corporate teams are already vaccinated or have made an appointment.

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VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED

Jobs lost as Qantas earnings nosedive

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 21-May-21

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said on 20 May that it had lost $16 billion of revenue since early 2020, and that it was likely to post a full-year loss of over $2 billion. The airline will be making more staff redundant, while imposing a two-year wage freeze on management and staff. Joyce called for Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination to be accelerated so that Australia’s international borders can be opened "sooner than later", but only when it is "safe to do so". Unions were not impressed with the airline’s wage freeze plan, while Transport Workers Union secretary Michael Kaine queried why the federal government still kept giving Qantas financial help when it continues to cut jobs.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION

Qantas plans US, UK flights for July, subject to borders, vaccines

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Original article by Karen Sweeney
The New Daily – Page: Online : 6-Jan-21

Qantas has begun selling tickets for overseas flights for as early as July, despite increased COVID-19 rates overseas. A Qantas spokesman noted that the resumption of international flights was dependent on vaccine rollouts and border reopenings, while Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has observed that it will be the government that decides when international travel can resume; he noted the government is working on travel arrangements with countries that have low infection rates.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Australian travel reboot off to a flying start

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 5 : 23-Nov-20

Melbourne Airport CEO Lyell Strambi says he is very excited about the reopening of the New South Wales border to Victoria, with flights between Melbourne and Sydney increasing from just four a day to 42. Strambi says Melbourne Airport will reach around 33 per cent of its normal activity level in December, having been down to less than one per cent at one point. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce says the reopening of the NSW-Victoria border is a "big milestone in Australia opening back up", while Virgin Australia pilot Robert Ricketts undertook his first flight since May on 22 November.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE AIRPORT, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED

Don’t vote down Bain out of spite: unionist

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 15 : 10-Aug-20

Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah said recently that it would retrench a third of its workforce to help it return to profit and to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association secretary Steve Purvinas says he is concerned to hear talk that some of those who will lose their job have indicated they plan to vote against the airline’s deal with Bain Capital. He contends a ‘no’ vote would amount to spite, while Purvinas says backing an alternative proposal to Bain’s that has been put forward by bondholders would not help employees.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIAN LICENSED AIRCRAFT ENGINEERS’ ASSOCIATION, BAIN CAPITAL LLC

Bain pumps crucial $125m into Virgin

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 14 : 14-Jul-20

Virgin Australia aims to have 35 per cent of its pre-COVID-19 capacity in the sky by the end of August, according to the minutes of a committee of inspection meeting. The minutes also reveal that Virgin’s prospective new owner, Bain Capital, injected $125 million into the airline on 1 July to insure its immediate survival. The committee of inspection comprises a group of around 30 Virgin creditors, and lead administrator Vaughan Strawbridge says the committee has endorsed the sale of the airline to Bain Capital.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, BAIN CAPITAL LLC

Bondholders move to stop sale of Virgin

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 22 : 7-Jul-20

Deloitte will oppose an application for the Takeovers Panel to halt the sale of Virgin Australia to private equity firm Bain Capital. Virgin’s bondholders want its creditors to be given an opportunity to vote on their proposal to recapitalise the failed airline; this includes a debt-for-equity swap and relisting Virgin on the sharemarket. A spokesman for Deloitte says the administrators believe that the application to the Takeovers Panel is without merit and the sale to Bain is the best outcome for all creditors.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, BAIN CAPITAL LLC

Shareholders likely to miss out altogether from Virgin sale

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 1-Jul-20

Virgin Australia’s joint administrator Richard Hughes has advised that the failed airline’s creditors are unlikely to be repaid in full. He has also warned that Virgin’s shareholders are highly unlikely to receive any payout from its US-based private equity firm Bain Capital. Sources close to several of Virgin’s five major foreign shareholders have indicated that this outcome had been expected. Bain Capital will formally take control of Virgin on 1 July.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, BAIN CAPITAL LLC