From the point of view of business travellers, the main information to remember from the press release published on Friday by Brussels Airlines concerns the company's offer on the Italian market. From 2 Marchthe Belgian carrier is reducing its offer of flights to Northern Italy by 30%This will continue for the next two weeks, until at least 14 March. The two airports concerned are Milan - Linate and Malpensa, as well as Rome, Venice and Bologna. At issue: " the rapid decline in demand for travel in Europe ". The company's management notes " a general negative trend in bookings in almost all European markets, but Northern Italy is the hardest hit ". This adjustment to the Italian offer may not be enough, according to information released by the company. The company is already talking about internal austerity measures: " As well as adapting its flight schedule in response to the fall in demand, the Belgian airline is studying economic measures, such as the temporary technical unemploymentand has decided to extend its hiring freeze to the whole company "it says. The situation at Brussels Airlines is symptomatic of the general fragility of the airline industry in the face of the epidemic. A few days earlier, IATA was 13% the fall in demand worldwide. At Brussels Airlines, the first estimates should be known on 19 March, the date on which the company will unveil its results for the past year.
A few hours after this announcement by Brussels Airlines, easyJet also unveiled measures, cutting both its Italian network and its internal spending. " Following the increase in cases of COVID-19 in northern Italy, we have seen a slowdown in demand and load factors to and from our bases in northern Italy. We are also seeing a slowdown in demand in our other European markets. As a result, we are taking the decision to cancel certain flights, particularly those to and from Italy, while continuing to monitor the situation and adapting our flight schedule to meet demand. "said the management of easyJet in a press release published on Friday. Internally, the airline is planning budget cuts in administration and discretionary spending, a freeze on recruitment, promotions and pay rises across the network, unpaid leave and a reallocation of aircraft for the summer of 2020.
