An American Airlines Group pilot tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first at the carrier to be diagnosed with the disease that’s infected more than 128,000 people globally and killed nearly 5,000. The aviator is undergoing treatment, American’s pilots union said Thursday. Neither the Allied Pilots Association nor the airline would confirm when the pilot became ill, say if he or she was flying recently or release any personal information. The union learned of the coronavirus case Wednesday night. American said it is “in close contact” with the CDC and public health officials. The American case may be just the start of crew members falling ill, said Robert Mann, an aviation consultant. “I’d be shocked if it didn’t occur more and more frequently as things go on,” said Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co. “I’d say the same of flight attendants. The real concern is that crew members have a strong motivation -- sometimes it’s financial and sometimes it’s fear of repercussions -- to fly when they’re ill and they may think it’s a mild cold.” Mann said he would still be more concerned about exposure to fellow passengers who may be ill than crew members.<br/>
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The Fair Work Ombudsman has said Qantas is paying back millions of dollars to hundreds of workers it underpaid for up to eight years. The airline had so far paid back $7.1m to 638 staff at head office who were underpaid between June 2011 and June 2019, the ombudsman said Friday. The airline self-reported it had incorrectly paid some marketing and administrative staff in accordance with their individual contracts, rather than their relevant enterprise agreements that covered them, the ombudsman, Sandra Parker, said. As a result, they didn’t receive the minimum terms of those agreements, such as overtime, minimum wages and annual leave entitlements, she said. Under a court-enforceable undertaking, Qantas has agreed to repay all workers, with interest, and give each affected worker an additional $1,000 payment by 24 April. A spreadsheet on the ombudsman’s website indicates most workers will receive a few thousand dollars but some will get significantly more, with one worker who did not get payment for their on-call overtime set to receive $141,717.66.<br/>
LATAM Airlines Group is cutting its international flights by 30% for the months of April and May, as countries close borders to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. As a result of lower demand and government restrictions resulting from the pandemic, the airline group is reducing flights from South America to Europe and the USA from 1 April to 30 May. “Faced with this complex and extraordinarily dynamic scenario, LATAM is taking immediate and responsible measures to safeguard the group’s long-term sustainability, while seeking to secure passengers’ travel plans and protect the jobs of the group’s 43,000 coworkers,” states chief commercial officer Roberto Alvo. Other measures include the suspension of new investments and hiring, as well as incentives for unpaid leave and the bringing forward of vacations.<br/>