Company news in brief

SAA to take off in Sept

South African Airways, which was recently privatised in an effort to save the cash-strapped carrier, announced on Wednesday it would take to the skies again in September.

Once Africa's second largest airline after Ethiopian Airlines, the carrier survived for years on state bailouts and was abandoning routes even before the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to halt operations.

It said the first flights will take off on September 23.

At the beginning, SAA said it will operate domestic flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, as well as serve African destinations Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka and Maputo.

In June the South African government sold a 51% stake in SAA to a consortium that includes the owner of a recently launched local budget airline, LIFT.

The sale followed a state bailout of more than US$500 million and a restructuring of its debt. – Nampa/AFP

Delta to levy fee on unvaccinated workers

Delta Air Lines in November will start charging unvaccinated workers US$200 each month to cover the cost of care should they contract Covid-19, CEO Ed Bastian said Wednesday.

"This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company," he said in a memo to employees.

It was the latest move by a major American company to encourage vaccinations, some of which have gone as far as mandating the shots.

In addition to the monthly fee, unvaccinated workers immediately will be required to wear masks, and next month will be subject to weekly testing.

After September 30, pay protections will be provided only to fully vaccinated workers should they fall ill with a breakthrough case of Covid-19, he said. – Nampa/AFP

Air NZ narrows pandemic-related losses

Air New Zealand managed to cut its losses by a third in the last financial year as strong domestic and cargo demand partially offset the impact of the global pandemic, the airline said yesterday.

The flag carrier said its net loss for the 12 months to the end of June was NZ$289 million (US$202 million), compared with a NZ$454 million hit the previous year.

The result was boosted by a 71% increase in cargo revenue and a recovery in domestic demand to 93% of pre-pandemic levels.

However, border closures meant operating revenue slipped 48% to NZ$2.5 billion.

Chairwoman Therese Walsh said the loss reflected a reality in which Air New Zealand was still unable to operate two-thirds of its passenger network. – Nampa/AFP

Qantas posts fresh losses

Australian airline Qantas yesterday posted more than US$1 billion in annual losses, after what it described as a "diabolical" year caused by pandemic travel restrictions.

The national flag carrier reported Aus$1.83 billion (US$1.33 billion) in underlying pre-tax losses for the 12 months to June 30, rising to Aus$2.35 billion (US$1.7 billion) when including one-off costs such as redundancy payouts and mothballing aircraft.

It comes on top of almost US$2 billion in statutory pre-tax losses reported in the previous financial year, when airlines globally were hit with the initial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce predicted the airline's revenues will have plunged more than Aus$20 billion (US$14.5 billion) by the end of 2021 as a result of Covid-19.

"The trading conditions have frankly been diabolical," he said. – Nampa/AFP

Gatwick to make runway fully operational

London's Gatwick Airport, Britain's second-biggest air hub, on Wednesday announced plans to make its second runway fully operational, claiming it would help secure its long-term growth and generate 18 400 jobs.

The airport, 48 kilometres south of London, operates as a single-runway airport at the moment. Its second runway is available but is currently too close to the main runway for them both to be used at the same time.

Although passenger numbers remain low due to the pandemic, the airport said it expects capacity problems by the time that the approval process has potentially been completed.

Gatwick last year announced 600 job cuts because of the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The airport said the losses, which represented nearly a quarter of its workforce, came as passenger numbers plunged 80% compared with pre-pandemic levels.

The slump forced it to operate from just one of its two terminals as it operated at 20% of capacity. – Nampa/AFP