September 15, 2020

Alaska Suspends Flights to Portland and Spokane

1 As air quality continues to deteriorate along the west coast and in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska Airlines suspended air service to both Portland and Spokane for 24 hours until air quality improves.

Portland, which serves a key hub for the airline, saw 74 flights canceled on Monday, with a greater number expected for Tuesday before the day is up.

The airline made the decision so that both employees and passengers would not feel compelled to risk their health while working or flying. The airline has also canceled some flights at smaller outstations along the west coast as conditions worsened, but these are the first two airports at which it will completely shut down for a period of time.

Those who had their flight cancelled to Spokane applauded Alaska for the decision saying that anything that bought them an extra 24 hours before they had to go to Spokane was a winner in their book.


Delta to Avoid Flight Attendant and Ground Staff Furloughs

2 In a memo to staff, Delta CEO Ed Bastian announced that the airline would be avoiding furloughs of flight attendants and ground staff when CARES Act funding runs out at the end of the month. The situation for pilots is more tenuous, with the airline still expecting to furlough up to 2,000 pilots.

More than 40,000 Delta employees signed up for voluntary buyouts or unpaid leave, and work schedules have been cut by an average of 25% for all Delta employees. But passenger levels are down 75% from a year ago and the airline is losing about $750 million per month right now.

Delta and its pilots’ union are still negotiating terms that could potentially save the jobs of the nearly 2,000 pilots who are currently in limbo. The two sides are hoping for a last-minute reprieve to avoid pilot furloughs. Delta sent WARN notices to more than 2,500 pilots before settling on the current figure just under 2,000. An agreement would need to happen by September 30 or the furloughs will begin to take effect.


American Reducing Flight Attendant Coverage on Some Flights

3 American Airlines has found another way to save money, by reducing the number of flight attendants working each flight. On aircraft where the airline currently staffs above the minimum levels per the FAA — 1 per 50 seats — it will be reducing the number of FAs on-board.

AA will be cutting staff on three specific aircraft:

  • Boeing 777-300ER, which will be reduced from 13 to 11 flight attendants. To make up for the lost staff, the lead flight attendant will work both first class and business, and the FAs in the galley will work to prep for both aisles in premium classes.
  • Boeing 777-200, which will be reduced from 10 to nine. Galley FAs will also have to work in the aisles to make up for the reduction in staffing.
  • Airbus A321T, which will see a reduction from six to five, leaving the lead FA to work first class alone, with an assistance from economy class FAs when available.

American will not be making any changes on its other narrowbody aircraft, as those planes are already staffed at FAA minimums and cannot be reduced. An attempt to make one flight attendant a cardboard cutout was denied by the FAA.

The union, naturally, is unhappy with the changes and believe that it is creating an unreasonable workload on its members. With the dramatic reduction in the number of people flying, it’s unlikely that FAs will be overwhelmed by the number of passengers anytime soon, and these reductions likely will save more jobs in the long run.


Surf Air Secures $200 Million in Funding Ahead of IPO

4 Surf Air — which began as a private, subscription-based private air service — has secured a $200 million investment on the contingency that the company go public with an IPO.

Surf Air began its operation shuttling high-end customers between Northern and Southern California but is pivoting to the upscale leisure market, focusing on weekend getaways mostly within California.

Surf continues to offer a membership-based program, starting at as low as $199. At that price, passengers pay for the right to book flights on the airline for as little as $99 each. Next is a $999 membership that allows some free pre-paid flights per month and the rest for a fee, along with a $2,999 monthly membership that includes an all-you-can-fly buffet within Surf Air’s network. A $10,999 monthly membership includes the all-you-can-fly buffet, but also comes with a shiny pin that tells everyone how important you are.


Emirates Warns UK Staff of Potential Job Losses

5 Emirates has warned its 600-person workforce in the UK that layoffs and furloughs are potentially imminent due to the dramatic downturn in demand for Emirates around the world, and in the UK especially.

The airline has already been forced to furlough 10% of its worldwide workforce, but has avoided any job losses in the UK. Prior to the pandemic, Emirates flew to eight destinations across the UK, led by London/Heathrow.

The UAE remains on a mandatory quarantine list for British citizens returning from the country – including if they’ve only transferred through the airport from another flight. A recent surge in COVID-19 cases means Dubai will likely not be added to the UK’s safe travel corridor list anytime soon, continuing to tamp down demand for Emirates in the country.


Airline Potpourri

  • Air China is resuming its second weekly flight to Los Angeles this week, operating from Beijing/Capital (PEK) to LAX and then to Shenzhen (SZX).
  • British Airways has tentatively put the A380 back on its schedule this fall, on flights from Heathrow to: Johannesburg, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
  • Bulgaria Air has partnered with Aeroflot to shuttle passengers between Sofia and Moscow via a connection in London.
  • Hawaiian is resuming service to Tokyo, serving Narita once-weekly beginning October 1.
  • Icelandair has joined EasyJet’s Worldwide connection service.
  • Pegasus is launching its first route to Pakistan, serving Karachi (KHI) from its Istanbul/Gokcen (SAW) with 4x-weekly service.
  • Thai had its restructuring plan approved Tuesday by a Thai bankruptcy court.
  • WestJet updated its fall schedule to include 39 destinations in Canada, three in both the United States & Mexico, two in Jamaica, and one in the United Kingdom.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

Did you hear about the semi-colon that broke the law? He was given two consecutive sentences.