This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx Virus Is Yet Another Blow to Battered Airlines April 3, 2003 By EDWARD WONG The rapid spread of a deadly respiratory disease that originated in southern China is cutting into an already battered airline industry, as carriers around the world cancel empty flights, lay off workers, screen passengers for symptoms and deal with crews that refuse to fly to some Asian cities. Airlines say it is too early to measure the drop in passenger bookings or gauge exactly how this will affect financial performance. But traffic has declined to Asia, as travelers reschedule vacations and companies bar workers from flying to Asian cities. The World Health Organization has recommended that travelers cancel any nonessential trips to Hong Kong and the adjoining Chinese province of Guangdong. The dropoff in an already depressed travel market is causing carriers to trim their schedules more and eliminate ticket restrictions to give passengers flexibility. Singapore Airlines, for example, said it was cutting 60 flights a week out of Singapore, on top of 65 cuts announced the day after the United States attacked Iraq. The latest cutbacks include the elimination of two daily flights each to New York and Los Angeles. Since March 20, the airline has announced cuts that amount to nearly 14 percent of its seating capacity. Singapore serves many of the cities where cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, have been identified. So far, doctors have pinpointed more than 2,200 cases around the world and have said that more than 75 people have died from the disease. "At this point, SARS is factoring into the softening demand," said a Singapore Airlines spokesman. Leo van Wijk, the chief executive of KLM, the Dutch carrier, said in Amsterdam yesterday that because the disease "really scares people and makes people afraid to fly," it seemed to be having a bigger impact on KLM traffic than the war. He added that his airline was cutting 9 percent of its work force to stanch losses from the war and the illness. At Continental Airlines, the fifth-largest domestic carrier, 30 percent of people booked on a five-day-a-week flight from Newark to Hong Kong have not shown up in the last couple of days, said Gordon M. Bethune, the chief executive. The usual no-show rate is less than 10 percent. Mr. Bethune said that if fears of the disease appear protracted, Continental might suspend that flight until traffic levels return. "We're all of us learning every day about this stuff," he said. "There's definitely fear and anxiety in the system." Continental also flies to Toyko from Newark and Houston, as well as to Guam from Hong Kong. Mr. Bethune said he was unsure how traffic on those flights had been affected by fear of the disease. Air travel is particularly vulnerable to fears of the respiratory disease because it is being transmitted worldwide by passengers flying from Asia. Doctors say that accounts for the six people who have died from it in Canada, as well as the 85 cases reported in the United States. On Tuesday, fears of air travel were heightened when news reports showed an American Airlines jet from Tokyo being quarantined in San Jose, Calif., after several passengers said they felt ill. Doctors later said the passengers did not show symptoms of SARS. The two domestic carriers with the most exposure in Asia are United Airlines and Northwest Airlines. Each has 20 percent or more of its seating capacity on Asian routes. Representatives of those airlines said yesterday that they had not canceled any flights because of the disease and declined to provide statistics on passenger traffic. "We have no idea of what the financial impact might be," said Joe Hopkins, a spokesman for United. "It's too early to know." Mr. Hopkins said bookings on United's international flights had fallen about 40 percent since the war began. Airlines are asking travelers at ticket counters and boarding areas in some airports - in particular Hong Kong, Singapore and Toronto - whether they have symptoms of SARS, have traveled to infected countries recently or have come into recent contact with others who have the illness. If a passenger's response indicates the possibility of carrying the disease, airlines are requesting a medical certificate showing the passenger does not have SARS. Some carriers are taking other precautions. Continental workers in the Hong Kong and Tokyo airports are watching passengers for signs of the illness, such as a dry cough. Cathay Pacific Airways, based in Hong Kong, has put surgical masks on board its flights from Hong Kong and said on Monday that it was cutting eight flights a day between Hong Kong and several Asian cities. Flight crews on some international airlines have refused to work on planes going to infected cities. In the United States, the Association of Flight Attendants, the largest union representing those jobs, plans to ask the federal government this week to mandate that carriers provide crew members with surgical masks and rubber gloves. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/03/business/03AIR.html?ex=1050378750&ei=1&en=7de970f7ab7ff380 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company