Cathay Pacific Airways is dangling allowances of up to HK$5,000 ($640) a flight as a sweetener for pilots rostered on to fly in and out of mainland China, with ongoing Covid-19 curbs making it less appealing to work those routes. The Hong Kong-based airline’s dedicated Chinese mainland operations have “been particularly onerous,” the company acknowledged in a memo that was distributed to pilots on Thursday and viewed by Bloomberg News. Cathay confirmed the contents of the memo. China remains wedded to its strict Covid Zero policy, which has left it largely closed off from the rest of the world more than two years into the pandemic. Sudden lockdowns of major cities from Shanghai to Hainan island aimed at quashing relatively minor outbreaks is weighing on the economy. Crew and airlines routinely experience hours-long delays after arriving at Chinese airports and extended waits to return to Hong Kong as health officials take samples from the plane. In some destinations like Chengdu, crews must wear protective bodysuits while in-flight. The situation is also complicated by the fact cabin crew and pilots on China routes are required to have not flown anywhere else globally in the past 14 days -- in order to restrict transmission of Covid -- a rule that means certain staff are restricted to just operating flights to and from China. “Not only do we continue to review our practices and our allowances as the situation evolves, we also consider the feedback that you provide,” the Cathay memo said. The airline noted it had offered a range of payments including quarantine and closed-loop allowances, plus a completion payment for the latter. Cabin crew, as of Friday, weren’t being offered additional payments, according to four people familiar with the matter. “We are acutely aware that the difficult operating environment, which has continued for far longer than any of us could have anticipated, remains,” the memo went on to say. “Our work with the government to have all restrictions lifted continues unabated.”<br/>
oneworld
Qantas Airways will offer A$50 ($34) vouchers, loyalty status extensions and lounge passes to frequent flyers to apologise for a rise in delays, cancellations, lost baggage and staffing issues since travel demand rebounded. Airlines around the world, including domestic rival Virgin Australia, are facing similar problems but Qantas had attracted significant negative local media coverage given its position as the dominant carrier. In response, the airline said on Sunday it would send frequent flyer members an email and video message on Monday from its long-serving chief executive Alan Joyce, whose home was pelted with eggs and covered in toilet paper last month amid vicious customer criticism on social media. "On behalf of the national carrier I want to apologise and assure you we are working hard to get back to our best," Joyce said in the video message, which was also posted on YouTube. Qantas said it was rolling out a range of initiatives to improve on-time performance and mishandled baggage as it also dealt with high levels of staff sick leave and an industry-wide labour shortage. The carrier, which cut thousands of jobs during the pandemic and put most of its staff on leave without pay for long periods, said it had hired 1,500 new people since April, with more to come. Qantas is due to release its full-year financial results on Thursday.<br/>