The US Department of Transportation (DOT) will offer airlines increased flexibility under their CARES Act obligations. But rather than choosing individual airports that will be exempt the DOT is now going to let the airlines select which stations will see service suspended.
CARES Act
United raises ire in cutting hours for salaried employees
Last week United Airlines informed its Management & Administrative (M&A) work group of required unpaid time off this summer. This week the carrier shared some additional details related to the plans and the news for these employees is grim.
Cape Air’s ugly April stats (and some possible good news for May)
Total flights down by 40%. Passenger count down by 90%. Load factor for the month of just 8%. Needless to say, Cape Air’s statistics for April 2020 are pretty awful, just like the rest of the aviation world. But the airline has some potential good news to consider as it looks to a slow summer and beyond.
JetBlue, Spirit score exemptions to drop service at major US airports
JetBlue and Spirit Airlines received permission to remove as many as 16 destinations from their route US networks and still maintain compliance with the CARES Act. This lets the airlines reduce their service while still remaining eligible for the Payroll Support Program grants that help fund employee costs through 30 September 2020. Both airlines are permitted to halt service to their approved destinations immediately.
Allegiant scores leniency from DOT in CARES Act obligations
Allegiant is a different sort of airline. It certainly is not a network carrier and only partially fits in the definitions typically ascribed to the ultra low cost carrier model. This presents a special set of challenges when it comes to meeting the minimum service obligations of the CARES Act. Fortunately the US Department of Transportation has seen fit to grant leniency to the carrier, though its obligations still remain significant.
JetBlue aims to drop 16 "major hub" destinations from its network
JetBlue wants to scale back its operations drastically. Faced with reduced demand the carrier is now looking to take advantage of Department of Transportation guidelines that could see the company remove 16 large airports from its network.
Spirit Airlines asks DOT again to drop destinations
Spirit Airlines was one of the first carriers to request a limited schedule from the Department of Transportation as the CARES Act service obligation requirements took effect. It was mostly denied, but Spirit still wants its exemptions. The company appealed to the Department late today, asking again for certain destinations to be removed from its obligations.
Frontier Airlines pushes new route plan for CARES Act compliance
With nearly all of its requested exemptions rejected, Frontier Airlines faces a harsh new reality. It needs the CARES Act funding to avoid massive furloughs but many destinations in its route network no longer have much demand, if any. Like others, the carrier will adjust, combining multiple destinations on to a single flight from its hubs. These
Sun Country wins big as United, Frontier lose in latest CARES Act ruling
Sun Country will be permitted to collect its government funding while largely suspending service through 21 June 2020. United Airlines and Frontier Airlines will not be so lucky. The latest guidance from the US Department of Transportation released this morning shows that the Agency is using different standards for the different sized airlines in forming its policy.
Spirit Airlines running triangle routes to meet CARES Act requirements
If the planes are going to be mostly empty it is better to fly fewer of them. For Spirit Airlines this means sending some of its smaller jets on triangle routes, connecting two cities before retuning to a hub. The new service pattern appears planned through June based on schedule details reviewed online.