The Airline CCP-Covid Relief Plan
Good News – But Where Are These Off-Furlough Employees Going To Work?
It is great news that 32,000 furloughed airline employees will see their pay restored, at least for the next three months.
It’s great that as a result a few cancelled markets will be restored, too.
But in a shrunken air transportation industry, and amid the “experts” urging consumers not to travel, the main benefit will be just a paycheck – not necessarily work – for thousands of employees, plus some restoration of small community air service that didn’t and won’t now make any money.
We are not fixing anything, really.
Not exactly a prime future that solves the long-term challenge, which is dealing with the effects of the China-CCP virus without destroying the economy. The nation has been on lockdowns, quarantines, travel restrictions and all sorts of other “solutions” for almost a year. One point not mentioned – all those hospital beds and even hospital ships and thousands of ventilators that were supplied last spring were never needed.
But state governors are still calling the shots, mostly misfires. And in this mess, it is air travel that they are actively warning against – all the while applauding bringing 32,000 people back on payroll at the very companies they want to shut down.
But do take some comfort that Congress is also sending billions in aggregate to places like Burma, Pakistan, Nepal – even Tibet – in the latest spending spasm.
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Boeing 737 MAX – Give It Six Months & It’s A Back To Normal Market
Probably there has never been a time when airlines were more anxious to get off the headlines.
There has been a lot of media regarding Boeing losing orders for the 737 MAX. Temporary. The press problem is any article about the return of the MAX is accessorized by the reference to why it was grounded in the first place. It’s a core part of the story that cannot be left out.
There’s no question that Boeing has taken a hit on the orderbook. But the reality is that as it stands today, there are orders registered for 4,238 undelivered MAX units, which is roughly a six-year backlog.
Among U.S. carriers American, Alaska, United and Southwest have a total of 442 on order. United, however, cancelled an order for 96 737 MAX-10s last year.
Nevertheless, by the end of the second quarter, the MAX return won’t be a news article, anymore.
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And Speaking of Relief… There’s More Gelt Reportedly Added To SCASD
Yessir, the fine folks in congress are really on top of it…
In addition to several millions to study gender issues in Pakistan, the new funding onslaught from Congress is reported to include an extra $5 million for the Small Community Air Service Development Grant Program. It’s up to $18 million…
Wow! That’s the equivalent of fourteen hours of average cash burn at American Airlines. About the same for United. It insults the term “chump change.”
And now that airlines are going to be required to start flying to unprofitable small airports dropped in the last six months, a traditional SCASD application is right up there with yesterday’s sports section in terms of eager interest in planning departments.
But that doesn’t mean that all is lost… there are a number of innovative approaches that can be taken, within the current and apparently challenging air transportation industry.
This Year, It’s A Different SCASD Ball Game. Amid what is probably a blizzard of rah-rah, no-problem-we’ll-help-you-get-the-money email missives from consultants, we’d suggest taking a look at the SCASD button at the top of this page.
It delivers a clear and concise perspective of how to approach a 2021 SCASD application – including when to simply hold off.
Remember, Boyd Group International has won over $24 million for its SCASD clients – so we’ve been around the block a few times – and we understand the situation facing the airline industry. Click on the tab or just click here.
It will be very different than what a lot of folks are peddling.
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