Airlines suffering, Turkish currency hits all-time low

The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Thursday related to national and global response, the work place and the spread of the virus.

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TRAVEL: All aspects of travel, road, rail and air, have been transformed during the pandemic.

— JetBlue Airways swung to a $268 million loss in the first quarter. It made a $42 million quarterly profit last year. Revenue slumped 15%. President Joanna Geraghty said bookings remain “extremely limited.” The New York carrier said Thursday that after negotiations with Airbus, it cut $1.1 billion in aircraft expenses through 2022. It’s taking $936 million in federal relief and has applied for another $1.1 billion in loans from the U.S. Treasury.

— Air France-KLM suffered a first-quarter loss of 1.8 billion euros, but predicts the second quarter will be far worse, with traffic down 95%.

The airlines, which have already won billions of euros in bailouts from the French and Dutch governments, expect some resumption of summer travel, but numbers will still likely be down 80% in the third quarter.

— All passengers on high-speed Thalys trains will have to wear masks beginning next week as the company prepares to start operating more trains. In an email to customers, the French-Belgian operator said the frequency of trains will be increased as of June 9, with five daily round trips between Brussels and Paris, except on Sundays. It currently runs one daily round trip between Brussels and Paris and one round-trip between Belgium’s capital city and Amsterdam.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS & BANKS: Countries are trying to keep their economies afloat while, at the same time, addressing the needs of millions of the newly unemployed.

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