Qatar Airways is set to retire around 50 aircraft and cut almost a fifth of its staff in the wake of the corona virus pandemic.
The airline may also provide cash support to airlines in which it has investments should such a move be required to secure equity. “Unfortunately, we will have to cut nearly 20% of our workforce – nearly equal to the amount of aircraft we will never fly again, over the next three years,” Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker told the BBC in an interview. “It’s a very hard decision… but we have no alternative.” The airline currently has a fleet of 245 aircraft, around half of which are in temporary storage due to capacity cuts. Qatar Airways Group holds equity stakes in a number of airline groups globally including Cathay Pacific, IAG and LATAM. Al Baker denies reports of a plan to provide a financial bail-out for Cathay, but does not rule out cash injections to support any of the group’s investments. “If there is a recall for an injection in equity [at Cathay], as a shareholder we will do it otherwise we will lose our equity share. The same goes with all our other investments,” he says. “We have invested strategically for the long-term. We have a pie and we will have to share it equally between our staff and the investments that we have.” Al Baker joins other airlines with a stark warning about the consequences of states introducing lengthy quarantine periods for air travellers: “[Quarantining] will really destroy the industry, destroy airport feasibility and their income. And I don’t think it will solve the problem,” he says. “The only answer is a treatment and a vaccine.”

Source: Cirium

Jet Airways, the Indian carrier that suspended operations last year amid financial difficulties, has launched a fourth search for a buyer. A document on the Mumbai-based carrier's website, a version of which was also published in various Indian newspapers, sets a deadline of 28 May 2020 for expressions of interest. Jet Airways will then publish a final list of prospective resolution applicants on 10 June 2020. It estimates that these will then be submitted to an "adjudicating authority" around 23 July 2020. Separately, the airline said in a 13 May stock exchange disclosure that its plan to sell its business in the Netherlands to Dutch carrier KLM has failed to receive regulatory approval. Airport Coordination Netherlands, an airport slot coordinator, on 11 May denied approval for the deal. Jet Airways started operations on 5 May 1993 as an air taxi operator with a fleet of four leased Boeing 737-300s, and in January 1995 was granted scheduled airline status, the airline says. It made its first international flight from Chennai to Colombo in March 2004, before being listed on Indian exchanges in February 2005. Due to financial distress and an inability to service scheduled debt obligations, it was forced to suspend operations on 17 April 2019.

Source: Cirium

British Airways’ CityFlyer division is looking at ending its Edinburgh-based operations and cutting 72 pilots as part of cutbacks being introduced in response to the coronavirus crisis.

CityFlyer primarily operates out of London City and Edinburgh, using a fleet of Embraer 190s and 170s.

The airline has formally notified cockpit union BALPA that 72 potential pilot redundancies out of 248 are being proposed during CityFlyer’s re-organisation.

Most of these would take place at the Edinburgh base.

“In addition [CityFlyer] warned that its whole future remained uncertain as British Airways, its parent company, was still reviewing its own future,” says the union.

BALPA adds that it will “fight for every job” in CityFlyer at London City and Edinburgh. General secretary Brian Strutton described the proposed cuts as “yet more shocking and devastating news”.

British Airways parent IAG’s chief executive, Willie Walsh, told a UK parliamentary transport committee on 11 May that London City had been facing particular difficulties during the crisis. The downtown airport shut to all commercial operations on 25 March and remains closed. “I think [the shutdown] clearly points to the specific customer segment that supports London City,” Walsh told the committee. “And I think that airport is one that will be challenged greatly as we go through this, and as we come out of this.” He would not be drawn at the time on the future of BA’s London City operation, stating only that this would form part of a consultation with elected workers’ representatives. Walsh told the committee that he felt BA still had prospects at London Gatwick, despite reducing flight activity at the airport. The airline had previously indicated that it would place Boeing 737 Max jets at Gatwick following an initial agreement to acquire 200 of the type – but the order has yet to be firmed and, given the crisis, its future is unclear. “I do see a future for BA at Gatwick,” said Walsh. “I like Gatwick. It think Gatwick is a better airport than Heathrow in many ways. “I think it’s better run. I think the management team are more commercial. I think the customer base is one that we’d want to serve. The challenge we face at the moment is that we’ve had to do what is right, in the environment that exists. “But I’d like to think that BA will be operating at Gatwick in the future.”

Source: Cirium