Aviation

Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc has proposed cutting the number of hours pilots fly each month by 15% to further reduce labour spending and help avoid involuntary layoffs as surging US coronavirus cases quash travel demand. The proposal offered to the Delta unit of the Air Line Pilots Association would remain in place for a year with hours flexing back ...

Bloomberg Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, fresh from getting a $1.5 billion rescue package, is anticipating a sluggish recovery in air travel that won’t see demand returning to 2019 levels for at least three years. The British carrier founded by Richard Branson is resuming passenger flights next week with trips to Hong Kong, New York and Los Angeles. Widespread border restrictions ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, said the government has yet to determine how the rescue of South African Airways (SAA) will be funded. His ministry and the National Treasury said they would mobilise the additional 10 billion rand ($599 million) the bankrupt airline’s administrators said is needed to effect the rescue. In a July 17 Twitter ...

Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc will notify 25,000 employees, or 29% of its US workforce, that they’re at risk of losing their jobs later this year as the carrier adjusts to a collapse in travel. The cuts are needed because the coronavirus pandemic is still battering demand for flights, the company told employees. The reductions would take effect after restrictions ...

Bloomberg Air Canada tried again to persuade the government of Justin Trudeau to ease restrictions on travel, pointing to policy shifts in other nations where the Covid-19 pandemic has shown signs of improvement. In a letter to Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau and other cabinet members, the airline’s chief medical officer suggested loosening quarantine requirements through “a science-based approach” to ...

Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed off from intervening in British Airways (BA) plans to cut pay and modify contracts for remaining staff after dismissing thousands of others. “British Airways and a number of other companies are in severe difficulties at the moment,” Johnson told lawmakers in Parliament. “We cannot simply with a magic wand ensure that every single ...

Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc will take a charge of as much as $3.3 billion to cover the costs of early retirement and voluntary separation plans for employees, as the carrier scales back operations amid a plunge in travel. The charge will be recorded in the third quarter and most workers will leave on August 1, the Atlanta-based carrier said ...

Bloomberg Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd announced a 1.2 billion-pound ($1.5 billion) rescue in a major victory for Richard Branson, who snatched his UK airline from the brink of failure under the weight of the coronavirus crisis. US hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management will provide about 170 million pounds in secured financing, according to a statement, while Branson will contribute ...

Bloomberg Heathrow Airport is introducing cleaning robots and other measures to try to reduce the risk of virus transmission at the UK aviation hub as the country eases travel restrictions. The robots use ultraviolet rays to kill viruses and bacteria at night, according to a statement from the airport, which didn’t say how many of the machines were being deployed. ...

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc Chairman John Barton said he expects shareholders to approve the British carrier’s 419 million pound ($524 million) share sale, providing a financial buffer as it contends with a slow recovery from the coronavirus shutdown. The Luton, England-based airline received proxy votes worth 60% of share capital in favour of the conditional part of a 703 pence-a-share equity ...