The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) has put airlines on notice that customers must be “refunded promptly” for all flights canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
American Airlines will operate its fewest number of flights in May, reflecting a view that air travel demand will reach its lowest point over the next several weeks, when the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to peak in North America.
Unions representing 85% of American Airlines’ workforce called on Congress and the White House to promptly pass an aid to keep U.S. carriers afloat amid the complete collapse in air travel demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
American Airlines is utilizing its currently grounded passenger aircraft to move cargo between the US and Europe, underscoring the importance of its routes for trade.
U.S. airlines stripped their international schedules to skeletal levels over the weekend, parking their widebody fleets and signaling difficult decisions ahead over reining in labor costs.
American Airlines will lease 22 Boeing 787-8s from Singapore-based BOC Aviation, the lessor announced Mar. 10 in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.