Aviation

Bloomberg Kenya Airways Plc needs at least $500 million to ride out the coronavirus crisis after first-half revenue plunged almost 50%, Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka said in an interview. The carrier, which is 49% state owned, must also be fully nationalised alongside Kenya Airports Authority, which runs the Nairobi hub, under a holding structure similar to that of regional ...

Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce’s compensation fell 83% to A$1.7 million ($1.2 million) in the year ended June as the airline slashed salaries and bonuses to save money during the coronavirus crisis. Joyce went without pay from early March until August, when he started taking 65% of his base salary, Qantas said. He got no bonus ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG is preparing for more drastic cutbacks in its global workforce and airline fleet than it previously planned, after a hoped-for recovery of air traffic fizzled out. Recent rules that forced travellers into quarantine have had a catastrophic effect on bookings, Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr told staff at a meeting, according to people in attendance. For ...

Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd is considering shifting its headquarters from Sydney in an effort to cut costs as the pandemic forces it to scale down operations. The carrier announced a three-month review of its property footprint across the country, and said it was seeking to trim its annual A$40 million ($29 million) bill for rented office space. Qantas appointed Colliers ...

Bloomberg SpiceJet Ltd, one of the world’s biggest customers for Boeing Co’s now-grounded 737 Max jets, said an interim offer of compensation from the US planemaker is higher than what the Indian budget carrier recognised earlier. SpiceJet, India’s second biggest airline, has been using an unusual accounting method to book income on expected compensation from Boeing in the past few ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE is offering French employees a bonus of two months’ salary if they accept voluntary severance by the end of next month, stepping up efforts to thin its ranks with fewer forced layoffs. The pandemic-hit planemaker is also offering to top up monthly wages by as much as 350 euros ($415) for up to a year if workers ...

Bloomberg French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would guarantee the survival of Air France after his Dutch counterpart warned more cost cuts may be needed to get through the deep industry slump. France will “do what is necessary to guarantee the survival of Air France,” Le Maire said on France 2 television. “We’ve already done a lot, and ...

Bloomberg When the Covid-19 crisis hit the airline business this year, Deutsche Lufthansa AG was planning to phase out the half-dozen aging MD-11 freighters that remain in its fleet by the end of 2020. Then cargo rates skyrocked. The virus destroyed demand for air travel, and as airlines grounded their fleets they also created a shortage of air-cargo space by ...

Bloomberg Flying business class isn’t what it used to be. Efforts to minimise human interaction and reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection are taking the shine off the most expensive seats onboard commercial aircraft. Gone are the multi-course banquets and warm personal service, once the hallmarks of carriers like Singapore Airlines Ltd and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. These days, what’s ...

Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd is still burning through as much as HK$2 billion ($258 million) a month and will continue to do so until the market recovers from the coronavirus crisis, the company said as it reported dismal August traffic figures and reiterated the need to restructure. “We are weathering the storm for now, but the fact remains that ...