Ethiopian Airlines is making slow progress with talks regarding co-operation with South African Airways (SAA), according to the former’s chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam. The Addis Ababa-based carrier said in October last year that it was willing to provide “planes, pilots and maintenance services” to ailing SAA as part of a “joint venture” with the country’s government, but noted that it did not wish to take on legacy issues such as debts. Speaking during a CAPA Live session today, Gebremariam says that talks with South Africa’s government “have been a challenge so far”. “We are still discussing, but I would say it has not made the expected progress,” he states. Explaining Ethiopian’s strategic thinking regarding a potential SAA tie-up, Gebremariam notes that South Africa’s origin and destination-focused traffic means its is a very different proposition to the hub-based model at Addis Ababa. That dominance means South Africa is “very, very competitive… because every mega-carrier in the world is there”, Gebremariam observes. “To succeed in that market, one has to be inside South Africa,” he states. Ethiopian, which has a history of investments in other African carriers, therefore believes that “the only way we can look at opportunities, is if we cooperate with South African Airways”, says Gebremariam. SAA is being restructured as part of a rescue plan that also sets out ambitions to find a strategic equity partner for the carrier.

The UK is to launch mandatory hotel quarantines for UK and Irish residents returning from "red list" states where transmission rates of Covid-19 are high. "In short, this means that any returning residents from these countries will have to quarantine in an assigned hotel room for 10 days from the time of arrival," health secretary Matt Hancock has told parliament. UK or Irish residents travelling from the 32 travel red-list countries are currently required to self-isolate at home, with non-resident travellers being banned from entry altogether. Returning residents will be required to book through an online platform and pay for a quarantine package costing £1,750 ($2,410) per person, which includes the hotel, transport and testing. The booking system will be online from 11 February, when the government will publish further details. "Passengers will only be allowed to enter the UK through a small number of ports that currently account for the vast majority of passenger arrivals. When they arrive they will be escorted to a designated hotel which will be closed to guests that aren't quarantining for 10 days, or for longer if they test positive for Covid-19," says Hancock. The UK has contracted 16 hotels for an initial 4,600 rooms "and we will secure more as they are needed", he adds. All travellers entering the country will be required to take Covid-19 tests on days two and eight of their return to the country, regardless of whether they are isolating at home or in a hotel. Passengers arriving in the UK are already required to isolate on their return, as well as to have a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 72h before travelling. Travellers that do not comply with the new rules face fines of £10,000 and possible jail sentences. The use of hotels to enforce quarantine on returning travellers has worked successfully in territories such as Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

Boeing’s backlog of commercial aircraft declined by 39 aircraft in January, though the company did receive new orders during the month for four 747-8 Freighters. In January, the Chicago-based company delivered 26 aircraft, 13 fewer than one month earlier. The 26 delivered jets included 21 737 Max, which went to carriers including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Copa, Gol, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, Boeing says. In January Boeing also delivered one 737NG-based military surveillance jet and four widebody aircraft: one 767F to FedEx, two 777-300ERs to Novus Aviation Capital and one 777F to China Airlines. The airframer did not deliver any 787s during January, and has not handed over any of those jets since October 2020. Boeing has halted 787 deliveries as it completes what it describes as comprehensive inspections related to fuselage-join areas. During January, Boeing took new orders for four 747-8Fs from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, a deal Boeing says reflects the strength of the cargo and e-commerce markets. Boeing logged cancellations of six aircraft orders in January. Those included one 737 Max Boeing Business Jet for an unnamed customer, one 737 Max for Czech carrier Smartwings, three 747-8Fs for Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr and one 787-8 for Royal Jordanian. Additionally, Boeing’s backlog decreased by 11 aircraft in January because the company shifted more jets into an “ASC 606” accounting bucket. Boeing still holds contracts to sell aircraft in that bucket but has less confidence the sales will close. At the end of January, Boeing had 4,016 jetliners in its backlog, down from 4,055 at the end of 2020. The backlog includes 3,243 737s, 12 747s, 74 767s, 229 777s and 458 787s, company data shows.