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
DUBAI -- Emirates and Boeing were poised on Wednesday to seal a compromise deal that would see the Dubai carrier order around 30 787 Dreamliners, paving the way for a reduced order for delayed 777X jets, people familiar with the matter said.
Emirates tentatively ordered 40 Dreamliners in 2017 but "tough" last-minute talks to finalize the order this week have hinged on negotiations over the fate of a massive separate order for 150 777X after the latter ran into delays, they said.
A restructuring of the 777X order may, however, not be highlighted officially at the Dubai Airshow, where Emirates plans an announcement for 0700 GMT on Wednesday (3 p.m. in Manila).
Emirates and Boeing declined to comment.
Sources cautioned talks were still going on in Dubai and the number of aircraft ordered could be subject to last-minute adjustments, but said it was unlikely Emirates would take all 40 787 jets announced at the largest Middle East air show in 2017.
One source said the order could involve as many as 35 787s.
Emirates has been looking at reducing part of its 777X order, which the airline's president Tim Clark said on Tuesday could be influenced by the delays and in turn determine whether it went ahead with a 787 deal.
Emirates says it no longer knows when it will receive its first 777X, which was supposed to be delivered next year. Boeing has said the 777X will be delivered in 2021.
Easing an eight-month-old crisis over the grounding of its smaller 737 MAX, Boeing had earlier at the Nov 17-21 show won tentative or firm orders for 60 of the grounded MAX jets.
But industry sources had warned that Boeing had risked leaving Dubai without resolving the critical set of interlocking deals with Emirates, the industry's largest customer for wide-body jets and the backbone for the 777X program.
A high-profile order announcement on Wednesday would also effectively deliver a message of support from Dubai for the troubled US planemaker, whose ongoing MAX crisis has harmed Emirates sister carrier flydubai, analysts said.
The United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, is a close ally of the United States, which has poured support into the region amid tensions between Iran and Gulf Arab states that provided a tense backdrop to the Middle East industry event.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
DUBAI - Emirates Airline said Monday it would buy 50 Airbus 350-900 widebody aircraft in a deal worth $16 billion, with delivery to begin in May 2023.
"I am happy to announce we are purchasing 50 Airbus 350 for $16 billion," the carrier's chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum told reporters at the Dubai Airshow.
Emirates serves a global network spanning over 158 destinations in 84 countries. Its fleet stands at 267 large aircraft, including more than 100 Airbus 380 superjumbos.
Its move earlier this year to reduce its total A380 orders triggered Airbus to pull the plug on the costly plane, which airlines have struggled to fill to its capacity of 500-850 people.
At the time, Airbus said it would buy smaller A330 and A350 models instead.
"It is very good news for Airbus," the European aerospace giant's CEO Guillaume Faure said of the announcement in Dubai, adding he was "very proud that Airbus 350 has been selected by Emirates".
source: news.abs-cbn.com
