International seat capacity has dropped by almost 80% from a year ago and half the world’s airplanes are in storage, new data shows, suggesting the aviation industry may take years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Carriers including United and Air NZ have warned they are likely to emerge from the crisis smaller, and there are fears others may not survive. “It is likely that when we get across to the other side of the pandemic, things won’t return to the vibrant market conditions we had at the start of the year,” said Olivier Ponti, VP at data firm ForwardKeys. “It’s also possible that a number of airlines will have gone bust and uneconomic discounts will be necessary to attract demand back,” he said. ForwardKeys said the number of international airline seats had fallen to 10m in the week of March 30 to April 5, down from 44.2m a year ago. Data firm OAG said several years of industry growth had been lost and it could take until 2022 or 2023 before the volume of flyers returns to the levels that had been expected for 2020. Cirium, another aviation data provider, said around half of the world’s airplane fleet was now in storage. Planemakers are looking at drastic cuts in wide-body production, manufacturing and supplier sources said. Deliveries of long-range jets like the Boeing 777 or 787 and Airbus A350 or A330 have been particularly badly hit. Story has more.<br/>
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The coronavirus pandemic sent global air passenger demand plunging 14% in February, marking the steepest decline in traffic since the Sept 11 attacks in 2001, the global aviation association said on Thursday. Fresh data from the IATA showed that air passenger demand, measured in the number of kilometres travelled by paying passengers, nosedived 14.1% globally last month compared to February 2019. "This was the steepest decline in traffic since 9/11," IATA said, adding that the slump "reflected collapsing domestic travel in China and sharply falling international demand to/from and within the Asia-Pacific region, owing to the spreading Covid-19 (disease)... and government-imposed travel restrictions." The pain was not evenly distributed, with carriers in the Asia-Pacific region suffering a 41% drop. Global airline capacity meanwhile fell by 8.7% in February as airlines scrambled to cut back services in line with plunging traffic. "Airlines were hit by a sledgehammer called Covid-19 in February," IATA chief Alexandre de Juniac said. <br/>
Economic analysis conducted and published by ACI World has found that on a global level the COVID-19 outbreak is estimated to eradicate two-fifths (38.1%) of passenger traffic – equivalent to 3.6b passengers in absolute terms – and almost half of revenues for airports in 2020 as compared to the forecasted pre-pandemic figure. The shortfall in the number of passengers and the cancellation of flights as a result of travel restrictions, border closures and country-wide lockdowns to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 will continue to result in reduced revenues. While the industry was expected to generate about $172b in 2020, it is now predicted it could lose approximately 45% (more than $76b) by the end of 2020. Angela Gittens, ACI World Director General, said: “A drastic decline of such magnitude for the global airport industry represents an existential threat. A swift, effective and equitable economic policy response from governments is needed to protect millions of jobs, protect essential operations and give the industry the greatest chance to weather the storm and recover quickly. The global airport industry has faced multi-billion-dollar losses already in the first quarter of 2020, but it is now predicted that the impact of COVID-19 will extend not only to the second quarter of 2020, but also the second half of the year.”<br/>
The largest US pilots’ union is demanding the government force airlines to inform flight crews when co-workers fall ill to Covid-19. Some carriers haven’t been following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance that they let their employees know when they’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the Air Line Pilots Association said in a letter to the FAA. “Friday’s reports of the death from Covid-19 of an American Airlines flight attendant is especially sobering, and highlights the exigency of taking all needed measures to avoid further contagion of airline crew members,” Joe DePete, president of ALPA, wrote in the letter, which was dated Tuesday. While large swaths of America are hunkered down in their homes, airlines are continuing to fly and the government plans to require at least a low level of flight service for carriers taking part in a $50 billion bailout program of loans and grants. “An urgent FAA order, directive or regulatory requirement is needed because ‘guidance’ from the Centers for Disease Control is not mandatory and is not being consistently followed,” DePete wrote. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson “followed up with ALPA and we are working to make sure they are in contact with the right people at the CDC to best address the issue,” the agency said. The union also said that unspecified airlines aren’t following FAA and CDC guidance on how to disinfect aircraft.<br/>
President Donald Trump falsely claimed Wednesday that airplane and train passengers are being given "very strong tests" for the coronavirus both before departure and after arrival. Asked at a White House briefing if he is considering a temporary ban on domestic flights and rail travel, Trump said he was thinking about how to handle flights to and from virus "hot spots," but that it's "a very tough thing" to shut down "entire transportation systems." He also claimed that there are safeguards already in place.<br/>"They're doing tests on airlines -- very strong tests -- for getting on, getting off. They're doing tests on trains -- getting on, getting off," he said. Facts First: There is no evidence plane and train passengers in the US are being tested for the coronavirus at all, let alone both when they get on and get off. Trump might have meant to refer to screening -- which involves questioning and sometimes temperature checks -- rather than actual testing, but major US airlines and rail company Amtrak are not doing screening, either. Some plane passengers are being subjected to government screening upon landing, but most passengers are not -- and this screening, unlike testing, cannot conclusively determine whether someone has the virus.<br/>
The Phoenix airport can raise fees for Uber and Lyft to operate on its property, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The justices unanimously upheld the $4 pickup and drop-off fees that led the ride-hailing companies to threaten to stop serving the airport. They rejected a complaint filed by Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who said the fee hikes are “very likely” unconstitutional. The city currently charges $2.66 for each pickup but doesn’t charge for rider drop-offs. Brnovich says the fee increases violate a 2018 constitutional amendment that banned new fees on services. Lawyers for the city argued the higher fees are not taxes on services, but rather permissible charges for businesses to use the city-owned Sky Harbor International Airport, one of the largest US airports serving about 44 million passengers a year. “This ruling will allow all companies that do business at the airport to equally participate in its financial recovery from COVID-19,” Mayor Kate Gallego's office said.<br/>
Boeing is offering employees buyouts as its CEO said it will take years for the airlines and aerospace industry to recover from the coronavirus crisis. In a memo to employees, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said the company is offering voluntary layoff packages that will provide exiting employees with pay and benefits. Calhoun said the company is doing so "to reduce the need for other workforce actions." Boeing had 161,000 employees at the start of this year, with about a third of them represented by unions. The aircraft maker has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Airlines around the globe have seen their revenue virtually disappear and are taking steps to cut capital spending, including aircraft purchases. "One thing is already clear: It will take time for the aerospace industry to recover from the crisis," Calhoun said. "When the world emerges from the pandemic, the size of the commercial market and the types of products and services our customers want and need will likely be different. We will need to balance the supply and demand accordingly as the industry goes through the recovery process for years to come. It's important we start adjusting to our new reality now."<br/>
Some airline passengers are taking advantage of cheap flights during the coronavirus outbreak to earn air miles and improve their loyalty programme status, according to an industry insider. Airlines have slashed prices to account for a fall in demand over the past few weeks, as most of the US faces stay-at-home orders. Some airfares dropped by as much as 70% in the first weeks of March, and the value of total tickets sold by booking agents is down by around 80%. Health officials have advised against all but essential travel to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but some passengers are using those cheap fares to bump up their frequent flyer status, according to a flight attendant with a major US airline. “Most airlines have different levels [for frequent flyers] which give you different perks. Some people are trying to up their level. They are doing turnarounds,” the attendant said, referring to the practice of flying to a destination only to return immediately on the same flight. “Many people have observed the essential travel rule, but there are careless people out there buying the cheap tickets. One person just wanted their kid to have their first flight,” they said.<br/>