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Qantas staff to remain stood down until “at least” June 30
May 8th 2020
The Qantas Group said this week it planned to keep some 25,000 staff stood down until at least the end of June as demand for air travel remains suppressed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Read More »
The new timeline, outlined by Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, in a market update on Tuesday, is a one-month extension to the group’s announcement in March when it said the majority of employees would be stood down until at least the end of May.
Qantas said the stand down was "deeply regrettable", but its impact had been softened for employees eligible for an Australian government program that subsidised salaries to a maximum of A$1,500 (US$980) a fortnight.
Joyce said he was optimistic the Australian domestic market would start "returning earlier than first thought", but cautioned demand would not be back to pre-coronavirus levels anytime soon. International "could take years to return to what it was", he said.
"We need to think how the Qantas Group should look on the other side of this crisis in order to succeed. Fleet, network and capital expenditure will have to be reviewed, but our commitment to serve communities across Australia will not change," Joyce said.
Qantas has paused the multi-million dollar refurbishment program of its A380 fleet. Six of its 12 A380s have had new business class seats installed alongside refreshed seats in other cabins and two new lounge areas for premium passengers.
It’s Project Sunrise proposed nonstop flights from Australia's east coast to London, New York and elsewhere with up to 12 A350-1000s, also is on hold. "The time is not right given the impact on world travel," Joyce told reporters on Tuesday.
The company has boosted its liquidity with an additional A$550 million (US$355 million) loan facility secured against three wholly-owned 787-9s.
Joyce said Qantas was operating a skeleton domestic schedule, subsidised by the Australian government, and a trans-Tasman network equivalent to 5% of pre-coronavirus pandemic capacity.
This would continue until at least the end of June. International flights would remain grounded until at least the end of July.
When the all clear is given to ramp up domestic flights, which is likely after individual states and territories relaxed border controls, Joyce said Qantas LCC, Jetstar, will offer one-way fares between Sydney and Melbourne from A$19 (US$12) to $39 to encourage people to return to the air. The bargain fares would "still cover our cash costs", he said.
