Lufthansa cutting back due to virus
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I agree, looking at it again it does not read well, , I should not have used the word "massive" I have amended my post. Sorry about that,.
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LH considers the grounding of its entire A380 fleet of 14 a/c, reducing their entire flight ops by 50% and applying for "Kurzarbeit" - reduced working hours with state benefits.
All of their A380 will be grounded from Monday I have heard as flights switch to smaller sized aircraft.
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From Business Insider:
Mar 6, 2020, 7:45 AM
Airlines have wasted thousands of gallons of fuel running empty "ghost" flights during the coronavirus outbreak because of European rules saying operators can lose their flight slots if they keep their planes on the ground.
Demand for flights has collapsed across the globe amid growing fears about the outbreak.
Under Europe's rules, airlines operating out of the continent must continue to run 80% of their allocated slots or risk losing them to a competitor.
This has led to some operators flying empty planes into and out of European countries at huge costs, The Times of London reported.
On Thursday, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wrote to Airport Coordination Limited asking for the rules to be suspended during the outbreak to prevent further environmental and economic damage.
"I am particularly concerned that, in order to satisfy the 80/20 rule, airlines may be forced to fly aircraft at very low load factors, or even empty, in order to retain their slots," Shapps wrote."Such a scenario is not acceptable. It is not in the industry's, the passengers' or the environment's interest and must be avoided."
ACL has already suspended the rules for flights to and from Hong Kong and mainland China. However, they remain for all other flights.
On Thursday, the UK airline Flybe went into administration, a practice similar to filing for bankruptcy protection, though it said its financial problems existed long before the outbreak.
The International Air Transport Association has estimated that the outbreak could wipe out up to $113 billion in airline sales worldwide.
https://www.businessinsider.com/coro...k-covid-2020-3
Airlines are burning thousands of gallons of fuel flying empty 'ghost' planes so they can keep their flight slots during the coronavirus outbreak
Adam BienkovMar 6, 2020, 7:45 AM
Airlines have wasted thousands of gallons of fuel running empty "ghost" flights during the coronavirus outbreak because of European rules saying operators can lose their flight slots if they keep their planes on the ground.
Demand for flights has collapsed across the globe amid growing fears about the outbreak.
Under Europe's rules, airlines operating out of the continent must continue to run 80% of their allocated slots or risk losing them to a competitor.
This has led to some operators flying empty planes into and out of European countries at huge costs, The Times of London reported.
On Thursday, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wrote to Airport Coordination Limited asking for the rules to be suspended during the outbreak to prevent further environmental and economic damage.
"I am particularly concerned that, in order to satisfy the 80/20 rule, airlines may be forced to fly aircraft at very low load factors, or even empty, in order to retain their slots," Shapps wrote."Such a scenario is not acceptable. It is not in the industry's, the passengers' or the environment's interest and must be avoided."
ACL has already suspended the rules for flights to and from Hong Kong and mainland China. However, they remain for all other flights.
On Thursday, the UK airline Flybe went into administration, a practice similar to filing for bankruptcy protection, though it said its financial problems existed long before the outbreak.
The International Air Transport Association has estimated that the outbreak could wipe out up to $113 billion in airline sales worldwide.
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The U.S. State Department now recommends that its citizens, particularly those with underlying health conditions, not travel by cruise ship. Will a similar recommended ban on airline travel soon follow? Or, was the airline ban overruled by higher authority for now?
https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...assengers.html
By MIKE STOBBE
March 8, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan as a way of trying to control the virus, but White House officials ordered the air travel recommendation be removed, said the official who had direct knowledge of the plan. Trump administration officials have since suggested certain people should consider not traveling, but have stopped short of the stronger guidance sought by the CDC.
The person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity did not have authorization to talk about the matter. The person did not have direct knowledge about why the decision to kill the language was made or who made the call.
Administration officials disputed the person’s account. In a tweet, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, Katie Miller, said that “it was never a recommendation to the Task Force” and called the AP story “complete fiction.” On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci — the head of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force — said “no one overruled anybody.”
https://apnews.com/921ad7f1f08d7634bf681ba785faf269
Passengers on Cruise Ships
U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship. CDC notes increased risk of infection of COVID-19 in a cruise ship environment. In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures that have denied port entry rights to ships and prevented passengers from disembarking. In some cases, local authorities have permitted disembarkation but subjected passengers to local quarantine procedures. While the U.S. government has evacuated some cruise ship passengers in recent weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for U.S. citizens under the potential risk of quarantine by local authorities.
U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship. CDC notes increased risk of infection of COVID-19 in a cruise ship environment. In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures that have denied port entry rights to ships and prevented passengers from disembarking. In some cases, local authorities have permitted disembarkation but subjected passengers to local quarantine procedures. While the U.S. government has evacuated some cruise ship passengers in recent weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for U.S. citizens under the potential risk of quarantine by local authorities.
Official: White House didn’t want to tell seniors not to fly
By MIKE STOBBE
March 8, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan as a way of trying to control the virus, but White House officials ordered the air travel recommendation be removed, said the official who had direct knowledge of the plan. Trump administration officials have since suggested certain people should consider not traveling, but have stopped short of the stronger guidance sought by the CDC.
The person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity did not have authorization to talk about the matter. The person did not have direct knowledge about why the decision to kill the language was made or who made the call.
Administration officials disputed the person’s account. In a tweet, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, Katie Miller, said that “it was never a recommendation to the Task Force” and called the AP story “complete fiction.” On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci — the head of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force — said “no one overruled anybody.”
