American Airlines warned employees on Tuesday that it would cut up to 19,000 workers on Oct. 1, saying that there was little sign that the pandemic-induced reluctance to travel was diminishing. The airline is looking to cut thousands of flight attendants, pilots, technicians, gate agents and other staff, it said. Including buyouts, retirements and leaves of absence, the company expects to have about 40,000 fewer employees on Oct. 1 than it did before the pandemic, a 30% decline in its work force. Airlines are seeking to put pressure on Congress and the Trump administration to strike a deal on another coronavirus stimulus package. Passenger airlines received $25b to help pay workers under a March legislative package, with American alone receiving $5.8b. Evidence is mounting that the once-strong economic recovery is losing steam. Hiring slowed in July, and various indicators suggest it has slumped further in August. Weekly claims for unemployment benefits have jumped back above one million, reversing a gradual decline. And new data on Tuesday showed that consumer confidence fell in August to its lowest level since the pandemic took hold. Economists attribute the slowdown, at least in part, to the waning federal support for families and businesses. “This is not a stopgap crisis,” said John Lettieri, president of the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington research organization. “It is a prolonged, deep, far-reaching crisis that is going to challenge the ability of businesses to survive.”<br/>
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Qantas will shed thousands of extra staff and even begin selling luxury pyjamas as the airline seeks to cut the costs needed to survive a longer than expected disruption to air travel owing to Covid-19. The Australian carrier told employees on Tuesday that it would outsource 2,500 cleaning, baggage and ground handling jobs in a bid to save A$100m ($71.7m) per year. The measures are in addition to 6,000 redundancies and 20,000 staff already put on furlough, announced by Qantas in June. “This is the greatest challenge the aviation industry has ever faced and airlines have to change how they operate to ensure they can survive long-term,” said Alan Joyce, Qantas CEon Tuesday. Qantas has grounded 220 of its aircraft, stood down most of its staff and mortgaged its planes to raise cash, Joyce added, but further cuts were required. As part of efforts to raise cash the airline has also begun selling the kangaroo-emblazoned pyjamas it usually hands to business class passengers for A$25 each. Qantas said that about 10,000 pairs of the pyjamas, which the company had a backlog of after grounding its aircraft, had sold out within hours. <br/>
Finland’s national carrier Finnair Oyj plans to eliminate as much as 15% of its workforce and push through deeper cost cuts in an effort to survive one of the worst crises in aviation history. The airline will slash a maximum of 1,000 jobs and lay off “practically all of its personnel in Finland,” it said on Tuesday. Finnair also raised its 2022 cost-savings target to E100m ($118m) from E80m. Its shares rose as much as 8.5% in Helsinki, as investors welcomed the airline’s focus on saving money. “A rapid turn for the better in the pandemic situation is unfortunately not in sight,” CEO Topi Manner said. “Our revenue has decreased considerably, and that is why we simply must adjust our costs to our new size.” Finnair has already raised E500m in new capital after travel restrictions caused by Covid-19 grounded more than 90% of its fleet last quarter. It also scrapped a planned dividend and has explored selling as much as E200m in hybrid debt. Even so, it’s headed for a substantial loss this year. <br/>
Japan Airlines has started testing touchless check-in kiosks at Tokyo Haneda Airport to help passengers follow Covid-19 social distancing guidelines. The new touchless technology is operational at Tokyo Haneda Airport Terminal 1 South Wing departure level at counter 18. The two new touchless check-in kiosks have been deployed at the departure level. The kiosks have been developed by Mitsubishi Electric and Oki Electric Industry and will be trialled until 15 September. Equipped with advanced touchless sensor technology, the kiosks are designed and developed to process a passenger’s entire check-in process without them touching the screen. The infrared technology in the kiosk will enable the passenger to make selections by holding their finger three centimetres away from the check-in system. Through this initiative, JAL aims to provide its passengers with a safe and secure travel experience by incorporating advanced technologies.<br/>
AirAsia Group posted its largest quarterly loss on record as restrictions imposed by governments to contain the spread of the coronavirus decimated travel. Southeast Asia’s second-biggest budget carrier by market value reported a net loss of 992.9m ringgit ($238m) in the three months ended June 30 versus net income of 17.3m ringgit a year ago, according to an exchange filing Tuesday. Sales plunged 96% to just 119m ringgit. CEO Tony Fernandes has been in talks for joint ventures and collaborations that may result in additional investment for the beleaguered airline. Bank loans and other capital-raising proposals are also being weighed. “During the lockdown, we took the opportunity to restructure the group and lay the foundations for a sustainable and viable business for the future,” Fernandes said Tuesday. “Although we do not foresee capacity returning to pre-Covid-19 levels in the short term, we expect demand to gradually continue to grow throughout the second half of 2020 and for the airline to be profitable in the years to come.” AirAsia said in an earlier statement Tuesday that it had “applied for bank loans in our operating countries to shore up our liquidity.” “Barring any reversal of flight resumption plans and any major shock to demand, we foresee that we have sufficient working capital to sustain the business operations.” AirAsia’s auditor Ernst & Young said last month that the carrier’s ability to continue as a going concern may be in “significant doubt” because its current liabilities exceeded its current assets at the end of 2019 even before the pandemic. <br/>
Wizz Air Holdings wants to expand its new base at London’s Gatwick airport from just one plane to 20 within a year if it can secure enough takeoff and landing slots. While the hub will open with a lone Airbus SE A321 jet in October, Budapest-based Wizz sees scope to quickly expand it to employ 800 people, an operation that would support a further 4,000 jobs, Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said. Wizz is seeking to leverage the European airline industry’s lowest cost base to grab market share in London as the coronavirus crisis pushes other carriers to trim their fleets. Varadi said the plan is being frustrated by the suspension during the pandemic of rules that usually force incumbents to relinquish slots the following year if they fail to use 80% of them. “If airlines are unable to operate slots they should be returned to a pool so that carriers can access them, bring in revenue and contribute to the local economy,” Varadi said. Wizz is lobbying authorities including regulators in both the UK and the EU to drop the waiver as flying resumes, Varadi said. He said that Wizz would consider a transaction to obtain them. He added that the carrier seeks to rehire 1,000 staff in the coming months. The EC has said the slot-rule suspension is temporary and aimed at protecting the industry, while also removing the need for airlines to fly empty planes just to keep flying rights. It is set to expire Oct. 24, though the EU has said it’s considering an extension.<br/>