Cathay Pacific has again decided to defer its dividend payment on preference shares issued in 2020, due on 14 February. "The terms of the preference shares, which are set out in the articles of association of the company, provide that any dividends on the preference shares which are deferred shall accumulate and constitute arrears (and that such arrears shall be entitled to dividends at the prevailing dividend rate)," the airline states in a 9 February disclosure to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific says that for as long as such arrears are outstanding, it will not distribute any dividend on its ordinary shares, nor buyback any of its ordinary shares. Previously, the airline has twice deferred its first dividend payment on preference shares, which was originally due on 16 February 2021. The preference shares are part of a HK$39 billion ($5 billion) recapitalisation plan first revealed on 9 June 2020 and completed on 12 August 2020. Cathay issued 195 million new preference shares of HK$100 each to Aviation 2020, a limited liability company of which the Hong Kong government has ultimate ownership. The per annum dividend rate on the shares is 3% for the first three years, 5% for the fourth year, 7% for the fifth year, and 9% thereafter. These are not redeemable at the option of Aviation 2020, while Cathay may at any time redeem all or some of the preference shares, at the HK$100 issue price plus any outstanding obligation arising from the dividend policy.

UK leisure carrier Jet2 is restarting flights to a range of destinations in Europe between 10 February and 14 April. The airline says it will resume services from Birmingham to Budapest, Rome, Krakow, Prague, Venice and Amsterdam; from Glasgow to Rome, Krakow and Prague; from Manchester to Barcelona, Budapest, Rome, Krakow, Nice, Prague and Pisa; and from Leeds Bradford to Barcelona, Budapest, Paris, Rome, Krakow, Prague and Amsterdam. The carrier will also resume flights from Newcastle to Rome, Krakow and Prague, it adds. In April, Jet2 will launch new twice-weekly flights from Birmingham to Athens and Barcelona. A new route to Athens will also be launched from Manchester during the month, operating at twice-weekly frequency.

Korean Air on 8 February received unconditional approval from the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) for its merger with Asiana Airlines. Singapore's competition authority concluded from its assessment that the business combination will not infringe Singapore’s Competition Act, Korean Air says in a release today. The CCCS had conducted a public consultation in July 2021 to seek feedback from more than 150 stakeholders, including aviation regulatory bodies, competitors and customers, on Korean Air’s business combination report, the flag carrier notes. It found that the merger is unlikely to raise ticket prices due to the high degree of competition from competitor airlines in the passenger business. Within the cargo business, the merger would not reduce competition due to the significant pressure from existing and potential competitors and providers of indirect cargo flights, as well as excess capacity. The airline has also received clearance from the competition authorities of Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia since it submitted its business combination reports in January 2021, it says. The competition authorities of the Philippines and Thailand also announced that the submission of a business combination report was not necessary. Korean Air says it will continue to proactively communicate and cooperate with the remaining regulatory bodies where the report is required, in order to finalise the acquisition process as early as possible. It is currently awaiting business combination approvals from regulatory bodies in the USA, the European Union, China, Japan, the UK and Australia.