Ryanair is preparing to cut up to 15% of its 19,000 workforce as it becomes the latest airline to warn that the aviation industry faces a slow recovery from the upheaval wrought by coronavirus. The carrier said it expected it would take at least two years for a return to last year’s levels of passenger demand and pricing, as it laid out plans to cut further costs. CE Michael O’Leary said his outlook on the recovery had changed over the past week in light of the E9b bailout Air France-KLM had won from the French and Dutch governments, and the state aid Lufthansa is expected to receive. He said the “whole competitive market has now been completely turned on its head”. “The weakest airlines going into the crisis — Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Alitalia — who were going to in normal circumstances have to restructure and retrench are now going to be enormously enriched with this state aid doping. I think what we are facing now is that . . . they’ll be able to make life very difficult for the well-run airlines like ourselves, BA and easyJet.” O’Leary said Ryanair had to respond by downsizing the airline for the next 12 months. “Unless we have materially lower costs for the next 12-24 months, we won’t be able to operate successfully in a market where air fares are going to be materially lower.”<br/>
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The CEO of Southwest, one of the largest US air companies, insisted Sunday that travellers could again fly in safety and added that air traffic, nearly paralyzed by the coronavirus pandemic, was gradually reviving. Asked on CBS whether it was again safe to fly, Gary Kelly replied, "It is. We're doing everything possible to encourage people to come back and fly." He said his airline was taking a number of safety precautions: passengers and crew members will be required to wear masks; planes will receive deep cleaning between flights; and some seats will be left empty to allow a degree of social distancing. "I don't think the risk on an airplane is any greater risk than anywhere else," Kelly said. "You look at the layered approach that we use, it's as safe as any environment you're going to find." Kelly said he believes the worst has passed for the industry. "I think we've seen the bottom here," he said. "Each week after the first week of April has gotten successively better. I don't think June will be a good month, but... we're looking forward to July and August." He acknowledged, however, that things remain in flux. There are bookings in place, but those could easily be cancelled," he said. "It is one day at a time."<br/>
Norwegian Air Shuttle reached an agreement with bondholders to swap debt for equity, taking the airline one step closer to securing the state loan guarantees needed to keep the struggling carrier afloat. Such loan guarantees were “crucial to getting through the crisis,” CEO Jacob Schram said Sunday. As the airline prepares to hold a shareholder meeting on Monday, Schram said his main priority now is to reach an agreement with the leasing companies that provide their planes. In earlier talks with bondholders, Norwegian Air failed to get the required two-thirds majority support from holders of E250m of bonds, it said on Friday. Talks continued into the weekend with May 4 as a deadline, the date when shareholders are scheduled to vote on the restructuring plan.<br/>
Wizz Air’s planned Abu Dhabi-based joint venture carrier is expected to start flying this year, the European budget airline said Sunday. The joint venture with Abu Dhabi state holding company ADQ, announced in December, aims to start flights to Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa, Wizz Air said. Wizz Air will also start flights from European cities to Abu Dhabi from June, which it said would supplement the launch of the joint venture.<br/>
Iceland may look at taking a stake in Icelandair Group hf if the government injects funds into the airline, PM Katrin Jakobsdottir told local radio. “If there will be specific support, we need to weigh if it is natural that the state gets a share in it or if the state’s interest is better guarded with another solution,” Jakobsdottir said Sunday. The government said last month it was ready to discuss a possible loan or loan guarantees, contingent on the carrier’s financial restructuring. Icelandair has been working toward a stock offering to be completed by the end of May. Aid for airlines has become a political hot potato after travel bans during the coronavirus pandemic.<br/>