February 16, 2021 – Cranky Daily

JetBlue Pilots Reject AA Partnership

JetBlue Airways pilots rejected a tentative agreement with the airline, blocking JetBlue’s planned partnership with American Airlines. Though this had been rumored as a possibility, JetBlue stood to gain significant flying through this partnership, so it is still somewhat surprising.

In the vote, of which 92% of JetBlue’s eligible pilots participated in, 53.7% voted to reject the deal with 46.1% in favor. The remaining .2% said they logged onto to the voting portal because they had been promised free Dunkin’ Donuts coupons for participating. When no coupon was made available, the .2% logged off in anger without voting.

The most recent CBA between the airline and the pilots restricts the codeshare and joint venture agreements JetBlue can enter without permission of the pilots. The airline had offered minor pay raises and increased job security in an attempt to get the deal done, but the pilots are going to require greater concessions from the airline to allow the alliance to proceed. Reports from the ALPA say that the pilots are currently holding out for more, but that two AAdmirals Club passes and a 500-mile upgrade certificate per JetBlue pilot would likely get the deal done.

Southwest Reveals an Improved Outlook

In a bit of good news on the long, slow road to recovery of air travel, Southwest Airlines is increasing its projected load factor for March and April up to the 60-65% range from the previously projected range of 50-55% with a cash burn reduction by a couple million dollars daily.

The airline says it has experienced an improvement in leisure passenger demand and bookings in February leading to cautious optimism over the next two months. Southwest plans to operate a schedule this April that is an 81% increase from April 2020, when air travel bottomed out. Despite the large growth from a year ago, its April 2021 capacity will still represent a 25% drop from April 2019.

With the potential uptick in bookings on the horizon, Southwest officials at its Dallas headquarters could be seen rummaging through storage closets pulling out boxes of snack mix and honey roasted peanuts that had been in storage since the onset of the pandemic. Curiously, while the snack mix was piled high and hadn’t been touched since last March, the once-bountiful stock of Wild Turkey doesn’t seem to have survived the pandemic.

2020 Travel Fell to 1985 Levels

The United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics (there’s a bunch of rowdy government employees) released its preliminary summary on 2020 and the total drop in passengers, as expected, was significant.

U.S. airlines carried just 368 million fliers on the 22 largest carriers in 2020, a drop of 60% from the 923 million that flew in 2019. The last time U.S. airlines carried as few as 368 million passengers was 1985, which ironically is the last time a morning flight out of SFO left on-time. (It was a PSA flight to LA, we understand.)

With 2020 fiscal reports in for the major U.S. airlines, the six largest carriers in the country combined for a pre-tax loss of $43.8 billion. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects just a 38% increase in worldwide passengers this year compared to last, a significant drop from the 50% increase it was predicting as recently as December.

April 2020 was when air travel bottomed out before beginning its long, protracted recovery that still continues today. Just three million flew in the month, the smallest monthly total since the government started ~~paying attention~~ keeping records in 1974. The three million fliers in April represented a 96.1% drop from April 2019, the largest percentage drop since airlines began to crack down on mile-high club memberships.

Lufthansa Considering Future with Smaller Aircraft

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr commented that his airline is currently negotiating with both Airbus and Boeing about altering current orders to downgrade to smaller aircraft.

“We are putting many four-engine, long-range aircraft out of the fleet and this creates a certain need for smaller long-range aircraft. These are very dynamic discussions,” Spohr said. He continued to say that Airbus and Boeing were showing flexibility in the discussions which seems to line up perfectly with the old adage “beggars can’t be choosers.”

In classic German fashion, Spohr has a pessimistic view of ~~everything~~ the future of business travel, doubting that the neither the United States nor Europe will ever return to pre-pandemic levels of flying. That outlook likely was a key factor in the airline considering smaller aircraft as it looks to the future. Lufthansa already announced intention to retire its entire fleet of A380 and A340-600 aircraft, and is also reportedly considering replacing its busiest domestic routes with high-speed buses on the autobahn if passengers are willing to chip in for gas and snacks along the way.

South African Receives Another Government Bailout

It’s a tale as old as time, South African Airways being saved from not being able to pay its employees or fly its airplanes thanks to an 11th hour aid package from the South African government.

This time, the government is sending a loan of $346 million to tide SAA over until the next time it runs out of money. The cash is being used specifically to fund severance packages for employees who agreed to retire early to help the airline out of a previous financial pickle. Ok, it’s really the same financial pickle that just keeps stretching year after year.

This bailout comes after the government sent the airline $720 million back in October to finance a restructuring plan to help it our of bankruptcy.

In summary, the airline needs an aid package to pay the people for the deal offered by the airline, which they accepted, to retire early so the airline could sustain itself long enough in order take the next aid package.

Airline Potpourri

Aeromexico became the latest airline to receive a ~~made-up~~ prestigious award for its on-board sanitary measures.
Air Arabia released its schedule for summer 2021, and it will include 60 destinations to 26 countries.
airBaltic and Lufthansa will begin a codeshare agreement between each other on March 28.
Air Malta is nearing insolvency as it seeks an aid package from the EU to remain operating. If unsuccessful, it should place a call to South Africa.
Andes Líneas Aéreas is preparing for a March 1 restart of operations. It has released a tentative schedule for flights out of its Buenos Aires/Aeroparque (AEP) hub. The airline expects to only operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for the time being.
Azul is adding Porto Alegre (POA) in southern Brazil as its newest destination, serving eight cities from the airport.
Blue Air is doubling its frequency to London/Heathrow from its Budapest hub to 2x daily, effective March 31.
Delta is delaying its delivery of its first A321neo aircraft until 2022.
Etihad is launching a kids fly free promo. You still have to pay the taxes on the free ticket, and the fine print probably says that they must be accompanied by a paying adult, but no one’s stopping you from giving it a try.
Jazeera Airways is introducing direct service between Kuwait City (KWI) and Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMB). The twice-weekly service begins this Sunday and will be operated on the airline’s lone A320neo.
Peach is offering free ~~fruit baskets~~ PCR tests for passengers traveling on its domestic flights out of either Osaka or Tokyo/Narita. The program will take place between February 21 and March 31.
Hainan Group had its restructuring plan approved by a Chinese court. In addition to Hainan Airlines, the ruling also covers regional carriers Air Changan, Fuzhou Airlines, Grand China Air, GX Airlines, Lucky Air, and Urumqi Air. If you were playing Airline Potpourri Bingo, you’re welcome.
Singapore delivered the first 142,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to Australia on Monday. The vaccines were flown from Brussels to Sydney with a stopover in Singapore. None of the vials were removed from their -70 degrees Celsius containers to enjoy duty free shopping during the stopover.
Wizz Air will open a new seasonal base this summer in Burgas, Bulgaria (BOJ). The airline will base one A320 aircraft in Burgas from June 10 until September 12. Basically it’s like that time you got sent to summer camp, except for an Airbus.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I made a pencil with an eraser on each end. Boy was that pointless.