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American Airlines workers should brace for another round of furlough warnings as the airline expects to remain overstaffed on April 1, when US aid for industry workers expires, CE Doug Parker said. American is among US airlines that received money from a US$15 billion payroll support package in December to protect workers' jobs and salaries through March, when the industry had hoped that pandemic-hit demand would have recovered with vaccine rollouts. "What hasn't happen is what we'd hoped would happen, that we'd get to April 1 and say oh my god ... everybody we have we're going to need them in the July schedule," Parker said during a Jan. 28 employee town hall meeting. US aviation unions are urging Congress to extend a third round of payroll assistance, something Parker said he would support. "That's a much better solution than having people furloughed again when we know that this (COVID-19) is months away from being eradicated," he said during the town hall. "I hate that we're in that position but we are and we can't ignore it so we have to start figuring out what to do about it," he said.<br/>

Japan Airlines expects a worse loss this fiscal year than previously forecast as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on international demand for travel. The nation’s flag carrier is now forecasting a net loss of Y300b for the 12 months ending March 31 and sales of Y460b, according to an exchange filing Monday. For Q3, JAL reported a net loss of Y51.5b, wider than the Y36.9b estimated by analysts. Sales for the period were Y161.8b versus the Y170b forecast. Airlines in Japan are facing a grim outlook as COVID-19 cases rise and the nation extends its state of emergency. Surging virus numbers in Asia’s second-biggest economy could have limited JAL’s traffic in the third quarter to just 27% of pre-pandemic levels, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said last month. PM Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in major cities including Tokyo in January, after the country’s Go To domestic tourism push aggravated infections. Overseas visitors meanwhile are almost nonexistent, down 97.7% in December from a year earlier, according to Japan’s national tourism organization. Japan is also still yet to reach a conclusion on whether to go ahead with the Olympics later this year. While Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, and the government are pledging to forge ahead, an NHK poll shows that almost 80% of people think the games should be canceled or postponed.<br/>

Qatar Airways Cargo has announced Chapter 2 of its sustainability programme WeQare: Rewild the Planet. Under the programmes, the cargo carrier is committed to preserving wildlife and endangered animals and has pledged to transport these animals back to their natural habitat free of charge. Guillaume Halleux, Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo, said: “We are concerned about the legacy we leave for the future generation. As the world’s leading cargo carrier, we strongly believe in giving back to the community and protecting our environment. We all know that animals have an important role to play in preserving ecological balance which in turn ensures existence and stability of the environment. "Through Chapter 2 – Rewild the Planet, we want to encourage this preservation and that is why we are offering free transport to bring wild animals back to where they belong.” The airline has released a series of striking advertisements and a special video to commemorate the announcement and importance of Chapter 2. <br/>