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American to Resume Filling All Plane Seats

https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/american-airlines-AAL/stock-news/82741445/american-to-resume-filling-all-plane-seats-wsj

By Alison Sider
This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (June 27, 2020).

American Airlines says it will fill its planes completely as passengers start to return to traveling after the coronavirus pandemic decimated demand in recent months.

American has been leaving the equivalent of half the middle seats in economy cabins empty to facilitate social distancing, filling planes to about 85% of capacity. The airline said Friday that it will stop that practice July 1, while continuing to alert passengers when their flights are filling up, giving them the chance to switch free of charge.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. allows planes to fly full, though it also gives customers the chance to change flights. Spirit Airlines Inc. is also filling planes to capacity.

Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. are leaving open all middle seats, or the equivalent number of seats. Both airlines have said they plan to continue blocking seats through the end of September.

Airlines are now adding back flights, saying people have started to travel again to visit friends and relatives or head to vacation destinations after months of being cooped up at home. A surge of new infections in states that had been reopening, like Texas and Florida, could jeopardize the rebound in travel.

Airlines have mounted a campaign to convince passengers that flying is safe by preventing infection on board with enhanced cleaning procedures and other measures. American said it will start asking passengers to certify that they have been free of Covid-19 symptoms for 14 days when they check in, joining airlines including United and Southwest that have started asking passengers to attest to being symptom-free.

Airlines are also more stringently enforcing requirements that everyone onboard wear masks. American and other airlines have said that passengers who refuse to comply with mask requirements will risk losing the ability to book future travel.

"Wearing a face covering continues to be one of the most important ways travelers can protect themselves and others while flying," American said in a statement.

Social distancing has become a flashpoint. Throughout the spring, planes were nearly empty, giving everyone plenty of room to spread out. But as demand has started to pick up, some travelers were alarmed to find themselves unexpectedly on relatively full flights.

Airline executives have said keeping seats empty indefinitely is a money-losing proposition, and that even empty middle seats don't provide the level of social distancing that public-health officials recommend.

Write to Alison Sider at [e-mail]

Delta Warns Pilots of Possible Furloughs

https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NYSE/delta-air-lines-DAL/stock-news/82741399/delta-warns-pilots-of-possible-furloughs

By Alison Sider
Delta Air Lines Inc. will send notices next week to over 2,500 pilots warning of potential furloughs as travel demand is still languishing due to the coronavirus pandemic, the airline wrote in a letter Friday.

Delta and the union that represents its pilots reached a tentative agreement on the terms of a voluntary retirement package for the airline's pilots in an effort to reduce the number who are forced to leave.

But recovery may be at least two years away, John Laughter, Delta's senior vice president of flight operations, wrote to pilots Friday evening.

"Early retirements alone likely won't be enough to avoid pilot furloughs altogether," Mr. Laughter wrote. "Even with the increased travel demand we've seen in recent weeks, we expect revenue to be at only 25 percent of what it was last summer."

The airline and the union are also negotiating a potential agreement that could avoid furloughs altogether for two years, but Mr. Laughter said the airline wanted to notify the 2,558 pilots at risk of being cut under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, known as the WARN Act, to let them know of the possibility.

CNBC earlier reported the notices.

Delta has retired some fleet types altogether to conserve cash and has parked hundreds of jets due to reduced demand, leaving it with more pilots than it needs. Still, airlines have been trying to avoid letting pilots go, which triggers costly retraining and can make it more difficult for carriers to ramp back up when demand does rebound.

Airlines must keep all their workers on the payroll through the end of September under the terms of the $25 billion in federal aid they received earlier this year when the pandemic first took hold and brought travel demand to a near halt. Most airlines, including Delta, have cautioned workers they would have to cut staff when Oct. 1 arrives. Other carriers are offering similar early retirement options to their employees.

Unions representing aviation employees wrote to congressional leaders this week advocating that the payroll support funding be extended another six months, until March 31, 2021.

Delta has 7,900 pilots eligible for the early retirement offer, which includes partial pay for three years or until age 65, as well as health and travel benefits.

Write to Alison Sider at [e-mail]