More than 400 Southwest mechanics and technicians, about 15% of the work group, have received notices warning them about potential furloughs, the carrier said Wednesday. Southwest has asked employees to take 10% pay cuts to avoid furloughs, which would be the first in the Dallas airline’s nearly 50 years of flying. Southwest warned 42 material specialists about possible furlough earlier this month. US airlines have furloughed more than 30,000 workers as they struggle from weak demand in the coronavirus pandemic — a crisis executives say is the worst in their history. Including buyouts and other voluntary departures, the industry will shed the equivalent of some 90,000 employees by the end of 2020, according to Airlines for America, a trade group that represents most US carriers. The carrier said it has sent 403 mechanics and technicians federally mandated notices warning them that their jobs are at risk. The involuntary cuts could take effect as early as Jan. 25. “We are not closing the door to further discussions, but we need agreements to be reached to help us save these employees’ jobs and address the extremely challenging economic conditions we face,” said Russell McCrady, VP of labor relations at Southwest.<br/>
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Brazilian airline Gol said on Wednesday that it could resume use of its fleet of Boeing 737 Max jets by year’s end under the most optimistic scenario, according to a securities filing. Gol is Brazil’s sole operator of the trouble-plagued 737 Max. Brazilian aviation regulator ANAC said earlier on Wednesday it was working toward allowing the model to return to operation and that final approval would hinge on Gol demonstrating it adopted relevant safety protocols.<br/>
Norwegian Air Shuttle is filing for protection from creditors under the Irish equivalent of Chapter 11, as the pioneering low-cost airline becomes the aviation industry’s largest casualty of the pandemic. Norwegian said late Wednesday that two of its main subsidiaries would file for examinership in Ireland, a reorganisation process akin to filing for Chapter 11 in the US. The airline said it would use the reorganisation to cut its vast debt pile, offload aircraft, and raise new capital in a process expected to take up to five months. “Seeking protection to reorganise under Irish law is a decision that we have taken to secure the future of Norwegian for the benefit of our employees, customers and investors,” said Jacob Schram, Norwegian’s CE. “Our aim is to find solutions with our stakeholders that will allow us to emerge as a financially stronger and secure airline.” Norwegian’s fate was sealed last week when Norway’s centre-right government refused to give it a second bailout this year. Ministers in Oslo said they did not think it was a “sound use” of taxpayers’ money to prop up the low-cost airline that entered the crisis as one of the most vulnerable carriers due to a debt-fuelled rapid expansion into long-haul flights. Norwegian said it would try to continue operating as normal with its current route network, which is severely limited by Covid-19 to a few domestic flights in Norway. The airline said it believed it had enough cash to get through examinership, an Irish process that allows companies 100 days of protection from creditors to put together a rescue plan, subject to High Court approval.<br/>
The government has provided state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines with at least $7b in direct payments and other financial support in 2019 and 2020, company documents show, as the carrier struggles with losses and the coronavirus pandemic. The finance ministry approved a payment of 13.6b riyals ($3.6b) for Saudia in 2019, and a further 6.4b riyals in the first half of this year, according to the documents. Saudia has struggled for years and the pandemic, which has brought global aviation to its knees, has added more pressure on its finances. The amounts, labelled as “government compensation”, include government payments for services. The ministry has also taken charge of a 5.3b riyals loan provided by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), to the airline, and converted it to a “contribution in equity”, according to the documents. The airline and ministry declined to comment on the details of the documents, but said government compensation can cover a wide range of receivables, as well as any services provided by Saudia, including mandatory flight routes.<br/>
Emirates will operate its A380 jumbo-jet four times a day to London Heathrow from November 27 and six times a week to Manchester from December 2. The airline will also deploy additional A380 services to Moscow from the current two-a-week to a daily service from November 25. The Dubai-based airline will also increase flights to Birmingham and Glasgow from the current four-a-week to daily services at both cities, from November 27 and December 1 respectively. Emirates’ services to Manchester will increase from the current eight-a-week to 10 flights per week from December 1, of which six will be served by an Emirates A380 and four with a Boeing 777-300ER. At London Heathrow, Emirates’ current twice daily A380 and once daily Boeing 777 flights will become four daily A380 services from November 27. “These represent a significant expansion of Emirates services to the UK, following the recent establishment of the UK-UAE air travel corridor which has led to increased demand,” said the airline.<br/>
Shares in AirAsia fell as much as 8% on Wednesday after the Malaysian budget carrier said it would review its investment in India, the strongest signal yet it is reassessing its south Asia business. The statement Tuesday night came hours after AirAsia’s Japanese unit filed for bankruptcy in the Tokyo District Court, citing “insolvency resulting from a demand slump in travel induced by lockdown restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic”. AirAsia’s Japan and India businesses had been “draining cash, causing the group much financial stress”, said Bo Lingam, AirAsia president. “Cost containment and reducing cash burns remain key priorities evident by the recent closure of AirAsia Japan and an ongoing review of our investment in AirAsia India.” Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian tycoon who owns AirAsia, said last month that there was “no discussion on exiting India” or stopping funding for its Indian airline, which is a joint venture with the Tata Group. “AirAsia Japan and AirAsia India were relatively new ventures for them,” said Paul Yong, equity analyst at DBS. “It’s no surprise they are reviewing these first given the parent company needs to preserve resources for itself first.” The company said the total cost of investment in AirAsia Japan had been fully written down. <br/>