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American Airlines is planning to cut 30% of its management and support staff, a reduction of about 5,000 jobs, because of the toll coronavirus is taking on the business, the company told employees Wednesday. The airline also started offering buyouts to these employees and said it plans to offer new voluntary leave and buyouts for frontline staff, such as flight attendants, next month, according to a company memo that was viewed by CNBC. “Although our pre-pandemic liquidity, the significant financial assistance provided by the government, and the cash we’ve raised in the capital markets provide a foundation for stability, we need to reduce our cost structure, including our most significant expense — the cost of compensation and benefits,” Elise Eberwein, American’s executive VP of people and global engagement, said in the staff note. “Additionally, running a smaller airline means we will need a management and support staff team that is roughly 30% leaner,” Eberwein wrote. Management and support staff will have until the end of June 10 to apply for the buyout and American is offering volunteers a third of their pay through the end of 2020 and five years of travel privileges. Employees that are laid off after Oct. 1 will not receive a severance, according to another company memo. American had about 130,000 employees as of the end of 2019 and so far, about 39,000 have taken voluntary leaves or early retirement.<br/>

American Airlines’ top executive sought to shut down persistent rumors that the debt-laden carrier could be forced into bankruptcy during the coronavirus travel downturn, saying it’s not among options he’ll consider. “Bankruptcy is failure. We’re not going to do that,” CEO Doug Parker said Wednesday, responding to a question. “I don’t think people should view bankruptcy as a financial tool; it’s failure.” Parker’s comments underscore the scrutiny American’s finances have been under since the pandemic virtually wiped out travel demand, sending the carrier and others in the industry scrambling to secure cash as they grounded planes and slashed operations to reduce spending. American’s debt of nearly $30b and its decision to initially focus on government loan opportunities led to rising speculation about whether it might file for court protection from creditors. Parker predicted that no large US carrier would take that path during the downturn. “We’re all going to be fine,” he said. “We’re all going to raise enough liquidity. I don’t think you’re going to see anybody fall by the wayside in this crisis.”<br/>

American Airlines has started alerting travelers about crowded planes before their trips and allowing them to switch to other flights in an effort to calm customers nervous about the spread of the coronavirus. The measure, which American announced Wednesday, follows a similar step by United. United instituted a new policy that tells customers when their flight is more than 70% full and lets them switch to another flight without paying an extra fee, after a passenger posted a photo on Twitter of a packed cross-country flight that went viral. American Airlines’ customers will be notified that a “flight may be busier than you expected” when they open their digital check-in window. In an effort to encourage new bookings, American also extended its waiver by a month so customers who buy tickets through June 30 for dates through the end of September can change their tickets without paying a change fee if they fly by Dec. 31, 2021.<br/>

British Airways has cancelled all its flights from Leeds Bradford airport to London Heathrow. The airline is dropping a number of routes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which will see its network shrink. A spokesperson for BA said: “We are sorry to suspend our flights to Leeds Bradford after many years. We regularly evaluate our routes based on where our customers tell us they want to travel. We remain committed to connecting businesses, families and friends right across our UK network.” or many years the Leeds Bradford to Heathrow route was operated by British Midland, which later became BMI. It dropped the link in 2009, citing lack of profitability. BMI was later subsumed within British Airways. BA re-launched the service between Leeds Bradford and Heathrow in 2012. But the route has always struggled commercially. <br/>