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Qantas announced plans to cut up to 2,500 more jobs by outsourcing its Australian ground handling operations to lower costs as it braces for a A$10b revenue hit due to the pandemic this financial year. The job cuts flagged on Tuesday are on top of 6,000 across its workforce announced in June, which would take the total job losses to nearly 30% of its pre-pandemic staffing. Qantas’ head of domestic operations Andrew David said outsourcing ground handling jobs at the country’s biggest airports would save an estimated A$100m each year in operating costs. “It would match our ground handling services with fluctuating levels of demand,” David told reporters at a briefing. “We know an external party can turn our aircraft at 40% lower cost than we can using our resources.” It would also allow the airline to avoid investing A$100m in equipment like tugs and bag loaders over the next<br/>five years by outsourcing the work to a specialist ground handler, Gareth Evans, CE of Jetstar, Qantas’budget arm, said.<br/>

Qatar Airways has struck a deal with Airbus to delay delivery of airplanes due to the pandemic-induced travel downturn but remains in talks with Boeing about deferrals, the airline’s CE said Wednesday. “We have the ability to bring forward the deliveries if there is a rebound in air travel,” Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said of the Airbus deal at the CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit. Al-Baker said the airline had not reached an agreement with Boeing. “As far as Boeing is concerned we are still in negotiations with them, but regardless of what they feel an aircraft manufacturer needs to oblige customers in difficult times,” he said. “People who will not oblige and stand with us in this difficult time will not see us again.” Qatar Airways said in June it would not take any new planes ordered from Boeing or Airbus in 2020 or 2021, adding there would be a knock-on effect to future deliveries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<br/>