Global airlines warned on Tuesday that the coronavirus-stricken industry was on course to burn through another US$77b in cash in the second half of 2020, calling on governments to renew expiring wage support programmes. "The issue now is that aid, particularly the wage subsidies, is starting to be withdrawn," Brian Pearce, chief economist at the IATA, told reporters. Airlines consumed US$51b in cash in the second quarter as the pandemic brought global travel to a near-standstill, the industry body said. The call for increased support came as US airlines begin furloughs of more than 32,000 workers amid fading hopes for a new federal bailout package. Wage support programmes are also tapering off in Europe and elsewhere. Whereas the withdrawal of subsidies makes sense for sectors in recovery, IATA warned of further airline bankruptcies in the northern hemisphere winter as the collapse in revenue continues to dwarf cost savings. The average carrier now has cash for 8.5 months of operations, Pearce said. "We're facing some tough winter months for airlines when cash flows are always seasonally weak," he said. "We're looking (at) airlines getting into trouble if not failing without either further government support or (being) able to access capital markets for more cash."<br/>
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Shares of major airlines fell on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said his administration would abandon talks with congressional Democrats over proposals to spend at least $1.6t in additional coronavirus relief funds. A key component was a new $25b bailout for US passenger airlines to keep tens of thousands of workers on the job for another six months. A prior $25b airline payroll support program expired on Sept. 30. American Airlines, whose shares had been trading higher, reversed course to close about 4.5% lower after Trump's tweet on ending talks, while shares of United closed 3.6% lower. Southwest Airlines stock fell 2.4% and Delta shares closed 2.9% lower. American Airlines and United Airlines last week began laying off 32,000 workers, but had said they would reverse course if lawmakers reach a deal. Airlines for America, the trade group representing major US airlines, noted “thousands of airline workers across the country have already lost their jobs – and more furloughs are expected in the coming weeks.” But the group added “there is a glimmer of hope that our leaders in Washington will act and save these jobs before it’s too late.” The US Travel Association said “with millions of Americans suffering, it is woefully shortsighted to end relief negotiations” and added that “without immediate aid, 50% of all travel-supported jobs will be lost by December — an additional loss of 1.3m jobs.” Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International President Sara Nelson said “Trump issued one tweet to blow up the deal and leave millions of essential workers in freefall. Senate Republicans will own this cruel maneuver that puts our economy in a tailspin unless they demand COVID relief now.” American Airlines said it will “continue to make the case in Washington that action is needed.”<br/>
President Donald Trump late Tuesday again called for billions more in federal support for airline payrolls, hours after he halted talks with Democrats for a national stimulus package until after the election, sending stocks down sharply. “The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support,” Trump tweeted. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday vowed more support for airlines but an attempt by a key House Democrat to get aid passed failed. There are already standalone bills for airlines in each the House or the Senate but it wasn’t immediately clear if they would advance instead of a broader aid package. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who introduced a bill last month with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that calls for $28b in additional aid for airlines and contractors, is trying to find a way to move it forward, according to a person familiar with the matter.<br/>
Advocates of federal aid to keep 33,000 airline employees on the job lobbied for months, sending thousands of letters and donning protective masks to walk the halls of the Congress. And it appeared to be working, garnering bipartisan backing and support from President Trump, who just last month said: “We’ll be helping the airlines.” It all unraveled Tuesday with a series of tweets. “I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hard-working Americans and Small Business,” Trump tweeted. “This is a huge disappointment for people who are really hurting,” said Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman who served as transportation secretary under President Obama, citing “devastating” impacts on aviation and transit systems nationwide. “This is not the right time to be pulling the plug on negotiations … Some of these industries will take years to come back to where they were,” he said. LaHood said talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin seemed within reach of the kind of success the two had earlier this year on a series of aid bills. But LaHood said it seems Trump’s chief of staff prevailed on the president to take a harder line this time. “Mark Meadows has kind of carried the tea party agenda for not being willing to spend the kind of money it’s going to take to get our economy moving again,” LaHood said. “That’s where the stalemate has really happened … Apparently, he got to the president on this one.” Even after Congress failed to meet a Sept. 30 deadline for extending support for airlines, backers remained optimistic something would come together. Despite Trump’s tweet, Nicholas E. Calio, CE of Airlines for America, said he remained hopeful that an agreement could be reached. “Time already ran out for US airlines and many of our employees, yet there is a glimmer of hope that our leaders in Washington will act and save these jobs before it’s too late to turn back the clock,” Calio said. “Some US airlines may be able to reinstate employees if they receive direct payroll assistance from the federal government soon, but that becomes increasingly challenging with each passing day.”<br/>
Europe's transport chief has warned airlines that they must face up to their obligations to overhaul share-ownership structures in order to continue qualifying for single-market flying rights after Brexit. Adina Valean, the EU’s transport commissioner, said that Brussels would maintain its strict rules requiring airlines to be effectively owned and controlled by EU nationals if they wanted to retain operating licences to fly in the bloc after January 1 2021. The rules have implications for how aviation giants navigate Brexit as UK shareholders will no longer count as EU nationals. Airlines that fail to be at least 50% owned by EU nationals risk losing their operating licences, relinquishing extensive flight privileges enjoyed in the single market, and having to rely on agreements other countries have with the bloc to try to preserve basic access. Valean called on airlines to draw up “honest” plans that prove compliance with the rules. She said it was the job of national regulators to vet whether airlines still qualified for a licence, but that the EC would use its investigatory powers if other airlines or member states complained to Brussels that a company was breaking the rules. “We are counting on the national authorities to carry out due diligence on this,” said the Romanian commissioner. If an airline believes that “some other airlines are not complying with this obligation, then they can complain to the commission”, she said. “We are going to look very carefully and would like to see compliance, not only nominally but effectively too.” Story has more details.<br/>
A decision on plans to introduce Covid-19 testing for international arrivals to cut quarantine times will not come until next month at the earliest, with Downing Street instead setting up a global travel taskforce to look at proposals. After months of lobbying by the beleaguered aviation industry, which has been crippled by two-week quarantine restrictions, an announcement on whether tests for arrivals from at-risk countries would be introduced by the UK government was widely anticipated to come this week. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, had indicated an impending change, telling the Tory party’s virtual conference on Monday that he would be saying more shortly. However, in a blow to the aviation industry, rather than announcing the start of testing for international arrivals, the Guardian has learned the government is instead planning to announce the launch of the taskforce – jointly chaired by Shapps and the health secretary, Matt Hancock – which has been set up at the request of Boris Johnson. An announcement is expected on Thursday but could come sooner. Part of its remit, which is broadly looking at ways to reinvigorate overseas travel, will be to explore options for implementing a testing regime for international arrivals to cut 14-day quarantine times. It is not due to report back until mid-November, meaning a decision on testing to cut quarantine times would not come before next month at the earliest.<br/>
Proposed new pilot-training requirements for Boeing’s grounded 737 Max -- one of the final hurdles needed before the plane can return to the skies -- includes simulator training that the planemaker once sought to avoid. The training would require that flight crews are trained and tested on the fixes to the plane, including changes to the automated system implicated in two crashes and a redesigned flight-control computer, the report posted by the FAA on Tuesday said. The plan could be altered as the agency considers comments from pilots, airline unions and the public. The package is the latest milestone toward the plane’s return after a grounding that is nearing 19 months. The FAA is also finalizing a package of physical changes to the plane to improve its safety. The training proposal formally upends what had been a critical marketing tool for the 737 Max: Boeing’s initial insistence that simulator sessions weren’t needed for pilots transitioning to the plane from its popular predecessor models. Boeing in January reversed course and endorsed simulator training in the face of a lengthening grounding and widespread criticism, making the FAA finding all but inevitable. Before flying a Max, pilots must practice in a flight simulator how to respond to an activation of the feature known as Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, the proposal said. MCAS malfunctioned and helped lead pilots to lose control in both crashes. They must also conduct exercises on other factors involved in the crashes, such as preventing the plane from diving aggressively and diagnosing cockpit failures.<br/>
Boeing is cutting its expectations for new commercial aircraft demand over the next decade, citing what it estimates will be a years-long slump in travel demand because of the coronavirus pandemic. The manufacturer forecast on Tuesday that the world’s airlines will need 18,350 planes worth $2.9t over the next 10 years, an 11% drop from its forecast a year ago and a jarring downbeat prediction after years of strong growth in travel around the world. Boeing shares fell after the report was released and were down more than 3% in afternoon trading. Through 2039, Boeing forecast 43,110 deliveries of new aircraft, three-quarters of them single-aisle jets, which are used for short-haul routes. In its annual forecast last year, Boeing estimated deliveries of 44,040 planes to customers through 2038. Boeing said demand for new commercial aircraft will be driven in the medium term by carriers replacing older, less fuel-efficient planes rather that purchases aimed at growth. “The industry has faced challenges before, and from a comparative basis this challenge is ... larger without question,” said Darren Hulst, Boeing’s VP of commercial marketing. He added the industry has recovered from crises before and will likely rebound but that this will likely take several years. Hulst said international long-haul travel is expected to take longer to recover than shorter, domestic routes, echoing previous industry forecasts. One bright spot during the pandemic is air cargo, Hulst said.<br/>
Heathrow will argue in the supreme court this week that its proposed third runway would only ever be built in accordance with Britain’s climate commitments, as it seeks to overturn a court of appeal verdict that stopped the airport’s expansion plans. A two-day hearing starts on Wednesday which could allow Heathrow to proceed once more with building an additional runway. The expansion plans were approved in principle by parliament in 2018, under Theresa May’s government. Legal action by climate campaigners initially failed to force a judicial review. However, in a landmark judgment, the court of appeal ruled in favour of the case brought by the environmental litigation charity Plan B and Friends of the Earth. Judges found that ministers had failed to take adequate account of Britain’s climate commitments under the 2015 Paris climate agreement when drawing up the aviation national policy statement (ANPS) which permitted Heathrow expansion. The new government under Boris Johnson, a long-time opponent of the third runway, accepted the court ruling in February, leaving Heathrow to challenge it alone. The airport will argue that the runway will be bound to comply with Britain’s carbon targets when it seeks to obtain planning permission, regardless of whether the then transport secretary, Chris Grayling, adequately took account of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The hearing will be conducted by video conference because of Covid-19 restrictions, and streamed live online. The verdict is not expected to be delivered until at least January.<br/>
Almost three decades after the plans were first mooted, over nine years behind schedule and more than E4b over budget, Berlin’s new international airport is finally ready to open its doors. But the already tortuous birth of Berlin-Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport expected to open on 31 October, and once hailed as a celebration of the ambitious German reunification project, has only been compounded by the decision to unveil it in the middle of a pandemic. With the air industry plunged into the worst crisis of its 100-year history, most airplanes grounded and major airlines facing the prospect of bankruptcy, even the airport’s chief admitted the endeavour is at best courageous, at worst foolhardy. During a recent guided tour ahead of the opening, Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, the chairman of Berlin-Brandenburg airport since 2017, said: “Not only Berlin, but by extension the whole of Germany became a laughing stock over this. German engineers like me have felt embarrassed.” He admitted it may “take years” for the industry, and by extension his airport, to crawl back to anything like its former standing. “We are ready for take off,” he said. “But I expect it to take as long as maybe three or four years, for us to reach pre-coronavirus level of business ... the economic situation is dramatic.” His operating manager, Patrick Müller, goes so far as to say a recovery cannot be expected “until there is a vaccine”. Daily passenger numbers at BER are down by 100,000 passengers compared to before the crisis. It is currently haemorrhaging E1m a day, on top of high losses due to being over budget and years behind schedule. Story has more background and details.<br/>