United Airlines has warned 36,000 employees, or 45% of its total staff, that their jobs may be in danger as the carrier prepares to downsize following the coronavirus pandemic. Affected workers whose roles may be impacted later this year include flight attendants, pilots, gate agents as well as customer service, contact center, catering, network operations and maintenance employees, executives at the Chicago-based airline tell journalists on 8 July. “The involuntary furloughs that we worked so hard to avoid are now the last option left to protect the long-term interests of the company and the long term prospects for thousands of United employees,” one United executive says in a media briefing call. The executive declined to be named. That said, the airline will continue to offer voluntary leave and early exit packages to all employees, and the actual number of furloughs the airline will need to make in the fourth quarter will depend on the uptake of these packages as well as the return of passenger demand. But that won’t likely happen until there is an effective therapy for coronavirus, or a vaccine, or both, they add. So far, about 26,000 employees per month have taken voluntary leaves or participated in plans to reduce work hours, which have been offered on a month-by-month basis, and have helped the airline reduce cash burn to $40 million per day. Some 3,700 employees have decided to leave the company completely, United says. The breakdown of potential furloughs includes: 15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 customer service and gate agents, 800 catering employees, 1,000 contact center employees, 225 network operations employees, 5,500 maintenance employees and 2,250 pilots. Most of the furloughs will be based upon seniority status, executives say, and employees will be informed if they are being furloughed by mid- to late-August.

Source: Cirium

One-third of air travellers surveyed by IATA say they will avoid flying to reduce the chances of catching Covid-19. Nearly 60% of respondents in an 11-country passenger survey conducted during the first week in June say they have avoided air travel since the beginning of the pandemic. Survey participants have taken at least one flight since July 2019.
Passengers' concerns that air travel will expose them to the coronavirus may very will intensify in the coming months. In the weeks since the survey was conducted the number of worldwide coronavirus cases has accelerated, particularly in the Americas and Southeast Asia, WHO data shows. On 30 June, the European Union kept the USA on its list of countries outside the bloc that do not meet specific epidemiological criteria, effectively extending its ban on US travellers. Within the USA, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are requiring travellers from states with increases in new Covid-19 cases to self-quarantine for 14 days. IATA data from the second half of June shows that as the number of worldwide coronavirus cases has accelerated, net bookings, which had improved slightly in May, are in decline again. “Quarantine is a demand killer," IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac states. "Keeping borders closed prolongs the pain by causing economic hardship well beyond airlines." Participants in the IATA survey rank sitting next to someone who might be infected with Covid-19 as their top concern related to being on an aircraft, followed by using restrooms and breathing the air on board an aircraft. The top concern related to being at an airport is being in a crowded bus/train on the way to the aircraft, followed by queuing and using airport restrooms. Survey participants cited Covid-19 screening at departure airports as the measure that would make them feel safe the most, followed by mandatory wearing of face masks and social distancing on board aircraft. Less than half of passengers surveyed say they are willing to take specific actions that might prevent them from infecting others with the coronavirus. Just 43% of passengers say they would undergo temperature checks, 42% say they would wear a mask while travelling, 40% say they would check in to flights online to minimise interactions at an airport, 39% say they would take a Covid-19 test prior to travelling and 38% say they would sanitise their own seating area. Nearly half of those surveyed (45%) say they will resume air travel within a few months of the pandemic subsiding. In a similar survey conducted by IATA in April, 61% of said they will resume air travel within a few months of the pandemic subsiding.

Source: Cirium

Cathay Pacific Group is considering parking some aircraft outside of its home base in Hong Kong to protect them from the city's hot and humid summer. The company tells Cirium it is looking into this "for operation management reasons". "At the present time our aircraft are parked at Hong Kong International Airport, primarily in remote bays, taxiways and other operational areas made available at the airport," it says. "We are exploring alternative locations beyond Hong Kong’s humid summer climate that can provide appropriate conditions for our aircraft while they are not flying. This is a prudent decision from an asset management perspective." Cathay did not specify the number of aircraft it is considering parking outside Hong Kong. Newswire Reuters, citing an anonymous source, reported on 6 July that Cathay is examining plans to store more than 50 widebodies in drier locations like Dubai and Australia. Cirium has not independently verified that report. The aircraft being considered for transfer overseas are from "a number of different fleets" within the group. Its airlines include mainline carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, regional arm Cathay Dragon and budget carrier HK Express. It adds: "Meanwhile, as previously announced, we will be conducting a comprehensive review of our operations and making a recommendation on the optimum size and shape of the group to the board by the fourth quarter of this year."

Source: Cirium