oneworld

American Airlines Group told 25,000 workers that their jobs are at risk after federal aid expires Oct. 1, as air-travel demand falls again amid climbing coronavirus case numbers. American said in a letter to employees Wednesday that it expects to have 20,000 more employees than it needs this fall. The carrier sent notices for potential furlough to 25,000 of its employees as stipulated by federal labor laws. The figure includes airport and technical operations workers who could be shifted to other locations, the airline said. The potential cuts affect about 29% of the airline’s front-line workers. American has previously made cuts to its administrative and management employees that resulted in about 5,000 people leaving the company, a spokesman said. American CE Doug Parker and President Robert Isom said Wednesday in the letter to employees that passenger demand has started to slow again as infection rates rise and several states have reimposed curbs on travel. Some of those measures include quarantine requirements for anyone arriving from a growing number of hot spots across the country. American’s passenger revenue in June was down 80% from the same month in 2019. “We had a stated goal of avoiding furloughs because we believed demand for air travel would steadily rebound by Oct. 1 as the impact of Covid-19 dissipated,” Messrs. Parker and Isom wrote. “That unfortunately has not been the case.” American said employees who received notices of potential furlough include 9,950 flight attendants, 37% of the airline’s total. The notices will also go out to 2,500 pilots and thousands of other workers, American said.<br/>

American Airlines’ top executives on Wednesday backed efforts to extend billions in federal aid to protect aviation jobs through March as the pandemic’s impact on travel threatens tens of thousands of positions. Some $32b in federal aid was set aside to protect jobs in the US airline industry, and it prohibited employers from cutting positions through Sept. 30 under the CARES Act relief package that lawmakers passed in March. But with that deadline looming and a surge in US coronavirus cases hurting a nascent recovery in travel demand, some lawmakers and labour unions are seeking additional aid. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers to notify staff about possible layoffs or temporary furloughs generally 60 days in advance, meaning airlines are beginning to warn workers about potential furloughs this fall. Earlier this week, bipartisan House lawmakers urged in a letter to other members of Congress to extend funding for the program through March 2021, which labor unions called for late last month. <br/>

Qatar Airways has confidence that its partner Cathay Pacific will overcome the crisis wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, after shareholders of the Hong Kong-based carrier approved a plan to avoid collapse. “I have absolute confidence in every airline that we have invested,” Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said. Cathay has stated its intention to continue operations in Hong Kong and to resume growth, Al Baker said. Cathay’s shareholders -- Qatar Airways owns a 10% stake -- approved a $5b rescue plan backed by the government that includes the sale of preference shares and a rights issue. In the wake of an International Court of Justice ruling this week, Al Baker said the question of when Qatar Airways will be able to resume flying over four countries that have banned it from their airspace -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt -- is “with the ICAO.” The court on Tuesday gave the ICAO jurisdiction to oversee negotiations on the dispute, which affects Qatar-registered aircraft in skies controlled by the four boycotting countries. By closing the airspace, the Saudi-led bloc is going against the terms of the Chicago Convention signed by the four states, Al Baker said.<br/>

UK PM Boris Johnson backed off from intervening in BA plans to cut pay and modify contracts for remaining staff after dismissing thousands of others. “British Airways and a number of other companies are in severe difficulties at the moment,” Johnson told lawmakers in Parliament Wednesday. “We cannot simply with a magic wand ensure that every single job that was being done before the crisis is retained after the crisis.” Johnson was responding to a question from Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer, who asked whether the premier would tell BA that its actions would have consequences for its slew of lucrative airport landing slots. BA met with criticism after saying it planned to eliminate 12,000 jobs, or about 30% of the total, while tapping a state furlough program aimed at safeguarding employment. The House of Commons Transport Committee accused the airline of using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to cut the payroll, while Aviation Minister Kelly Tolhurst said she might ask the Civil Aviation Authority to confiscate BA slots, before cautioning that it wouldn’t be possible under the current system.<br/>