Most airlines are considering downsizing their staff over the next 12 months due to the coronavirus crisis, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday, citing an internal survey. "With the recovery in demand likely to be slow, 55% of respondents expect to have to decrease employment levels over the coming 12 months," global aviation body IATA said following a quarterly business confidence survey of more than 300 airlines. Some 45% reported having already reduced their staff numbers in Q2 2020 due to cost-cutting measures following the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile 57% expect passenger yields to fall over the next 12 months and think ticket prices could fall due to the weak recovery in demand. Some 19% expect to see a gradual increase in fares once the balance between supply and demand is restored. It expects air traffic to return to pre-crisis levels in 2024 and estimates that traffic will fall by 63% in 2020 compared to 2019, with a shortfall of $419b in the sector due to the coronavirus crisis. Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are expected to be the first to return to 2019 traffic levels, while the Americas are expected to experience a slower recovery, according to IATA.<br/>
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The Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday affirmed normal operation of flights between the Cairo International Airport and Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, as a deadly blast that occurred in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday has officially killed 135 people. In a statement, Egyptian Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar said flights between Egypt and Lebanon are regular and run as scheduled. Manar affirmed “the Egyptian civil aviation sector’s solidarity with the brotherly government and people in Lebanon,” and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. Egypt will open an air bridge to send urgent medical aid to Lebanon, the Egyptian ambassador said on Wednesday, a day after a blast in the capital, Beirut, has reportedly killed at least 100 people and injured at least 4,000 others. The newly-opened air bridge will carry the required medicine and medical supplies, a statement by the Egyptian Embassy in Lebanon said, quoting Ambassador Yusuf Allawi said.<br/>
A group of Senate Republicans on Wednesday backed extending a US$25b payroll assistance program for US airlines after warnings that carriers may be forced to cut tens of thousands of jobs without government action. Airline stocks moved sharply higher on the news. Shares of American Airlines were up 8.9% in afternoon trading while shares of United rose 6.3%. The letter, spearheaded by Senator Cory Gardner and addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and copied to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, was the first public disclosure of significant support in the Republican-led Senate for additional emergency funding for US airlines. Senators Marco Rubio, Roger Wicker, James Inhofe, James Risch, John Cornyn, Todd Young, Susan Collins, Martha McSally and others who signed the letter said they backed a new six-month extension of the payroll support program "to avoid furloughs and further support those workers." Cornyn's office released a copy of the letter and declined further comment. Airline officials and unions have been urging US lawmakers to extend new assistance in the face of the coronavirus epidemic's devastating impact on airline travel. "With air travel anticipated to remain low in the near future, Congress should also consider provisions to support and provide flexibility for businesses across the aviation industry similarly impacted, such as airport concessionaires and aviation manufacturing," the letter said.<br/>
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he'd support an extension of payroll support for airlines as the coronavirus pandemic continues to eat away at their business. Trump's support comes after 16 senators signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., asking for the extension to spare potentially tens of thousands of airline jobs that are at risk after current funding is exhausted at the end of September. "We don’t want to lose our airlines," Trump said Wednesday. "If they’re looking at that, whether they’re Republican or Democrat, I’d certainly be in favor." Unions representing airline employees and more than 200 members of the House of Representatives have supported an extension of CARES Act funding for airlines, which received $25b from Congress when it passed the law in March. "This provision is the most successful jobs program of COVID relief and maintains service to all of our communities," said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. "This provision was adopted in March with bipartisan support and has even broader support now as a proven program."<br/>
The coronavirus pandemic has already derailed one major acquisition in South Korea's airline industry, now a second hangs in the balance. HDC Hyundai Development, a midsize building company spun off from the Hyundai group, has been looking to break into aviation by purchasing Asiana Airlines, the country's second-largest carrier. In late December, HDC Chairman Chung Mong-gyu, supported by the country's largest brokerage house Mirae Asset Daewoo, signed a deal to purchase a controlling stake in Asiana for 2.5t won ($2.2b) from Kumho Industrial. Chung was betting on the deal to boost his company's brand and reputation in the global market, as well as fulfill a personal ambition. The chairman -- who managed Hyundai Motor two decades ago -- before his cousin took the helm, has also spoken of his dream of turning HDC into a mobility solution company. The deal was also expected to create synergy effects as HDC entered the duty-free and resort businesses. But just months after the signing, the coronavirus pandemic decimated air travel demand, both domestic and global. Asiana was hit hard, grounding many of its 85 aircraft and logging a 292b won operating loss in Q1. Story has full details.<br/>
Boeing rose the most in a month after CFO Greg Smith said he didn’t intend to tap the debt market for additional liquidity again, as the planemaker maps out a path through an unprecedented collapse of air travel. The company is husbanding cash to weather potentially “dire” scenarios as it navigates a market still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, Smith said Wednesday at a virtual conference arranged by Jefferies. Liquidity remains a critical focus for investors given Boeing’s cash consumption and ballooning debt. The Covid-19 crisis has upended global aviation and further complicated Boeing’s efforts to return its erstwhile cash cow, the 737 Max, to commercial service. The narrow-body model, Boeing’s best-selling jet, has been grounded almost 17 months after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. The pandemic has piled on pressure by undermining demand for other jetliners and forcing Boeing to burn cash at a record rate. Smith’s views on liquidity helped buoy shareholders, with Boeing advancing 4.6% to $174.31 at 1:49 p.m. in New York after climbing as much as 6% for the biggest gain since late June. But Boeing still faces a long, uncertain recovery from the hole it’s in. Raising almost $40b of debt stabilized Boeing’s liquidity position for now, “yet key credit metrics are likely to remain strained,” Matthew Geudtner, a credit analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, said in a report.<br/>
Copenhagen airport’s operator is considering cutting 25% of its staff in response to the air transport downturn. The Danish hub’s management company, Kobenhavns Lufthavne, has unveiled a DKr228m ($36m) pre-tax loss for H1 of this year, against its previous profit of DKr617m. It is estimating a full-year net loss of DKr450-750m – a range which underlines the uncertainty over the crisis – and points out that this accounts for various government support measures. Without these measures, the operator says, the net loss could be as much as DKr1b. It says it is “contemplating” cutting 650 full-time positions from its current level of 2,600 in order to “align” its organisation to lower activity – generating a cost saving of DKr325m. “Over the coming weeks, discussions will be held with [the company’s] union representatives to determine the expected redundancies,” it adds.<br/>