Asia airline suspensions, country closures 23-29MAR

Although Airbus cancelled the development of the A380-800(F) without ever having built a single one, ACMI/charter specialist Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int'l) has now converted its only A380-800 into a makeshift freighter as a part of post-COVID strategic changes.

The Maltese airline, a subsidiary of Hi Fly (5K, Beja), announced that it has removed nearly all 399 economy class seats from both the main and the upper decks of 9H-MIP (msn 6). Following the cabin modification carried out by Lufthansa Technik, the quadjet can now carry nearly 60 tonnes of cargo spread across its bellyhold, overhead lockers, on around one-third of its main deck, and around two-thirds of its upper deck.

Hi Fly Malta has however retained all 60 business class seats and all 12 first class seats onboard the A380.

Hi Fly's A380 is the world's only A380 transferred to a new operator via the second-hand market. The 13.7-year-old double-decker was originally delivered to Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi).

The Singapore Airlines Group has extended the list of cities approved for transit through Singapore Changi airport to include select destinations in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, thus restarting a limited number of two-way transfer options.

The airline said in an update on June 25 that passengers travelling onboard Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) flights from Shanghai Pudong, Hong Kong Int'l, Seoul Incheon, Tokyo Narita, and Osaka Kansai will be allowed to connect via Singapore effective immediately. Transit will also be allowed for passengers travelling from Chongqing with SilkAir (MI, Singapore Changi), and from Taipei Taoyuan, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou with Scoot (TR, Singapore Changi).

Earlier, the airline also permitted transit to passengers from five points in Australia and two in New Zealand.

While the group underlined that transiting the hub remains an option exclusively for outbound passengers from the approved cities, it added that it was possible to book and travel return trips as long as both the origin...

The board of directors of NokScoot (XW, Bangkok Don Mueang) has resolved to liquidate the loss-making carrier, its 49%-owner Scoot (TR, Singapore Changi) has said in a press release.

The Singaporean low-cost carrier, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines Group, underlined that its Thai venture, which operated long-haul low-cost flights out of Bangkok Don Mueang, has not posted a profit since its founding in 2014. It said that the problems were caused by, among others, intense competitive pressures and that it could not see a path for the airline's recovery.

Scoot added that it had offered to sell its 49% stake to Nok Air (DD, Bangkok Don Mueang) for THB1 baht (USD0.03) but the offer was refused.

NokScoot operated seven B777-200(ER)s, all of them transferred from either Scoot or Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi). Two have already been retired and are currently parked in Alice Springs, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. The airline focused on serving main origin markets for tourists visiting Thailand, mainly...

Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) has raised a total of SGD10.2 billion Singapore dollars (USD7.3 billion) in liquidity through a recent rights issue plus a mix of secured and unsecured credit facilities, putting the carrier on "a steady footing as it tackles the challenges posed by the global Covid-19 outbreak," it said in a statement on June 8.

It said it had raised SGD900 million (USD648 million) through long-term loans secured on some of its A350-900 and B787-10 aircraft and had simultaneously arranged new lines of credit and a short-term loan with "several banks" for further liquidity of more than SGD500 million (USD360 million).

These add to SGD8.8 billion (USD6.3 billion), which, as previously reported, it raised in April from a renounceable rights issue.

Also, all existing lines of credit that were due to mature during 2020 have been extended to 2021 or later, ensuring available liquidity of more than SGD1.7 billion (USD1.22 billion), the company said.

And it has the option to raise a further SGD6.2 billion (USD4.5 billion) in additional...