pitz

They are very loaded up with big widebodies that will be very hard to get an acceptable yield out of.

Transpacificflyer

Widebodies can easily be put to use through a reduction of flight frequency on some routes. This will fill the gap created by the B737Max fiasco. Once we see some blue skies and hope by mid summer, there will be a release of the pent up demand to travel. However, Canadians as a whole will be reluctant to venture to a large part of the world and we will see a shift of travel activity to Canada and "safe" foreign destinations. It is going to take a long time for certain regions and countries to rebuild their reputations. For example, I do not think people will be in a hurry to fly to Italy or Spain or China in the next year or more. If the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia manage the crisis, they will become the new go to destinations and we will see increased activity and perhaps new routes. Air Canada may even create new routes to destinations where health control and disease prevention can be managed. More destinations to places like the Canary islands / Azores. Certain sun destinations once cleared will become popular. I expect a complete shift in leisure travel destinations and AC is well positioned to adapt to that. In respect to business travel, budgets will be slashed.Now that electronic conferencing has been discovered, alot of people will gladly forgo business air travel. The emphasis will be on leisure, and AC can also easily adapt to that demand. Air Travel as we knew is about to change.

Stranger

Nobody likes that, starting with airlines. Plus, they'll have enough narrowbodies even if the max is further dealyed.

We hope to go back to Italy and Spain later this year. :-) Granted, not necessarily typical...

Hmm... In many ways, conferences are more leisure than business, although paid for by the boss. :-). Why would I care about electronic conferences? Anyway, I suspect these will be the first business to come back.

24left

AC found parking for the E175s. Interesting. Video and article from CTV

https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/muskoka-ai...jets-1.4869667

24left

Just saw this





Article

https://montreal.citynews.ca/2020/03...s-coronavirus/



CBC

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air...offs-1.5515197




.

InTheAirGuy

A good friend of my is a 777 pilot. He had a flight to Tokyo, got back Thursday. Then he got his notice. He's 60+. So he never knew that this was his last ever flight......

YEG USER

Hopefully they don't layoff people in the call center, at least not in the near term.

24left

QUOTES from article:

"Air Canada says it is cutting 16,500 employees and slashing its network by up to 90% in April and May, confirming earlier reports in Canadian media.

“Due to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 upon its business, the airline will reduce capacity for the second quarter of 2020 by 85%-90% compared to last year’s Q2 and will place 15,200 members of its unionised workforce on off duty status, and furlough about 1,300 managers. The workplace reductions will be effective on or about April 3 and are intended to be temporary,” the airline writes in a statement on 30 March.

News of the staff reduction, which accounts for more than half the airline’s total staff of 30,000, comes two weeks after Canada’s largest airline announced it had temporarily laid off 5,100 flight attendants. It is unclear if the 16,500 staff cuts announced on Monday include the 5,100 attendants.

”To furlough such a large proportion of our employees is an extremely painful decision but one we are required to take given our dramatically smaller operations for the next while. It will help ensure that Air Canada can manage through this crisis that is affecting airlines everywhere,” says chief executive Calin Rovinescu.

In addition to the staff reductions, Air Canada will be taking extraordinary measures to protect its liquidity, including cutting salaries of top executives, delaying share buy-backs, drawing down lines of credit and implementing a cost reduction and capital deferral program, the company says.

The union representing the airline’s flight attendants, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, says it does not have any information regarding ”additional” layoffs among flight attendants. That could imply that the 5,100 layoffs announced on 20 March are part of the 16,500 mentioned on Monday.


Full Article

https://www.flightglobal.com/strateg...137622.article

24left

MONTREAL, March 30, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada said today that due to the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 upon its business, the airline will reduce capacity for the Second Quarter of 2020 by 85%-90% compared to last year's Q2 and will place 15,200 members of its unionized workforce on Off Duty Status and furlough about 1,300 managers. The workplace reductions will be effective on or about April 3 and are intended to be temporary.

"The unpredictable extent and duration of the Covid-19 pandemic requires a significant overall response. To furlough such a large proportion of our employees is an extremely painful decision but one we are required to take given our dramatically smaller operations for the next while. It will help ensure that Air Canada can manage through this crisis that is affecting airlines everywhere. We believe that the temporary nature of these reductions, many achieved through voluntary programs, combined with other mitigation measures, will position us to restore regular operations as soon as the situation improves," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive.

"I understand and regret the impact this will have upon our employees and their families. I thank all of our employees, as well as union leaders, for working with us constructively to quickly implement these measures".

In addition to the temporary workforce reductions, other measures implemented by Air Canada include:

• A company-wide cost reduction and capital deferral program, targeting at least $500 million.
• Drawing down operating lines of credit of approximately $1 billion, to provide additional liquidity.
• Mr. Rovinescu, Air Canada's President & Chief Executive Officer, and Michael Rousseau, Air Canada's Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer, have agreed to forgo 100% of their salary. Senior Executives will forgo between 25% - 50% of their salary while members of Air Canada's Board of Directors have agreed to a 25% reduction. All other Air Canada managers will have their salaries reduced 10% for the entire Second Quarter.
• Air Canada suspended its share repurchase program effective March 2, 2020.

Full release

https://aircanada.mediaroom.com/2020...se-to-Covid-19

ChrisA330

AC's latest press release outlining updates: https://aircanada.mediaroom.com/2020...se-to-Covid-19

Executive and Management salary reductions also highlighted.

Edit: missed 24left's post above.

Adam Smith

Governments have proven, time and time again, that they're terrible at running businesses. It's actually much easier to give them some funding, but make it very expensive, and try to keep them in the private sector. It would also likely be cheaper for taxpayers, in the long run.

I could see them ending the leaseback on the E90s since they were due to be returned over the next few months anyway, but figure they'll probably just park the old 320s. They're not worth much, and if there's a decent rebound in travel after things normalize, and the MAX is still grounded, they're more useful than the E90s.

I should have been in Puglia right now, and had to cancel some time in Milan a few weeks ago. Will happily get over there as soon as I can. I spent a lot of time in Spain in 2018-19, so not in a hurry to get back there, but would't be opposed to it.

Very early to say that. I don't think I've seen a single report of someone catching COVID-19 on a plane, as opposed to from having been in a virus hotspot. Once the virus is largely gone and/or most of us have had it already, why not get back on a plane and go somewhere? Many of us will be tired of being around or homes for so long.

dr_torch

I've already reached this point

24left

I'm posting this here as this affects AC pilots and crews and AC pax. Mods are free to move if needed.

**********

The Guardian - Thu 2 Apr 2020 10.15 BST





QUOTES from article:

After six days the test came through positive, but by then, Wilson had learned she wasn’t the only one from her flight to be infected.

Seven other Air Canada staff members – two deadheading pilots and five flight attendants – had tested positive for Covid-19 following the return trip to Germany.

The crew had been flying a Boeing 777-300, the company’s largest plane. Depending on configuration, it can hold as many as 450 passengers.

“We call it a high-density aircraft,” she said. “Ironic, I know.”

The two pilots who tested positive had been sitting in business class. Wilson had been working in the back of the plane, on the opposite side of the aircraft.

“It led me to believe that there were many people who were Covid-19 positive on that flight,” she said.


“We got it from passengers. That’s a fact,” she said. “But now, we’re a part of the spread. We’re the super spreaders, as people frantically fly home.”


Full article

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ed-to-covid-19
.

Stranger

Although the possibility that they got it in Frankfurt probably cannot be discarded either. And one of these folks could have passed it on on the others.

totti

Exactly! How would they know they got it from a pax and that this is a fact? They could have gotten it at the hotel, on the way to the airport, at the airport or even back in Canada. With so many people being asymptomatic (a recent study form Iceland suspects up to 50% have no or very mild symptoms) and the long incubation period this seems all speculation.