March 24, 2021

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March 24, 2021

Mallorca: Easyjet will not carry out any tests

The Austrian airline Easyjet Europe is resisting mandatory corona tests that are to be carried out before departure from Palma to a destination in Germany. The company points out that this is not the responsibility of the airlines, but of the passengers. Competitors Eurowings, Lufthansa, Tuifly and Condor were able to avert compulsory quarantine around Easter by offering to organize mandatory corona tests before departure from Palma. Easyjet does not think much of this and does not want to be involved in its implementation, writes the Berliner Tagesspiegel, citing a statement from the low-cost airline. Country manager Stephan Erler criticizes the fact that Germany has "still not implemented a nationwide testing and entry strategy". Easyjet now expects a binding regulation that is the same for all airlines, "both coming from high-risk areas and non-risk areas". Erler also reiterates the demand for uniform travel rules across Europe that airlines and passengers can follow.

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SmartLynx starts charter flights from Germany

The Latvian charter airline SmarLynx will offer connections to the Canary Islands of Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife from Hamburg, Hanover, Düsseldorf and Munich in autumn 2021, the company confirmed. The flights will not be operated on its own account, but on behalf of Involatus. The company in question specializes in chartering aircraft and selling the capacity to tour operators on its own account. Occasionally, Involatus also offers remaining seats for individual sale. For the time being, the plan is to fly in October and November 2021: "The ongoing travel restrictions and the hesitant progress of vaccinations show that demand for air travel will probably be concentrated in autumn. We are seeing disproportionately high bookings, especially in October," Involatus boss Erkan Türkoral told FVW. At Smartlynx, former Small Planet Germany managing director Oliver Pawel acts as country manager for Germany. Before that, he worked for Germania, among others. The summer of 2018 was actually extremely strong, but it also went down in history with innumerable delays. The extent of the delays was so drastic for the Small Planet Group that the company collapsed under the demands for compensation from passengers and tour operators and all of the group's airlines were dissolved.

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Interjet announces bankruptcy filing

According to majority owner and company boss Alejandro del Valle, the Mexican low-cost airline Interjet will file for bankruptcy next week. The manager told the newspaper El Financiero that this step is necessary to enable the entry of an unnamed investment fund. According to del Valle, this fund should bring up to one billion US dollars into Interjet. He also said that the Lufthansa Group's consultants, Lufthansa Consulting, had offered to pay around 68 million US dollars as a first tranche. This statement would mean that Lufthansa could be about to enter the Mexican market. The Kranich Group did not want to comment on Alejandro del Valle's comments. In addition to the planned bankruptcy proceedings in Mexico, Interjet also wants to file for Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States. The company boss is convinced that the low-cost airline will be positioned with around 350 to 500 million US dollars after the proceedings. But Del Valle also said clearly: "If the deal with the investor falls through, Interjet will unfortunately go under the hammer." The airline has been in financial distress for some time. Some of the staff have been waiting for their wages since September 2020. Flight operations were officially suspended on December 11, 2020. A large part of the workforce has been on strike since January 8, 2021 due to unpaid wages.

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Easyjet: Lundgren expects a slow recovery

Shortly after the approval of the first Covid vaccine, there was euphoria in the airline and tourism industry that the summer of 2021 would be a strong business and that a rapid recovery would occur. Now people are no longer so optimistic, including Easyjet boss Johan Lundgren. The manager said during the "Straight Talk" organized by Eurocontrol that he expects tough competition, as all airlines will try to transport as many customers as possible. Due to the slow progress of vaccinations in the European Union, demand could remain subdued for a while longer. Lundgren explained that he expected there to be "potholes" on the road to recovery. The Easyjet boss was of the opinion that the recovery in demand is directly related to the progress of vaccinations. He hopes that uniform rules for air travel will be introduced within the EU. In this context, the low-cost airline is placing great hopes on the Green Pass. According to Lundgren, it will take longer than initially thought for the industry to recover. He believes Easyjet is well positioned because it has been able to reduce costs. The airline boss criticized the high level of state aid that has gone to competitors, but did not name any competitors.

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American Airlines cashes 18 Boeing 737-Maxs

As part of a sale and leaseback deal, American Airlines is cashing in on 18 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. A corresponding contract was signed with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise towards the end of last year, but was only made public on Monday. "This transaction reflects our agility, our balance sheet strength, our underwriting ability, our ability to support one of our long-term customers, and our confidence in the product strength of the 737 Max 8 aircraft," said DAE CEO Firoz Tarapore. American Airlines has ordered around 100 aircraft of this type. The Boeing 737 Max was banned from flying for almost two years after two fatal crashes. Numerous countries have now granted it re-certification under certain conditions. American Airlines has been using the model commercially again for several weeks. In Europe, Tui Airlines Belgium was the first European operator to bring the Max back into commercial scheduled service.

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Summer: Up to 34 destinations from Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden

The airlines operating at Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport plan to offer around 34 destinations in the summer flight schedule period starting on Sunday. According to the airport, how many there will actually be is still open due to the dynamic pandemic situation. According to the current status, Ryanair, for example, is again serving the Moroccan Fez as a new destination in addition to popular city destinations such as Barcelona, ​​Rome and London. Wizz Air has also added Cluj-Napoca and Pristina to its flight offering from FKB. Eurowings is adding daily flights to Mallorca and Corendon Airlines will serve Antalya, Heraklion and Rhodes. Freebird Airlines will also fly to Antalya. From April 1, 2021, a corona test station will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 19 p.m. and during flight times. Both rapid corona antigen tests and PCR tests for self-payers are carried out there. All further information on registration, appointment scheduling, costs and evaluation times can be found on the homepage www.ambulance-europa.de.

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Sweden introduces pollutant-related fees

The Swedish government is currently considering a fundamental change to landing fees. So far, these have been based primarily on weight. In the future, pollutant emissions will be the deciding factor. If the proposal is implemented, Sweden would discount the use of young aircraft, which tend to emit less carbon dioxide, while older aircraft would be charged more. If alternative drives or biofuels are used, an additional discount could be in store. Airlines that continuously invest in the renewal of their fleets would primarily benefit. The Swedish Ministry of Transport assumes that a kind of bonus/malus system will provide a financial incentive for airlines. Some low-cost airlines have particularly young fleets, which is why they could benefit from discounts. The greening of take-off and landing fees has already been approved in parliament. A test run is to take place at Stockholm-Arlanda and Gothenburg-Landvetter airports from July 2021. According to the Ministry of Transport, it is the first EU member to make fees dependent on pollutant emissions and no longer on weight and/or noise.

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Ukraine requires PCR testing from all immigrants

Effective March 24, 2021, all travelers entering Ukraine must present a negative PCR test that is no older than 72 hours. Previously, this only applied to countries that were listed in red. Furthermore, everyone must present Covid-19 insurance from an insurance company with headquarters or a branch in Ukraine. Exceptions are people with Ukrainian citizenship or a residence permit. They have the option of going into quarantine as an alternative. The government of the Eastern European country expressly points out in a press release that foreigners (except those with a residence permit) cannot go into quarantine. If the negative PCR test and/or the insurance policy are missing, they may be turned away at the border crossing. More information on the new entry regulations at Visit Ukraine can be found at this link.

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