Airlines for America (A4A) president Nicholas Calio defended airlines in a letter sent to Congress on Tuesday. The top lobby group for US Airlines, defended airlines over this year staffing shortages, delays, and cancelations.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio and Sam Graves along with other senators scrutinized how airlines spent the $54 billion federal grants and loans.
Calio said in a letter that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) did not cover everything that the airlines needed. According to the A4A president, 77% of the federal grants and loans went straight to payroll costs. Consequently, carriers still have to deal with staffing problems.
Calio expressed his appreciation to the government for the federal aid and grants as it saved more than 75,000 jobs. However, Calio insisted that airlines used the $54 billion funds correctly.
Calio wrote in the letter that “Without (PPP), US airlines would have been forced to implement massive layoffs, dramatically reduce service and cancel fleet orders”.
He also added that “If all those employees had been furloughed, airlines would not have been able to meet the unprecedented demand surge that occurred this summer and has continued into this fall”.
However, lawmakers still want to have an accounting of how airlines utilized the bailout money. Also, airline CEOs from different airlines will testify on December 15 in a senate hearing.
Airlines for America Explained Staffing Shortages
Calio also said that different factors contributed to staffing shortages experienced by airlines.
He explained in the letter that the “depth and duration of the airlines’ financial crisis”, and “temporary lapse in PSP funding in late 2020” left airlines with no other choice but to reduce payroll. Airlines asked workers to take voluntary leaves of absence and early retirement packages just to stay afloat. Unfortunately, when travel demand surged, it took some time before workers could come back to work.
To prevent future cancelations and delays, some airlines reduced their schedules. Also, airlines offered incentives for their workers to go to work during the holidays. Southwest is offering Rapid Reward points to their workers with a value of more than $1,400. JetBlue, on the other hand, offers a $1,000 attendance bonus for flight attendants.
