Air France plans to cut 6,500 jobs by 2022

Photo REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo

News agency Reuters is reporting that Air France has a plan to cut just over 6,500 jobs over the next two years and will present the plan to unions this week. 

France’s flagship airline, part of the Air France-KLM group, is cutting capacity and exiting loss-making domestic routes as the pandemic hits international travel.

On top of the 6.500 staff cuts - roughly representing just under 15% of employees such as pilots, ground staff and flight attendants - an additional 1,000 layoffs would be made at Air France’s “HOP!” airline, one of the three sources said.

Air Canada continues downsizing with massive domestic route decimation and closes eight stations

Air Canada announced on Tuesday a staggering downsizing of its domestic operation by closing eight stations at regional airports across Canada and indefinitely suspending service on 30 domestic regional routes and warns the decimation will continue. 

The airline says these structural changes are being made as a direct result of continuing low demand for flights from both business and leisure travellers, following the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and provincial and federal government-imposed travel restrictions and border closures.

The regional airports where Air Canada is closing its stations are: Bathurst (New Brunswick), Wabush (Newfoundland and Labrador), Gaspé (Quebec), Baie Comeau (Quebec), Mont Joli (Quebec), Val d'Or (Quebec),  Kingston (Ontario) and North Bay (Ontario).

The following routes will be suspended indefinitely:  

Maritimes/Newfoundland and Labrador:
Deer Lake-Goose Bay;
Deer Lake-St. John's;
Fredericton-Halifax;
Fredericton-Ottawa;
Moncton-Halifax;
Saint John-Halifax;
Charlottetown-Halifax;
Moncton-Ottawa;
Gander-Goose Bay;
Gander-St. John's;
Bathurst-Montreal;
Wabush-Goose Bay;
Wabush-Sept-Iles;
Goose Bay-St. John's.

Quebec/Ontario:

Baie Comeau-Montreal;
Baie Comeau-Mont Joli;
Gaspé-Iles de la Madeleine;
Gaspé-Quebec City;
Sept-Iles-Quebec City;
Val d'Or-Montreal;
Mont Joli-Montreal;
Rouyn-Noranda-Val d'Or;
Kingston-Toronto;
London-Ottawa;
North Bay-Toronto
Windsor-Montreal

Western Canada:

Regina-Winnipeg;
Regina-Saskatoon;
Regina-Ottawa;
Saskatoon-Ottawa.

The Canadian national carrier has been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis, reporting a net loss of $1.05 billion in the first quarter of 2020, including a net cash-burn in March of $688 million. The firm has embarked on a sweeping cost-cutting programme as it battles to survive. Some of the major measures it has already announced include: 

Reducing its workforce by more than 50% with around 20,000 job losses.
Cost Reduction and Capital Deferral Programme
A reduction of its system-wide capacity by approximately 85%
The permanent removal of 79 aircraft from its mainline and Rouge fleets;
And raising approximatively $5.5 billion in liquidity since March 13, 2020.

However,  this is not all,  the airline has warned that it expects the recovery to take at least three years and as such many other changes to its route network, service suspensions and schedule alterations are inevitable and will be announced over the coming weeks.

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Airbus set to devastate its UK workforce and axe 1,700 jobs

The European Aerospace giant Airbus as confirmed plans to axe more than 1,700 jobs in the UK at the firms Broughton in Flintshire and Filton, Bristol sites. amind a downturn in business caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a shock announcement the company said it would be looking to cut around 15,000 jobs from its global workforce of about 134,000 as it tries to cut costs and reshape itself for a post-COVID world and marketplace. 

Airbus says that the jobs will go right across its UK operations including at its largest factories at Broughton in North Wales and Filton in Bristol. 1,116 UK manufacturing jobs will be lost alongside 611 office-based jobs as Airbus seeks to shrink its workforce by 15%.

The jobs are to go between now and the summer of 2021, with legal consultations taking place from today with the hope of being completed by the autumn this year. According to the company, in addition to the UK job losses, it expects 5,000 positions to be lost in France,  5,100 would go in Germany,  its Spanish workforce would be reduced by 900 positions in Spain and some 1,300 positions would go at Airbus’ other worldwide sites. 

easyJet consulting on over 2000+ job losses

The UK's leading budget carrier easyJet is poised to close a number of bases including London Stansted, London Southend and Newcastle in the UK.

It follows an announcement the airline issued in May advising it might need to lay off up to 30% of its workforce as it revises its operation in the wake of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline confirmed that it had started formal consultation on proposals with employee representatives including the BALPA and UNITE unions on all of its UK based pilots and crew today.

"We have also informed all employees who may be directly affected by these proposals and will be providing full support to our people during this difficult time. We are fully committed to work closely with our employee representatives during these consultations with the aim of minimising job losses as far as possible. " the carrier said in a statement.

Royal Air Force Typhoons Join Key German Airforce Exercise

Typhoons fighters from RAF Coningsby have taken part in a major German Air Force exercise over the southern North Sea, over the last week.

Royal Air Force Typhoons

In a sign of the growing relationship between two key European NATO Allies, the Typhoons, from XI (Fighter) Squadron, together with an RAF Voyager from RAF Brize Norton have this week joined German Typhoons and Tornados plus aircraft from several other NATO Allies and partner nations on Exercise MAGDay.

The Officer Commanding XI (F) Squadron said:“Exercise MAGDay provides, XI (F) Squadron with the opportunity to demonstrate our ability to project UK Air Power and fight in a complex environment, shoulder-to-shoulder with our closest allies.”

SHARE Facebook Twitter C-17 Aid Flight Transports Medical Supplies For Coronavirus To Africa

The first of a series of Royal Air Force flights taking medical supplies to Africa to help fight the coronavirus pandemic departed on Saturday, June 27th 2020.

The RAF C-17 took off from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire on a journey funded by the Department For International Development. The transport aircraft was carrying a field hospital, which will be used for frontline aid workers in Africa. Aid workers are playing a crucial role in West Africa working to improve health systems, prevent the spread of coronavirus and save lives.

Post-Pandemic Growth Opportunity Analysis of the Global Commercial Aircraft Market, 2020 and Beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, impacting every industry in every country. Few other industries have been disrupted to the magnitude that the global commercial aerospace market has. The current situation dwarfs the turmoil of 2019 as the Boeing 737 MAX grounding saga dragged on. 2020 was going to be a year of reconfiguration that would affect Boeing alone however, it has now turned into a year of survival for the whole aerospace industry.

SAS and CDB sign deal for four Airbus aircraft

The leasing giant, CDB Aviation, a wholly-owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing has confirmed today a new transaction with its long-standing customer, Scandinavia’s largest airline SAS, for a fleet of four Airbus aircraft, including three A320neos and one A350-900. The deliveries of these aircraft are expected to occur between June 2020 and May 2022.

“We are very delighted to carry out yet another transaction with SAS for these Airbus aircraft,” said CDB Aviation Chief Marketing Officer Peter Goodman, elaborating that “we look forward to further assisting in the reshaping of SAS’ fleet, particularly in support of efforts to advance environmental sustainability goals for their fleet operations.”

Goodman underscored that the lessor’s commercial team is pointedly expanding outreach in all aviation markets, energetically pursuing emerging opportunities for aircraft transactions, including in the sale and leaseback channel. “Airlines can leverage the strength and robust scale of our platform and capabilities to access financing solutions that address their rapidly changing operating requirements during these unprecedented times,” added Goodman.

VIP RAF Voyager Returns to Operational Duties

Following the arrival of the RAF VIP Voyager to its base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, post the completion of its smart new paint scheme, the aircraft returned to its primary role supporting operational training today acting as a ‘petrol station in the sky’ offering Air-to-Air refuelling (AAR) to RAF Lightning and Typhoon fighters during Exercise CRIMSON OCEAN.

After several weeks of painstaking work, the Voyager was confirmed as being ready to undertake all operational roles including AAR and personnel transport alongside the rest of the RAF Voyager fleet. Taking off from RAF Brize Norton, the aircraft spent most of the day airborne to provide several refuelling stops for the fighters taking part in the joint RAF and Royal Navy exercise.

Four Seasons Hotel Madrid Is Now Accepting Reservations Ahead of September 15 Opening

Stunning restoration and conversion of historic buildings places Four Seasons guests in the heart of the city and among the first to experience the debut of a new dining concept by Michelin-starred Chef Dani Garcia

After a seven-year reconceptualisation and meticulous restoration of a collection of seven historic buildings, the new Four Seasons Hotel Madrid is now confirming reservations for arrivals beginning September 15, 2020.

With a soaring grand lobby welcoming guests at its heart, Four Seasons Hotel Madrid is located within Centro Canalejas, also home to 22 Four Seasons Private Residences and the Galería Canalejas luxury shopping mall.  Architects Estudio Lamela led the restoration, preserving more than 3,700 artefacts throughout.  Inside, interiors are by an international team of designers including BAMO, BG Architecture, Martin Brudnizki, AvroKO and Luis Bustamante.

European skies slowly getting back to normal

Due to the significant changes in the booking wishes of their passengers, the airlines in the Lufthansa Group are switching from short-term to longer-term flight planning and are now completing their flight schedules by the end of October. The new summer timetable will be implemented in the booking systems today, 29 June, and is thus bookable. It is valid until 24 October, the end of the normal summer season.

This means that the airlines will offer in the upcoming month over 40 percent of their originally planned flight program. A total of over 380 aircraft by the Lufthansa Group carriers will be used for this purpose until October. This means that half of the Lufthansa Group's fleet is in the air again, 200 aircraft more than in June.

Lufthansa Group airlines publish flight schedules through the end of
October, encompassing autumn holidays
Demand for longer-term bookings increasing
380 aircraft back in service by October – 200 more than before
Hygiene concept for entire Airline Group takes effect

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Update from Icelandair on its financial restructuring

The Keflavík based national flag carrier of Iceland, Icelandair has issued an update on its financial restructuring demonstrating how the airline is negotiating with its stakeholders in order to be able to initiate offering of new shares and complete the restructuring. 

The airline has confirmed on Monday of this week that to date achieved positive progress with many of its stakeholders. New long-term collective-bargaining agreements have been reached with the unions of pilots, cabin crew and mechanics.  Work on terms with the Icelandic Government, along with Íslandsbanki and Landsbankinn, regarding a government-guaranteed credit facility is in progress. However, the credit facility will, among other things, be conditioned upon the Company receiving sufficient concessions from creditors and successful conclusion of the planned share offering.