Qantas said Monday that pilots had voted in favour of a pay deal that would pave the way for the airline to fly the world's longest non-stop commercial flights from Sydney to London. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the airline has canceled all its international flights through at least the end of May and pushed a decision on whether to order up to 12 Airbus SE A350-1000 planes for the Sydney-to-London flights to the end of the year from an earlier deadline of end-March. "The extraordinary circumstances facing aviation has seen Airbus agree to extend the deadline on our decision to purchase the A350s so we can both focus on navigating the coronavirus crisis," Qantas Chief Pilot Dick Tobiano said. "But when this period has passed, and it will, we will refocus our attention on Project Sunrise and the A350 order," he said. Qantas has named the ultra long-haul project "Project Sunrise" after the airline's double-sunrise endurance flights during World War Two. If the order proceeds, the non-stop flights from Sydney to London and other far-away destinations like New York could start H1 2023, allowing the airline to charge passengers a premium in return for avoiding a stop-over. Mark Sedgwick, the president of the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), the union representing Qantas pilots, said 85% had voted in favour of the agreement.<br/>
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Qatar Airways will have to seek government support eventually, CE Akbar al-Baker said Sunday, warning that the Middle East carrier could soon run out of the cash needed to continue flying. Several states have stepped in to help airlines hammered by the coronavirus pandemic that has virtually halted international travel, with the United States offering $58b in aid. Qatar Airways is one of few airlines continuing to maintain scheduled commercial passenger services and over the next two weeks expects to operate 1,800 flights. "We have received many requests from governments all over the world, embassies in certain countries, requesting Qatar Airways not to stop flying," Baker said. The state-owned carrier is operating flights to Europe, Asia and Australia, repatriating people who have been left stranded after many countries shut their borders. "We will fly as long as it is necessary and we have requests to get stranded people to their homes, provided the airspace is open and the airports are open," Baker said. However, he warned that the airline was burning through cash and only had enough to sustain operations for a "very short period". "We will surely go to our government eventually," Baker added.<br/>
LATAM Airlines said Sunday that it will suspend further international routes until the end of April due to travel restrictions and lower demand amid a global coronavirus pandemic. The airline had already announced last week that it would cut its international operations by 90% and domestic operations by 40% in response to the outbreak, which has led to over 30,000 deaths worldwide. The airline said that the only routes that it would continue to operate with limited frequency would be between Chilean capital Santiago and São Paulo in Brazil, and some routes between those cities and Miami, New York and Los Angeles.<br/>