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American Airlines Group Inc said Thursday it plans to suspend flights to 15 US airports in October as travel demand remains low as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Congress has been weighing for weeks whether to grant US airlines another $25b in payroll assistance that would keep tens of thousands of airline workers on the job for another six months and extend minimum service requirements. American said it will cancel just over 700 flights in October to and from those 15 airports but warned it could make additional cuts or could reconsider if Congress provides more assistance. “This is the first step as American continues to evaluate its network and plans for additional schedule changes in the coming weeks,” the airline said. The debate over airline assistance has stalled as Congress has struggled to reach agreement on a broader coronavirus assistance package. Some lawmakers think Congress and the White House may not reach a deal until September.<br/>

BA has been accused of “appalling behaviour that puts a Victorian mill owner to shame” in its treatment of staff. Unite the Union claimed the airline was trying to force thousands of workers onto insecure zero hours-type contracts in its latest round of proposals, and attempting to make some employees agree to five weeks’ unpaid leave per year. The changes in contract could see some staff take a 43% pay cut, claims Unite. It also accused BA of misleading workers who agreed to take voluntary redundancy, claiming that, although cabin crew and other staff were told they would receive an enhanced payment above statutory redundancy pay, the carrier was refusing to follow the standard formula for calculation. This will leave workers “potentially thousands of pounds worse off,” says Unite, adding it is encouraging those affected to withdraw from the voluntary redundancy scheme and lodge a case for unfair dismissal if they are not given the chance to remain at the company. The main union at the airline has threatened strike action as a result of the recent issues, saying “legal and industrial action is inevitable.” As a result of the worldwide grounding of flights caused by the pandemic, BA has cut more than 6,000 staff so far, 4,500 of which are cabin crew based at Heathrow and Gatwick, via voluntary redundancy. “BA’s appalling behaviour puts that of a Victorian mill owner to shame,” said Unite’s assistant general secretary Howard Beckett.<br/>

Qantas said state border closures were severely hampering a recovery in the domestic aviation market, which, alongside its lack of international flying, would lead to a significant loss this financial year. The airline on Thursday posted a full-year net loss of A$1.964b ($1.41b) for the 12 months that ended June 30, one of its largest ever, driven by impairment charges and restructuring costs meant to help it weather the coronavirus pandemic. CE Alan Joyce said that trading conditions were the worst in the airline’s 100-year history and that a national framework on when states could open borders was needed to boost domestic flying. He said it made sense to lock down in Victoria, which has the nation’s highest case count, but not to ban travel between places like Western Australia and South Australia, which are reporting no community tranmission of COVID-19. “We’re not saying, ‘open the borders’ blankly,” Joyce said. “We’re saying, ‘Let’s have the rules to say what would you have to see in order for those borders to be open.’” The airline is running only 20% of its usual domestic schedule in August, but he said that could increase to more than 75% if all state borders reopened before international ones. Most international flying is unlikely to resume until a vaccine is widely distributed, which might occur in mid- to late 2021, Joyce said.<br/>