Corona fallout - Curt Lewis

Compulsory no-pay leave for SIA pilots starts April amid coronavirus hit SINGAPORE Airlines' (SIA) pilots will be placed on compulsory no-pay leave (CNPL) of between four and seven days a month starting April 1 as the airline and its unions work together to save jobs in what has been described as an unprecedented crisis for global aviation. From April 1, Captains will take seven days of CNPL per month, while First Officers and Second Officers will take five days and four days a month respectively. "These measures together with no flying being done will result in an average of up to 55 per cent salary cuts for Captains, up to 50 per cent cuts for First Officers and up to 15 per cent cuts for Second Officers," said Captain Kenneth Lai, president of the Air Line Pilots Association - Singapore (Alpa-S). These figures represent a percentage of pilots' total monthly salary package, which includes both a basic salary and a variable component. Pilots over the age of 62 and on re-employment contracts will be placed on a six-month-long furlough, "pending the development of the Covid-19 situation over the next few months". This comes after Singapore's flag carrier said on Monday that it would be forced to make sweeping capacity cuts of 96 per cent until end-April. This will see it ground 138 SIA and SilkAir planes from their combined fleets of 147 aircraft. Meanwhile, its low-cost unit Scoot is suspending the vast majority of its network and grounding 47 of its 49 aircraft. At nearly 2,400 active members, Alpa-S represents about 95 per cent of the pilot population for SIA, SilkAir and SIA Cargo. To cushion the financial fallout from Covid-19 and save the airline group, other cost-cutting measures put in place by SIA include voluntary no-pay leave for all staff up to divisional vice-presidents. It is also working on deferring upcoming aircraft deliveries in order to defer payments and conserve cash. Its senior management, led by chief executive Goh Choon Phong, will be taking steeper salary cuts. He will now take a bigger salary cut of 30 per cent from Apr 1, while executive vice-presidents and senior vice-presidents will take cuts of 25 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. The flag carrier has also said that it is actively taking steps to shore up its liquidity and is in talks with several financial institutions for funding. SIA is not the only airline forced to make hard decisions in what industry players describe as an unprecedented crisis for the global aviation industry. With countries worldwide tightening their borders to fend off the pandemic, airlines worldwide have become collateral damage, slashing their network and grounding planes, prompting some carriers to warn of layoffs and furloughs. Businesses across most sectors in the Republic are also feeling the pain, and the Singapore government is poised to announce additional support measures this Thursday to help workers, businesses and households deal with the devastating fallout from Covid-19.

Aeroméxico pilots will take 50% pay cut in support of airline They will also relinquish overtime, night pay and productivity bonuses Members of the ASPA pilots union who fly for Aeroméxico announced that they will take a 50% salary cut and donate up to 65% of benefits in order to support the company during the difficult economic times caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic. The 1,176 Aeroméxico pilots are the largest group of professionals in Mexico to band together to support their employer during the crisis so far, despite the airline announcing last week that it was going to scale down service significantly to and from Europe. Besides the decrease in salary, they will also create a rotational system of optional unpaid leave. If a minimum number of leave permits are not taken voluntarily, they will be randomly divided among the remaining active pilots. They will also temporarily relinquish other contractual provisions, such as overtime and night pay, the legally mandated seventh-day bonus for working six consecutive days, productivity bonuses and training. Benefits such as social security and health and life insurance will remain in place. Union president Rafael Díaz Covarrubias noted the size and impact the move will have on the industry and said that the historic measure aims to safeguard the pilots' source of employment. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, and in an unprecedented move, the pilots of ASPA have shown that the determination with which we've negotiated salary raises is as great as [our determination] to support the companies with whom we are collectively contracted," Díaz said. ASPA said it will remain in constant communication with the pilots and the airlines as the health crisis progresses.

Air Canada to furlough up to 600 pilots as coronavirus slashes flights -union letter TORONTO/MONTREAL, March 24 (Reuters) - Air Canada has reached an agreement that would allow the airline to furlough up to 600 pilots because of plummeting traffic due to the coronavirus, according to a letter from the union reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday. The country's largest carrier is slashing capacity as the coronavirus outbreak forces many governments to impose travel restrictions. The agreement covers six months from April through the end of September, according to the letter dated Monday. Air Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Carriers are making unprecedented cuts to flights, costs and staffing while stepping up calls for emergency aid from governments to save jobs. Canada is working on a financial aid package for the country's struggling airlines. Canada's privately held WestJet Airlines said on Tuesday that 6,900 employees would leave the company, with 90% departing voluntarily. The country's second-largest carrier had about 14,000 employees before the announcement. Global passenger capacity fell by 35% last week, the worst since the start of the crisis, according to data from airline schedules firm OAG, which said deeper cuts were likely in the coming weeks. Air Canada reached the agreement as its April schedule was reduced by 80% and the carrier has suspended its leisure service Rouge, the union letter said. The deal "represents our best efforts to balance our responsibility to our members, alongside the requirement for the company to reduce its costs as quickly as possible in line with the schedule reduction and for its long-term viability." Pilots on furlough continue to accrue seniority and would be later recalled in order of seniority. Air Canada shares were up about 20% in afternoon trade, but still down more than 60% this year. The Air Canada Pilots Association, which represents 4,400 members, said in a statement on Tuesday that the agreement would reduce pay across the group, simplify contract language to allow pilots to retire earlier and provide "for orderly redundancies" up to a maximum of 600 positions in the coming months. "Due to the complexity of pilot training, the precise number of positions immediately affected is still unclear and we will be working with Air Canada in the coming days and weeks to better understand the situation," Captain Michael McKay, chair of the Air Canada Pilots Association, said in the statement.