US air travel hits highest level since March 2020

WASHINGTON - Airports in the United States saw their largest number of passengers in a year on Friday, data showed, following a shuddering halt in travel brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Just over 1.35 million travelers were checked in at American airports on Friday, the most since March 15 last year, according to Transportation Safety Administration figures.

Despite the recovery, volume is still nearly half of what it would normally be this time of year.

The previous high since the onset of the coronavirus crisis was seen on January 3, with nearly 1.33 million passengers. 

Air traffic had plunged to a record low 87,534 passengers on April 14. 

The United States has been battered by the world's biggest reported outbreak of the virus, with some 534,000 deaths. 

However, the country has administered over 100 million doses of the vaccine and new cases numbers have fallen from their highs over the holiday season. 

Agence France-Presse

Heavily indebted Thai Airways gets court nod for restructuring

BANGKOK - A Thailand court on Monday approved the restructuring of Thai Airways, which is billions of dollars in debt and struggling to survive the coronavirus tourism crash.

The global aviation sector was plunged into crisis by the pandemic as countries severely restricted travel, forcing airlines to ground vast numbers of planes and seek government help as they haemorrhaged cash.

The kingdom, once a majority shareholder in Thai, reduced its stake in May and went to the insolvency court to resolve the airline's debt -- which totalled 332.2 billion baht ($10.6 billion) by the end of June, according to local media.

"The problem that caused debtor's financial situation is not from its business but from the rapid change in aviation, particularly the impact from Covid-19," Bangkok's Central Bankruptcy Court said Monday.

It approved Thai's request for a rehabilitation plan, which would see its debt and company organization restructured.

Thai said after the ruling that it would propose that plan by the end of the year.

It has long been accused of mismanagement, and Thailand's transport ministry found in August that some of its financial damage was due to corruption, including "bribes" paid for the acquisition of 10 aircraft.

The government was previously mulling a 54 billion baht bailout for the airline, which was met with a public outcry.

Thai has restructured multiple times over the last several years but it never "went deep enough to resolve many of the longstanding systemic issues", aviation expert Brendan Sobie told AFP.

Thailand's tourism-reliant economy has been battered by the pandemic, and is expected to shrink by more than seven percent this year according to government estimates. 

Agence France-Presse

EasyJet trims flights on weak demand, quarantine rules

LONDON - EasyJet said Tuesday that it would cut flights on the uncertain demand outlook after the government decided to impose coronavirus quarantines on seven Greek islands.

The British no-frills airline previously said it would operate at 40 percent of capacity between July and September but now admitted it would now be "slightly less".

"We are closely monitoring customer behaviour and amending flying to ensure our schedule is aligned with demand," said chief executive Johan Lundgren in a statement.

"Following the imposition of additional quarantine restrictions to 7 Greek islands and the continued uncertainty this brings for customers, demand is now likely to be further impacted and therefore lower than previously anticipated," he said.

"We now expect to fly slightly less than 40 percent of our planned schedule over the current quarter. We will continue to take a prudent and conservative approach to capacity, as we have done during this period."

The airline, based in Luton, north of London, added it would not issue any financial guidance for 2020 or 2021, due to the continued uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has devastated global demand for air travel.

England on Monday added 7 Greek islands to its coronavirus quarantine list, but the mainland remains exempt, as the government seeks a more targeted way to limit new cases from abroad.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said anyone arriving from Lesbos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini or Zakynthos from 0300 GMT on Wednesday must self-isolate for two weeks.

The UK began introducing quarantine in June as part of efforts to stop new infections. The country has seen more than 41,500 deaths in the outbreak -- Europe's worst.

Agence France-Presse

Pilots, once in short supply, now losing jobs

Joshua Weinstein always wanted to be an airline pilot, but the industry was in crisis when he started college in 2002, so he became a middle school teacher instead.

He loved that job, but after a decade of flying in his free time at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars, Weinstein began hearing more about a looming pilot shortage and left the classroom in 2018 to pursue his dream. It worked: In January, he started training to fly for ExpressJet, which operates regional flights for United Airlines. But the coronavirus pandemic, which devastated the airline business, could thin the ranks of pilots by the thousands and has already put the nascent careers of people like Weinstein on hold.

“The worst part right now is that the only thing we know is that nobody knows anything,” he said. “There’s uncertainty. We just don’t know what happens next.”

For years, flight schools, airlines and experts encouraged people like Weinstein to become pilots. They promised young recruits a job that was lucrative and secure because thousands of pilots in their late 50s and early 60s would retire in the coming years and demand for travel would continue growing. The profession is still stacked with older aviators, but airlines are expected to make deep cuts in the coming months, and the pilots most at risk are those who are just starting out.

While air travel has recovered somewhat, it is still only about one-fourth of what it was last year, according to airport security data. Most experts say the recovery will be slow and uneven because of a patchwork of travel bans and the unpredictable nature of the pandemic. The recent surge in coronavirus infections has already forced some governors to delay reopening their state economies and to shut down bars and other businesses. If cases continue to increase, as some public health experts fear, air travel could become a lot less appealing. 

To prepare for that uncertain future, the largest airlines in the US are stockpiling billions of dollars in cash. If ticket sales do not recover soon, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United have said they could resort to job cuts as soon as Oct. 1, the first day when airlines are free to eliminate jobs and reduce hours under a stimulus law that Congress approved in March.

Airlines could lay off, furlough or reduce the hours of tens of thousands of pilots, cuts that would disproportionately fall on those who have less union seniority and training. Major airlines have already stopped hiring pilots after posting hundreds of openings in the first quarter of the year, according to Future & Active Pilot Advisors, a consulting firm.

Several companies are offering buyout packages to avoid deeper cuts later. Southwest has acknowledged in discussions with its pilots union that the airline is likely overstaffed by more than 1,000 pilots. The company is offering several years of partial pay and benefits to those who agree to leave the company temporarily or permanently. Delta warned last week that it could furlough nearly 2,600 pilots and is offering early-retirement packages.

Some pilots said the turmoil was nerve-racking, but those who have been in the profession for a while have come to expect it.

“You kind of know going in that aviation has high highs and low lows,” said Lisa Archibald, 41, a Delta pilot and volunteer with the airline’s pilot union, the Delta Master Executive Council. “You do it because you love what you do.”

Like Weinstein, Archibald arrived at the job by way of a detour. After graduating from Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, she was hired to fly at American Eagle, which American Airlines owns. But the job started days before the 2001 terrorist attacks, and she was furloughed after just a few weeks.

About a year later, Archibald found a job piloting corporate jets, which she did for 15 years. She joined Delta in May 2017.

Unsurprisingly, pilots are passionate about the profession. That is why they spend years in grueling training programs, trying to rack up the minimum flight hours and credentials needed to become airline pilots, at a cost of up to $100,000, not including the price of a college degree.

Weinstein, 36, estimates that he easily spent between $50,000 and $70,000 on flight training, offset by what he earned working at the flight school and teaching middle school in New Jersey over a decade. At ExpressJet, first-year pilots earn a minimum $36,000 a year.
Whatever the outcome, Weinstein said, all that effort has been worth it.

“I have something to show for it because I did make it to the airlines and I did get hired and I did achieve that dream,” he said. “And so part of me says not to regret a single moment of it, because I put my mind to something and I did it.”

The New York Times Company

United Airlines sweetens voluntary exit deal for flight attendants

CHICAGO -- United Airlines sweetened a voluntary exit package for flight attendants and extended the application deadline, saying that while "thousands of employees" signed up, "we're finding that's not enough," according to a document seen by Reuters.

Under the new deal, which came ahead of an initial June 18 deadline, flight attendants would receive a $1,500 health credit for every year worked, up to $45,000. The new deadline to apply is July 8. 

-reuters-

Emirates Airline says must cut jobs over virus crisis

DUBAI - Emirates Airline said Sunday it would have to cut jobs after being forced to ground its fleet during the coronavirus crisis, but did not specify the extent of the layoffs.

The Dubai carrier, the largest in the Middle East, announced in March temporary cuts of between 25 percent and 50 percent in basic salaries for most employees after halting its operations.

It employs a workforce that is around 100,000-strong, with a fleet of 270 wide-bodied aircraft.

"We reviewed all possible scenarios in order to sustain our business operations, but we have come to the conclusion that we unfortunately have to say goodbye to a few of the wonderful people that worked with us," the airline said in a statement.

"We continuously are reassessing the situation and will have to adapt to this transitional period," it said.

"We do not view this lightly, and the company is doing everything possible to protect jobs wherever we can."


Emirates said on May 10 that it would take at least 18 months for travel demand to return to "a semblance of normality", even after reporting bumper pre-pandemic profits.

The carrier had suspended flights on March 22 before resuming some services two weeks later.

Last week, it began partial regular service to a number of mostly Western airports.

The International Air Transport Association forecast in April that air traffic in the Middle East and North Africa was set to tumble this year by more than a half.

IATA said that MENA airlines' revenues in 2020 will be slashed by $24.5 billion compared to last year, and warned the region's aviation shutdown threatened some 1.2 million jobs. 

State-owned Kuwait Airways recently said it was laying off 1,500 expatriate employees, who make up a quarter of foreign staff.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed the aviation industry, Emirates, which transported 56 million passengers last year, had slimmed its orders from both Airbus and Boeing, cutting tens of billions of dollars worth of aircraft.

The airline industry plays a key role in making Dubai a global hub for tourism and transport. 

Dubai government said in April it would inject fresh capital into Emirates to help it cope with the impact of coronavirus.

Agence France-Presse

Latin America's largest airline LATAM files for bankruptcy in US

NEW YORK - Latin America's largest airline LATAM filed for bankruptcy in the US on Tuesday, the company said in a statement, following a drastic slump in business caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The world's travel and tourism sectors have been hammered by the contagion, as they are directly affected by border closures and population lockdowns.

"Given the impact that the COVID-19-generated crisis has had on the aviation industry, LATAM has been forced to make a series of extremely difficult decisions in the past few months," said the airline's chief executive Roberto Alvo in a video statement.

"LATAM Airlines Group and its affiliates in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia entered into a voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 protection in the United States," he added.

Chapter 11 proceedings allow a company that is no longer able to repay its debt to restructure without pressure from creditors.

Last month, the Chilean-Brazilian airline said it was scaling back its operations by 95 percent in response to the global health crisis. It also announced hundreds of job cuts earlier in May.

The airline said there would be no immediate impact on passenger or cargo flights.

"The US Chapter 11 financial reorganization process provides a clear and guided opportunity to work with our creditors and other stakeholders to reduce our debt, address commercial challenges that we, like others in our industry, are facing," its statement said.

It came just 2 weeks after Latin America's second largest airline, Colombia's Avianca, also filed for bankruptcy in the US to reorganize its debt "due to the unpredictable impact" of the pandemic.

The International Air Transport Association has forecast a $15 billion loss in revenue for Latin American airlines this year.

Before the pandemic, LATAM -- a merger of Chile's LAN and Brazil's TAM -- flew to 145 destinations in 26 countries, operating around 1,400 flights a day.

On Friday the World Health Organization declared Latin America "a new epicenter" of the coronavirus pandemic, as cases surge across the continent -- especially in Brazil, which now has the second highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases after the US.

Latin America and the Caribbean have reported more than 41,000 virus deaths and over 766,000 total cases, according to an AFP tally.

Agence France-Presse

Singapore Airlines posts first annual loss on fuel hedges, COVID-19

SYDNEY -- Singapore Airlines Ltd on Thursday reported its first-ever annual loss, citing poor fuel hedging bets and the collapse in demand driven by the coronavirus pandemic, and said the timing of any recovery was uncertain.

The airline, a bellwether for premium travel in Asia, swung to a S$212 million ($149.14 million) net loss in the financial year ended March 31, down from a S$683 million profit a year earlier, in line with guidance to investors provided last week.

In the fourth quarter, it lost S$732 million, down from a S$203 million profit the prior year. Singapore Airlines did not declare a dividend and said the prospects of a recovery in international travel depended on when border controls and travel restrictions eased.

"There are few signs of abatement in the COVID-19 pandemic," the airline said in a statement. "The group will maintain a minimum flight connectivity within its network during this period, while ensuring the flexibility to scale up capacity if there is an uptick in demand."

Airline passenger traffic is not expected to return to pre-crisis levels until 2023 at the earliest and domestic markets will recovery more quickly than international travel, the International Air Transport Association said on Wednesday.

Singapore, a small city-state that lacks a domestic aviation market, is closed to transit passengers on which the airline normally relies for much of its revenue.

Singapore Airlines and regional arm SilkAir have cut 96 percent of capacity through the end of June, and low-cost arm Scoot has cut 98 percent.

The airline said in February it had entered fuel hedging contracts through March 31, 2025. A collapse in the global oil market, which has lost more than half of its value so far this year, led to big losses on those contracts, including S$710 million recorded in the fourth quarter.

Singapore Airlines said further hedging losses were likely in the current financial year.

The airline's majority shareholder, state-fund Temasek Holdings, in March agreed to underwrite the sale of S$8.8 billion of shares and up to S$6.2 billion of convertible bonds in one of the biggest rescue packages in the global aviation industry since the coronavirus crisis hit.

Singapore Airlines said on Thursday it would only tap the convertible bonds if necessary and was concurrently exploring other funding sources such as secured financing and sale-and-leaseback transactions over its airplanes.

The carrier has cut executive salaries and is in talks with manufacturers to push back deliveries of new planes as it looks to conserve cash and moderate capacity growth in the near term.

The airline's management team is due to hold a results briefing for analysts and media on Friday.

-reuters-

Major US airlines endorse temperature checks for passengers

WASHINGTON - A major US airline trade group on Saturday said it backed the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checking the temperatures of passengers and customer-facing employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

Airlines for America, which represents the largest US airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines , Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, said the checks "will add an extra layer of protection for passengers as well as airline and airport employees. Temperature checks also will provide additional public confidence that is critical to relaunching air travel and our nation’s economy."

A US official said Saturday no decision has been made on whether to mandate the checks, but said the issue is the subject of extensive talks among government agencies and with US airlines and added a decision could potentially be made as early as next week.

One possible route would be for a pilot project or to initially begin temperature checks at the largest US airports. Questions remain about what the government would do if someone had a high temperature and was turned away from a flight.

US officials said the temperature checks would not eliminate the risk of coronavirus cases but could act as a deterrent to prevent people who were not feeling well from traveling.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske told employees during a town hall meeting Wednesday that no decision had been made regarding possible temperature checks of passengers at airports and that questions remained about where such checks might take place and which agency might perform them.

"It’s been a discussion that’s been ongoing for several weeks now," he said.

A TSA spokesman did not immediately comment Saturday.

Frontier Airlines said on Thursday it would begin temperature screenings for all passengers and crew members on June 1 and bar anyone with a temperature at or exceeding 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 C).

The move, the first among major US airlines, followed the industry mandating facial coverings for all passengers and heightened cleaning procedures to address coronavirus concerns.

The airline group said having temperature checks performed by the TSA "will ensure that procedures are standardized."

The endorsement comes amid signs of a modest travel rebound from historic lows. On Friday, TSA screened 215,444 people at airport checkpoints, the first time the number topped 200,000 since March 26. But that is still a fraction of the 2.6 million screened on the equivalent day last year. 

-reuters-

General Electric to cut 10,000 aviation jobs

NEW YORK - General Electric said Monday it would cut an additional 10,000 jobs from its aviation sector as the coronavirus pandemic decimates the industry, forcing companies to cancel orders.

The cuts will be a mix of voluntary departures and layoffs and come after an initial wave of 2,600 job cuts in March, GE said in a statement.

The company aims to reduce its aviation employment base by 25 percent, or some 13,000 employees.

The austerity program, which will affect all geographic zones, is reflective of the rough time the entire aviation sector is going through.

Boeing announced last week that it was cutting 16,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its workforce, in civilian aircraft manufacturing. 

It also heavily reduced production of its long-haul 787 and 777/777X planes. The company has yet to announce a date when it will resume assembly of its flagship 737 MAX aircraft. Airbus has similarly reduced production.

GE is directly affected by these decisions, as it makes plane engines for Boeing and Airbus.

Global air traffic is expected to fall 80 percent during the second quarter compared to February, GE said in a letter to 52,000 employees.

"To protect our business, we have responded with difficult cost-cutting actions over the last two months," CEO David Joyce said in the letter.

"Unfortunately, more is required as we scale the business to the realities of our commercial market."

The job cuts are part of a $3 billion savings plan that will be implemented this year.

In addition, half of the employees in charge of aviation maintenance and repairs are out of work for 3 months.

Hiring has also been frozen and bonuses canceled.

GE, which makes aircraft engines in a joint venture with the French company Safran, CFM, saw revenue fall by 8 percent to $20.52 billion in the first quarter.

The aviation division's revenue plunged 13 percent to $6.9 billion, while its orders were down 14 percent.

The group, which warned at the end of April that the worst was yet to come, has not sought the financial aid that US President Donald Trump has promised to companies in order to protect jobs.

Agence France-Presse

Airline industry braces for prolonged recovery from coronavirus crisis

SYDNEY - A full airline industry recovery from the coronavirus looks prolonged at best, analysts said, as new data showed international seat capacity had fallen to 23 percent of last year's levels and around half the world's airplane fleet is in storage.

Carriers including United Airlines Holdings Inc and Air New Zealand Ltd have warned they are likely to emerge from the crisis smaller, and there are fears others may not survive.

"It is likely that when we get across to the other side of the pandemic, things won't return to the vibrant market conditions we had at the start of the year," said Olivier Ponti, vice president at data firm ForwardKeys.

"It's also possible that a number of airlines will have gone bust and uneconomic discounts will be necessary to attract demand back," he said in a statement.


ForwardKeys said the number of international airline seats had fallen to 10 million in the week of March 30 to April 5, down from 44.2 million a year ago.

Data firm OAG said several years of industry growth had been lost and it could take until 2022 or 2023 before the volume of flyers returns to the levels that had been expected for 2020.

Cirium, another aviation data provider, said around half of the world's airplane fleet was now in storage.

"While many of these will be temporary storage, many of these aircraft will never resume service," Cowen analyst Helane Becker said in a note to clients. "We believe the airline industry will look very different when we get to the other side of this."

Planemakers are looking at drastic cuts in wide-body production amid a slump in demand for the industry's largest jetliners, manufacturing and supplier sources said.

Deliveries of long-range jets like the Boeing Co 777 or 787 and Airbus SE A350 or A330 have been particularly badly hit as airlines seek deferrals and many withhold progress payments.

British Airways said on Thursday it has struck a deal with its unions to suspend more than 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff in one of the airline industry's most dramatic moves yet to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

With global travel in turmoil as the virus takes hold around the world, BA's owner, IAG, said it would also cut capacity by 90 percent in April and May, and scrap its dividend, in a desperate bid to survive the worst crisis in its history. Southwest Airlines Co said on Thursday it intends to apply for US government aid to help it ride out the sharp drop in travel demand.

"We still don't know the severity of this situation. We still don't know how long it will last," Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly said in a video message.

Vietnam Airlines will lose 50 trillion dong ($2.12 billion) in revenue this year as most of its 106-strong fleet have been grounded due to the coronavirus, state media reported on Thursday.

Up to 10,000 employees, or half the company's staff, will have to stop working while others' salaries have been cut, Tuoi Tre newspaper cited the Chief Executive Officer Duong Chi Thanh as saying.

-Reuters

Airlines facing what official calls 'deepest crisis ever'

LONDON - As the novel coronavirus continues to spread, commercial flights have all but stopped. The situation is so dire that the head of the trade group representing the world's airlines called the last few months "its deepest crisis ever."

A Reuters analysis of data from FlightAware, which tracks air traffic in real-time, reveals a series of sequential and precipitous declines in flights in four key regions as officials sought to contain the outbreak.
From March 24 to March 30, FlightAware tracked about 280,000 flights, down almost 500,000 from the same week a year earlier.

In late March, the International Air Transport Association estimated lost revenue from the coronavirus will exceed $250 billion in 2020 and urged governments to offer immediate financial support to the industry.

The transport association said today's crisis is far worse and more widespread than after 9/11, when US airlines lost approximately $19.6 billion in revenue in 2001-2002. After the terrorist attacks, the US government provided $15 billion to airlines in compensation and loan guarantees.

"Airlines are desperately trying to survive in the most difficult times imaginable," said Alexandre de Juniac, head of the IATA. "We have the people and the experience to see this through. But, to be perfectly frank, we don’t have the money."

Congress voted on March 27 to give the US aviation industry $58 billion in a coronavirus rescue package, and Singapore Airlines lined up a $13 billion funding package led by state investor and majority stakeholder Temasek.

AIRLINES LIMIT FLIGHTS

Because of travel restrictions enacted by governments around the world, the number of airlines grounding most or all of their fleets has grown rapidly over the past few weeks.

To account for day-to-day changes in the number of flights on weekends versus weekdays, Reuters measured change in air travel based on the same day a year prior.

In the Middle East, major carriers including Emirates, Flydubai and Saudia, Saudi Arabia's state airline, suspended all passenger flights. Israel's El Al slashed its flight schedule, and Turkish Airlines suspended all international flights on March 27.

In Asia, Singapore Airlines grounded most of its fleet on March 23 after the city-state banned all short-term visitors, and Qantas suspended international flights until at least May after the Australian government banned the arrival of non-citizens and non-residents.

In Europe, passenger data from the region's Airports Council International reveals an even deeper industry crisis than air traffic statistics indicate. As of March 22, the number of passengers traveling into and out of European airports had declined by 88%, or 5.2 million fewer daily travelers compared to a year earlier.

In Italy, containment efforts to staunch the spread of the virus triggered a rapid drop. There, data shows a 98% decline in passenger travel, or 440,000 fewer daily passengers compared to the same time last year.

Budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet grounded most of their fleets in late March.

U.K. CLOSES WINDOW

The number of passengers arriving to and departing from British airports has also declined, though at a slower pace than elsewhere in Europe. As of March 22, data shows passenger traffic down 82% from the same time last year.

One reason for the difference: The UK was originally exempt from the US travel ban on foreign nationals who had recently visited China, Iran and a group of 14 European countries, said Michael Stanton-Geddes, head of economics at ACI-Europe.

The exemption "temporarily protected a lot of transatlantic traffic," he said. "People getting from Europe to the US had to go through London."

As of mid-March, some vacationers were still leaving the UK for European destinations. On March 14, Jet2 turned around flights bound for Spain after the airline canceled all flights to the mainland.

In China, air traffic is starting to pick back up after two months of severe travel restrictions. The country saw a half million fewer flights during the same two-month period compared to the same period a year ago.

A TURBULENT TIME

The drop in flights in the United States following the Trump administration's travel restrictions mirrors the drop in air traffic around the world.

Data from FlightAware shows just 866 international flights arrived in or departed from the United States on March 30, a drop of 83% compared to the same day a year ago. Flights involving private business jets and turboprop planes were also down 67% in the US and 64% worldwide, the data shows.

The number of domestic flights has been less affected than international flights, however. Daily flights within the United States were down 51% on Monday compared to a year prior, according to FlightAware data.

But many of those flights have far fewer passengers. Planes are only 10-20% full, industry lobby Airlines for America said in late March.

CARGO SUPPLANTS PASSENGERS

So far, the number of cargo flights has remained largely unaffected by the travel restrictions.

Data from FlightAware shows flights by freight and package carriers such as Atlas, Polar, FedEx and UPS arriving in and departing from the United States initially declined during the first week of February 2020. The drop, which correlated to the Hubei Province lockdown, "shows how important China is to the world of international commerce," said Andrew Charlton, an industry analyst.

Shortly thereafter, however, US cargo flights rebounded to previous levels, the data shows.

Because passenger jets transport about half of all air cargo carried worldwide, the grounding of those planes has increased demand for freighters. In response, some commercial airlines such as American, Delta and Virgin Atlantic are using passenger jets solely for shipping cargo.

(Reporting by Reade Levinson in London. Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago, Laurence Frost in Paris and Jamie Freed in Sydney. Edited by Blake Morrison and Janet Roberts.)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Airlines double estimated hit from coronavirus to $250 billion

LONDON/PARIS - Global airlines urged governments on Tuesday to speed up bailouts to rescue the air transport industry as they doubled their estimate of 2020 revenue losses from the coronavirus crisis to more than $250 billion.

"We clearly need massive action very quickly and urgently," Alexandre de Juniac, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), told reporters on a conference call.

Airlines worldwide have grounded the majority of their fleets to preserve cash amid mounting travel restrictions designed to slow the spread of the epidemic.

The result has been huge pressure on the liquidity of airlines, up to half of which face possible bankruptcy in coming weeks if nothing is done to support the industry, IATA said.

"We have a liquidity crisis coming at full speed - no revenues and costs still on our (books), so we desperately need some cash," de Juniac said.

His warning came after Ryanair, Europe's largest budget airline, told customers it had effectively written off the next two months, while European air traffic management body Eurocontrol said volumes on Monday were down more than 75% from the same day last year.

De Juniac, a former Air France-KLM boss, brushed aside a growing debate about whether relief for airlines should come with strings attached, such as new commitments on climate goals.

But he said the airline industry would continue efforts already under way to curb emissions once the crisis recedes.

"We are in an emergency situation. It's no time for requirements. I'm sorry for that. We need a full speed massive rescue package now," de Juniac said.

With airlines at the front of bailout queues, green advocates fear climate action may lose momentum.

In the United States, Republicans have opposed providing bailouts to passenger and cargo carriers, proposing help in the form of $58 billion in loans and saying the government could demand stock, options or other equity in return.

IATA, which groups some 280 airlines including most of the world's largest network carriers, said signs of a deep recession could delay a recovery in airline travel - in contrast with the fast rebound seen after previous epidemics.

That could mean "more of a U-shaped than V-shaped recovery," Chief Economist Brian Pearce said, referring in the latter instance to the shape of the graph of air travel indicators seen after the SARS outbreak in 2003.

IATA says 2.7 million jobs are supported by the airline industry, with tens of thousands already being furloughed.

"There are a very large number of airlines that are more or less breaking even and ... facing losses. Those airlines are very fragile," Pearce said. (Reporting by Sarah Young, Laurence Frost; writing by Costas Pitas, Tim Hepher; Editing by Paul Sandle, Mark Potter)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Lockdowns and entry bans imposed around the world to fight coronavirus

WASHINGTON/SHANGHAI/MADRID - France and Spain joined Italy in imposing lockdowns on tens of millions of people, Australia ordered self-isolation of arriving foreigners and other countries extended entry bans as the world sought to contain the spreading coronavirus.

Panic buying in Australia, the United States and Britain saw leaders appeal for calm over the virus that has infected over 156,000 people globally and killed more than 5,800.

Several countries imposed bans on mass gathering, shuttered sporting, cultural and religious events, while medical experts urged people to practice "social distancing" to curb the spread.

Austria's chancellor urged people to self-isolate and announced bans on gatherings of more than 5 people and further limits on who can enter the country.

All of Pope Francis' Easter services next month will be held without the faithful attending, the Vatican said on Sunday, in a step believed to be unprecedented in modern times.

The services, 4 days of major events from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday, usually draw tens of thousands of people to sites in Rome and in the Vatican.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said from midnight Sunday international travellers arriving in the country would need to isolate themselves for 14 days, and foreign cruise ships would be banned for 30 days, given a rise in imported cases.

Australia's latest restrictions mirror those announced by neighboring New Zealand on Saturday.

TRAVEL BANS, AIRLINE CUTBACKS

Donald Trump tested negative for the coronavirus, his doctor said on Saturday, as the US president extended his country's travel ban to Britain and Ireland.

Last week, Trump had met a Brazilian delegation in which at least one member has since been tested positive.

Travel restrictions and bans, and a plunge in global air travel, saw further airline cutbacks, with American Airlines Inc planning to cut 75 percent of international flights through May 6 and ground nearly all its widebody fleet.

China tightened checks on international travellers arriving at Beijing airport on Sunday, after the number of imported new coronavirus infections surpassed locally transmitted cases for a second day in a row.

Anyone arriving to Beijing from abroad will be transferred directly to a central quarantine facility for 14 days for observation starting March 16, a city government official said.

China, where the epidemic began in December, appears to now face a greater threat of new infections from outside its borders as it continues to slow the spread of the virus domestically.

China has reported 80,984 cases and 3,203 deaths. The country imposed draconian containment policies from January, locking down several major cities.

LOCKDOWNS, STAY HOME

Spain put its 47 million inhabitants under partial lockdown on Saturday as part of a 15-day state of emergency to combat the epidemic in Europe's second worst-affected country after Italy.

Streets in Madrid and Barcelona were deserted on Sunday. All major newspapers carried a front-page wrapper emblazoned with a government-promoted slogan: "Together we'll stop this virus."

Spain has had 193 deaths from the virus and 6,250 cases so far, public broadcaster TVE said on Sunday.

France will shut shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities from Sunday with its 67 million people were told to stay home after confirmed infections doubled in 72 hours.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the government had no other option after the public health authority said 91 people had died in France and almost 4,500 were now infected.

"We must absolutely limit our movements," he said.

However, French local elections went ahead.

"I am going to vote and keep living my life no matter what. I am not scared of the virus," said a 60-year-old voter, who asked to be identified only as Martine, at a Paris polling station.

Britain is preparing to ban mass gatherings and could isolate people aged over 70 for up to 4 months as part of plans to tackle coronavirus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

Argentina banned entry to non-residents who have been to any country highly affected by coronavirus in the last 14 days, while Colombia said it would expel four Europeans for violating compulsory quarantine protocols, hours after closing its border with Venezuela.

Starting Sunday, South Korea began to subject visitors from France, Germany, Britain, Spain and the Netherlands to stricter border checks, after imposing similar rules for China, Italy and Iran which have had major outbreaks.

Visitors from those countries now need to download an app to report whether they have symptoms. South Korea has been testing hundreds of thousands of people and tracking potential carriers using cell phone and satellite technology.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Airline stocks nosedive as US travel ban hits EU travel sector

PARIS - Europe's travel sector reacted with dismay Thursday to a US-imposed trans-Atlantic travel ban that sent the share price of major airlines into free fall.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that airlines needed "emergency measures" after President Donald Trump imposed the ban to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Air France stock lost almost 18 percent at the Paris opening bell, before recovering to trade five percent lower in mid-afternoon exchanges.

Lufthansa shares, quoted in Frankfurt, were off by almost nine percent.

The US is not banning passengers from Britain, but shares in British Airways' parent company IAG still slumped more than 10 percent, while EasyJet lost over nine percent.

'KICKNG A MAN'

"Trump is simply kicking a man when he's down," according to an EU diplomat in Brussels who called the ban "erratic."

Trump said the US would not allow travelers from the EU's Schengen border-free zone into the country for 30 days, calling the move an "aggressive" effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The decision does not affect visitors from Britain and Ireland, or US citizens returning from Europe.

Key US companies were hit even harder than their European counterparts, with the sector suffering its worst downturn since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Boeing, already reeling from problems with the 737 MAX jet, lost 14 percent by the time trading was suspended Thursday, which added to its 18 percent drop a day earlier.

Shares in United Airlines shed nearly 15 percent on Wall Street before trading was suspended after the S&P 500 index lost seven percent.

Global markets have lost a combined $11.3 trillion in value since a peak on February 19, and $4.5 trillion this week alone.

American Airlines and Delta plunged by double-digit percentages.

'HAMMER BLOW'

"The travel ban is another hammer blow for the airlines" that "were getting crucified by the reduction in tourism and business travel in the last month," said economist Charlie Robertson at Renaissance Capital in London.

Peter Elbers, chief executive of the Dutch carrier KLM, told public television NOS: "It is undeniable that the consequences are extremely heavy."

Fears that other countries might follow the US example "are paralyzing the market," said Timo Emden of Emden Research.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told a news conference: "Trump's announcement is bad news for all airlines."

Le Maire "regretted" a decision "which will have a very strong impact on tourism and a very strong impact on companies in general."

INEFFECTIVE?

European leaders argue that travel restrictions are ineffective because the virus has now spread almost worldwide, and lament that Trump had not consulted them first.

After speaking with Air France chief executive Benjamin Smith, Le Maire said they would look for ways to "ensure Air France comes through this difficult moment... in the best possible conditions."

Airlines are especially vulnerable to a sharp drop in tourism and business travel.

Italy, the worst hit country in Europe so far, has quarantined its entire population of 60 million, the US has advised citizens against all foreign travel, and tourist magnets like Paris are bracing for hard times.

Service sector businesses have been pummelled and industrial supply lines are also under pressure, further dampening economic activity.

The ban "will create enormous cash-flow pressures for airlines," IATA head Alexandre de Juniac said. "Airlines will need emergency measures to get through this crisis."

On March 5, IATA estimated that the crisis could wipe out some $113 billion in airline industry, but the organization stressed that that estimate did not include the severe measures the US and other governments, including Israel, Kuwait and Spain, have since put in place.

Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, one of Europe's biggest hubs, reported Thursday a 20-percent drop in passengers in the first week in March and prepared to work at reduced capacity.

"If all flights to and from the United States were canceled, this percentage would rise to 30 percent," the airport statement said.

Agence France-Presse

Coronavirus wipes $70 billion off world's listed airlines

LONDON -- The rapid spread of coronavirus has wiped almost a third - or $70 billion - off the world's top 20 listed airlines and reshuffled global rankings, elevating Air China into third place behind US rivals, an analysis by Reuters shows.

The airline sector has been hit hardest by the outbreak of coronavirus, with falling ticket demand and Italy in lockdown forcing carriers to cancel routes and slash costs to survive the mounting crisis.

With the investor sell-off accelerating, United Airlines has lost its number three position in the global line-up to Air China.

The US carrier's market capitalization has halved to $11.6 billion, the lowest since 2003, since the start of the year, leaving it also lagging behind Europe's low-cost carrier Ryanair.

Air China has been relatively unscathed - its market cap was $15 billion on Tuesday, compared with $19 billion on Jan. 2.

The scale of the rout has been breathtaking.

Wizz Air, a budget carrier focused on central European routes, is now more highly valued than Air France-KLM, and the world's most valuable airline, Delta Air, has seen more than $10 billion knocked off its value this year, taking its market cap to about $28 billion, the lowest since September 2016.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

UK airline Flybe collapses as virus hits flights worldwide

LONDON — One of Britain's biggest airlines, Flybe, collapsed Thursday with all its flights grounded, the company said, as the coronavirus epidemic took a heavy toll on airlines around the world.

A statement on Flybe's website said the company had entered administration and could not arrange alternative flights for its passengers.

"All flights have been grounded and the UK business has ceased trading with immediate effect," said the airline, which avoided going bust in January only after being granted a tax holiday by the UK government.

Flybe, which employs 2,000 people, had failed to turn around its fortunes since being purchased by the Connect Airways consortium last year, initially owing to weak demand and fierce competition.

That has now been compounded by the coronavirus, with a slew of airlines cancelling flights and warning profits would take a hit from decreased demand.

The announcement came hours after British media reported that the airline could collapse following its failure to secure a £100 million state loan to help stabilize the business.

The COVID-19 virus' impact on travel "has made a bad situation much worse", sources told the BBC, while Bloomberg News reported Thursday that no agreement could be reached on a virus-related bailout.

Small British airlines have suffered recently from volatile fuel costs and a weak pound.

Flybe is the biggest operator of UK domestic flights. The no-frills airline carries around eight million passengers annually and flies from 43 airports across Europe and 28 in Britain.

Its owner, the Connect Airways consortium, is led by Virgin Atlantic and also includes investment firm Cyrus and infrastructure specialist Stobart.

Following Flybe's tax deferral earlier this year, rival companies including British Airways-parent IAG complained to the European Union that it was receiving unfair state aid.

The government has said its assistance does not breach EU rules and that help is based on the importance of the company's domestic services and regional economic reliance on them.

However, that contrasted with the fate of British holiday giant Thomas Cook, which collapsed without government assistance last September, causing the loss of 22,000 jobs worldwide and stranding 600,000 holidaymakers abroad.

Agence France-Presse 

Emirates airline asks staff to take one month unpaid leave over coronavirus

DUBAI -- Major international airline Emirates is asking staff to take unpaid leave for up to a month at a time due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has led to flight cancellations around the world.

Emirates has cancelled flights to Iran, Bahrain and to most of China because of the virus, and countries around the world have placed strict restrictions on entry of foreigners.

The airline has more resources than it needs as a result of cutting frequencies or cancelling flights to some destinations, said Chief Operating Officer Adel al-Redha in a statement on Tuesday.

"Considering the availability of additional resources and the fact that many employees want to utilize their leave, we have provided our employees the option to avail leave or apply for voluntary unpaid leave for up to one month at a time," he said.


Emirates Group, the state-owned holding company that counts the airline among its assets, has asked staff to consider taking paid and unpaid leave as it seeks to manage a "measurable slowdown" in its business, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an internal company email.

The group had more than 100,000 employees, including more than 21,000 cabin crew and 4,000 pilots, at the end of March 2019, the end of its last financial year.

Major concerts and events in the United Arab Emirates, an air transit center that includes tourism and business hub Dubai, have been cancelled or postponed as the coronavirus spreads in the Gulf.

The airline industry's largest global body IATA on Monday urged Middle Eastern governments to provide support to airlines as they try to manage the impact of the outbreak.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

American Airlines waives change fees as United braces for new flight cancellations

WASHINGTON - American Airlines Group Inc said on Sunday it was waiving change fees on all newly purchased tickets amid declining air travel demand because of the new coronavirus outbreak.

The largest US airline said it would waive change fees up to 14 days before travel for customers who purchase tickets between Sunday and March 16.

JetBlue Airways Corp said last week it would suspend change and cancellation fees for new flight bookings between Feb. 27 and March 11.

American Airlines shares have fallen 37 percent since Feb. 13.

United Airlines Chief Executive Oscar Munoz told employees the US airline would likely need to cut additional flights in the wake of sagging demand because of the coronavirus outbreak, the airline confirmed on Sunday.

In an email late on Saturday to employees, Munoz noted the carrier had cut flights to Asia and suspended service to mainland China and Hong Kong through April 30.

"We are strategically managing our Atlantic and domestic service, mindful of travel directives from the federal government, fluctuating demand and of course, the advice of public health experts. Based on current trends, it is likely that additional schedule reductions will be necessary," Munoz said. The email was reported earlier by CNBC.

On Friday, United canceled its investor day that was set for March 5, saying it is not "practical to expect that it can have a productive conversation focused on its long-term strategy next week.” It will reschedule for September.

Chicago-based United already withdrew its 2020 guidance last week because of the uncertainty over the duration and spread of the virus. It warned that near-term demand to China has almost disappeared, with demand for the rest of its trans-Pacific routes down by 75 percent. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Foreign pilots at Chinese airlines return home on unpaid leave as demand plummets

BEIJING/SYDNEY - Foreign pilots at some Chinese airlines have returned to their home countries and are considering other jobs after being placed on unpaid leave as demand falls because of the coronavirus, affected flight crew told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Chinese pilots with greater job security said their income has been sharply reduced because most of their pay is based on flying hours.

Data firm OAG estimates about 80 percent of scheduled airline capacity to, from and within China has been cut this week because of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that has killed more than 2,000 people. Chinese airlines have been the hardest hit.

Major employers of foreign pilots, including China Southern Airlines Co Ltd and HNA Group's Hainan Airlines Holding Co Ltd, have acted swiftly to cut their losses, according to pilots and industry experts.

China Southern did not respond immediately to a request for comment, and HNA declined to comment.

"All the foreign pilots are on leave until the virus situation gets better," said an expatriate captain at China Southern who, like all of those who spoke to Reuters, requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with media. "For the moment we are all in our home countries."

Expats are typically paid more than local staff and work on contracts, which means they are more expendable in a downturn, industry experts said.

"We have seen pilots heading back to Australia in January and February due to the stand down and seeking new roles," said Kirsty Ferguson, the head of Sydney-based airline interview coaching firm Pinstripe Solutions.

As China's airline sector ballooned, it imported foreign experience: the number of foreign pilots flying with Chinese airlines more than doubled to over 1,500 between 2010 and 2019, according the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

China will need another 124,000 pilots in the next 20 years, according to Boeing, as an expanding middle class drives demand for air travel. But foreign pilots said being put on leave without pay makes it less likely they'll return when demand recovers.

A foreign captain at Fuzhou Airlines, part of HNA Group, said he was placed on unpaid leave when the virus hit and was concerned it would be permanent.

"They hope people will find other jobs as none can go without pay forever," he said. "This way they 'save their face,' and secondly they don't feel obliged to dismiss you properly according to the contract."

The pilot said that he was looking for jobs closer to home, but that so far those options paid less than in China. Foreign pilots can make more than $300,000 a year there, making it one of the best-paying markets in the world.

A pilot at Tianjin Airlines, also part of HNA Group, said he was told it would be at least three to four months before the carrier starts recalling expatriate captains. He has found work with another foreign airline, he said.

HNA declined to comment.

A local pilot at China Southern said he was barely flying and as a result was receiving only his base salary, roughly 1/6 to 1/8 of his normal pay.

"What we can do now is keep a good mentality and enjoy the company of our family at home," he said. "Eat well, sleep well and exercise well and keep learning. Build up the energy so that we'll be well prepared for whatever comes later."

source: news.abs-cbn.com