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Lufthansa will discuss permanently grounding its Germanwings low-cost airline unit at a management board meeting on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said. It remains unclear whether a decision will be reached about closing down Germanwings, the sources said. A Lufthansa spokesman said no decisions had been taken and reiterated that all options were being considered as it reviews its business and ways to cut costs to mitigate the loss of business caused by the coronavirus crisis. German unions appealed on Monday for the airline’s management to support Germanwings after Lufthansa last week rejected a union proposal to implement shortened work hours, also known as Kurzarbeit, which would have saved jobs in the short term. Trade unions and associations VC, UFO, Verdi, IGL/TGL and ACA made a joint appeal on Monday to help safeguard Germanwings jobs.<br/>

Lufthansa is working on a package to raise money from the debt and equity markets to help see it through the coronavirus pandemic that has caused the collapse of passenger flights, two sources familiar with the matter said. The plan could include a combination of convertible bonds, the sale of new shares and a rights issue, where existing shareholders buy additional shares in a company at a discount, the sources said, adding that it could happen within the next two weeks. Lufthansa declined to comment. Lufthansa has idled more than 90% of its fleet since the virus outbreak and has already held talks with the German government on providing liquidity, including through special loans from state development bank KfW. While details of what the state support will include have yet to be decided, the airline is also being advised by investment banks to unveil a capital raise plan, the sources said. Lufthansa is “now showing that it can create its own liquidity,” one of the sources said.<br/>

Belgium’s Brussels Airlines has extended its suspension of flights until at least May 15, it said Monday. The Belgian carrier had previously grounded flights until Apr. 19 but said it was extending that by four weeks because of “low to no demand”, owing to travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. The company, which has a workforce of 4,200, said it would prolong the temporary short-time work scheme under which wages are cut but topped up by the government to help companies to manage liquidity problems resulting from the crisis. Customers with bookings during the suspension have until August to rebook and will be able to push back travel dates as far as the end of April 2021.<br/>

United was sued by a passenger for refusing to issue refunds for canceled flights, three days after US regulators ordered airlines to reimburse customers. The passenger, Jacob Rudolph, filed the suit in federal court in Chicago on Monday, saying he was denied a refund request for three plane tickets he purchased in January to travel to Minneapolis/St. Paul from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on April 4. “United has engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct through its policy to issue refunds, limiting and forcing customers into a rebooked flight or travel voucher instead of returning their money,” Rudolph said in his suit, which seeks class-action status. Airline passengers throughout the US are increasingly taking to social media to air their frustration at not being able to get refunds for trips cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic. The US DoT on Friday reminded carriers that they are required to reimburse fliers for fares and fees. Rudolph said he was denied a refund for the more than $1,500 he spent on the tickets and told he could rebook the flights or receive a credit for travel within a year of the original travel date. United spokeswoman Leslie Scott declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the company hadn’t been served yet. <br/>

Japan's ANA Holdings will request a government guarantee for part of the 1.3t yen ($12b) in credit lines the carrier is asking from public- and private-sector lenders as its revenue plunges amid the coronavirus pandemic. A guarantee would let the All Nippon Airways parent borrow without having to put up collateral, with potential to leave the government on the hook if the carrier defaults. Such arrangements are used more commonly for expensive projects such as plant construction than for corporate bailouts. Aid to the airline industry is among the issues being considered as the government hammers out an emergency coronavirus stimulus package due Tuesday. Providing guarantees to corporate loans could inform Japan's approach to support for other businesses as well. Though ANA holds Y300b in cash and equivalents, the carrier is losing Y100b monthly amid fixed costs and severely reduced revenue as demand for air travel evaporates. The company has canceled nearly 90% of its international service, and ridership on domestic flights is steadily dwindling as well. ANA is also requesting Y300b in loans from a lending program run by the government-backed Development Bank of Japan.<br/>

Ethiopian Airlines has become the latest airline to ask employees to take unpaid leave. The request comes as Ethiopia reports its first death from COVID-19. The airline is thought to be terminating the contracts of temporary employees. Permanent staff members are being asked to take all their annual leave and up to 90 days of unpaid leave. Ethiopian Airlines is having to make tough decisions regarding the future of its 8,000 employees. A letter was reportedly sent to employees this week saying “you are hereby granted 90 consecutive days of leave without pay which will be in effect from April 03, 2020 to July 2nd 2020 after you exhaust all accrued and prorated vacation days”. However the airline refuted the rumors of unpaid leave by saying, “As our flights to over 87 destinations suspended and over 80 of our fleets are grounded, we have instructed some of our workers to take a paid leave”. According to the same letter, the airline does not want to terminate any jobs but is simply asking for staff to take leave.<br/>

Air NZ is laying off 387 pilots as part of a wider move to reduce its workforce by at least 3750 to make it through the coronavirus pandemic. Like most airlines around the world Air New Zealand has been hammered by the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The New Zealand Air Line Pilots' Association (NZALPA), which represented 1520 Air NZ pilots, said it was told by Air NZ that it proposed to make 387 pilots redundant. NZALPA president Andrew Ridling said it was deep in negotiations with the airline on Tuesday morning. "As we have been working closely with the airline over the past three weeks, NZALPA will continue to negotiate on getting this number reduced and finalising the agreement process." It is understood an email outlining pilot job losses was sent to staff on Monday evening and mostly first and second officers were affected. Ridling said NZALPA would fight to ensure there was a clear and transparent path back to Air New Zealand for all pilots who chose to return. "NZALPA is adamant that 387 redundancies is not a final number. Now we continue the robust and thorough consultation process required under the Employment Relations Act and our specific collective agreement." An Air NZ spokeswoman would not comment on pilot redundancies specifically but said it had entered into a consultation process on Monday to reduce the size of the workforce by up to 3500 roles.<br/>