British Airways-2
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British Airways has permanently suspended a large number of long-haul routes in response to COVID-19.
https://londonairtravel.com/2020/12/...e-suspensions/
https://londonairtravel.com/2020/12/...e-suspensions/
Decimated schedule, but as the article says, appears to be a lot of marginal routes especially in the Americas. Surprised about some of the Asian routes, however they can’t keep operating empty flights indefinitely with governments refusing to reopen their borders. Some of these are really heavy routes although they are clearly trailing the ME3.
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It looks like all flights are operating as normal this morning with British Airways from Heathrow.
BA have said they are not canceling any flights that were due to operate and it's up to UK government to ban passengers.
Somewhat awkward if you already have a ticket as you will probably lose your money if you dont fly. On the other hand if you do decide to take up the offer you might well be stuck at your destination.
Netherlands has banned air travel from the UK from midnight. If Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus etc follows suit it could be an expensive Christmas for some.
BA have said they are not canceling any flights that were due to operate and it's up to UK government to ban passengers.
Somewhat awkward if you already have a ticket as you will probably lose your money if you dont fly. On the other hand if you do decide to take up the offer you might well be stuck at your destination.
Netherlands has banned air travel from the UK from midnight. If Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus etc follows suit it could be an expensive Christmas for some.
Last edited by Navpi; 20th Dec 2020 at 12:23.
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From a few banks I believe; also understand Wizz U.K. and Easyjet were given funds much earlier on. BA like Virgin were I understand told to strip back and only go to the government as a last resort. That’s what they have done
Have you got a source for that? I've just been searching and can't find a single news item covering it.
Edit, Found this. https://www.businesstraveller.com/bu...xport-finance/
Edit, Found this. https://www.businesstraveller.com/bu...xport-finance/
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BA Bailout
Not sure why my first post got deleted ?
But looks like BA got a very secretive handout to the tune of 2BN
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.g...uk-government/
But looks like BA got a very secretive handout to the tune of 2BN
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.g...uk-government/
It was moved to the BA thread in the "Airlines, Airports & Routes" forum - and it's not a handout.
https://www.businesstraveller.com/bu...xport-finance/
International Airlines Group has confirmed subsidiary British Airways has secured a state-backed £2 billion loan which it expects to draw down this month. The five-year loan – which can be repaid at any time on notice – has been underwritten by a syndicate of banks and “partially guaranteed” by UK Export Finance (UKEF).
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I do think it is significant that it is, in large part, underwritten by UK Export Finance (ie the government). It would appear to be an acknowledgment of the importance of BA to the national interest in terms of the connectivity provided which in many cases is not duplicated.
It will be interesting to see if other companies are extended the same courtesy in the coming months.
It will be interesting to see if other companies are extended the same courtesy in the coming months.
"Underwritten by the Government" means that if the borrower (in this case BA) defaults, the Government will refund the lender. That's not state aid to the borrower.
It is state aid, if the Govt charges a lower fee for the guarantee, than a commercial (non-state) bank would charge.
It means that BA (or IAG) can borrow money from other lenders at a cheaper interest rate than they would achieve otherwise - a bank lender knows that whatever happens, the loan will still be repaid and thus the risk is significantly lower
If I have a good credit rating, a credit card issuer is more likely to offer me a credit card with a low interest rate; if I am a toerag with a string of CCJs to my name and a history of not paying the mortgage payment each month, I can expect a credit card issuer to take a somewhat different approach. The same principle applies to airlines - those which are very low risk are charged low interest rates on loans, while airlines perceived to be at greater risk have to pay high interest rates on loans. Right now, IAG is not a particularly good credit risk from a bank's perspective, particularly in the knowledge that 2020 was not a good year for them and they probably desperately need a loan to keep going
It means that BA (or IAG) can borrow money from other lenders at a cheaper interest rate than they would achieve otherwise - a bank lender knows that whatever happens, the loan will still be repaid and thus the risk is significantly lower
If I have a good credit rating, a credit card issuer is more likely to offer me a credit card with a low interest rate; if I am a toerag with a string of CCJs to my name and a history of not paying the mortgage payment each month, I can expect a credit card issuer to take a somewhat different approach. The same principle applies to airlines - those which are very low risk are charged low interest rates on loans, while airlines perceived to be at greater risk have to pay high interest rates on loans. Right now, IAG is not a particularly good credit risk from a bank's perspective, particularly in the knowledge that 2020 was not a good year for them and they probably desperately need a loan to keep going
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But it still isn’t £2 Billion in state aid as alluded to above. It’s a loan. The state “aid” amounts to the government guarantee, the value of which will be the delta between the actual interest rate charged and what BA would have secured on a commercial loan. I would expect in actual fact that the government will make a profit on the loan over its lifetime.
This is very different to state aid to the likes of Lufthansa and AirFrance/KLM where the government ends up owning a chunk of the company.
This is very different to state aid to the likes of Lufthansa and AirFrance/KLM where the government ends up owning a chunk of the company.