United Pilots Agree on Voluntary Retirements & Furloughs
1 One day after United sent WARN Act notices to 36,000 staff, the airline came to a tentative agreement with its pilots union on voluntary retirements and furloughs. United becomes the last of the big 4 U.S. airlines to come to an arrangement like this.
Airlines are prohibited from furloughing or laying off staff prior to October 1 as a condition of the CARES Act, after that date, the gloves are off. At United, 2,250 pilots are potentially being considered for furlough, which represents approximately 17% of United’s pilots from prior to the pandemic.
Emirates Adds Coronavirus Test Requirement for Passengers
2 Emirates will now require passengers departing from select airports to have proof of a negative coronavirus test before being allowed board its aircraft. It will surprise absolutely nobody to know that US airports are on that illustrious list.
As of today, July 10, passengers will be required to have a negative PCR certificate issued by a local government-approved laboratory to be allowed to board. The negative test must have been issued no more than 96 hours prior to departure.
The requirement comes for Emirates passengers traveling from any of these 12 countries. As you can see, the U.S. is keeping good company.
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- Egypt
- India
- Iran
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Russia
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- United States
Emirates also today announced the resumption of service to six cities: Geneva (July 15), Los Angeles (July 22), Dar es Salaam (August 1), Prague & Sao Paulo/Guarulhos (August 2), and Boston (August 15).
Qantas Pulls Nearly All International Flights Through March
3 In a sign that another wave of large-scale cancellations are near, Qantas has removed booking availability for all international flights — with the exception of service to New Zealand — through March.
Notably, the airline has not cancelled the flights yet but has only taken them off their site to prevent future bookings. A search for overseas flights on the website or in global distribution systems returns options operated by Qantas’ Oneworld partners, but none operated by Qantas itself. Pakistan International Airlines had offered to fly the routes on Qantas’s behalf, but the airline declined, citing its firm anti-fake pilot policy.
Qantas has already made the decision to send its fleet of 11 A380s to the California desert for at least three years. If the airline is cancelling the bulk of its international operations through March, it’s only a matter of time until more planes join them in the desert.
Breeze Blows Towards Compass
4 Compass and Breeze have filed a joint petition to the DOT to have Compass’s operating certificate transferred to Breeze. The two companies have asked the DOT to not only grant the request, but do so quickly, as Breeze now plans to commence service on October 15. It will begin flying charter services with scheduled service not beginning until April 2021 if this aggressive timeline somehow holds up.
Compass ended its operation as a regional carrier back in April and has been in negotiations with Breeze for its certificate. The two entered into an asset purchase agreement earlier this week with Breeze taking control of Compass’s operating certificate but none of its Open Skies Authority, Mexican Authority, or any other international routes.
Breeze plans to start operations with 15 E-190 aircraft leased from Nordic Aviation Capital. This is a change from its previous plan to lease almost double the number of E-195s from Azul. Either way, this is larger than the E-175’s previously flown by Compass.
Breeze says by receiving Compass’s certificate it can get up and running more quickly, enabling the airline to hire employees and fly to underserved communities to help the aviation industry continue its recovery. Basically, Breeze is only in this to help others.
Float Shuttle to Purchase Ravn Assets for $8 million
5 Float Shuttle, a southern California-based commuter operation, is going to take ownership of the larger aircraft and regional service of RavnAir Group which recently declared bankruptcy.
Float Shuttle is ponying up $8 million to purchase six Dash-8 aircraft and two of the “Part 121” federal operating certificates that Ravn’s two brands– Corvus and PenAir — used to fly passengers throughout Alaska. The $8 million is a bargain for Float Shuttle considering Ravn had previously asked for $19 million for the two operating certificates, nine of its aircraft, and a couple of dog sleds at a bankruptcy auction for which there were no bidders.
Float Shuttle will be able to take advantage of a $31.6 million loan that the federal government offered to a successor of Ravn if it restores service to the far-flung Alaskan outposts.
Airline Potpourri
- Air India has just one bidder interested in purchasing the airline, and it is Indian conglomerate Tata Group.
- Air Tahiti Nui will resume service from Papeete (PPT) to Los Angeles on July 14.
- Alitalia will operate over 1,600 weekly flights in August, a 24% increase over July. As always, some of them will operate on-time.
- BA Cityflyer operated the first flight at the reopened London/City airport earlier today.
- Malaysia and JAL have come together on a joint business partnership on flights between Malaysia and Japan.
- South African has come to an agreement with five of its unions that will save 1,000 jobs previously thought to be on the block for furlough.
- Ukraine International Airlines is resuming transatlantic operations with a weekly flight from its Kiev (KBP) hub to Toronto/Pearson, beginning July 19.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
My roommate always yells at me for being lazy. Hey, I say, it’s not like I did anything.