When SARS-CoV-2, the novel Coronavirus strain that causes COVID-19, first reached the U.S., nobody really knew how the disease, which at the time had not yet been granted pandemic status by the World Health Organization, would impact life in this country. Yet as the disease spread throughout the country throughout late winter and spring, life came to a screeching halt. Few industries were hit as hard as the travel and leisure sectors. Restaurants have shut down, hotels and amusement parks…
Turkish Airlines announced that it will implement pay cuts to protect employment and reduce its cash outflow in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The news comes after the airline announced that the Labor Union did not respond to the airline’s offer and its expectations and calls for reconciliation remained…
Southwest Airlines has announced it will not furlough or lay off any workers on Oct. 1, the first day it is allowed to per its CARES Act terms. Company CEO Gary Kelly made the announcement on Friday in a letter seen by AirlineGeeks. Kelly’s letter was cautiously optimistic, committing to…
American Airlines became the most recent carrier to send Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letters to its employees. These letters indicate that potential layoffs or furloughs are possible in the near future as air travel demand continues to suffer due to COVID-19. In a letter to employees, CEO Doug…
While the demand for travel continues to slowly increase around the world, things are not all positive in the airline industry. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is facing the possibility of having to carry out furloughs unless passenger numbers change drastically. While the exact number of possible layoffs was not announced, it…
For Emirates employees, it was a week of one step forward and two steps back. On a positive note, Emirates has announced that it will resume flights to six cities in the coming weeks. Sadly, the announcement comes as the carrier initiated more layoffs. Emirates will begin flying to Geneva…
During a central social and economic committee on July 3, Air France announced a dramatic workforce restructuring plan. The company will cut 7,850 jobs including 6,560 at Air France and 1,020 at the short-haul subsidiary HOP!, equating to more than 16% of the company’s workforce. With workforce reductions, the airline…
JetBlue’s Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council (MEC), a union that represents JetBlue’s pilots, has voted to approve a Letter of Agreement (LOA) with JetBlue that prevents JetBlue pilots from involuntary furloughs until May 1, 2021, per an internal email obtained by AirlineGeeks. The protections will prevent furloughs under…
Lufthansa plans to cut thousands of jobs in response to the financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the airline agreeing on a €9 billion ($9.8 billion) bailout package with the government, 22,000 jobs are at stake as the company announced on Wednesday after a bargaining summit with the…
Airlines will lose $84 billion in 2020, the biggest loss of cash ever according to the forecast of International Air Transport Association (IATA) which was announced on Tuesday. The losses are expected to total approximately $16 billion in 2021 as the aviation industry recovers from the impacts of the coronavirus…
