France’s OpenSkies dismisses all flight crew

Future of France's OpenSkies hangs in the balance

IAG announces €2.74bn capital increase amid poor bookings

IAG International Airlines Group has announced a fully underwritten capital increase to raise EUR2.741 billion euros (USD3.24 billion) to bolster its finances and help it withstand a prolonged downturn in air travel. It will issue 2,979,443,376 new shares, it said in a statement on September 10.

The move, which shareholders approved on September 8, will give the shareholders the opportunity to subscribe to three new shares for every two they own.

IAG, which owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, LEVEL, and Vueling Airlines, will issue the shares at EUR0.92 (USD1.09) each, representing a 35.9% discount based on the closing price on September 9. The Reuters news agency described it as “a heavily discounted rights issue.”

Qatar Airways Group, IAG's biggest shareholder with a 25.1% stake, “has irrevocably undertaken to subscribe for its pro-rata entitlement under the capital increase,” the statement said.

IAG, which has vowed to avoid any state aid, initially revealed the plan for a rights issue on July 31. It said that the increase in shares necessary...

Spain's LEVEL to restart scheduled flights in late 3Q20

LEVEL (LV, Barcelona El Prat) has announced it would restart scheduled flights on September 11, 2020, through the reactivation of its Barcelona El Prat-New York JFK route.

The Spanish virtual carrier, a subsidiary of IAG International Airlines Group, will initially operate the route 1x weekly, increasing to 2x weekly from September 30 and to 3x weekly from October 7, 2020. Flights will be operated with an A330-200 chartered from Iberia (IB, Madrid Barajas).

The relaunch of the route was announced by the Anglo-Spanish holding's cargo arm, IAG Cargo, hinting at the importance of freight on the transatlantic market. However, tickets are available in open sales to passengers.

"We at LEVEL are pleased to announce that we are restarting our operations for passengers and cargo from Barcelona, contributing to IAG Cargo's extensive freight traffic network made possible thanks to the group’s synergies. This is good news not only for the sector but also for the long-haul connectivity of the city of Barcelona," LEVEL's Chief Commercial Officer Lucía Adrover...

IAG retires last A318, seeks €2.75bn in capital increase

IAG International Airlines Group will implement further fleet reduction plans, including the aircraft deferrals and the retirement of British Airways' sole A318-100.

The Spain-based holding said in its quarterly earnings release that it has deferred deliveries of 68 aircraft initially scheduled between 2020 and 2022, although it did not disclose the types that had been affected or their new timelines. IAG said the deferrals would contribute to the halving of capital expenditures planned through the end of 2022, which now stand at EUR7.3 billion euros (USD8.6 billion), down from EUR14.3 billion (USD16.8 billion). The group has committed fleet financing of EUR1.5 billion (USD1.8 billion) through the end of 2020 and, even after the cuts, plans to add 75 new aircraft by the end of 2022, including 35 short-haul and 40 long-haul aircraft.

"It's difficult to be too categoric as to how we're going to finance the aircraft deliveries in 2021, 2022 because we need to see how the markets open," Chief Financial Officer Steve Gunning said.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module,...