unaligned

Labor unions have asked the federal government to review its approval of Breeze Airways to operate in the US, citing concerns over the discount carrier’s recruitment and employment policies. The unions said Breeze, an upstart domestic carrier founded by airline entrepreneur David Neeleman, violated age discrimination and diversity statutes with a plan to hire flight attendants solely through a tuition reimbursement, work-study program with Utah Valley University. The strategy pulls from a primarily young, White applicant pool, the petitioners say, citing enrollment figures at the Orem, Utah, university, and favors inexperienced workers as a measure of cost savings. “For a profession that had an established reputation for discriminating against older workers throughout history and that has only recently begun to combat these ingrained, ageist behaviors, Breeze’s recruitment strategy is more in line with historical standards rather than modern ones,” the complaint states. Some 78% of UVU’s students are White, according to figures from 2018. Among those making the complaint to the U.S. Department of Transportation were the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the Transportation Trades Department and the Transport Workers Union of America.<br/>

Alaska Airlines’s flight attendant uniform policy discriminates against nonbinary workers by forcing them to “conform to rigid gender stereotypes,” the ACLU alleged in a Friday letter demanding that the airline alter its dress code. The American Civil Liberties Union wrote the letter on behalf of Seattle-based flight attendant Justin Wetherell, whose gender identity is nonbinary, or not strictly male or female, and whose gender expression is fluid and can change over time. Alaska Airlines allegedly has “male” and “female” dress and grooming requirements, allowing transgender workers to adhere to standards that match their gender identity, according to the letter. But the policy “demeans employees who do not conform to gender stereotypes and materially interferes with their ability to do their jobs under equal terms and conditions as other employees.” “Justin has repeatedly been refused the opportunity to meet and discuss flight attendant standards with executive management, and Justin’s perspective as a non-binary individual and complaints of discrimination have been summarily dismissed,” the letter said, alleging that the airline’s policy violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Washington state law. Wetherell has filed a discrimination complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission, the ACLU told Bloomberg Law. Workers generally must file bias charges with an administrative agency before they can sue, at least under federal law. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Title VII prohibited workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status, but didn’t specifically address dress codes and other related LGBT issues. <br/>

Mexican airline Interjet hopes to strike a deal with creditors within a year so it can re-start operations after it shut down during the coronavirus pandemic in December, the firm representing it in the debt talks said. Shareholders of the carrier owned by ABC Aerolineas reached an agreement in April for Interjet to seek commercial bankruptcy to allow it to restructure $1.25b in liabilities. Interjet had also been struggling before the pandemic. Argoss Partners, the firm tapped to negotiate with Interjet's creditors, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that a judge was expected to start the bankruptcy process soon. Carlos Ortiz-Cañavate, a partner at Argoss, said Mexican law requires a deal to be met with creditors within a year. "At maximum, it's 365 days. The sooner we can fly again, the better," he said, without giving a more specific date. Interjet's spokesman, Carlos del Valle, said it was too early to say when the firm might restart operations.<br/>

Ryanair will appeal against funds made available to the government-owned Italian airline that will replace Alitalia as it considers them illegal state support, the chief executive of the Irish carrier said on Saturday. “As soon as this money will be injected in the newco we will take the (due) steps,” CEO Eddie Wilson said. “We are waiting to see, but it is clear that it is illegal aid and we will defend our interest by appealing against this umpteenth loan,” he added. Italy is close to a deal with the EC to launch Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA), which was initially expected to start flying again in April. Under the relaunch, the government plans to inject E3b into ITA, which would take over the assets of the old Alitalia. “I have the impression that there’s nothing new, ITA will just be the extension of Alitalia… with the same problems seen for decades, money being drained from public resources into an airline that today, like yesterday, will lose money,” Wilson said. Last week Ryanair urged the EU to require ITA to bid competitively for Alitalia’s airport slots. Ryanair has made no secret of its interest in picking up Alitalia slots.<br/>

Shareholders of Russian carrier Utair are to consider a debt-to-equity swap as part of a continuing restructuring of the airline’s finances. Utair says shareholders including AK-Invest and Neft-Consulting as well as carrier group’s own maintenance division Utair Engineering are set to take part in the swap. “The airline’s debts to these lenders [will be] converted into shares,” says the carrier. Utair’s supervisory board, in a 3 June meeting, voted to put a proposal to shareholders seeking an increase Utair’s authorised capital through the placement of additional shares. It says over 4.19b shares will be included in the placement, with shareholders having the pre-emptive right to purchase the stock at Rb3.25 ($0.04). The company says the form of payment for the additional shares will be cash, including the possibility of paying for the stock by “offsetting monetary claims”. “We are entering the final stage of restructuring,” says general director Andrei Martirosov. “For its successful completion, it is extremely important to secure the approval of shareholders.”<br/>

IndiGo, one of Asia’s biggest budget airlines, reported a wider-than-anticipated loss as passenger traffic shrank with the coronavirus tearing through India. The carrier, operated by InterGlobe Aviation, posted a loss of 11.5b rupees ($157m) in the three months through March, its Q4. That compared with a loss of 8.7b rupees a year ago. The average forecast from analysts was for a loss of 4.5b rupees. “This has been a very difficult year with our revenues slumping hard due to Covid, showing some signs of recovery during the period December to February and then slumping again with the second wave of the Covid,” Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta said. “While we have seen a sharp decline in revenues in March through May, we are encouraged by the modest revenue improvements starting last week of May and continuing through June.” While the pandemic has pushed many airlines around the world to the brink and beyond, the intensity of the outbreak in India has made it extra hard for operators there. The country’s carriers will need about $5b to survive, but they only have access to about $1.1b through share offerings and other means, according to CAPA Centre for Aviation. IndiGo and Air India will account for the bulk of the $8b in losses by 2022, CAPA said. IndiGo said traffic dropped 29% in the first three months of 2021 from a year earlier. It filled 70.2% of its seats in the quarter, compared with 82.9% a year earlier.<br/>

Indian airline tycoon Ajay Singh had little experience in healthcare but last November, as the country was being pummelled by coronavirus, he suddenly branched out into Covid-19 testing and later genomic sequencing. Known for his close connections with Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister — he is credited with coining the 2014 election slogan “This time, Modi’s government” — Singh launched SpiceHealth, vowing to make tests cheaper, faster and more available. Within months, the group had extended its reach across the country, even providing the testing in April for some of the millions of pilgrims who joined the annual Kumbh Mela, the country’s biggest religious gathering that was later seen as a superspreader event. Singh’s rapid pivot from the lossmaking airline sector into healthcare underscores how some of India’s biggest tycoons have managed to prosper, even during the pandemic. Even before the latest outbreak, SpiceJet, in which Singh has a 60% stake, was reeling from a national lockdown last year. The airline reported losses in the past four quarters and has deferred the salaries of some staff for weeks. In February, its auditors Walker Chandiok & Co said there was “material uncertainty” over SpiceJet’s ability to continue as a going concern. Its losses would have been even wider had it not included expected compensation from Boeing for the grounding of 737 Max aircraft. “We can’t understand how they are staying alive,” said an executive at a rival airline. Jitender Bhargava, former executive director of Air India, praised Singh for his management of SpiceJet, rescuing it seven years ago when it was nearly bankrupt and moving quickly to snap up the aircraft of rival Jet Airways after it collapsed in 2019. “He has done well, but as far as the finances are concerned, few airlines have cash reserves. How long can one sustain with the second wave we’ve had?” said Bhargava.<br/>