Credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s has downgraded Virgin Australia Group for the second time in a fortnight after its staff and capacity cuts.
Qatar Airways will add an extra 48,000 seats on services from Doha to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane from 29 March until mid-April.
The government announced a $298 million bailout for regional aviation on Saturday morning – hours after a help-us-or-lose-us deadline imposed by Rex and eight independent carriers.
Rex has been granted permission to coordinate with rivals Qantas and Virgin Australia on 10 regional routes during the coronavirus crisis.
Eight regional airlines have warned they could go out of business in “days rather than weeks” unless the government underwrites Australia’s small airline operators.
The Virgin Australia Group will make 1,000 of its 8,000 stood down employees permanently redundant, including all 220 Tigerair pilots.