It's late April. Airlines are not flying. Airports are closed. Forward bookings have dried up due to uncertaintly. The economy is about to collapse into the biggest recession in living memory and we are at the risk of a global depresssion. Social distancing will be here all summer and maybe beyond if no vaccine is found.
Now, I put my marketing analyst hat on and predict forward bookings for the summer will be on hold and it's almost May. What that means is that this summer is lost, not one penny will be made by any airline in the period. Aircraft will be likely be forced to fly with no meal service and with middle seats blocked. If we're taking social distancing seriously, every second row will have to remain empty. Hence the price point has to rise markedly suppressing what little demand there is.

Even if the lockdown gets relaxed in three weeks, there will be no scent of commercial BAU until next summer peak at the very least and that assumes no second wave of COVID19.
I am booked GLA-EWR in June which I suspect won't operate as United have announced GLA from July, which I suspect won't operate either. They're taking money in forward bookings to stay alive and giving out vouchers instead of refunds, my existing booking is already flagged as no meal service. Even if Trump allows us into the US, why would anyone book now not knowing if anything in New York will even be open? Theatres here are closed will the autumn at a minimum. I am hoping they cancel so I can chase a refund, no one in their right mind is BOOKING to go long haul in the near future and by the time we can book, it will be winter. And the problem European based airlines always have is, if you don't make money in summer, you go out of business.

This is not buffoonery. Wisen up.

Qatar are still operating as a connecting carrier, you can't enter Doha though.

The strategies adopted by various countries can only reduce the infection rate to a level which their health and care system can manage, and which will let as much as possible of the real economy restart, by which I mean construction and manufacturing.
There will still be outbreaks, and the biggest risk for these is people moving around.
Most long distance travel is a want, not a need.
Even the Australian minister for tourism is not expecting anything before Christmas. I am astonished that anyone is still thinking that there will be any significant holiday market this summer, and the winter depends on a vaccine.

Sorry for thread drift away from aviation altogether, but who are 'they', and where did you hear that restaurants will not open until the winter? Not trying to be confrontational, just interested to know where you got your info from.

EDIT: Apologies again, what's BAU?
EDIT 2: 'Business as usual.' Got it :)

Heard from an aircraft cleaner on fourloough, and seconded by duty free sales assistant.

In all honesty NO-ONE not even the Givys of the UK know when this will end or what services will open.

airlines themselves will be at the mercy of customers who remember how they were abandoned and left to struggle to get home and the refunds saga. Coupled with the mindset of the public who will still be looking for a Tenirfe flight with a retail price index of £50 one way sans extras.

The airline industry is most at risk and we've not seen any real job losses yet. (Yes except Flybe pre covid-19)

Follow the senior political correspondents on twitter, and setting their politics aside, the government has been consistently giving out this message for some time. Any return to normality is gradual and phased, the message that the likes of pubs will be the last to open was signalled again this morning and is on mainstream media. So one pint in a pub for a half hour is dangerous, but somehow seven hours in a tube with recycled air is fine? No.

100% agree no one knows when or how this will end, that itself
means any holidays this year will be UK based for most. Market confidence in air travel cannot return until we have either a vaccine (months or years) or it dies out (unlikely).

It's being floated in the media - the Sunday Times in particular - as part of a proposed three-stage exit strategy.

I'd seen the suggestion that pubs will be last to open. By that I guess they mean on-site alcohol licenses, and I would support that; from knowledge (and possibly personal experience) of the way people behave under the influence, I said at the start of this that revoking all alcohol licenses other than off-sales was the first social distancing measure that should have been taken. Personally I'd be surprised if cafes and restaurants don't open until the end of the year but we'll see.
Thanks also to SWB.

Sorry for thread drift, back to EDI :)

QR has been operating up to four flights per week to EDI recently (usually Mo, Th, Fr, Sa) but today's flight was cancelled and their final flight for some time will be this Thursday.

BA has reduced its flights again. The only flights to LHR in the near future are;
Thu-23-Apr BA1455
Sun-26-Apr BA1445
... then from 29th April, they currently plan to return to a daily service.

Air France flights are becoming more sporadic until Sun 31 May when they are currently planned to become daily again;
Sun-26-Apr
Mon-27-Apr
Sun-03-May
Tue-05-May
Sat-09-May
Tue-12-May
Sat-16-May
Wed-20-May
Sun-24-May
Wed-27-May

KLM are scheduled to recommence a daily service from 4th May having suspended EDI services on 04/04. Their GLA flights are suspended after 3rd May.

FR is still operating 4 flights a week to/from DUB.

I expect all of these flights will be subject to change.

AFAIK, there are no pax flights scheduled tomorrow or Wednesday.

Looks like only two passenger flights to EDI today both early morning...
BA Airbus A320 (LHR)
Ryanair 737 (DUB)
Only other flight seen was an Irish Air Corps Pilatus PC12 IAC280

Given current freight rates, I'm almost surprised that it's not worth running Doha to export salmon and shellfish. No

With restaurants in lock-down in most countries, the demand for Scottish seafood has taken a significant hit. The markets are reporting a sharp fall in demand. A lot of fish is now being sent to be processed into animal / fish food which, of course, provides a much lower price to producers.

An E-3 AWACS has just passed my house on approach to EDI

It was ZH101 dont think it landed, maybe touch and go or overshoot. Only other aircraft noted wre two Bizjets and a Beech 200.

Is this the first time recently no passenger flights ? and was the last time during the Icelandic volcano eruption ?

There were no pax flights on Tuesday 14th April and none are expected today either.

I assume that the Aegean flight from Larnaca today is some kind of repatriation flight?

Yes, there will be 3 flights in total.

27 April Larnaca to Edinburgh 0300 - 0820
29 April Larnaca to Edinburgh 0300 - 0820
30 April Larnaca to Edinburgh 0300 - 0820

All of them repatriation flights on behalf of the Government.

There is an RAF A400 (ZM415) in this afternoon making use of Edinburghs empty runway.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....58d2a96ff0.jpg

EDI - post COVID-19
 

What are peoples thoughts on what EDI will look like post COVID-19 a year from now, assuming that the pandemic restrictions are relaxed?

Personally, apart from LHR, AMS, CDG, FRA & DUB and perhaps IST from the Flag carriers, as well as Loganair's Scottish flights, I think the rest of the routes could be (if you forgive the pun) up in the air. I hope I'm just being pessimistic and EDI will retain a lot more routes than it loses.