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Delta Air Lines lost its coveted investment-grade status from one rater as S&P Global cut the company to junk. “The steep decline in airline bookings due to the coronavirus outbreak will sharply reduce Delta Air’s revenue and cash flow,” S&P said Tuesday as it lowered the carrier 2 notches to BB, or 2 steps below investment grade. The carrier’s efforts to cut costs probably won’t be enough to offset the lost sales, S&P said. “We expect passenger air traffic to begin to recover in late 2020,” S&P said. “However, any further delays will prolong the weakness in the company’s credit metrics.” If the shutdowns and travel restrictions start to improve by May, airlines should have sufficient cash to weather the storm and will make it through, a Raymond James analyst said. <br/>

KLM will begin its summer season flying only a small fraction of its normal capacity, as a result of the coronavirus and travel restrictions. Although the carrier will operate to 57 destinations, it is dramatically paring back its frequencies. “From March 29 until and including May 3, KLM plans to fly to 25 intercontinental and 32 European destinations,” it says. “During this period, KLM will fly according to an adjusted schedule, which amounts to about 10% of the normal number of flights.” KLM’s intercontinental routes will be operated with Boeing 787s and 777s as its 747s are being retired from service. Within Europe, KLM has planned its 32 routes from Amsterdam Schiphol to connect “as much as possible” to its international network. Last April, on a per-week basis, KLM operated 1,345 flights to 111 destinations, offering capacity of 287,000 seats. <br/>