American Airlines Group reported a smaller quarterly loss on Thursday as rising vaccination rates prompted more people to opt for air travel. Shares of the airline rose 3.2% to $21.66 in premarket trade as it said it reduced its cash burn rate to about $27m a day in Q1, compared with $30m in the previous quarter. Demand for air travel is expected to pick up as more people receive vaccines, leading to a drop in COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations. “Looking forward, with the momentum underway from the first quarter, we see signs of continued recovery in demand,” CEO Dough Parker said. The company posted a net loss of $1.25b, or $1.97 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $2.24b, or $5.26 per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company lost $4.32 per share.<br/>
oneworld
Cathay Pacific will close its Canadian pilot base, and is considering doing the same to ones in Australia and New Zealand, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. The moves come as part of a review of the airline’s overseas cockpit crew operations, which will also see it re-evaluate its European and United States pilot bases later this year, according to a memo sent to staff on Thursday. The memo indicated the airline would start to transfer pilots to Hong Kong on a voluntary basis. However, if the carrier were to transfer overseas pilots to Hong Kong, it could prove controversial. Existing expatriate cockpit crew in the city are only receiving short-term work visa approvals, and there is a large pool of unemployed local pilots following the shutdown of Cathay Dragon last year. Hong Kong authorities could block the move. Furloughed Europe- and US-based pilots have been receiving half of their salary, while their Canadian colleagues were getting two-thirds. Since April 1, however, Cathay has not been paying its Australian crews. All overseas passenger fleet pilots had been stood down since May last year, the airline said.<br/>
IAG has pledged to power 10% of its flights with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, a goal that it says will allow it to cut its annual CO2 emissions by two million tonnes. The airline group plans to achieve this by purchasing one million tonnes of SAF annually, with the carbon saving equating to removing one million cars from the roads. In addition, IAG is extending its net zero 2050 commitment throughout its supply chain. “For more than a decade, IAG has led the airline industry’s actions to reduce its carbon footprint. It’s clearly challenging to transition to a low carbon business model but, despite the current pandemic, we remain resolute in our climate commitments”, comments Luis Gallego, IAG´s CE. “Government support is critical to meet this target by attracting investment to construct sustainable aviation fuel plants that will deliver enough supply for the airline industry, creating highly valued green jobs and economic growth at global scale,” he adds. The announcement follows the UK government’s publication this week of ambitious climate change targets that envisage a reduction in CO2 equivalent of 78% by 2035.<br/>