Airlines cutting international flights more than 10 percent, parking planes, offering voluntary leave

Several prominent airlines are reportedly cutting international flights by more than 10 percent as well as parking planes and offering voluntary leave for employees amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

Companies such as Delta Air Lines and American Airlines Group plan to reduce the number of flights throughout their grid, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly also informed employees that he would take a 10 percent pay cut due to the economic distress the coronavirus outbreak has caused globally. Kelly said the coronavirus has produced a challenge more severe than any the industry has faced since 9/11, adding that “it may be worse,” according to the Journal.

American Airlines, meanwhile, said it plans to cut domestic flights by 7.5 percent by scaling back in markets where it operates multiple flights. It will reduce international flights by 10 percent for the summer peak travel season.

On Tuesday, Delta said it will park some planes and cut capacity by as much as 25 percent internationally and 15 percent domestically. The company also announced it would freeze hiring and provide voluntary leave options for employees.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the company would defer $500 million in capital expenditures and halt share buybacks while considering early retirement of individual aircraft. 

“We have made the difficult but necessary decision to immediately reduce capacity and are implementing cost reductions and cash-flow initiatives across the organization,” Bastian said, according to the Journal.

Despite massive losses for the airline industry, officials say the savings in fuel could temper the harm the virus outbreak has had on the industry. American Airlines estimated the cost reduction could total much as $3 billion in a presentation, the newspaper noted.