London's Heathrow airport reiterates calls for the UK government to introduce a Covid-19 testing program as an alternative to quarantine for arriving passengers, while reporting a £471 million ($611 million) pre-tax loss for the first six months of the year. "Today's results should serve as a clarion call for the government – the UK needs a passenger testing regime, and fast. Without it, Britain is just playing a game of quarantine roulette," says Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye. He argues that testing passengers for corona virus when they arrive in the UK "offers a way to safely open up travel and trade". The suggestion comes after the government abruptly removed Spain from its travel corridor list and reintroduced quarantine measures for arrivals from the country. The UK's current strategy of waiving quarantine restrictions for arrivals from certain countries with similar or lower Covid-19 infection rates "only covers about 30% of Heathrow's markets", says the airport's operator. Heathrow's revenues fell 85% to £119 million in the second quarter of 2020 as passenger numbers plummeted 96%. The airport's operator says it expects "a gradual recovery as countries reopen borders" but passenger volumes for the full year will be 60% lower than in 2019. Heathrow has enough cash reserves to last until "at least June 2021 with no revenue".

Source: Cirium

Southwest Airlines has issued a $1 billion bond, the proceeds of which will be used to fund the airline at a time when revenue is down significantly due to the corona virus downturn. The $300 million five-year notes carry a coupon of 5.25% while the $700 million seven-year notes pay 5.125%, a 29 July regulatory filing shows. Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are joint bookrunners. The Dallas-based carrier reported on 23 July a $915 million loss for the second quarter, noting that it is preparing for long-term volatility until a coronavirus vaccine or therapeutics are widely available. In early June, the carrier issued a $1.8 billion unsecured bond to refinance its March 364-day term loan and enhance liquidity for the business. $500 million three-year notes were issued at 4.75% and $1.3 billion seven-year notes at 5.125%. Southwest remains the only investment-grade airline in the USA..

Source: Cirium

The disinfection of aircraft has added at least 20min to turnaround times for Air Baltic's Airbus A220-300 fleet, according to the carrier's chief executive. Speaking during an FIA Connect session on 20 July, Martin Gauss explained that Air Baltic is "technically" flying 11 aircraft today, "but we use 16 for it". "One of the reasons is that we have a minimum turnaround time now of 60 minutes because of the disinfection," he says. The Latvian airline – which operates a hybrid model featuring ultra-low-cost economy seating and a small business-class area at the front of the cabin – confirms that its pre-coronavirus average turnaround time was 40min. As a result, "utilisation is nowhere [near] where it should be", says Gauss. "That is one of the prices you have to pay for that kind of an operation." Announcing new onboard health measures in mid-May as it moved to restart operations, Air Baltic said that "the aircraft cabin disinfection will be done with increased regularity", while passengers would be "provided with a complimentary basic care kit consisting of a protective face mask and disinfection wipes". Crew members are required to wear a protective face mask and gloves. During the same FIA Connect session, Gauss said that Air Baltic is bringing one of its Airbus A220s back into service every week as it ramps up operations. He also expressed optimism that his airline and the wider industry would recover, but said a cautious approach was required as services are reintroduced.

Source: Cirium