Cathay, which has stored around 40% of its fleet outside Hong Kong, said on Monday it planned to operate less than 50% of its pre-pandemic capacity in 2021

The passengers will be flown on a Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft for a seven-hour sightseeing journey covering panoramic Aussie attractions such as Gold Coast, Queensland, New South Wales, and the country's isolated outback heartlands

The national carrier, whose divestment deadline has been extended yet again, also stated that employees need to look well-groomed and professional at all times

The airline said 23,500 employees have accepted buyouts, retired early or taken long-term leaves of absence, but that was not enough to avoid involuntary cuts

Qantas' head of domestic operations Andrew David said outsourcing ground handling jobs at the country's biggest airports would save an estimated A$100 million each year in operating costs

The coronavirus pandemic was the final straw for Australia's second biggest airline, which had been unprofitable for seven consecutive years

Along with other airlines around the world, Qantas is battling against a huge drop in demand after countries including Australia closed their borders to try contain the pandemic

The company is not a party to or involved in any proposal of InterGlobe Enterprises in relation to the sale of Virgin Australia, says InterGlobe Aviation

Virgin Australia, the second-largest Australian carrier, announced bankruptcy on April 21 in wake of coronavirus pandemic; InterGlobe Enterprises has signed agreement to participate in sale process and is bound by confidentiality requirements, says company

In Jet's absence, cash-strapped Air India is the only Indian carrier that operates widebody jets capable of non-stop flights to Europe and the United States.

Citing the airline's losses, Standard & Poor's assigned BB+ rating, which is below investment grade. The news comes a day after the beleaguered Australian carrier said it would slash 1,000 jobs and suffer half-year losses of at least $225 million.