Qantas Airways could restart 40-50% of its domestic capacity in July if states relax border controls, and expects to offer low and flexible fares without social distancing measures to stimulate travel demand, its CE said Tuesday. The airline will introduce measures on board from June 12 such as providing masks and cleaning wipes to ensure safe travel and give passengers peace of mind during the pandemic, but will not leave middle seats empty. "Social distancing on an aircraft is impractical," Qantas CE Alan Joyce said. "It only gives you 60 centimetres between passengers." He said to meet Australia's standard for social distancing of 1.5 metres on the ground, an Airbus A320 operated by low-cost arm Jetstar could fill just 22 seats, rather than the normal 180. "That means airfares are going to be eight to nine times more than they are today," he said. "It economically will not be justified." Instead, Qantas will simplify catering, step up aircraft cleaning and ask passengers to limit movement around the cabin once seated. Masks will not be mandatory but Qantas will recommend passengers wear them in the interest of everyone's peace of mind, in a measure that is unlikely to be needed over the longer term, Qantas Group Medical Director Ian Hosegood said.<br/>
oneworld
Investors are betting American Airlines will file for bankruptcy for the second time in a decade. The price for the airline’s credit default swaps has risen since February and outstripped other big US carriers. Historically, paying more for swaps, a financial instrument to insure against corporate default on debt, has indicated a greater risk of that happening. Bloomberg data show that investors think the airline’s default probability in the next five years is nearly 100%. American’s five-year credit default swaps hit 6,659 basis points, according to IHS Markit data. The price has risen more than 4,000 per cent in the past three months. The market priced swaps for United at 3,677bp, for Delta at 1,212bp, and for Southwest at 505bp. American’s debt totals $34b, well above the $23b on the balance sheets at both Delta and United, and almost six times as much as Southwest. That reality is driving speculation that American, which filed for Chapter 11 nine years ago, could be headed back to court — what lawyers grimly call “Chapter 22”. “It truly is just where their debt level is relative to others,” said Berenberg analyst Adrian Yanoshik. “I could give you other reasons, but when you peel the onion back on those sub-reasons, they tend to end up with: They have more debt.”<br/>
Finland's national airline will restart routes between Europe and Asia in July once countries begin to lift coronavirus restrictions on travel, the company announced on Monday. Beijing and Shanghai will be the first long-haul destinations to reopen, alongside Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok and three Japanese routes, Finnair said in a statement. Flights to Delhi and New York will follow in August. The move makes Finnair one of the first European carriers to restart intercontinental flights, after the Lufthansa Group announced on Friday it would resume 19 long-haul routes by early June. "We expect aviation to recover gradually, starting in July," Finnair CCO Ole Orver said, adding that the company intends to bring its operations back to one-third of normal capacity. Finnair cut 90& of its flights on April 1 and issued a profit warning as coronavirus restrictions brought international passenger travel almost to a standstill. Facemasks will be mandatory on all Finnair flights "until at least the end of August," Finnair spokeswoman Paivyt Tallqvist told AFP. "We have also taken a number of steps to avoid unnecessary movement on board," Tallqvist said, including having passengers disembark in smaller groups, and limiting capacity of shuttle bus transport between aircraft and the terminal to 50%. <br/>
Qatar Airways cabin crew will begin wearing protective suits and passengers will have to wear face masks on board, the airline said Monday, as it begins rebuilding its network after the coronavirus pandemic grounded flights. Cabin crew have already been wearing face masks and gloves while on board but will now also wear suits over their uniforms, while face masks would be mandatory for passengers from May 25, the airline said. Cabin crew and passenger interactions will be reduced, it added. “We have introduced these additional safety measures onboard our flights to ensure the continued health and wellbeing of our passengers and cabin crew, and to limit the spread of coronavirus,” CE Akbar al-Baker said. Those not wearing a face mask inside Qatar risk a fine of 200,000 riyals ($55,000) and a maximum prison sentence of three years.<br/>