South American airline LATAM faces a $1 million fine from the US Department of Transportation for failure to refund passengers in a timeline manner after cancelling flights during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
bankruptcy
aha! halts operations, ExpressJet files for bankruptcy protection
Making money as a standalone ERJ145 operator is not easy. Doing it from tertiary markets in the US is even harder. And so, for the second time in its history, ExpressJet is pulling the plug on standalone operations.
Europe clears Alitalia debt from successor ITA
Alitalia’s obviously illegal loans from Italy won’t saddle its successor ITA as it launches in five weeks, thanks to a European Commission ruling handed down today.
Global Eagle completes Chapter 11 reorg, refocuses on mobility
Global Eagle completed its bankruptcy reorganization, announcing its emergence from the court-sanctioned process with $217.5 million in exit financing. The company also reasserts its focus on mobility markets including aviation, maritime, energy, and government sectors thanks to a divestiture of non-core businesses.
Global Eagle sees a refreshed 2021 with updated Gilat transceiver and more
In-flight connectivity performance should get a bit better in the coming months for some Global Eagle customers thanks to an improved on-board transceiver. The Aerostream 40Ku, developed by Gilat, achieved DO-160G certification this week, allowing for development of production units as it moves towards FAA certification and aircraft installation.
Intelsat plans bankruptcy exit, notes liquidation risks
Intelsat has a plan to emerge from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It involves slashing debt owed by more than half, from $15 billion to $7 billion. But the debtors must agree to those losses. If not, the company faces a more dire outcome, including the likely liquidation of its recently acquired Gogo Commercial Aviation business.
Norwegian halts most CashPoints loyalty during restructuring
The Norwegian CashPoints loyalty program is taking a break. As the carrier moves through the bankruptcy protection and reorganization processes in Ireland and Norway the bulk of the programs benefits will be removed.
Norwegian abandons long-haul operations, refocuses on 737 routes in Europe
Chalk up another major long-haul LCC failure. Norwegian will abandon its fleet of 37 787 Dreamliners, refocusing on the short-haul European market served with single-aisle aircraft.
OneWeb emerges from bankruptcy, ready to launch
OneWeb emerged from bankruptcy protection on Friday, poised to resume satellite launches and bring is constellation into service. The company also has a new CEO, and a satellite production facility that won’t be moving to the UK after all.
Global Eagle charts a new course out of Chapter 11
As Global Eagle finalizes its financial plans for emergence from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection there are plenty of questions about what the future of the company will look like. Fortunately the most critical issue is easy to answer: The Albatross test aircraft remains part of the operation. Beyond that, however, the company sees the current industry crisis as an opportunity to reinvent what the inflight connectivity and entertainment business looks like.