United Airlines says it will receive $5 billion in payroll support from the CARES Act, designed to assist airlines in managing through the decline in demand as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. Chicago-based United says on 15 April that $3.5 billion will be in grants and an additional $1.5 billion will be in low-interest loans. The carrier adds that its parent company also expects to issue warrants to purchase approximately 4.6 million shares of common stock to the federal government. These funds will cover a portion of our pay and benefits costs through September 30, and we are thankful for the support provided to our employees and their families by the CARES Act,” the airline says in a statement. “This financial support is critical to our people, who are ensuring air service to communities throughout the country and supporting the shipment of much-needed medical supplies and travel of health care professionals around the globe.” Several other airlines including Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and American Airlines have announced in the past days that they will be receiving government aid from the $2 trillion package that was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump at the end of March. Altogether about $60 billion was set aside for the aviation industry after demand dried up following global pandemic’s rapid spread around the world. On 14 April, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, SkyWest Airlines and Southwest Airlines had told the government that they plan to participate in the payroll support programme.

Source: Cirium

Boeing confirms it delivered the last commercial 737NG in January when it handed two 737-800s to China Eastern Airlines, ending a production run of the type’s commercial variants that started in late 1997. In the roughly 22 years since, Boeing delivered some 6,900 737NGs to commercial carriers, its data shows. Several media outlets had previously reported that Boeing handed over the final 737NG, also a 737-800, to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in December 2019. But Boeing says that while the KLM aircraft was the last 737NG to come off its production line, the final delivery went to China Eastern on 5 January. That airline received two NGs on 5 January. Those aircraft, both now in storage, have registration numbers B-20A8 and B-20A1. Boeing started delivering 737NGs in 1997 when it handed the first of the class, a 737-700, to Southwest Airlines. Southwest would become the top 737NG customer, taking delivery of 689 of the jets, according to Cirium. Boeing would go on to deliver 69 737-600s, 1,150 737-700s, 4,989 737-800s, 52 737-900s, 505 737-900ERs and 149 737NG-based Boeing Business Jets, according to the airframer’s data. The 737NG was replaced by the 737 Max which has new, more efficient engines. However, those engines are heavier, requiring the Max to use the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) to adjust the trim to compensate for the weight. Problems with the MCAS have been connected to two fatal crashes of the Max which led to the grounding of the type last year. Boeing has also delivered several hundred military variants of the 737NG, one of which, the P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, remains in production.

Source: Cirium

China's Shandong Airlines expects to post a net loss of up to CNY700 million ($100 million) in the first quarter, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In the year-ago period, the airline reported a profit of just over CNY34 million. "Although the company has rigorously carried out various self-rescue measures after the outbreak, in the face of the industry-wide downturn, the company's investment capacity has significantly declined, and operating income decreased significantly," the airline says in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange. While the carrier does not go into details about specific rescue measures, one of them appears to be using passenger aircraft to transport cargo. According to the Chongqing Business Daily, there are currently plans to transform three aircraft to all-cargo jets – two at Qingdao and one in Jinan – for international and domestic freight operations. Last month, when Shandong Airlines reported its 2019 results, it was more reserved about the impact of the coronavirus, saying the outbreak affected its operations only "to a certain extent". The all-Boeing-narrowbody operator has put six additional 737-800s in storage since the end of last month. The airline now has 15 aircraft in storage – one 737-700, seven 737-800s and seven 737 Max 8s – compared with nine on 30 March.

Source: Cirium