AirAsia’s future in doubt due to virus; share price tumbles

by  on  in Travel Agent

The future of top regional budget carrier AirAsia is in “significant doubt” due to the collapse in demand for air travel caused by coronavirus, its auditor warned, sending its share price tumbling 18 percent on Wednesday.

The aviation industry is facing its biggest-ever crisis due to the pandemic, with airlines worldwide laying off huge numbers of staff while some have already gone out of business.

AirAsia, led by colourful chief executive Tony Fernandes, pioneered low-cost air travel across Asia in the early 2000s at a time of growing demand from a fast-emerging middle class.

But on Monday the debt-laden Malaysian

… Read more

Thailand expects to delay plans for ‘travel bubble’ on virus worries

by  on  in Travel Influencer

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand expects to delay plans for so-called travel bubbles given a resurgence in coronavirus infections in countries that had managed to contain the initial outbreak, a senior official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Thailand partially lifted a three-month ban on foreign visitors this month and had been planning to further boost tourism, a key contributor to its economy, by creating travel bubbles later in the year with countries like Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong that had managed to contain the virus.

But fresh outbreaks are creating uncertainty, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said.

“The travel

… Read more

AirAsia Tumbles on Doubts About Continuing as Going Concern

by  on  in Travel Organizer

(Bloomberg) — AirAsia Group Bhd. shares slumped nearly 18% when trading resumed following a suspension that came as auditor Ernst & Young said the carrier’s ability to continue as a going concern may be in “significant doubt.”

The budget airline pared its loss to 12% as of 2:47 p.m. local time. Trading was halted Wednesday until 2:30 p.m.

In a statement to the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange, Ernst & Young said AirAsia’s current liabilities already exceeded its current assets by 1.84 billion ringgit ($430 million) at the end of 2019, a year when it posted a 283 million ringgit net

… Read more

Players’ union slams ‘unacceptable’ A-League travel fiasco

by  on  in News

Sydney (AFP) – Australia’s footballers’ union lashed out Wednesday at “unacceptable” chaos after three Melbourne-based A-League teams were prevented from leaving Victoria for a second time with borders shutting as coronavirus cases surge.

The top flight A-League is due to resume next week but Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Western United remain stranded in the city while Football Federation Australia seek government exemptions so they can cross into New South Wales.

The first aborted attempt by the teams to leave was on Monday, when fog scuppered their planned flight to Canberra.

A day later when they were on buses to

… Read more

Vintage Citroen 2CV Paris tours struggle under coronavirus travel ban

by  on  in Travel Advice

PARIS — There’s nothing Jean-Remi Galinon enjoys more than bouncing along cobbled streets and showing off Paris to foreign tourists, usually Americans, in his most iconic of French vintage cars.

But the coronavirus has kept them away, and since mid-March he’s only given one tour in his 39-year-old cherry red Citroen 2CV boneshaker.

France is from Wednesday tentatively opening up its borders to a select group of non-EU countries, but the United States, where COVID-19 cases are still soaring, is not on the list.

“The Americans are our No. 1 tourists, for sure,” Galinon said, the very image of Gallic

… Read more