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should promote the carriage of luggage in cargo compartments.” Similarly, ICAO instructs


airlines: “Encourage passengers to travel as lightly as possible with check-in of all luggage except small hand luggage.” Keller said boarding with


luggage “is seen as a bottleneck as people get on”. He added: “There is pretty broad agreement.” But Ryanair insists otherwise


despite its membership of Airlines UK which welcomed the guidelines, noting: “We worked in partnership with government on their development.” It is also a member of Airlines


for Europe (A4E) which wrote to EU transport and home affairs ministers on June 12 urging “coordinated implementation of the EASA Covid-19 Aviation Health Safety Protocol” and “urged all EU and associated states” to follow the guidelines. Europe’s airports association,


ACI Europe, and the national airport associations of the UK, France, Germany and Italy – which cover much of Ryanair’s network – have pledged “to fully implement” EASA protocols. The UK guidance makes


clear the entire industry is responsible for ensuring the measures are adhered to, stating: “Airlines, travel agents, and tour operators should provide passengers with clear communications, guidance and information ahead of their flight. “Passengers should be clear


what to expect at the airport and on the flight, and what they need to do to prepare.” It tells passengers “you are strongly encouraged to check in baggage and minimise any hand baggage” and warns “aircraft operators may decline carriage for passengers that do not comply.”


Carnival to offload six ships as it plans a ‘phased’ return


Carnival Corporation will remove six ships from its fleet of 100-plus vessels by September and dispose of more by the end of the year as it plots the “phased” return of a smaller fleet. The company did not identify


the ships but said they were “previously expected to be sold over ensuing years”. Carnival said it would resume


30 25 JUNE 2020


Tui to consolidate carriers and shut French agencies


Ian Taylor


Tui aims to halve the size of German carrier Tuifly as it consolidates its carriers across Europe and will close its entire retail estate in France. The group unveiled plans last week


to slash its German fleet of 39 aircraft and merge its five carriers –Tui Airways in the UK and Tuifly Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Nordic – under one company with centralised functions based in Hanover. It also announced a


“comprehensive restructuring” of Tui


France, including the sale or closure of the group’s 70 travel agencies and a refocus on third-party distribution. This will result in the loss of 60%


of Tui France staff or 583 jobs. In a statement, Tui said: “Tui


France will focus on high-margin business with a few core brands. Offers that are high-volume but do not generate sufficient margins are removed from the portfolio.” It noted: “Tui France was loss-


making before the pandemic. In the wake of it, the situation for Tui France has deteriorated significantly.” Tui also confirmed its intention to


reduce its group-wide costs by 30%. However, the company said


it will guarantee jobs at Tuifly Germany until the end of 2021 in line with the employment protection scheme agreed at Tui’s German companies last year. Tuifly’s main bases at Hanover


and Dusseldorf will remain open and the carrier will retain operations at Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart. Tuifly Germany managing director


Oliver Lackmann said: “These are major changes and cutbacks for our employees, but the Tuifly fleet is too large for the customer base of our German tour operator. “Even before the pandemic,


the German airline market was characterised by overcapacity and fierce price competition. In the peak season, Tuifly was not able to achieve a cost-covering occupancy rate.” Up to 14 Tuifly aircraft and crew


Germany’s Tuifly fleet is to be halved


were formerly leased to Air Berlin, which filed for insolvency in 2017, and latterly to Eurowings.


operations “in a phased manner, with specific ships and brands returning over time”, adding: “Initial sailings will be from a select number of easily accessible homeports.” Future capacity would be


“moderated by the phased re-entry of ships, the removal of capacity and delays in new-ship deliveries”. Carnival reported a $4.4 billion


loss for the three months to the end of May and said it remained “unable to definitively predict when it will return to normal operations”. The company reported it had $7.6 billion in liquidity available,


which it expected “to further enhance”, as well as $8.8 billion in export credit facilities available to pay for ships already ordered. It reported holding customer


deposits worth $2.6 billion, including $121 million for cruises scheduled for the third quarter and $353 million for the fourth. Carnival estimated its average


monthly ‘cash burn’ at $650 million. travelweekly.co.uk


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