In a bid to preserve cash during the global coronavirus pandemic, Emirates and Etihad Airways are extending their 50 percent staff salary cuts until September this year.
Emirates, based in Dubai, on Monday sent an internal memo to employees announcing that a three-month wage cut would be extended until September 30, Reuters reports.
For three months from April, with the exception of junior staff, the state-owned airline had previously reduced basic wages by a quarter to half.
The travel industry was among the most ravaged by the global health crisis, which dented travel demand and forced major carriers to lay off employees and search for bailouts from the government.
State carriers Etihad and Emirates have operated on a limited basis, mainly outbound United Arab Emirates services since March, when passenger flights were grounded.
They are expected to resume some connecting flights this month after the UAE lifted a suspension last week on services where passengers stop in the country to change aircraft, or to refuel.
The salary cut, which was implemented on April 1, will be applied to all workers at Grade 4 and above, Emirates disclosed, as the group continues to weigh the effects of the pandemic on their business and evaluate all possible options to preserve its cash flow.
In March, Etihad Airways announced temporary cuts in basic pay for the month of April to all employees, including executives, between 25 to 50 percent. The employees will continue to receive benefits like housing allowances and other unidentified benefits, according to a statement.
Last week, Etihad terminated some cabin personnel but it the airline is not considering any further staff redundancy, based on emails seen by Reuters. But Emirates Group could still be forced to reduce manpower by 30 percent from its headcount of 105,000, the carrier announced recently.
Starting June 15, Emirates said it will offer services to 16 more destinations, namely Manchester, Zurich, Bahrain, Vienna, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, New York JFK, Dublin, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Brisbane and Perth.
The update follows the UAE Federal Government's announcement of the easing of restrictions on passenger services starting June 8.
The new services will allow passengers to book flights between destinations in Asia-Pacific, Europe or the Americas, with a linking flight from Dubai, as long as they meet the immigration and travel entry requirements of their destination country.
Additionally, the Dubai-headquartered airlines will launch services from Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi for customers from Pakistan who wish to link onwards to other Emirates destinations.
