Short Takes
March 27th 2020
Airbus CEO, Guillaume Faury, said in a regulatory filing on March 23 the company had withdrawn guidance for 2020 due to the volatile situation brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Read More » Airbus also announced, ahead of its annual general meeting in Amsterdam on April 16, it had secured a new EUR15 billion (US$16.37 billion) credit facility to boost liquidity.
Korea Air said this week its senior leaders would take a salary cut as part of the airline's efforts to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Starting in April, executive vice presidents and above will have their pay reduced by 50%, while senior vice presidents and managing vice presidents will take 40% and 30% cuts, respectively.
Thai Airways International said in a regulatory filing on March 24 it planned to gradually suspend international flights due to COVID-19. The wind down of its international services began on March 25, with regional routes and Australian destinations on March 27 and European services to follow on April 1. The cancellations would last until May 30.
Boeing said early this week it had temporarily suspended production at its Puget Sound facility in response to the state of emergency declared in Washington State. The suspension, which Boeing said was to ensure the well-being of employees, their families and the local community, began on March 25 and was due to be in place for 14 days.
Malaysia’s government was considering creating a special investment vehicle to support the country's aviation sector, The Star newspaper reported on March 26. The report said the support could involve taking over part of the debt of carriers such as AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and Malindo Air.
