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October 27th 2020

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October 27th 2020

Deutsche Bahn discontinues the last long-distance bus routes

Jan Gruber 27 October 2020 17:13

It is definitely not surprising: Deutsche Bahn AG will finally withdraw from the long-distance bus business at the end of 2020. The so-called IC buses will be discontinued. This means that the second brand will also be discontinued. Deutsche Bahn AG discontinued the long-distance bus service of its then subsidiary Berlin Linien Bus in 2016. The background to this was strong competition, including from Flixbus. This provider was able to "earn" a quasi-monopoly within Germany, as many competitors were bought up or left the market themselves. In addition to a few international routes operated by Regiojet or other providers, for example, Flixbus is now a quasi-monopolist in domestic German transport. The few remaining routes that are not served by the green buses are very few. Most recently, competitor Blablabus threw in the towel again and stopped operations for the second time on October 26, 2020 due to the corona pandemic. The restart is announced for spring 2021.

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ACI Europe: Almost 200 airports at risk of bankruptcy

Granite Pireci 27 October 2020 15:29

The international airport council ACI Europe warns that the "total collapse of essential parts of the aviation system" is imminent. Almost 200 European airports could face insolvency in the next few months. Regional airports have been hit particularly hard, as they are often skipped when aid is distributed. Last month alone, passenger traffic was 75 percent below the previous year's figure - a clear downward trend. But there is little improvement in sight. Quite the opposite: the strict entry restrictions in many countries have significantly worsened the traffic outlook, making free travel de facto impossible. And travelers, who tend to avoid flying, are also feeling this. That is why governments are now called upon. In addition to providing additional financial resources, ACI Europe is calling for uniform travel rules. Otherwise, the last hour could come for many airports.

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Qantas uses the first converted A321 freighter

Granite Pireci 27 October 2020 14:58

The Corona crisis paralyzed the aviation industry and many airlines had to look for a way out. While some had to fill out bankruptcy applications, other companies found a more creative solution: They converted passenger planes into freighters. Qantas Airways was one of them. The Australian airline has had an Airbus A321 converted. The plane is now starting a second career as a cargo plane. The plane was converted by the aircraft recycling company EFW in cooperation with ST Engineering. It would be the first example of this type to be converted into a freighter, according to reports. And the A321P2F (Passenger to Freighter) will not be the last aircraft of this type. Vallair, a leasing company that arranged the deal with Qantas, has already signed agreements with Smartlynx and GlobalX. In general, this is a lucrative market for the future, which is why the company is pushing to offer up to 1.500 converted freighters, the company said.

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DER: Customers can buy Corona self-tests when booking

Granite Pireci 27 October 2020 14:32

DER is pulling out all the stops to make traveling more attractive during the Corona period: The German tour operator will now be offering a Covid-19 self-test in addition to booking. This is to comply with national entry regulations, as reisevor9.de reports. Due to the increasing number of infections, more and more countries are requiring a negative Corona test. After taking the test swab yourself, the sample is sent to the laboratory and the result is sent online within 48 hours at the latest. The standard version of the gargle test costs 129 euros. If you are in a hurry, you can take the express version for an extra 24 euros. The result will then be available within one day. The pilot project will begin on November 2nd, initially in three selected branches, and a nationwide expansion of the service is planned.

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Tuifly returned last Boeing 737-700

Amely Mizzi 27 October 2020 12:44

Since March 22, 2020, the D-AHXG has been literally on its last legs at Düsseldorf Airport. The Boeing 737-700 has now been returned to the leasing company Castlelake. This marks the end of an era at Tuifly. With the return of the last unit of this type, the German holiday airline now has a uniform Boeing 737-800 fleet. According to CH-Aviation.com, the average age is 11,3 years. The D-AHXG was 12,5 years old at the time of decommissioning. However, the homogeneous fleet will only be temporary, as Tuifly expects the delivery of numerous Boeing 737 Maxes. A specific date for this has not yet been set.

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Turkish sends non-Turkish pilots on unpaid leave

Jan Gruber 27 October 2020 12:07

Turkish Airlines is currently causing a stir because the carrier is sending pilots who do not have Turkish citizenship on forced, unpaid leave for six months. According to a report by the Aero.de portal, the "majority of foreign pilots" are affected. One of the pilots affected is quoted as saying that seniority lists were not taken into account and that the measure, which is based on a clause in Turkish labor law, only affects pilots who do not have Turkish citizenship. Turkish Airlines did not want to comment on the circular on which Aero.de's report is based.

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Ryanair: Polish Buzz opens base in Vienna

Jan Gruber 27 October 2020 11:43

Last year, Lauda management threatened to station Boeing 737-800s from the Polish Ryanair subsidiary Buzz at Vienna Airport. This has now been put into action, but this time at the expense of Ryanair's Vienna base. On October 23, 2020, a Boeing 737-800 from the Polish Buzz was transferred to Vienna. Since October 25, 2020, it has been in regular use from Vienna. On the national holiday, SP-RKP operated flights to Vilnius, Dortmund and Thessaloniki on behalf of Ryanair. The "Buzz first flight" took place the day before on the Cologne route. Buzz aircraft had already been present in Vienna before, but only on the Warsaw (Modlin)-Vienna-Warsaw (Modlin) flights. It is noteworthy that this route has now been "turned around" and is operated from Austria with Airbus A320s from the Maltese sister company Lauda Europe, while Buzz serves various routes with a Boeing 737-800 stationed in Vienna. If it weren't for the fact that Ryanair had threatened its own 737 workforce, which it employs for three aircraft in Vienna, with unpaid leave and subsequent part-time employment, the stationing would have been more of a surprise. It can be assumed that the Viennese Ryanair crews are now being put under pressure by the presumably cheaper Polish colleagues. Buzz only uses Polish staff in Vienna. On board, the crew speaks Polish to each other, as a local inspection by Aviation Direct on a flight on the national holiday showed. The crews are employed by the temporary employment agency Warsaw Aviation based in Warsaw. The Ryanair crews, on the other hand, are employed by Crewlink and Workforce and, to a very small extent, directly by the airline. Buzz's headquarters are in

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Mitsubishi Spacejet is said to be on the brink of collapse

Jan Gruber 27 October 2020 10:21

According to local media reports, the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is about to put the Spacejet program on hold. The company itself does not want to comment on this and refers to "various options" that are currently being examined. The two major news agencies Kyodo and Nikkei Asia write that the Spacejet development is about to be stopped. Decisions are expected from October 30, 2020, because that is when Mitsubishi Heavy Industries wants to communicate the long-term strategic direction of the entire group of companies. The trigger for the possible end of the once extremely ambitious program is likely to be the corona pandemic. Demand has plummeted and several customers are said to be negotiating cancellations. There is no specific date for the first delivery to All Nippon Airways. This should actually have taken place in 2013, but now it is still "2021 or later". Another indication that dark clouds are hanging over the Mitsubishi Spacejet is the fact that the test program has almost completely come to a standstill since March 2020. According to CH-Aviation.com, four of the five M90 ​​prototypes ever built are in Moses Lake and have not been moved since March 2020. The fifth unit has been in storage at Nagoya Komaki since May 12, 2020.

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Wizzair accepts cash on board again

Jan Gruber 27 October 2020 09:45

In the wake of the Corona pandemic, some airlines introduced exclusively cashless payment on board. This was the case with Wizzair and Ryanair, among others. Now the Hungarian low-cost airline is again accepting cash on board. However, anyone who pays with Mastercard or Visa will now receive a ten percent discount. Competitor Ryanair, on the other hand, still does not want to see cash and can only pay with credit and debit cards (except Maestro and Vpay). The "cards-only" policy leads to problems on many flights; normal debit cards (Maestro or Vpay) cannot be used to pay on board. The spread of offline-capable credit and debit cards from the Mastercard and Visa schemes is quite limited, especially in Eastern Europe. In addition, certain issuers, such as fintechs, are blocked from acceptance by the airlines. Apparently, Wizzair has lost a lot of revenue due to the non-acceptance of cash, so they are now back to cash. By the way, sales on board are made in the name and on behalf of Gategroup, with the airline naturally earning a share of the profits. Eurowings never stopped accepting cash. Passengers were always told that card payments were preferred due to the pandemic, but cash was and is always accepted as long as it is in euros. Easyjet preferred cashless payment on board long before the corona pandemic and has been pointing this out for several years via on-board announcements. Whether or not cash plays a significant role in the spread of the coronavirus is extremely controversial. There are studies that say that the risk of infection is extremely low.

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Bratislava: Go2Sky announces restart

Amely Mizzi 27 October 2020 09:39

The Slovakian airline Go2Sky announced a few weeks ago that it would be suspending flight operations due to the corona pandemic. The company has now confirmed to CH-Aviation.com that it will restart with three aircraft in spring 2021. "Our mission is to offer flexible capacities in spring 2021 that meet the needs of the aviation industry affected by the corona crisis," says Managing Director Daniel Ferjancek. The restart will take place with the following aircraft: OM-GTF, OM-GTH and OM-GTG. CH-Aviation.com also writes that these will be leased from two different lessors. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft are currently parked at Piestany Airport in Slovakia.

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