COVID-19: Qantas warns staff of possible stand-downs. Rex suspends 737 flights

Alan Joyce, Qantas Group CEO has emailed all staff, warning that the lock-downs in three states have slashed domestic travel by 40% compared to pre-pandemic rates. This is no surprise given that Australia’s two largest states (New South Wales & Victoria), and a smaller state (South Australia) are in lockdown, with a total of about 14 million people or over half Australia’s population in stay-at-home mode.

If the lockdowns end as scheduled, then he is not seeing too much of a problem, as ‘demand rebounds quickly’. However, if lock-downs are extended, the future is not so bright for Qantas employees. They may face stand-downs, without the comfort of the federal governments previous ‘JobKeeper’ allowance.

REX – suspends all domestic 737 flight between state capital cities

New domestic competitor REX has suspended all its inter capital city flights using B737-800 until the end of lockdowns. It has also reduced the frequency of some of its regional routes.

2PAXfly Takeout

This is another timely reminder to wear your seatbelt when seated. Holding you close to your seat will protect you from the sort of injuries sustained on this flight, when unsecured passengers flew to the ceiling of the aircraft, and then came crashing down once the ‘drop’ ceased.

The hope will be that this is an anomaly – a ‘freak accident’ in casual parlance. If it is a systemic error either mechanical or electronic, then this is a larger concern for the airlines that fly Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft. Let’s hope it isn’t. If it is, it will pile on the woes to Boeing’s existing stack.