China arranges flights to bring back Chinese nationals in India
>> The Chinese embassy in India confirmed that China is planning to dispatch temporary flights to India to bring back Chinese students, tourists and business inspectors who are facing difficulties in India. The embassy said the Chinese nationals in India shall bear their own financial expenses for the flight tickets of returning to homeland and the fees charged for quarantine when they arrive. Passengers with temperature of 37.3°C or above will be denied boarding.
Hotels on road to recovery in China
>> Midscale and economy hotels are driving the recovery of China's hotel market. Despite the upturn in recent weeks, there is still a hefty 61.2% drop in RevPAR overall for the year to the end of April and occupancy down 52.1% when year-on-year figures for China hotel occupancy are compared, according to data from STR.
Marriott is posting new job listings in early sign of recovery
>> Marriott has begun quietly adding job listings to its career recruiting websites. This makes it the first hospitality company to show early signs of recovery from an international lockdown that's been devastating to the hotel industry. By May 25, Marriott's Careers website listed 2,031 openings, up from a low of 1,764 on May 19, or 267 additional job listings. A large majority of Marriott's hiring recovery appears to be in China.
Hong Kong tourism board floats “travel bubbles” to prop up industry
>> Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has announced the launch of the second stage of its three-phase recovery plan to restore visitor confidence, as the pandemic situation in the country stabilises. The recovery plan will kick-off with HKTB promoting domestic tourism in mid-June, before setting up “travel bubbles” to allow arrivals from low-risk countries, and finally, full resumption at the international level.
China Airlines looks to sell Airbus A350s for leaseback
>> Taiwanese carrier China Airlines is looking to sell two Airbus A350-900s for leaseback. The news comes after the Taipei Taoyuan International Airport-headquartered airline agreed to sell and leaseback five Airbus A330-300s earlier in May. China Airlines serves 160 destinations in 29 countries. The SkyTeam Alliance member is owned by the China Aviation Development Foundation, which is owned by Taiwan’s government.
Hong Kong will open to transit passengers as of June 1
>> As of June 1, Hong Kong airport will gradually reopen to transit passengers, which is welcome news for airlines like Cathay Pacific, which have seen 99%+ drops in passenger numbers. This should improve Cathay Pacific’s situation somewhat, but it’ll be quite a while before things return to normal.
Hainan governor says HNA's liquidity issues can be solved
>> The governor of China’s Hainan province told Reuters he believes HNA Group will eventually resolve its liquidity issues, adding that a government-led working group had helped mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic for the troubled aviation and tourism group.
Cathay Pacific's brand merger hits roadblock from Chinese regulator
>> China’s aviation regulator may make it difficult for Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways to merge regional arm Cathay Dragon into its main brand because of infractions during last year’s social unrest, two sources said. The airline is looking to cut costs, streamline marketing and consolidate pilot contracts around Cathay Pacific and low-cost arm HK Express.
Virus testing lab plans to help Cathay Pacific revive international travel
>> Hong Kong-based genetics testing company Prenetics is in talks with government officials and airlines including Cathay Pacific to help make travel safer and rev up economic activity. The firm, which is testing English Premier League footballers for COVID-19, is turning to the airline industry to help figure out how to prevent second waves of infection stemming from imported cases of the novel coronavirus.
