The body representing global airlines came out against leaving middle seats empty on aircraft Tuesday, as debate intensifies over how to get airlines flying while respecting social-distancing rules in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Brian Pearce, chief economist at the IATA, said most airlines would have been unable to make money last year if a third of the seats had been removed on the industry's most-flown models. In April, IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac said leaving the middle seat empty was among the likely conditions for a resumption of air travel to be discussed with governments around the world. De Juniac denied that IATA had changed its stance because of the damage flying two-thirds full would do to airline profitability. "The point is to see whether it is necessary to implement measures," de Juniac said. The switch away from leaving the middle seat empty was based on scientific evidence, IATA's medical advisor David Powell said. "Nobody has demonstrated that having the middle seat empty reduces the chance of transmitting covid-19 from one person to another," he said. IATA would instead be recommending wearing masks and face coverings onboard as part of a range of measures including screening passengers before flying to make sure they did not have a fever, plus enhanced cleaning procedures and limited movement in the cabin, as the basis for restarting flying safely. <br/>
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US airlines are collectively burning more than $10b in cash a month and averaging fewer than two dozen passengers per domestic flight because of the coronavirus pandemic, industry trade group Airlines for America said in prepared testimony for a US Senate hearing Wednesday. Even after grounding more than 3,000 aircraft, or nearly 50% of the active US fleet, the group said its member carriers, which include the four largest US airlines, were averaging just 17 passengers per domestic flight and 29 passengers per international flight. "The US airline industry will emerge from this crisis a mere shadow of what it was just three short months ago," the group's CE, Nicholas Calio, will say, according to his prepared testimony. Net booked passengers have fallen by nearly 100% year-on-year, according to the testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee. The group warned that if air carriers were to refund all tickets, including those purchased as nonrefundable or those cancelled by a passenger instead of the carrier, "this will result in negative cash balances that will lead to bankruptcy."<br/>
The US DoT Tuesday allowed JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines to halt flights to several large US cities through September, thanks in large part to a much smaller commuter airline based in New England. Last month, the department granted a request by Hyannis, Massachusetts-based Cape Air Corp. to suspend service from New York City’s JFK Airport to the coastal vacation isle of Martha’s Vineyard. In its decision, the department said New Yorkers would continue to have abundant access to air travel from other carriers. The department has since applied same criteria to other airlines, including JetBlue and Spirit on Tuesday. It granted JetBlue’s request to suspend service to 16 large hubs including Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Seattle through September. Spirit Airlines had its request approved to suspend service to six cities, including Portland, Oregon, Denver and Minneapolis, through September. Those carriers “will not be obligated to provide service at certain large hubs or focus city airports that have abundant service by large air carriers using the airports to provide connecting services,” the department said in a statement. “This grant of relief is in line with the Department’s most recent action in the case of Hyannis Air Service d/b/a Cape Air.”<br/>
South Korea’s airline industry is likely to record its worst performance in Q1 with the dismal situation continuing in the near future. The nation’s largest airline Korean Air, which will announce its Q1 earnings next week, is expected to post an operating loss of around 240b won ($195m), the first red in 18 quarters since 2015, according to industry watchers. Passenger traffic is expected to shrink around 30% on-year. Asiana Airlines, which posted an operating loss of 368b won last year, is also forecast to see around 300b won loss in the January-March period. Low-cost carriers are also deeply affected. All the domestic LCCs, including Jeju Air, T’way Air and Jin Air, are predicted to post more losses. Industry watchers predicted the worsening performance of airlines will begin in earnest in Q2. Korean Air’s operating loss may reach as much as 500b won in Q2 as the international flight rate, which accounts for 94% of passenger sales, stands at only 10%, according to industry sources. T’way and Jeju Air’s operating losses are also expected to be 50.6b won and 68.8b won, respectively. <br/>
Higher fares, fewer routes, preflight health checks and less free food: The coronavirus pandemic is ushering in a new era of air travel. A seismic shift is underway as the world’s airlines reassess their operations and how they will look emerging from the crisis. At eerily empty airports, mask-wearing and social distancing already show a behavioural change among the few staff and travellers left. A long shake up lies ahead that is set to touch almost every aspect of flying after limits on movement unwind. “We should be prepared for a choppy, sluggish recovery even after the virus is contained, ” Delta CE Ed Bastian said in a letter to employees in the US this month. “I estimate the recovery period could take two to three years.” In a matter of months, the coronavirus reset the clock on a decades-long aviation boom that’s been one of the great cultural and economic phenomena of the post-war world. The explosion in air travel shrunk the planet, created jobs and hundreds of millions of first-time fliers, and dispersed families rich and poor over continents. Now it’s all on hold, with airlines slashing seat capacity by more than 70% since January. There’s no knowing when people will be willing to pack into enclosed cabin spaces again, though an IATA survey found 40% of recent travellers anticipated waiting at least six months after the virus is contained before flying again. Story has details of predictions about how flying will change. <br/>