Oneworld alliance carriers British Airways and American Airlines have offered slots at London Heathrow or Gatwick to address competition concerns on transatlantic services arising from their joint business arrangement. The measures have been put forward ahead of the expiry, after 10 years, of a binding commitment made in 2010 when the airlines – along with Oneworld partner Iberia – commenced their commercial co-operation on US-European services.
This partnership has expanded to five airlines, with the addition of Finnair and Aer Lingus, says the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority which opened a probe into the pact in October 2018. This probe reflected the UK’s planned departure from the European Union – meaning that the European Commission would no longer oversee competition issues – as well as the fact that most of the six routes on which the original commitments centered, had UK points of origin. It has identified “potential” competition concerns on routes between London and the US cities of Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Miami and Philadelphia. But the authority says British Airways and American Airlines have responded by proposing measures including release of slots at Heathrow or Gatwick to serve Boston, Dallas and Miami. The proposals also include efforts to support competing operations on these routes – as well as those to Chicago and Philadelphia – by offering preferential access to connecting traffic. These measures are being market tested, says the authority, adding that it is inviting comments on the proposals until 4 June. “We are acting now as the current commitments expire this year,” says the authority’s senior director for antitrust, Ann Pope. But given the disruption to the air transport sector resulting from the corona virus crisis, she says, the commitments allow for a possible review if competitive conditions change during and after the recovery period.

Source: Cirium

South Africa’s government is urgently trying to extend the period of operations for South African Airways after the carrier’s business-rescue practitioners warned that 8 May would amount to a “drop dead” day when all flights would cease. The country’s public enterprises minister, Pravin Gordhan, outlined to a parliamentary committee on 6 May that a new airline was in the planning stage – although he gave few details – but indicated friction between the government and unions on one side and the practitioners on the other. “We need to find some quick answers,” said Gordhan, referring particularly to a need to extend SAA’s operations. He told the committee that meetings over finances were due to take place in an effort to “give continuity” beyond 8 May. “We also want to indicate there should be no fire-sale of important assets of SAA or a move towards liquidation,” he added. If the practitioners pursue a wind-down process, said Gordhan, it would not achieve the original objective set by the government for a business rescue. This is a “matter of contention” between the government and the practitioners, he told the committee, adding that the government is also concerned about other issues with the rescue process, including access to consultants’ information and the size of fees. The Labour Court of South Africa in Johannesburg is due to hear a case brought by two unions – NUMSA and SACCA – that are attempting to have personnel retrenchment notices declared unlawful, and to suspend consultative processes until a business-rescue plan has been presented. SAA’s business-rescue practitioners state that they are intending to oppose the application. The case is set to be heard on 7 May. Gordhan told the committee that the department of public enterprises wants to engage constructively with the practitioners to see whether an “alternative transition” is possible, to discuss a “more consensual” approach to the retrenchment process, and explore the shape of a new airline “SAA has the potential to be restructured into something new, which is what the government wants,” he said, adding that a successor carrier would be viable and competitive, Free of the treasury, and open to appropriate strategic equity partners – while saving as many jobs as possible. “We’re receiving all sorts of offers [from possible partners],” he stated. “But some are suspect, some are vacuous, and some may be of substance.” Gordhan added: “I can’t tell you whether I’m optimistic or not. But I can certainly say every effort will be put in to make sure we move in the right kind of direction.”

Source: Cirium

Qatar Airways has unveiled plans to gradually increase its network with a view to serving 80 destinations by the end of June. The Oneworld carrier says it will initially focus on connecting its Doha base with the global hubs of partner airlines, including London Heathrow, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas Fort Worth and Hong Kong. Business and leisure destinations such as Madrid and Mumbai will also be reopened. Qatar Airways says it has maintained flights to "at least 30 destinations" throughout the coronavirus crisis. It aims to increase this to 50 destinations by the end of May – with the resumption of services to cities such as Amman, Manila and Nairobi – and to 80 by the end of June, subject to regulatory approvals. This would represent about half of the airline's pre-pandemic network. Qatar Airways normally operates to 165 destinations with a fleet of 246 aircraft. The Middle Eastern airline plans to operate flights to 23 European cities, four destinations in the Americas, 20 in the Middle East and Africa, and 33 in the Asia-Pacific region by late June. It says many of the routes will be served with "daily or more" frequencies. "With entry restrictions constantly evolving, accurately predicting future travel is challenging," states Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker. "However, while the expectation is that short-haul travel will rebound first, business between large global cities will pick up more gradually and there will be a move towards visiting family and friends following months of lockdowns." The airline's announcement comes on the heels of revealing that it plans to make a "substantial number" of job cuts amid what Al Baker describes as a "grim" outlook for the global aviation industry.

Source: Cirium