Aerolineas Argentinas will begin negotiations with unions to suspend the contracts of thousands of employees until August after the flag carrier’s income plunged about 97% due to the coronavirus outbreak, it said on Monday. The airline, which is staying afloat largely through state support, will pay workers’ social security and make smaller, spot payments during the proposed two-month suspension, it said in a statement. A source said the carrier aims to suspend some 8,000 of its 12,000 employees. Savings from the suspension would be used to maintain the fleet, make repairs and shore up its spare parts supply chain, the company said. “The health crisis that the world is going through is an unprecedented event that led to the biggest crisis in the commercial airline sector in history.” It said it had postponed payments, renegotiated debts with fuel suppliers and was in talks to reschedule payments to Brazilian and Argentine banks.<br/>
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Delta is negotiating with its pilots union to avoid potential layoffs after the carrier determined it would have 2,327 more aviators than necessary for its reduced schedule. The Air Line Pilots Association is discussing ways with Delta to blunt any cuts by offering voluntary exit options, according to a union statement Monday. Another 7,000 pilots are already being displaced to other cities or aircraft types, or being lowered in rank, because of weak demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Delta is also retiring its Boeing MD-88 and MD-90 jets and about half its Boeing 717 planes. The threat of significant layoffs is looming over US carriers after September, when restrictions on mass job cuts expire under the terms of the US government’s aid for the airline industry. While demand for flights is inching up after collapsing in March and April, passenger counts remain about 88% below last year’s level, according to the US TSA. ALPA leaders at Delta are in talks with the carrier over a compensation program for members who qualify for early retirement, as well as potential voluntary leave options, the union said. Pilots who hold a flying assignment starting Oct. 1 but elect to take an early retirement offer could open slots for some of the 2,327 unassigned employees.<br/>
Vietnam Airlines has resumed full domestic operations with the number of domestic passenger flights on May 29 up 36% year on year to over 300. The total number of cargo and passenger flights on May 29 was almost equivalent to the figure on the same day in 2019, at over 350. A representative from the firm said this is a positive signal marking a strong recovery of Vietnam Airlines in particular and domestic airline firms in general. The number of domestic passengers has rapidly increased again thanks to the good control of the Covid-19 situation in the country. Since the social distancing order was eased on April 23, Vietnam Airlines has transported more than 500,000 domestic passengers. In mid-May, Vietnam Airlines launched five new domestic routes to popular tourism destinations nationwide to meet the increasing travel demand of passengers. It plans to open six more domestic routes in June towards completing its air route network across the country.<br/>