Airlines worldwide could lose US$252b in revenue this year from the coronavirus pandemic, threatening the survival of the industry, according to IATA. The anticipated hit is more than double a decline mooted by IATA earlier this month, reflecting the steep downward spiral of many carriers as they grapple with a crisis more severe than anything the sector has ever faced, the trade group said Tuesday. While govts around the world have pledged support, a liquidity crisis is “coming at full speed,” IATA CE Alexandre de Juniac said. States need to get “massive action” in place so there’s still an industry to rescue. IATA warned earlier this month that only about 30 airlines have reasonably healthy debt and earnings. And even the stronger ones probably have only enough cash to survive for a matter of months. <br/>
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Airlines would get US$37b in grants to keep workers on the job as part of a $71b package to rescue carriers and airports struggling with the coronavirus outbreak, but the airlines would be required to adhere to new emissions requirements under a plan released by House Democrats. The measure would also provide as much as $21b in loans to help air carriers continue operations amid plummeting travel because of the virus. Airline contractors would also see $3b for payroll support grants, while airports would see $10b in grant funding. In exchange, airlines receiving aid would have to start offsetting their carbon emissions in 2025 and reduce their overall emissions by 50% by 2050, according to a summary of the $2.5t stimulus bill provided by House Democrats Monday. <br/>
Airline service in the US is teetering on the brink of collapse, with near-empty planes and coronavirus outbreaks that have left some air traffic control towers empty. Even with sharply reduced schedules, airlines are consolidating some of the remaining flights because passengers aren’t showing up. An official of one major US airline, who asked that they and their airline not be identified, ticked off more than a dozen flights that departed Tuesday morning with fewer than 10 passengers on board. In a few cases, the passengers were outnumbered by pilots and flight attendants. “There are no passengers,” said the official, noting that the average flight was just over 20% full and that figure is expected to drop into the teens by the weekend. <br/>
British and US nationals travelling overseas are struggling to return home as airlines suspend flights and airports close with little notice in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The UK Foreign Office Monday advised all British tourists to return to the UK, where commercial flights are available. However, travellers have warned flights are either not available, routed through airports expected to close, or in some cases priced at tens of thousands of pounds. A former cabinet minister warned British nationals were facing a “dire” situation and in some cases “no routes home”. UK officials said repatriation flights would only be organised in “exceptional circumstances”. US officials said the govt was also working round the clock to bring back citizens stranded abroad by the sudden cut-off in commercial flights. <br/>
The UK is balking at a full-scale bailout of its airlines, telling British carriers to seek out private-sector remedies first and making clear the uneven hurdles the global aviation industry faces in finding ways to survive the fallout of the new coronavirus outbreak. IATA said earlier Tuesday it now expects airlines to lose some US$252b in revenue this year—more than double a worst-case estimate of $113b given earlier this month. Air traffic is expected to drop 38% for the year, the trade body said. It doesn’t expect a fast recovery. In a letter to airlines and airports Tuesday, Rishi Sunak, the country’s chancellor of the exchequer said the govt is prepared to enter into negotiations with individual companies but only as “a last resort.” <br/>
It’s hard to spot a plane these days in the skies over Latin America. Unfortunately for the region’s carriers, concrete signs of a rescue package look just as scarce. A fresh round of flight cuts were announced Tuesday, reducing travel on the continent to a trickle and raising the pressure on govts to help prop up the ailing industry. As the world goes into lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the airline industry has been particularly hard hit -- even more so in Latin America, where top carriers’ stocks have tumbled beyond global peers. “The industry will be in zombie mode at least until May,” said Luis Felipe de Oliveira, executive director of the Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association. “Govts need to understand it will be very difficult to recover even after the crisis.” <br/>
China’s domestic passenger airline market is showing signs of improvement as the country’s coronavirus restrictions are lifted, according to IATA. “We are seeing some signs of a turning point in the Chinese domestic market,” says IATA chief economist Brian Pearce Tuesday. “The March numbers are showing an improvement. We’re certainly getting those reports from the market.” Airlines in China had been discounting seats by up to 25% year-on-year in February, but “that’s stabilising” in March, Pearce notes. Indeed, IATA’s figures indicate that passenger yields on Chinese domestic flights booked in the 2 weeks of March are up slightly year-on-year. IATA also notes that load factors on domestic services have been around the 60% mark. <br/>