In a single day over the holidays, nearly a third of United Airlines employees called out sick at Newark Liberty International Airport, a major hub for the airline, the company’s CE said Tuesday. That disclosure, which came in a memo to staff members, helps to explain the industry’s recent struggles. Storms disrupted flights by delivering whipping winds, rains and heavy snowfall at airports nationwide, and the fast-spreading Omicron virus variant compounded the havoc by sickening thousands of airline workers, leaving many travelers stranded and angry. Overall, about 3,000 United Airlines employees — more than 4% of its work force — have recently tested positive for the coronavirus, the airline’s chief executive, Scott Kirby, said in his memo. The vast majority are not working and United is cutting its flight schedule to manage the shortage. “Our frontline teams continue to put in a tremendous effort during what I know is an incredibly challenging and stressful time — the Omicron surge has put a strain on our operation, resulting in customer disruptions during a busy holiday season,” he said. United’s experience is not particularly extraordinary, and two other companies have canceled many more flights. All told, the industry has canceled more than 29,000 flights, or about 8 percent of all scheduled trips, since Dec. 25, according to FlightAware, a data tracking service. Many airlines say the virus is at least partly to blame. The problems began to mount in the days before Christmas. Story has more.<br/>
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United hasn’t had a Covid-related death among its nearly 70,000 employees in eight weeks, a trend its CEO says is due to the airline’s vaccine mandate. United in August issued the strictest vaccine mandate among U.S. carriers: staff must be vaccinated against Covid or face termination. This fall, more than 96% of its employees were vaccinated, the company said. Like in the rest of the country and at other airlines, Covid infections have surged among United’s staff, forcing the carrier to cut additional flights, a move United and other airlines have taken since late last year. About 3,000 United employees are positive for Covid, CEO Scott Kirby told employees late Monday. Zero are hospitalized, he said. Kirby said prior to the vaccine mandate, more than one United employee died per week on average. “But we’ve now gone eight straight weeks with zero COVID-related deaths among our vaccinated employees – based on United’s prior experience and the nationwide data related to COVID fatalities among the unvaccinated, that means there are approximately 8-10 United employees who are alive today because of our vaccine requirement.”<br/>
Turkish Airlines will restart flights to Kazakhstan from Jan. 13, chief executive Bilal Eksi said on Tuesday, after the airline halted its flights over countrywide violence last week. Eksi said commercial flights to Nur-Sultan would begin on Jan. 13, followed by flights to Aktau on Jan. 14 and Turkistan on Jan 15. “Our talks with authorities on commercial flights to Almaty continue,” Eksi said on Twitter. Kazakhstan says government buildings were attacked in many major cities after initially peaceful protests against hikes in the price of car fuel turned violent. The interior ministry said 9,900 people have been detained over the violence. <br/>
Ethiopian Airlines is profitable and cash positive, underpinned by booming demand for air cargo, its chief executive said on Tuesday. The air freight market has been a rare bright spot for airlines over the past two years, with rates rising due to an online shopping surge and pandemic-linked supply chain disruptions driving demand for cargo space. "For us, Ethiopian Airlines, the cargo business is strong and I would say is a breadwinner in the group," CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told a Dubai conference by videolink. The airline, which he said managed the pandemic with its own finances and without bailouts, is operating close to 70% of its pre-pandemic capacity, and had given staff pay rises and bonuses. "We are cash-positive. We are profitable." While demand for passenger travel is improving year-on-year, with 2022 expected to be better for airlines than 2021, Gebremariam cautioned the industry was still far from a full recovery from the crisis.<br/>
Singapore Airlines launched a seven-year US dollar bond offering on Wednesday, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The issue consists of one tranche, and price guidance to investors has been set at Treasuries plus 210 basis points, the term sheet said. Singapore Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The airline is aiming to raise here $500m to $750m, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The deal is only the second US dollar bond offering from Singapore Airlines, with the first made in January 2021 when it raised $500m. It plans to use the cash raised to buy new planes, make aircraft related payments and refinance some existing debt, the term sheet said. Final pricing for the bond is due to be set later on Wednesday. <br/>