Dismal news for travel industry
Hotels, rental cars, cruises, flights, anything associated with getting away from it all, is on hold. Quarterly numbers from airlines and the rest of the travel industry this week and last were abysmal. Job cuts have begun.
• Hyatt will begin laying off about 1,300 people next month. The hotel chain has slashed costs through pay cuts for executives as well as work and pay reductions for workers, but it has not been enough to staunch the bleeding.
• Brussels Airlines will let 25 percent of its workers go as part of a massive cost-cutting plan. The Lufthansa subsidiary in Belgium, which employs 4,000 people, has suspended its flights and plans to reduce its fleet from 54 to 38 aircraft as part of its restructuring.
• The Transportation Department is allowing airlines to drop flights to some destinations without jeopardizing billions in federal pandemic aid. The department issued a notice Tuesday that airlines will be able to drop up to 5 percent of their destinations as long as at least one airline serves every U.S. airport that had airline service before March 1.
• Airline complaints have jumped from the average 1,500 per month, to more than 25,000 in March and April, according to the Transportation Department. Most of the complaints were about refunds. The department issued new refund guidelines for airlines but stopped short of demands by congressional Democrats to require cash refunds instead of ticket vouchers when customers cancel a reservation. Most airlines are issuing refunds if the carrier canceled the flight.