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Airline companies around the world moved to cut capacity and rein in costs on Tuesday, in response to the mass cancellations and empty planes caused by the coronavirus that has infected more than 116,000 people around the world.
Australian carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. QAN, +7.22% QABSY, +13.18% ground half of its A380 fleet, cut overall capacity by 23% for the next six months, canceled its share buyback program, asked staff to take unpaid leave and dumped management bonuses late Monday. A rake of other international airlines followed suit on Tuesday, including Air France-KLM AF, +0.88% AFLYY, +4.00% Ryanair Holdings Plc RYA, +5.92%, RYAAY, +6.02% as well as all of the big U.S. carriers.
Air France released February traffic data, showing revenue passenger miles down 0.7% from a year ago, capacity up 2.3% and a load factor of 84.4%, “but this looks pretty awesome considering that Virgin Atlantic has admitted that it is flying almost empty planes across the Atlantic in order to keep its Heathrow slots,” said Robert Stallard, analyst at Vertical Research Partners.
Airline stocks have been hit hard as companies cancel non-essential travel and consumers steer clear of regions and countries that have high numbers of cases of the virus, which broke out in Wuhan, China late last year. The virus has spread to 114 countries and created clusters of infection in Iran, South Korea and Italy.
A decree put into place in Northern Italy this week has been extended to the entire country as the number of cases and deaths there have soared. People in Italy are only allowed to travel for work or family emergencies.
See: European airlines could be forced to merge if the coronavirus crisis lasts much longer
For daily coverage, see:Coronavirus update: 116,119 cases, 4,087 deaths, airlines cut capacity and some CEOs take pay cuts
The S&P 500 airline subindex has fallen 30% in the year to date, as investors have fretted about the history of large losses that has plagued the sector any time demand is abruptly halted. After the Sept. 11 attacks, for example, Congress was forced to approve a $15 billion bailout package for the industry.
On Tuesday, airlines announced that they are acting to boost liquidity and conserve cash with some agreeing to new borrowing facilities. Delta DAL, -1.12% said it’s deferring $500 million of capital spending, delaying $500 million of pension funding and suspending share buybacks.
“Liquidity is strong and expected to be at least $5 billion at the end of the March quarter,” the company said. “In addition, Delta has approximately $20 billion of unencumbered assets, including $12 billion in aircraft.”
Don’t miss: Airline stocks slammed by coronavirus fears, but experts say reaction may be overdone
United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL, +3.67% withdrew guidance for the first quarter, but admitted it expects to book a loss. As recently as Jan. 21, when it reported fourth-quarter earnings, the airline was expecting per-share earnings of 75 cents to $1.25.
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA NAS, +3.39% said it’s canceling 3,000 flights between mid-March and mid-June, cutting about 15% of total capacity for the period, due to coronavirus. The company is also taking other measures, including temporarily laying off workers, as a result of reduced demand due to the outbreak
“We encourage authorities to immediately implement measures to imminently reduce the financial burden on airlines in order to protect crucial infrastructure and jobs,” said Jacob Schram, chief executive of the airline, in a statement.
Southwest Airlines Co. Chief Executive Gary Kelly has agreed to a 10% pay cut, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Given the weak travel demand, we are seriously considering reductions to our scheduled flying in the short term, and we will continue to monitor demand for necessary reductions thereafter,” Michelle Agnew, manager for media relations at the company, told MarketWatch.
Airline shares were mostly higher Tuesday, swept up in the broader market rebound from Monday’s carnage. The NYSE Arca Airline XAL, +2.08% was up 4.2%, but remains down 34% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX, +1.62% has fallen 12% and the Dow Jones Industrial DJIA, +1.25% as fallen 14%.
