Mirroring its impact on aviation, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on airline companies due to travel restrictions and a slump in demand among travelers. Several airlines have declared bankruptcy, with some ceasing operations, while other airlines reported historic reductions in flights, as well as accelerating retirements of certain aircraft types, such as the Airbus A340, Airbus A380, or the Boeing 747. By 8 October 2020, 43 commercial airlines had gone bankrupt, and many more were expected to follow.[1] In late October 2020, ACI Europe stated that 193 (mostly regional) of the 740 airports in Europe were also risking bankruptcy.[2]
In 2019, Air Canada was in talks to buy Air Transat for C$720 million but later revised their price to C$180 million in October 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[53]
On January 24, 2020, LOT Polish Airlines announced that it would acquire Condor Flugdienst.[54] On 2 April 2020 it was announced that the sale had fallen through due to the industry turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.[55][56]
In November 2020, Korean Air (more than 170 aircraft) parent Hanjin announced a W1.8 trillion ($1.62 billion) takeover bid for rival Asiana Airlines (82 aircraft) from Kumho Industrial, becoming one of the ten largest airlines in the world, as state-owned Korea Development Bank will invest W800 billion into Hanjin KAL.[57]