Hundreds of Hong Kong Airlines crew facing axe
Hundreds of Hong Kong Airlines pilots and cabin crew are facing the axe as the struggling carrier battles to stay afloat. After narrowly avoiding going out of business in December – when only a last-minute cash injection from its indebted owner HNA Group stopped the government revoking its licence – the airline has to cut costs to avoid running out of money again. One of the conditions imposed in December by the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) was for HKA to maintain and improve its cash balance, which is likely to put several hundred jobs at risk. As of January 1, the ailing airline continued to employ 3,481 people, but the loss of its long-haul routes, and a reduction from 39 planes to 28 is likely to see that number slashed, and job losses could dwarf the 600 employees Cathay Pacific cut at its headquarters in May 2017. Pilots, the single most expensive employees on the payroll, are at greatest risk. According to some who talked to the Post as many as 200 aircrew are vulnerable, while of the 1,573 cabin crew – a number that has fallen from 1,926 since the start of last year – as many as a third of flight attendants’ jobs could be at risk, sources estimated. When asked about the size and scope of possible cuts in frontline staff, the airline did not dispute the numbers provided by the Post. A company spokeswoman said it adjusted “our staff strength from time to time based on operational needs.” Airline sources said it would need 300 pilots at most, after the rest of its planes were either surprisingly impounded by Hong Kong airport’s operator, or returned to aircraft leasing companies last year.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-01-06/unaligned/hundreds-of-hong-kong-airlines-crew-facing-axe
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Hundreds of Hong Kong Airlines crew facing axe
Hundreds of Hong Kong Airlines pilots and cabin crew are facing the axe as the struggling carrier battles to stay afloat. After narrowly avoiding going out of business in December – when only a last-minute cash injection from its indebted owner HNA Group stopped the government revoking its licence – the airline has to cut costs to avoid running out of money again. One of the conditions imposed in December by the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) was for HKA to maintain and improve its cash balance, which is likely to put several hundred jobs at risk. As of January 1, the ailing airline continued to employ 3,481 people, but the loss of its long-haul routes, and a reduction from 39 planes to 28 is likely to see that number slashed, and job losses could dwarf the 600 employees Cathay Pacific cut at its headquarters in May 2017. Pilots, the single most expensive employees on the payroll, are at greatest risk. According to some who talked to the Post as many as 200 aircrew are vulnerable, while of the 1,573 cabin crew – a number that has fallen from 1,926 since the start of last year – as many as a third of flight attendants’ jobs could be at risk, sources estimated. When asked about the size and scope of possible cuts in frontline staff, the airline did not dispute the numbers provided by the Post. A company spokeswoman said it adjusted “our staff strength from time to time based on operational needs.” Airline sources said it would need 300 pilots at most, after the rest of its planes were either surprisingly impounded by Hong Kong airport’s operator, or returned to aircraft leasing companies last year.<br/>
