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After months of discussions and planning, Cornwall Airport Newquay launched British Airways’ Public Service Obligation (PSO) operation to and from London Heathrow on 24 July, following the administration of Flybe and the temporary absence of a vital connection to the UK capital.

“It was a big loss for the Airport when Flybe collapsed, as they had built up a strong market on their multi-daily service into London Heathrow following the switch from London Gatwick last year,” comments Pete Downes, Managing Director, Cornwall Airport Newquay. “Between March 2019 and March 2020, the Heathrow link carried over 163,000 passengers. The flight operated with an average load factor of nearly 80%, clearly demonstrating its popularity.”

The UK’s flag carrier has launched the route at a time in which people are looking to return to summer holiday breaks, and businesses are starting to pick up again following the restrictions put in place during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. “July has historically been the peak month for Newquay-Heathrow traffic, with a load factor of 91% this time last year informs Downes. “With people now looking to take a long-overdue summer break, this is the perfect time for British Airways to introduce its brand to the service. We look forward to working with them to establish this link into Heathrow and continuing to push the message of how the route not only opens up Cornwall to the capital, but the world.”

While the previous service had offered limited code-share connection opportunities via Heathrow’s Terminal Two, the offering by British Airways opens up many more opportunities for people to reach all corners of the world with a seamless process at Terminal Five. “British Airways offers a huge network of destinations from Heathrow in the summer, creating a lot more variety for the Cornish community wanting to explore the world, at the same time opening many new markets for our local business community and advancing inbound tourism potential,” highlights Downes. “It is this level of service which sees the UK’s national carrier elevate the product offering substantially from anything that has been available to our passengers previously.” British Airways will operate flights to Cornwall Airport Newquay daily using its fleet of A320s.

For those passengers now willing or able to fly to their desired destinations, they now face myriad checks and new processes prior to boarding their flight to stop the spread of COVID-19, yet a number of them have hit the headlines and been removed from the cabin for not wearing a face mask.

As cabin staff around the world finally get some standardised safety protocols to work with, numerous scientific studies have been released to the media related to the pandemic and how the airliner industry will take years to recover. I don’t agree with this, as has been demonstrated by the rapid progress of some airlines in getting back to regular service. But there are occasions when one scientific study causes a pause for thought. In this case it was a report by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published on 8 July. Doctor Arnold Barnett, the George Eastman Professor of Management Science and Professor of Statistics at MIT Sloan School of Management, showed that a blocked middle seat could reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 from a nearby passenger by around 50%. He went on to prove that when aircraft are full, the risk was estimated to be one in 4,300. While with the middle seat empty, that would go down to one in 7,700, which is nearly half that of a full flight. The study assumes that every passenger is wearing a mask prior to boarding.

While I find that these studies are certainly worth reading, the complex nature in the way they are often presented to the wider public can be confusing, with many individuals simply not having the time to wade through paragraph after paragraph simply to get to the conclusion, which seldom ends with a categorical action plan of dos or don’ts.

Other studies have also capitalised on the possibility of contracting the virus whilst flying. But, all of them, no matter how they’re presented have come to the same conclusion. Providing that the wearing of face masks is adhered to, flying is not currently a very high-risk activity. Without a face mask, the risk is very similar to ignoring the current advice in a confined public area.

It’s simply using common sense, adhering to pre-flight guidance, listening to the cabin crew and following their advice, and hopefully, as a regular passenger, you have been doing that for years already.

I have touched on Boeing’s 737 MAX many times in these editorial comments and, to be honest, I had hoped that the next time I covered the subject it would be to announce that the aircraft was due to enter regular service once again, following its successful flight tests. But it appears that that is not the case and Boeing’s reputation continues to take a hammering. It has emerged that the aircraft manufacturer had failed to submit certification documents to the FAA, back in 2016, on the modification made to MCAS installed on the 737 MAX. The MCAS system has the capability of lowering the airliner’s nose automatically, under certain flight conditions.

It has now emerged in a report, released on 1 July 2020, by the US Department of Transportation Inspector General’s office that FAA flight test personnel were aware of the change, but “key” agency certification engineers and those staff responsible for establishing if any additional levels of pilot training were necessary told the Inspector General’s office that they were not informed.

Additionally, the report revealed that as Boeing’s safety analysis did not assess system-level safety risks as significant, so company engineers designed MCAS to rely on data from just one aircraft sensor on the MAX. However, Boeing did not relay to the FAA the formal safety risk assessments related to MCAS until November 2016 and January 2017, a delay of up to four and five years respectively into the five-year certification process. Senior managers with the FAA told the Inspector General’s office that “it isn’t unusual” for aircraft manufacturers to complete and submit a safety assessment near the end of the approval process, so this did not raise any concerns.

As Boeing presented the software as a minor modification to the 737’s existing speed trim system that would activate itself only in a limited, highly specific condition, the FAA did not focus too heavily on the MCAS system during its certification process. The result is that a thorough evaluation of the system did not take place between either the engineers within the FAA or Boeing. The FAA focused its attention on what it thought were the high-risk areas on the aircraft, such as the larger engines, fly-by-wire spoilers and modifications made to the undercarriage.

It has been explained as a miscommunication, a lack of clarity, or Boeing allegedly trying to conceal something, in a desperate race to remain ahead of its greatest rival Airbus, which was effectively taking orders away from the company with its new models.

While this has often been stated as a wake-up call for the entire aviation industry, I believe it to be regarded as one of the most significant events in aviation history. The lessons learnt from this need to be remembered and drummed into the next generation of aircraft designers, engineers and CEOs who will always put safety above profit.

On 1 July, Embraer celebrated the delivery of its 1,600th E-Jet, an E190-E2. Helvetic Airways of Switzerland received the milestone aircraft. Airlines and leasing companies from some 50 countries have added Embraer E-Jets to their fleets since the first-generation jets entered revenue service in 2004. The new, highly fuel-efficient second-generation E-Jets family, the E2s, started flying with airlines in 2018.

“It’s an honour in my new role as President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation to deliver this landmark aircraft. It’s a tremendous milestone in the E-Jets program and in the company’s history,” said Arjan Meijer. “Over the years I have been personally remarkably close to Helvetic and their E-Jets fleet planning project. Everyone at Embraer is extremely proud to see such a renowned airline flying our 1,600th production E-Jet.”

Helvetic Airways is currently transitioning from a fleet of first-generation E-Jets to E2s. The carrier received its first E190-E2 in October 2019 and has added four more since as part of its fleet renewal program. Helvetic flies the airplanes in a 110-seat single-class configuration on domestic and international routes. The carrier has firm orders for 12 E190-E2s and purchase rights for a further 12 E190-E2s with conversion rights to the E195-E2, bringing the total potential order to 24 E2 aircraft.

“We are especially proud to receive an E2 aircraft in these challenging times for our industry,” adds Tobias Pogorevc, CEO of Helvetic Airways. “And it’s a genuine privilege to share this special moment with Embraer. We have received positive feedback on the E190-E2, from our passengers and our crews since we introduced it into our fleet. We could not be happier with the aircraft’s performance. The fuel burn is even lower than expected, which makes the airplane even more environmentally friendly. And we’re looking forward to resuming operations soon – with our milestone E190-E2 as well.”

Airlines are in a state of confusion as to whether they should block the middle seat. Some airlines have totally committed themselves to the new configuration to bring social distancing to the cabin, while others have made half-hearted attempts. An indication of what airline CEOs are having to juggle with is demonstrated by the current problem carriers are facing in the United States. American Airlines is joining United by easing social distancing guidelines ahead of the Independence Day (4 July) holiday weekend. From mid-week, flights can operate at full capacity.

It’s a dilemma that also has to be practical. No airline can operate its aircraft when they are just 60% full, for any long duration of time. Many airlines are prepared to resume flying but have capped bookings at between 60% and 70%.

In contrast to American Airlines and United, Delta and Southwest Airlines have pledged to keep the middle seat free until at least 31 September, and JetBlue is following suit until the end of the month.

It’s going to be an interesting exercise for these carriers, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the United States.

In Europe, LCC and regionals continue to state that social distancing will not work onboard aircraft, but they have introduced all the practical measures they can to get back into the air, such as leaving the middle row free.

IATA estimates airlines have to hit 87% of filled capacity for a flight to break even and blocking the middle seat prevents flights from getting close to this target. Flights across Europe are slowly resuming following tough negotiations to establish air bridges that will enable passengers to avoid two weeks of self-quarantine when returning home. The demand for seats on aircraft has reached a fever pitch, with people eager to enjoy some semblance of a summer holiday. With the need to reclaim lost revenue and passengers queuing up to fly, just how long will the vacant middle seat ruling stay in place?

It might be an issue for more airlines in the future, but Qantas is the first to find itself in a rather unusual dilemma. The airline is keen to avoid involuntary layoffs of aircrew, and, by the end of the month, is trying to come up with a plan to avoid such action.

This was announced to Qantas’ pilots directly on 22 June, according to Reuters. If the airline sacked its flight crews in the coming months, it would be a “failure”, stated the CEO of Qantas International, Tino La Spina.

But La Spina stressed that there must be flexibility within the workforce, including early retirements, voluntary layoffs, and a possible pilots’ salary reduction for the Australian operator to avoid flight crew redundancies over the next few months.

Following the announcement by the Australian government, that it may not reopen the country’s borders until 2021, Qantas confirmed that it had cancelled all of its international flights through until late October. The sole exception will be flights to New Zealand since the two nations plan to establish an air bridge over the Tasman Sea.

But in an ironic twist, Australia’s regional flights have never been so popular as Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar, have launched a substantial seat sale campaign. The LCC set new records, according to a press release, while bookings for Qantas’ regional flights have doubled in number.

Part of this rise can also be blamed on the collapse of Virgin Australia earlier in the year, but I wonder if we’re going to see a similar pattern across Europe.

Europe’s regional and LCCs are slowly getting back into the air albeit with a deluge of conflicting cleaning instructions. They are also having to contend with the need to ensuring social distancing measures are adhered to and that passengers wear their masks appropriately during a flight.

Every airline CEO is keeping a wary eye on what everyone else is doing and how they are coping. We’re only in the early stages of getting back to normal, but it’s clear that these new actions will become routine and familiar to anyone who has to fly for work.

While we may find things slightly inconvenient, spare a thought for the air and cabin crews who’ve had to practice and maintain these new procedures on a daily basis while worrying if they’d have a career to return to. A bit of patience will keep us all safe when we fly for work or pleasure over the next few months.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications has revealed that the nation plans to establish its own national flag carrier airline by the end of 2020.

One option being examined is a virtual airline. Whereby the airline has its own brand, but owns no aircraft. Instead the carrier would purchase flight hours and services from other airlines.

But, the ministry stated that these options are only at a very early stage, and all plans are being explored.

By running its own airline, it would make Lithuania independent of foreign air carriers and their constantly changing strategies which is having a major impact on the nation’s developing tourist industry.

According to ainonline.com, Qantas has cancelled all international flights until late October in response to a statement from the Australian government indicating that it may not reopen the country’s borders until 2021. On 18 June the airline said it will operate services to New Zealand, since the two countries have established an air bridge to permit cross-border travel, and will gradually increase domestic flights in the coming weeks to reach 15% of pre-COVID-19 levels.

Earlier on 18 June, Australia’s tourism minister Simon Birmingham told the media that the government intends to maintain the ban on all but very limited permitted visits to the country in order to maintain the progress it’s made in stopping the spread of the virus.

“Should travel between Australia and other countries open up and demand returns, we can add more flights back into our schedule,” said a Qantas spokesperson in a written statement.

However, Qantas and its Jetstar subsidiary doubled the number of passengers carried on domestic flights from 64,000 to from 32,000 last week. The airline has indicated that it may be able to increase to 40% of pre-COVID levels during July if domestic demand continues its upward trend.

EasyJet has announced that it reached an agreement with Airbus on the deferral of 24 aircraft deliveries to 2025-2027.

As an attempt to save its core business structure, the LCC stated that it intends to focus on a smaller market, so is pushing the aircraft delivery to a later time. The carrier expects the crisis to end no sooner than 2023, thus, drastic measures are inevitable.

In May the company had to lay-off 4,500 employees. EasyJet was pushed by its founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou to annul the order, but other shareholders managed to agree on pushing deliveries for the later time.

“The changes agreed defer capacity in the medium term while continuing out long-term strategy of replacing out older fleet with advanced and lower fuel burning A320neo family,” stated Johan Lundgren, easyJet CEO.

On 15 June the budget carrier resumed operations, although with a much reduced staff and schedule. By August easyJet expects to resume flying to almost three quarters of its route network.