Lufthansa will seek to avoid a grounding and insolvency, CE Carsten Spohr said Sunday, before a showdown between the airline's biggest shareholder and the German government over the terms of a E9b bailout. Lufthansa has been hard hit by what is expected to be a protracted travel slump because of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing it to seek a bailout. Billionaire shareholder Heinz Hermann Thiele will meet the economics minister on Monday to discuss his objections to the state-backed bailout, a source close to the matter said. As an alternative to the government taking a direct stake in Lufthansa, Thiele has proposed an indirect participation through state-owned German development bank KfW. In a letter to employees, Spohr said the airline was in intense talks with the government and large shareholders which had "the clear goal of finding a satisfactory solution for our company and all participants before Thursday," when an extraordinary shareholder meeting will be held. Expressing his desire to avoid a grounding or insolvency, he said: "I am sure this is an objective which unites all parties."<br/>
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Lufthansa could let its Belgian subsidiary Brussels Airlines go bankrupt or sell it, La Libre newspaper reported on Friday, citing anonymous sources at the airline. Brussels Airlines, which employs 4,200 people, said last month it would cut its fleet of aircraft by 30% and its workforce by a quarter to ensure its survival during and after the coronavirus crisis. Talks to save the Belgian airline been have stalled for weeks but directors of Lufthansa, which has itself been bailed out by the German government, and Brussels Airlines would meet on Monday to discuss a plan for its future.<br/>
A group of banks led by Goldman Sachs may launch a $5b debt offering for United as soon as Monday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Goldman Sachs has started discussions with investors to gauge their level of interest, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Early unofficial pricing discussions for a bond that could have a maturity of seven or eight years are for a yield of about 7%, the people said. United is tapping its frequent-flyer programme for the deal, the company’s biggest debt sale since the pandemic. The offering may also include leveraged loans and the debt could have one investment-grade rating. Talks on the terms of the offering are preliminary and could change, the people said. Goldman, Barclays and Morgan Stanley committed to provide the financing to United in exchange for a claim on MileagePlus, the loyalty programme the airline established in 1981, according to a company presentation. Since the banks have underwritten the debt, they will be eager to begin marketing and offload it to investors soon, according to the people.<br/>
South African Airways’ final business rescue plan considerably revises down the losses projected over the first three years for the restructured carrier. While a draft plan circulated at the beginning of June indicated losses close to R20b ($1.1b) for the period, the final plan estimates pre-tax losses of around R6.3b. It projects 2023-24 to be the first profitable year, with pre-tax earnings of R836m. While the draft plan had indicated a fleet being gradually reduced from 40 aircraft, the final business plan appears to presume a fleet of 13 aircraft from the outset, rising to 26 aircraft during 2021-22. This results in a revenue estimate of R1.2b for the first year – to the end of March 2021 – increasing to R6.6b for 2021-22 and then doubling to a stable figure of about R12-14b in subsequent years. By this point the airline would be transporting some 2.8m passengers per year, with load factors in the low-to-mid-60% range. The business rescue plan estimates that the airline will employ close to 2,900 personnel by 2023. But the whole plan depends on gaining support from creditors, who are set to vote after a crucial meeting to be convened on 25 June.<br/>
Thailand's Labour Ministry will invite the management of Thai Airways for talks over a complaint submitted on Friday to the ministry by the airline's labour union over unreasonable cuts in work benefits, especially healthcare welfare, according to the labour union. Nares Puengyaem, the president of THAI's labour union, along with two representatives of State Enterprises Workers' Relations Confederation (SERC), Friday submitted to Sutthi Sukoson, the permanent secretary for labour, a letter complaining about reduced work benefits. Despite good cooperation by THAI employees to comply with the company's policy to slash salaries and other types of money paid to them by between 10% and 50%, effective last Monday, management had gone too far in its bid to tighten the belt by cutting several work benefits, particularly health welfare, said Nares. Previously, THAI employees received medical care services at contracted hospitals, he said. But now, they are asked to first pay for their medical bills out of their own pockets and later request reimbursement from the airline. This came as a huge financial burden to many THAI employees, he said. These employees are left with no other choice when it comes to accessing medical care as they are still unable to immediately switch to either the universal healthcare scheme or the social security system's healthcare programme, he said. The cancellation of a shuttle service for staff working the graveyard shift has also resulted in security being compromised for many female staff travelling on their own at odd hours and a massive rise in their travel costs, especially for those working at airports located far away from city areas such as Phuket airport, he said.<br/>
Turkish Airlines resumed flights to the US on Friday after more than two months, as Turkey eases restrictions against the spread of the novel coronavirus. Two planes bound for Washington D.C. and Chicago took off from Istanbul Airport at 1800 GMT and 1805 GMT respectively. Turkey has reopened restaurants and cafes, allowed intercity flights and car travel, and lifted weekend stay-home orders this month. Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines have also resumed some international flights.<br/>