达拉斯-西南航空公司正在解除休假的威胁或削减数千名工人的工资，因为美国航空公司将从冠状病毒缓解法案中获得最多150亿美元的纳税人援助。
美国和联合航空公司于10月一起解散了32,000名员工，他们周一表示将暂时将这些员工带回美国。
经过总统唐纳德·特朗普在周日晚些时候拖延后签署的9000亿美元救助方案包括150亿美元，用于航空公司将其所有雇员保留在3月31日之前的工资。上一轮250亿美元的工资援助于9月30日到期，导致美国，美联航和较小型航空公司的客席。
达美航空和西南航空通过说服成千上万的工人自愿购买或提前退休，避免了休假，就达美航空而言，它与飞行员就合同让步进行了谈判。本月，西南航空公司警告将近7,000名工人，如果工会不接受大约10％的减薪，其工作可能会处于危险之中。
西南航空董事长兼首席执行官加里·凯利（Gary Kelly）周一对员工说，联邦救济“始终是我们的首选计划，这意味着我们可以停止此前宣布的休假运动并减薪。”
凯利表示，总部位于达拉斯的西南航空（Southwest）不会在2021年进行任何休假或减薪。但是，他补充说，该航空公司“在许多地区仍然人手不足”，他呼吁员工考虑自愿休假。
曼联的一位发言人周一表示，该航空公司仍在研究有关细节，以便在3月之前临时带回13,000名休假的工人。
上周，在国会通过了最新的救济措施之后，美国航空首席执行官道格·帕克（Doug Parker）表示，其承运人将召回19,000名被解雇的工人，并将其薪水和福利追溯至12月1日。一位发言人周一表示，美国航空也打算尽快恢复飞往小型航空公司的航班。在联邦政府要求维持这些航班到期后，今年秋天被丢弃的城市。
今年春天，由于大流行导致旅行骤降，航空公司警告大规模裁员，除非国会提供联邦援助。这导致了三月份的第一轮纳税人援助-最高250亿美元用于支付六个月的工资单，以及另外250亿美元的低息贷款。一些航空公司拒绝了政府贷款。
今年秋天，旅行仍远低于2019年水平的一半，航空公司游说华盛顿寻求另一轮援助，他们得到了回报。
疫苗的飞速发展再次唤起人们对旅行恢复的希望，也许是及时挽救关键的暑假季节。然而，在英国，一种新的冠状病毒株导致了欧洲的新旅行限制，并在航空业引起了另一次不满。
Southwest pulls threat of furloughs after relief bill signed
DALLAS -- Southwest Airlines is lifting the threat of furloughs or pay cuts for thousands of workers now that U.S. airlines will get up to $15 billion more in taxpayer aid contained in the coronavirus-relief bill.
American and United Airlines, which together furloughed 32,000 employees in October, said Monday they will bring those workers back temporarily.
The $900 billion relief package signed after some delay by President Donald Trump on Sunday night includes $15 billion for airlines to keep all their employees on the payroll through March 31. A previous round of $25 billion in payroll aid expired Sept. 30, leading to the furloughs at American, United and smaller carriers.
Delta and Southwest avoided furloughs by convincing thousands of workers to take voluntary buyouts or early retirement and, in the case of Delta, negotiating contract concessions from pilots. This month, Southwest warned nearly 7,000 workers that their jobs could be in danger if their unions did not accept pay cuts of about 10%.
Southwest Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly told employees Monday that federal relief “was always our preferred plan, and it means we can stop the movement toward furloughs and pay cuts that we previously announced.”
Kelly said Dallas-based Southwest doesn’t expect the need for any furloughs or pay cuts in 2021. But, he added, the airline is "still overstaffed in many areas,” and he appealed to employees to consider voluntary time off.
A spokesman for United said Monday the airline was still working on details for temporarily bringing back 13,000 furloughed workers through March.
Last week, after Congress passed the latest relief measure, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said his carrier would recall 19,000 furloughed workers and make their pay and benefits retroactive to Dec. 1. A spokesman said Monday that American also intends to soon restore flights to smaller cities that were dropped this fall after a federal requirement to maintain those flights expired.
This spring, as the pandemic caused a nosedive in travel, airlines warned of massive layoffs unless Congress provided federal aid. That led in March to the first round of taxpayer assistance – up to $25 billion to cover payrolls for six months, and another $25 billion in low-interest loans. Some airlines turned down the government loans.
This fall, with travel still well below half of 2019 levels, airlines lobbied Washington for another round of aid, and they were rewarded.
The rapid development of vaccines has again raised hopes for a recovery in travel, maybe in time to salvage the key summer vacation season. However, a new strain of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom has led to new travel restrictions in Europe and sent another shiver through the airline industry.
