American Airlines Group said Monday it will sell $7.5b of bonds and leveraged loans backed by its loyalty program to repay US government debt. While US airlines received billions of dollars in federal grants to cover payroll costs over the past year, American also secured up to $7.5b of term loans from the US Treasury to help it navigate the coronavirus pandemic. Under the deal announced on Monday, American will issue a private offering of notes worth about $5b, half due in 2026 and half in 2029, and a $2.5b term loan credit facility. <br/>
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Qantas has stepped in to fly one of the routes Rex has cut in the latest development in the row between the pair over networks. From 1 July, the flag carrier will operate three return flights between Sydney and Cooma, which was previously exclusive to the regional carrier. Rex, however, announced in February it was to discontinue that service, and four others, due to Qantas’ “predatory” behaviour of rivalling it on other routes. On Tuesday, Qantas said it was to operate three new routes between 1 July and 26 September for passengers to access snowfields during winter.<br/>
Qantas is taking legal action to push back the start date of Virgin Velocity’s new CEO, after it emerged he previously accepted a senior role on its own loyalty scheme. The AFR reports the flag carrier will take ex-Jetstar Japan co-CEO Nick Rohrlach to the NSW Supreme Court Tuesday, where it will suggest it had shared “highly sensitive” information while onboarding him. Qantas said the matter is “disappointing at best” and “an inglorious sequence of events”. Virgin hit back by saying it was “confident it would be vindicated” and said it was disappointing “the dominant market player” had “chosen to attack us rather than get on with the job at hand”. The case will see the business argue that Rohrlach must serve his six-month gardening leave, which would delay his start date from mid-May until 18 September. Qantas also owns a 33% stake in Jetstar Japan.<br/>