South African carrier Comair has become the latest operator in the country to enter business rescue, as it aims to restructure to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Comair made a pre-tax loss of R645 million ($35 million) for the six months to 31 December. “While we had started making good progress to fix the financial situation six months ago, the crisis has meant we have not been able to implement it as we intended,” says chief executive Wrenelle Stander. Comair is a British Airways franchise partner and also operates the budget brand Kulula. The airline has been badly affected by the South African government’s lockdown in response to the outbreak. It has been unable to operate passenger flights since 26 March. “We completely understand and support the government’s reasons for implementing the lockdown, however as a result we have not been able to operate any flights,” Stander says. “Now that the phased lockdown has been extended the grounding is likely to endure until October or even November. These extraordinary circumstances have completely eroded our revenue base while we are still obliged to meet fixed overhead costs.” Stander says applying for business rescue is the “only responsible decision”, adding that Comair “remains solvent”. Joint business rescue practitioners Shaun Collyer and Richard Ferguson have been appointed as of 5 May, and Comair is suspending trading on the Johannesburg stock exchange with immediate effect. “Through this process we intend to right-size our operations to be more efficient, agile and customer-centric,” says Stander, adding that it means rejigging the airline’s network, fleet and reviewing other aspects of its operation. South African Airways and regional carrier SA Express have previously entered business rescue.

Source: Cirium

Air France-KLM is mandating the wearing of face masks for all passengers and crew from 11 May, as the carrier looks to restore some of its pre-Covid 19 services. KLM has begun operating daily flights to Barcelona, Budapest, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan, Prague, Rome and Warsaw, as the Dutch carrier targets restoring 15% of its previous capacity in May. "Routes will gradually be reopened, but may change weekly, depending on measures being taken by the authorities at the destinations," it says. Face masks will be mandatory on KLM's flights until 31 August. Air France is also updating its hygiene policies. As well as requiring passengers and crew to wear face masks, the carrier will implement physical distancing where possible, something made possible by its current low load factors. Cleaning processes will be enhanced and in-flight services adapted to reduce infection. The airline also highlights that cabin air is circulated every 3min and filtered to the same level as hospital operating theatres. "These filters extract more than 99.99% of the smallest viruses, including those no larger than 0.01 micrometres, thus ensuring that cabin air complies with quality standards." Coronavirus-type viruses range in size from 0.08 to 0.16 micrometres. Air France currently operates a limited service to 31 destinations.

Source: Cirium

Air Canada today announced the launch of Air Canada CleanCare+, a comprehensive program for personal safety and enhanced aircraft grooming to provide customers greater peace of mind during all stages of travel. The new program is designed to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 through such measures as mandatory pre-flight customer temperature checks in addition to required health questionnaires, seat assignment policies to allow for more personal space in Economy Class on all flights until June 30, 2020, and by providing all customers with care kits for hand cleaning and hygiene. To supplement these individual measures, Air Canada CleanCare+ will also strengthen the airline’s industry-leading cabin grooming standards with the introduction of electrostatic spraying of cabin interiors. Air Canada will additionally expand its existing aircraft grooming procedures, which already incorporate the use of hospital grade disinfectant and specialized techniques to maintain cabin cleanliness across its fleet. “While we are eager to see the reopening of economies and the restart of commercial aviation, the safety of our customers and employees is Air Canada’s core value and we aim to establish the highest standards of hygiene, cleanliness and attention to public health guidelines. We have been a leader in progressively introducing new measures in response to COVID-19, such as introducing Personal Protective Equipment for our employees and being the first North American carrier to require face coverings for customers. We are now the first airline in the Americas to administer pre-flight temperature checks system-wide. With Air Canada CleanCare+, we are introducing a comprehensive new program to give each customer added assurance for their well-being throughout all stages of their journey – and we intend to continue enhancing Air Canada CleanCare+ where we can with best practices from around the world, including increased use of screening tools, such as blood oxygen level testing, as they become available,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada. “Air Canada CleanCare+ will not only provide protections at the personal level, by better monitoring our customers’ fitness to fly and providing for more personal space in Economy Class, but it also sets new standards for cabin cleanliness and ensures our employees have the best tools to maintain it. Coupled with other new safety practices we implemented earlier in response to COVID-19, Air Canada CleanCare+ will provide travellers with the confidence that they can book and fly safely with Air Canada as they consider their travel plans in the current environment.”

Source: World Airline News