Low-cost airline Mango may suspend operations temporarily next month. In an internal mail leaked to The Citizen, the airline’s management has advised its staff similarly. Mango’s last flights until reignition will occur on 30 April. The airline has been waiting for some time for an injection of funding that, according to spokesperson Benediction Zabane, has not materialised yet. In the South African Airways (SAA) business rescue plan, mention is made of a R 1 billion capital requirement by the national carrier’s subsidiary. SAA was not available for comment but Richard Mantu of the Department of Public Enterprises said that “the department is in discussions with the board of Mango and interim board at SAA about the repositioning of the subsidiaries in light of the delayed funding”. A recent International Air Transport Association (IATA) report noted that airlines worldwide continue to bleed cash and that the hoped recovery has been slower than expected.

JetBlue is experiencing a sharp snap-back in demand driven by pent-up desire for leisure travel, as the US low-cost carrier predicts a "pretty busy summer" on domestic routes. Speaking at the Aviation Festival online event on 22 April, JetBlue president and chief operating officer Joanna Geraghty said: "We are seeing demand return. As we look into the summer... we expect largely pre-pandemic levels for domestic leisure [traffic]". For business travel, Geraghty believes that "pretty severe restrictions remain" for corporate customers, which will hold back recovery in the segment until as late as 2022. Given that JetBlue's main focus is on leisure travel, which makes up around 80% of its customers, "our business model has played nicely into where we see points of recovery", she continues. Geraghty remained tight lipped on when JetBlue plans to launch its flights from New York and Boston to London, and to which airports. "In the coming weeks you will hear more," she says. But she outlines some of the product that the carrier plans to launch on its transatlantic routes, which feature 24 "Mint" business seats in the forward part of the cabin, including front-row "studio" seats with additional amenities. All premium seats will have aisle access, while JetBlue's core product will comprise 114 seats in the main cabin. She describes pre-pandemic fares between London and the US as "very high", and asserts: "We are going to disrupt it."

IATA has deepened its forecast for airline net losses in 2021 to $47.7 billion due to the slower-than-hoped-for recovery in air travel from the pandemic. The airline association had in late November projected industry losses of $38 billion for this year. That outlook was based on a pick-up in air travel during the second quarter. But the slower-than-expected pace of recovery in air travel has prompted IATA to lower its traffic projections for this year, as measured in RPKs, from reaching 51% of 2019 levels to only 43%. That in turn means IATA, in a fresh outlook issued today, now expects industry losses of $47.7 billion this year. It has also deepened its estimate of the losses airlines made in 2020 from $118 billion to $126.4 billion. IATA has pushed back its projections of when the industry will reach a cash-positive position from the fourth quarter of 2021 into next year. "We think we are going to have to wait until 2022 for the industry to return to profitability," says chief economist Brian Pearce. "Next year and the year after actually looks much better," he adds, citing the strength of the wider economy and outlook for travel in some key domestic markets showing pent-up demand exists once travel restrictions are lifted. "It's entirely the travel restrictions that is driving this reduced travel. The broader economy is looking more supportive," says Pearce.