Porter Airlines, joining its larger Canadian rivals, will tap the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program to bring some staff back to the payroll as it waits out the COVID-19 crisis.
The Toronto-based carrier grounded its 29-aircraft fleet on March 21 and laid off most of its 1,500 staff. Porter plans to re-start service on June 1, assuming the coronavirus pandemic has sufficiently abated and proper protocols are in place. Now that CEWS is in play, Porter can tap the federal emergency funding and begin to prepare for service resumption by re-hiring some staff.
“Our team is showing outstanding dedication during a time when most are unable to work,” president and CEO Michael Deluce said. “As we look ahead to restarting flights when it is appropriate to do so, we are doing everything possible to stay connected with our people. The ability to use CEWS is one way of doing this.”
Porter said it plans to ramp back up to as close to its pre-pandemic size as possible. Until staff are needed to prepare for service resumption, employees that are re-hired will remain at home on “inactive” status.
Announced on April 1, CEWS pays 75% of Canadian-based employee wages, with a cap of C$847 ($600) for up to 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15. Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet Airlines have said they plan to use the funding to help keep or re-hire staff.
Tapping CEWS is the latest in a series of moves Porter has made to help survive its operations pause. The airline recently tapped Export Development Canada for C$135 million in funding, using a portion of its fleet as collateral, the Financial Post reported.
Meanwhile, Canada’s carriers continue to modify their operations to match demand. WestJet said it would cut 32 city-pairs from its May domestic flight schedule. The reductions pull 600 daily flights from the airline’s pre-pandemic schedule. The changes do not remove any destinations from the Calgary-based carrier’s schedule, but rather reduce connectivity.
WestJet is not operating any international or transborder flights during the pandemic, while ULCC subsidiary Swoop is flying a limited domestic network. Rival Air Canada has cut back significantly, but is still operating select transborder and intercontinental flights, including some Rouge subsidiary flying. Leisure-focused Air Transat has suspended all flying until May 31.
Related Content
