President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is weighing grounding domestic flights between coronavirus hot spots as he ramps up efforts to try to contain the pandemic’s spread. “We’re thinking about doing that,” Trump said, a day after he warned the nation to brace for a “hell of a bad two weeks,” with 100,000 to 240,000 coronavirus deaths projected, even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained. Limited flights continue to run between cities like New York and Detroit, though passenger counts have plummeted across the nation. The TSA screened just 146,348 passengers Tuesday, down from 2,026,256 the same day last year. Nonetheless, Trump said he was looking at new restrictions, even as he voiced concern about the impact on already-struggling airlines, saying that, once you do that, “you really are clamping down” on “an industry that is desperately needed.” Trump, however, offered mixed messages during the briefing. He seemed to suggest that he was looking to temporarily ground all domestic flights, saying, “We’re looking at the whole thing because we’re getting into a position now where we want to do that, we have to do that ... and we may have some recommendations.” But pressed later on whether that was his intention, he said he was thinking of something less restrictive. “I am looking where flights are going into hot spots,” he said. “Closing up every single flight on every single airline, that’s a very, very, very rough decision. But we are thinking about hot spots where you go from spot to spot, both hot. And we’ll let you know fairly soon.” Trump in the past has said he was reluctant to ground flights because of challenges in getting the system back up and running once the threat posed by the virus fades.<br/>
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The Treasury Department plans to hire three Wall Street banks for advice on doling out tens of billions of dollars in aid to the airline industry, which is hemorrhaging cash as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The department is expected to tap PJT Partners, Moelis & Co. and Perella Weinberg Partners for help with the airline portion of the $2t stimulus bill, according to people familiar with the matter. Each bank is likely to advise on aid to one of three subsectors: commercial airlines, cargo carriers and firms critical to national security, such as Boeing, the people said. The assignments could be disclosed this week, though the plans could change or be delayed as they are still being finalized. The stimulus bill includes $50b for passenger airlines, half of it in outright grants to be used to cover payroll for six months and the rest in loans and guarantees. Lawmakers allocated another $8b to air-cargo carriers, $3b to airline contractors such as catering companies and $17b to companies deemed essential to national security. The law also authorized the Treasury Department to take a stake in airlines. <br/>
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the US Treasury on Wednesday not to hold up $25b in cash grants approved by Congress last week to airlines for payroll costs. "We do want them to honour what our conversation was, which is this is just a stopping-off point for the check. It goes to the airline and directly to the employee," Pelosi said. "We just don't want to hold it up." Major aviation unions and some airline officials are concerned the US Treasury will demand too much in warrants or equity as a condition of the grants for airline payroll costs. Treasury on Monday told airlines to propose financial instruments as part of their applications for grants that they want to see by Friday. The legislation requires equity, warrants or other financial compensation for taxpayers for the $25b in loans, but gives Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discretion over whether to seek compensation for the grants. A group of unions representing more than 100,000 flight attendants urged Mnuchin in a letter on Wednesday not to exercise his authority to demand warrants or equity as a condition for the $25b in grants. "If the airlines were required to pay back the grants in full with an equity position of $25 billion, that would give the government the equivalent of a 40% stake in airlines in exchange for keeping workers on the payroll for six months," the letter said, adding it "effectively renders the payroll grants a poison pill that will cost us our jobs."<br/>
The US airline industry is about to get smaller. That's bad news for airline employees -- and for airline passengers. Airline traffic has plunged and it probably won't recover any time soon. The $50b aviation bailout passed last week will keep airlines in business and employees on the job for the the next six months. Still, airline executives suggested they expect fewer flights and slumping demand for air travel for quite some time. "If the recovery is as slow as we fear, it means our airline and our workforce will have to be smaller than it is today," said United CEO Oscar Munoz and President Scott Kirby in a message to their employees last Friday. A leaner airline industry means some of the 750,000 jobs the industry had at the start of 2020 won't come back. Hundreds of planes will almost certainly stay grounded, which will mean less capacity and higher fares. Many of the low-cost seats that passengers have enjoyed booking will disappear. Fliers will have less choice -- of airlines, of flight times, and of available routes and markets. All of that means passengers will pay more when they return to the air. "Fewer seats flying means fewer cheap seats at the margin," Philip Baggaley, chief credit analyst for airlines for S&P Global.<br/>
Asia-Pacific carrier schedules are shrinking fast as the coronavirus crisis continues to take its toll on travel demand. Japan’s ANA announced further reductions to international capacity today, the third update in three days. The latest reductions affect routes to Frankfurt, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong. JAL announced further cuts on 1 April, and will reduce some 85% of its international services throughout the month. Among the major changes to its schedules are flights to the Americas, where it will now operate only 25% of its planned schedule, compared with 46% at the last update on 30 March. Korean Air will also pare down services, with flights to London and Paris down to twice weekly versus thrice weekly at the previous update. <br/>
Qatar's Hamad International Airport has temporarily reduced the number of employees onsite by 40%, with most working from home or on annual leave, a Qatar Airways spokesman said on Tuesday, denying a media report that said the airline had cut its workforce. "In a press conference earlier today, we confirmed that there had been a temporary reduction of 40% of staff at Hamad International Airport across various areas including food and beverage, retail and ground staff," the spokesman said. "This is purely a short term response to the COVID-19 crisis and the reduction in passenger numbers through the airport." Hamad International is a subsidiary of Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways' operations have decreased by more than 75%, the COO of Hamad International Airport said Tuesday. <br/>
Of all the twists that have complicated the ungrounding of Boeing’s 737 Max, this one might be the strangest: A global pandemic is keeping regulators from being in the same room. With airlines flying a fraction of their pre-virus schedules and production at many of the planemaker’s own facilities suspended, a small Boeing team has continued testing the latest software changes on the Max. The planes are wiped down and sealed between flights, according to people familiar with the situation. Boeing is sticking to its estimate of a mid-year return to service. But to do so, the manufacturer will have to pull off the ultimate work-from-home challenge: certifying an airplane with regulators who are self-isolating on different continents. One analyst, Carter Copeland of Melius Research, predicted this week that with the logistical hurdles, the Max’s return is at risk of slipping one to three months. “It is now difficult, if not impossible, for various global regulatory staff to get into the country, and the FAA’s task list now includes many immense challenges related to Covid-19,” he wrote in a note to clients. A delay would add to the breathtaking challenges confronting Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s new CEO, and further squeeze the planemaker’s cash. <br/>
Australia's government announced Wednesday that it will provide A$110m to fly local agriculture and fisheries products to key overseas markets, starting with Singapore, the UAE, China, Japan and Hong Kong. The plan, which would see the government charter hundreds of flights full of products such as rock lobsters, beef and dairy to the key markets, was formulated after the coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of most of the commercial flights that usually carry fresh products. The flights will leave from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Recent international flight groundings by airlines including Qantas and Virgin Australia have made it impossible to get products such as chilled seafood, red meat, dairy products and some fruit and vegetables to offshore markets. "Getting our export sector back on its feet is crucial to reduce job losses through the crisis and a critical part of the ultimate economic recovery," said Trade Minister Simon Birmingham. The planes will have capacity to carry medical supplies, medicine and equipment back to Australia.<br/>