Cathay Pacific to
close pilot base in Canada, proposes shutting Australia, New Zealand
(Reuters) - Hong
Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd will close its Canadian pilot base and
has proposed to also shut its pilot bases in Australia and New Zealand, the
airline said on Thursday.
No decisions have
been made on the fate of its pilots based in Europe and the United States,
the airline said in a statement that noted all passenger fleet pilots on
overseas bases had been stood down since May 2020.
The decision to
close the Canadian base is final, while Australia and New Zealand is a
proposal at this stage and will involve a good-faith consultation process
with employees, Cathay said.
In Australia and
New Zealand, employers must consult with staff before redundancies as part
of union agreements but it is rare for publicly announced decisions to be
reversed.
Qantas Airways Ltd
and Air New Zealand Ltd made similar announcements last year about
consultations before proceeding with their planned staff cuts.
Cathay's proposed
closures were first reported by the South China Morning Post.
Cathay had already
closed overseas cabin crew bases and shut its regional airline Cathay
Dragon to help it conserve cash during the pandemic, resulting in the loss
of more than 5,900 jobs.
The remaining Hong
Kong-based pilots and cabin crew had to agree to permanent pay cuts to keep
their jobs.
Cathay, which
lacks a domestic market at a time when international borders are largely
shut, last month reported a record annual loss of HK$21.65 billion ($2.8
billion).
It has been burning
through as much as HK$1.9 billion of cash a month, though the carrier said
last week that figure would begin to reduce slightly due to an easing of
cargo crew quarantine requirements.
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