Worst affected airlines with COVID-19

Posted on March 24 2020

As known, the travel industry has been worst affected by the new epidemic Corona virus (COVID-19) specially the airlines as most of them are no longer able to sell seats and boost their services as long as many destinations have been suspended.

Today, we mention the worst affected airlines due to Corona virus and what are the reasons of their sales decrease.

• China Southern:The largest airline outside the United States according to its fleet size. Most of the flight from and to China has been suspended due to the new situation where passengers are no longer able to travel with this airline as 70% of their flights got cancelled. The most popular route for this airline is Guangzhou to Beijing as the route has 15 daily round trips that lately has been trimmed to only 2. All routes to the United States are suspended except Shenyang – Los Angeles. China Southern is currently restoring flights. In mid-March, over 1000 daily flights are scheduled.

• China Eastern:After China Southern airline, China Eastern is the second most affected airline with the new epidemic.  China Eastern Group, is based at two airports in Shanghai. One of its lounges in the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport has been closed. From March, 5 international routes and 163 domestic routes were restored. And approximately 70% of their flights have been cancelled.

• Hainan Airlines:Considered as the fourth largest airline in China. This airline has been suffering from a very tight cash-flow in the past few years. The new situation of Corona virus has been hitting this airline pretty much hard. There were rumors saying that the other three airlines in China would take over Hainan. As a result, the Hainan Government stepped in and has helped pay off some of the airline’s debt.

• Cathy Pacific:Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon currently have 120 aircraft idling on the ground at any given time, which accounts for more than half of their fleet.
  1,470 weekly flights were originally scheduled for February. In the past couple of weeks, Cathay Pacific has asked their 27,000 employees to take 3 weeks unpaid leave; they have also temporarily closed three of their premium lounges at Hong Kong International Airport.

• Singapore airlines:Singapore Airlines has cancelled 15 flights into Christchurch and Wellington due to reduced demand resulting from the corona virus outbreak. Singapore Airlines spokesman Karl Schubert said in response to the fall in demand for air travel across the globe, as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, it had reduced its capacity on several routes.
  In New Zealand, Singapore Airlines had cancelled eight flights between  Christchurch and Singapore between April and June, as well as seven flights between Wellington and Singapore during the same period. Singapore Airlines have announced cancellations of 3,000 flights (both Singapore Airlines and Silk Air) across their global network, as the on-going corona virus epidemic continues to hit Asia’s travel demand.

• All Nippon Airways (ANA) & Japan Airlines:Now, as the virus spread is also happening in Japan, domestic flights are also being cancelled due to lower demand. ANA is cancelling 180 domestic flights from 9th – 12th March and 522 from 13th – 19th March.
  Japan Airlines is canceling 42 domestic flights from 9th – 12th March and 684 from 13th – 19th March.
  A Japan Airlines Co Ltd cabin attendant has tested positive for corona virus,the airline said on Monday (March 9), the latest case in what has become a widening outbreak for Japan.
  ANA (All Nippon Airways) and Japan Airlines (JAL), have announced major domestic reductions in recent days. Combined, these changes will affect hundreds of flights across Japan for the next few weeks as the airlines deal with reduced travel demand due to corona virus.

• Korean Air & Asiana: South Korean aviation fears a profound impact to Korean Air and Asiana Airlines if the United States bans or limits flights as corona virus cases continue to rapidly grow in the country.  Without North American connections, much of Korean Air’s Asian traffic would be reduced, with some regional flights unavailable that in turn impact other markets. For Asiana, North America comprises 21% of passenger revenue, with South east Asia a further 19%. A decrease in passenger flights would impact Korean and Asiana’s large cargo businesses, which carry strong volumes in the bellies of passenger aircraft. With nearly 100 countries restricting passengers from South Korea, both Korean airlines are cancelling a massive amount of flights.

• Lufthansa:Lufthansa Group has cancelled a total of 23,000 flights during April, as corona virus continues to have a major effect on demand. The cancellations cover short,medium and long-haul services, between the period from March 29 to April 24.
  The capacity adjustments mainly affect Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In the cancellations, care will be taken to ensure that all destinations on all continents can be reached with a Lufthansa Group airline via the hubs of Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels.

• British Airways: British Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Italy in response to the corona virus outbreak. The airline has so far said in a statement: “In light of the Italian government’s announcement and the UK government’s official travel advice, we have contacted all customers who were due to travel on the 10 March.
  British Airways will be canceling 24 flights between New York and London in March as corona virus continues to weaken demand for international travel. The announcement came on Monday as the UK flag carrier slashed flights on routes across its short-haul network in addition to previously announced route suspensions and reductions to Italy, South Korea, and Singapore.

• United airlines:
  With almost 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States, US airlines were also impacted hard. As the largest US carrier in the Asia-Pacific market, United Airlines with no doubt is the worst affected.
  United Airlines decided on Wednesday to suspend flights to Italy and cut service to Israel in the wake of the corona virus pandemic.
  The airline joins a lengthening list of international carriers that are curtailing service to the two countries in light of travel bans and strict quarantine rules imposed during the crisis.
  United is suspending service between New York/Newark and Milan and Rome starting March 13 through April 30; between Washington Dulles and Tel Aviv April 1 through April 30.
  However, it will continue to operate Flight UA90/UA91 daily between NewYork/Newark and Tel Aviv as scheduled.

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