US regional carrier SkyWest will resume hiring pilots in the second quarter as it gets ready for what it expects to be a hot summer for the airline industry as leisure travelers flock to the airways for their summer vacations. SkyWest did not specify how many employees it plans to hire, but the carrier already has begun hiring flight attendants and maintenance technicians. The regional took more than $200m in the first two rounds of federal payroll support and expects a further $250m from the third round in the next two months. These funds required SkyWest — and any carrier that took the funding — to pledge not to involuntarily furlough or reduce pay for any employees. SkyWest’s plans to hire signal that it thinks demand will grow torridly this summer. SkyWest has not furloughed any employees, although it did offer voluntary leaves of absence during the worst of the pandemic, a spokeswoman confirmed. Before the pandemic, a looming pilot shortage concerned regional carriers, as a significant number of mainline pilots were expected to retire in the coming years. Changes to pilot-training requirements in the wake of the 2009 Colgan Air accident also put pressure on regional hiring plans. Because of these concerns, SkyWest had already set up a robust pilot-hiring pipeline before the pandemic, working with more than 300 flight-training schools and universities, CEO Chip Childs told analysts during the company’s Q1 2021 earnings call. <br/>
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Virgin Atlantic Airways said places tipped to be on a UK list of destinations set to reopen from mid-May could bring back a significant portion of its pre-coronavirus business, shrinking losses this year. The US, Israel and the Caribbean accounted for 80% of Virgin Atlantic’s 2019 network and could all feature on the list set to be revealed early next month, CFO Oliver Byers said after the carrier posted an adjusted pretax loss of GBP659m for 2020. While any move to restore US links is likely to be unilateral and allow Americans to visit the UK while not immediately permitting Britons to fly in the opposite direction, it would still be “very welcome in creating an ability for US nationals to travel,” Byers said. The carrier founded and controlled by billionaire Richard Branson is counting down the days to the hoped-for resumption of lucrative trans-Atlantic flights after the pandemic pushed it into a court-supervised restructuring last year. Byers said two rounds of financing and sales of aircraft mean it has liquidity to ride out the rest of the crisis even if markets are slower to return than now appears likely. “We’ve shown that we’re able to raise capital when we need to,” the CFO said. “We continue to explore ways we could do that in the future and opportunities that could arise.”<br/>
United Arab Emirates carrier flydubai swung to a loss of 712.6m dirhams ($194m) last year, hit by a plunge in passenger traffic as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Sunday. The loss compared with a 198.2m dirham profit in 2019, when the airline reached a compensation deal with Boeing. Revenue contracted 53.7% to 2.8b dirhams. Flydubai said the pandemic had impacted the airline more than any other crisis, with passenger traffic falling 67% to 3.2m in 2020 while the number of flights it operated fell 63% to 27,450. Flydubai, which lacks a domestic market to cushion against international closures imposed because of the pandemic, said 1,092 employees had taken unpaid leave or were on voluntary leave - about 29% of its current workforce of 3,796 staff. It said 126 employees had left the company.<br/>
A US appeals court has rejected GoJet Airlines’ attempts to undo a $426,000 judgment for a former pilot who was fired after being diagnosed with diabetes, and ordered a federal judge to consider awarding him even more. A unanimous three-judge panel of the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday said a federal judge in Illinois was right to rule that a collective bargaining agreement between GoJet and plaintiff John Cloutier’s union did not require him to arbitrate his claims, and to send the case to a jury.<br/>
Reborn UK regional carrier Flybe has secured 86 summer-season slots at London Heathrow airport that it plans to use for services to Edinburgh and Aberdeen in Scotland. Data published by airport slot co-ordinator ACL on 26 April shows the carrier received the slots from British Airways for the period of 28 April to 30 October. It lists the aircraft to be utilised as a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400. Cirium’s data shows that Flybe purchased a Dash 8-400 with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A engines from Austrian Airlines on 22 January. BA was required to provide the slots because of an agreement with European Commission that obliges the IAG-owned carrier to supply slots to any competitor seeking to begin services on certain routes from Heathrow, as part of its takeover of BMI in 2012. The sale of Flybe to a company associated with Cyrus Capital completed on 13 April, allowing it to push ahead with plans to launch a new network and operations over the summer. Previously known as Thyme Opco, the new company has been renamed Flybe.<br/>
Troubled South African low-cost carrier Mango Airlines has confirmed it will continue operations into May despite concerns over its ability to meet a reported end-April payment deadline set by creditors. The South African Airways unit was forced to suspend flights for a day on 28 April after the country’s airports operator ACSA briefly blocked its flights over outstanding payments. ACSA later that day cleared Mango to operate again following a deal brokered with airline management and its shareholder, South Africa’s Public Enterprises Ministry, to provide part payment. Mango services subsequently resumed on 29 April. But there remained questions about the airline’s ability to operate flights beyond April after earlier reports in South Africa, citing a memo from the airline’s chief executive, indicated it would have to suspend operations from May as it would not receive funds earmarked from the R10.5b ($640m) the government provided for Mango parent South African Airways before June. ”We are excited to inform you that despite a lot of speculation and uncertainty during this past week, Mango Airlines continues to operate as normal tomorrow, Saturday 1 May 2021 and beyond, except for Zanzibar at this stage,” the airline says in a brief statement Saturday, adding it will provide an update on the Zanzibar route in the next week.<br/>
Pakistan International Airlines has confirmed that a restructuring plan is in place to return the airline back to profitability, though the coronavirus pandemic has delayed some of these plans. The airline was responding to media reports earlier in the week, where Ishrat Hussain, an adviser to Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, disclosed more details of the plan. The plan includes halving the airline’s 15,000-strong workforce, as well as reducing its fleet to under 30 jets, while introducing newer, more fuel-efficient jets. PIA confirms that the plan has been approved by the Pakistani government but adds that “there is more to the programme, and it will not be a straight-line reduction in workforce and fleet”. It states that the Pakistani government has proposed that “certain concrete steps” be taken to turn its dire finances around, “including, but not limited to” cutting its workforce. PIA states that its current employee numbers stand at around 11,300 now — already down from the 15,000 at end-2018. This was due to regular attrition — which sees about 600-700 staff leave annually — as well as the axing of about 900 staff for disciplinary issues. A further 1,900 staff also opted for a voluntary separation scheme which the airline introduced in December 2020. <br/>
Virgin cabin crew have overwhelmingly agreed on a new enterprise agreement with the airline, with 89% of staff voting through the deal. It follows five agreements approved by staff last year that were negotiated between the TWU and new CE Jayne Hrdlicka. Pilots are still yet to finalise new working terms. TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said the deal maintains standards on service and safety that passengers expect. “These standards, which include fair rates of pay and enforcement of provisions to ensure crew are rested and not fatigued, will ultimately help ensure Virgin’s future,” said Kaine. “Virgin workers are to be commended for the tireless work they have put in to getting the airline back on its feet. They held Virgin’s new owners to account over promises made to keep a full service airline with regional and international arms. They will continue to hold them to account over commitments to getting Virgin back to its position as Australia’s strong second airline."<br/>