Aviation

Bloomberg US airlines have yet to tap $29 billion in federal pandemic relief loans as they wait to see whether the reopening of the economy revives demand and diminishes the need for money that comes with government strings attached. Although the four largest US passenger airlines have applied for the Treasury Department program, only American Airlines Group Inc has said ...

Bloomberg South Africa permits air travel from four main airports from Monday as the nation eases lockdown measures put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Limited domestic flights will be allowed for business purposes, and passengers must ask for authorisation based on their reason for travel, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said in a televised briefing. Flights ...

Bloomberg The aviation industry’s recovery from the coronavirus outbreak will be long and slow, with passenger numbers likely to stay below pre-pandemic levels through 2023, according to S&P Global Ratings, which warned of more rating downgrades for airports over the next few months. Global air passenger numbers will drop as much as 55% this year, a far steeper slump than ...

Bloomberg The German government settled a dispute with the European Commission over a 9 billion-euro ($9.9 billion) bailout of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, clearing the way for the carrier to accept the rescue package. After intensive talks, the commission and the German government agreed that Lufthansa will reduce the number of aircraft it keeps at Frankfurt and Munich airports. Lufthansa in ...

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co CEO Gary Kelly predicted that intense competition for passengers will create “a brutal low-fare environment” among carriers once coronavirus fears subside and more people start to fly. Even with capacity cuts, the number of available airline seats will still far outnumber customers in the near term, the chief executive officer said in a video message to ...

Bloomberg South African Airways’ bankruptcy administrators submitted a business rescue plan to the government, creditors and labour unions and will begin discussions on it next week. The so-called Business Rescue Practitioners have asked for an extension to their contract until June 8 to complete the work, they said. The airline has been unprofitable since 2011 and has been surviving on ...

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc will cut thousands of jobs representing as much as 30% of the workforce to cope with a long-term hit to demand from the coronavirus crisis. Europe’s second-biggest discount carrier will begin employee consultations in coming days, it said in a statement on Thursday. The Luton, England-based firm has about 15,000 workers, suggesting 4,500 posts are at risk. ...

Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc plans to cut 30% of its management and support staff as it tries to weather the dramatic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The move was announced in a letter to staff from Elise Eberwein, American’s executive vice president of people and global engagement. Other cost-saving steps include requiring staff to take 50% of ...

Bloomberg Boeing Co unveiled the first and deepest of its planned job cuts, saying it would notify 6,770 employees in the US that their positions would be eliminated. The collapse in air travel sparked by the coronavirus pandemic has sapped demand for jetliners, forcing Boeing to scale back its commercial business, Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun said in a message ...

Bloomberg Scandinavia’s main carrier SAS AB warned shareholders it will need to generate more funding to see it through the crisis triggered by Covid-19. The company has halted most of its traffic and started a process to cut 5,000 jobs, it said. SAS is in “ongoing and constructive discussions” with its “largest owners on a recapitalisation plan to secure adequate ...