Air Mauritius has put three Airbus widebodies and two single-aisle aircraft up for sale, weeks after entering voluntary administration amid the Covid-19 crisis. In a procurement notice on its website, the airline says it is selling two A340-300s (MSNs 194 and 268), one A330-200 (MSN 1057) and two A319s (MSNs 1592 and 1936). The A340s were built in 1997 and 1999, while the A330 is a 2009 example. The narrow bodies were manufactured in 2001 and 2003. The closing date for interested parties is 11 August. Air Mauritius took delivery of its first Airbus A330-900 last year, and now operates two of the aircraft along with A350s, A340s and the older A330s, as well as the two Airbus narrow bodies and three ATR turboprops.

Source: Cirium

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