Qantas has pushed back aircraft deliveries from Airbus and Boeing worth hundreds of millions of dollars as it rethinks its network and fleet needs during a long recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. A Qantas spokesman confirmed on Monday it had told the aircraft manufacturers it would not receive any new jets while the health crisis and resulting uncertainty persist. The move defers three Boeing 787s which were due to enter Qantas' fleet by the end of 2020, and 18 Airbus A321neos which were to arrive in Jetstar livery between August this year and 2022. Qantas did not have a revised timeline for when the new jets will arrive, the spokesman said. Boeing is laying off 10 per cent of its global workforce, including around 230 workers at its factory in Melbourne.<br/>
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Royal Jordanian said Saturday it had requested the rescheduling of debt payments owed to leasing companies and banks after an “unprecedented” fall in revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a bourse disclosure, the state-owned airline said it had asked airline leasing companies, suppliers and banks for a rescheduling of sums owed for a “few months”. The airline, which has an extensive network in the region, did not give a figure on how steep the drop in revenues had been since Jordan closed its airspace on March 18. While Jordan has started to ease tight lockdown restrictions, it has only allowed repatriation flights for citizens, who are required to enter quarantine on their return. A prohibition on foreigners entering the country remains. The company said that, alongside the business lost due to the lockdown, it had so far had to pay 16m dinars ($22.5m) in returned tickets. The company would seek financial aid from the government under a stimulus package to help troubled firms, RJ said.<br/>
Airlines boss Willie Walsh will be grilled by MPs tomorrow over controversial plans to cut more than a quarter of the BA workforce. The CE of BA's parent IAG will be asked to justify the culling of 12,000 BA jobs when IAG has GBP8.7b cash reserves. Walsh is also likely to be quizzed by the transport select committee about the decision to make deep cuts at BA but no redundancies at IAG's Spanish airlines – Iberia and Vueling. This is despite BA contributing around 60% of group profits last year. The hearing is part of an investigation into the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry. Huw Merriman, chairman of the Transport Select Committee and Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, said: "We are trying to work out what IAG's strategy is. Are the job cuts all about surviving the coronavirus crisis, or is it a plan Willie Walsh has had all along to cut costs – and he's using the pandemic as an opportunity?"<br/>
New York City healthcare workers on the frontline of the coronavirus battle are being treated to complimentary vacations courtesy of American Airlines and Hyatt hotels. More than 4,000 employees at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst in Queens will get three-day trips to a variety of destinations in the US and the Caribbean once COVID-19 subsides and they're able to take time off, the two companies said Friday. Doctors, nurses, physician assistants and even food-service workers are among those receiving the thank-you gift. “We are extremely grateful to Hyatt and American Airlines for this generous gift to our healthcare workers, who have been at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Israel Rocha, the CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals' Elmhurst facility. American says this is the carrier's largest ever donation of flights to a single cause. “Every worker at Elmhurst has seen and experienced challenges many of us cannot imagine," American Airlines president Robert Isom said. "They’ve given so much of themselves and chose to serve their community with care, compassion and equity for every patient." Both Hyatt and American are encouraging members of their loyalty clubs to donate points so more health workers can be given free trips.<br/>