Air Canada slashed the purchase price for tour operator Transat to almost a quarter of its earlier offer, citing the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the air transport industry. The airline said it’s cutting the offer for Transat to C$5 a share from C$18 when the deal was announced in August 2019, valuing the company at about C$190m. Transat’s investors can choose between receiving a cash payment or 0.2862 Air Canada shares for each stock they hold, according to the statement Saturday. The previous offer was an all-cash deal. “Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on the global airline industry, with a material impact on the value of airlines and aviation assets,” Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu said. “This combination will provide stability for Transat’s operations and its stakeholders and will position Air Canada, and indeed the Canadian aviation industry, to emerge more strongly as we enter the post-Covid-19 world.” The steep reduction in the offer price is a turnaround in events where Air Canada previously sweetened its offer to C$18 from C$13. Still, the revised proposal is 31% higher than Transat’s closing price of C$3.83 on Friday. The transaction is now expected to be completed in late-January or early February next year.<br/>
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ANA will allow its employees to take on a wider range of side jobs as it looks to help them supplement primary incomes that have been slashed amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources familiar with the plan said Saturday. Possibly starting next year, the airline’s roughly 15,000 employees will be permitted to take on part-time work for other companies in their off-duty hours, the sources said. Until now, they were only permitted to have side jobs on the condition they operate as a sole trader, such as working as a tutor. The yet-to-be-announced change comes at a time when the pandemic has sharply reduced international flights as nations across the world implemented travel restrictions to contain coronavirus outbreaks, severely impacting the airline industry. ANA notified its labor union of the plan to permit a wider scope of side jobs, and the policy may also apply to other group companies, the sources said. With the business environment deteriorating badly, employees are expected to see their annual pay fall by 30% on average, as ANA isn’t planning to pay winter bonuses after having already halved summer bonuses.<br/>
Pressures for public aid are mounting in the Japanese aviation market, with no rebound in sight for air travel, as full-service and budget airlines are preparing further cost-cutting measures that will hit their employees and routes. Public funds and state-guaranteed loans will be vital if Japan's full-service carriers are to make it through to early next year, some industry experts say, noting that airlines in other Asian nations are restructuring with government help. ANA has decided to suspend winter bonuses for all of its nearly 15,000 employees -- the first time since 1962 when the company started to track records. ANA was founded in 1952. "I feel very sorry, as the decision has a big impact on your life," parent company ANA Holdings CEO Shinya Katanozaka stressed in his statement to group employees. The winter bonuses, together with summer bonuses, account for 27% of annual income for workers at large Japanese companies with more than 5,000 employees, according to the National Tax Agency. ANA also made a proposal to its labor union for voluntary retirement. Japan's largest carrier will add extra compensation to its existing voluntary retirement system, which it last did in 2013 for fewer than 50 employees. The government has not offered airline bailouts, except for loans through government-backed bank and the employment adjustment subsidy available for many industries. Elsewhere in Asia, public aid has been offered to airlines. Japan's domestic air market is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. However, experts say further support from the government will be necessary for the survival of the Japanese industry. "The outlook is very severe for ANA, and the need for public aid has become quite clear for this fiscal year [until March 2021]," said Hajime Tozaki, professor at Japan's J.F. Oberlin University. <br/>
After 7 months of suspension, EgyptAir resumed Friday its flights between Alexandria and Dubai International Airport at a rate of 3 flights per week, with the launch of discounts on flights for the first week. It is in light of the plan set for the gradual return of international flights to many countries around the world. Meanwhile, EgyptAir announced the resumption of its direct flights this month, from Cairo to Muscat (the Sultanate of Oman) at a rate of two flights per week, and Amman (Jordan) at a rate of two flights per week. In addition to this, Kigali (Rwanda) flights resumed with one flight a week, Johannesburg two flights per week, and Entebbe (Uganda) with one weekly trip. As yet, the number of destinations to which Egypt resumed its flights increased to more than 47 stops, providing more options for EgyptAir's customers.<br/>