The new Covid-19 relief package signed into law by President Joe Biden Thursday afternoon will provide a third tranche of payroll support to commercial U.S. airlines.
But as airlines prepare to apply for their share of this new $14 billion support package (plus $1 billion to contractors who employ groundworkers used by the airlines), nearly half of the 320 carriers that applied for the second round of payroll support are still awaiting payment, the Treasury Department website shows.
Overwhelmingly, those carriers are small entities, including charter operators, private airlines and tour operators. Each of the 10 primary mainline U.S. carriers have received their second round of payroll funding.
But the ranks of the unpaid also include regional airlines such as CommutAir and Air Wisconsin, both of which operate United Express-branded flights. Alaska's Ravn Air regional service and New England-based Cape Air are also still awaiting funds.
On Wednesday, U.S. airlines and airline industry unions roundly praised passage of the new payroll support measure.
Airlines that accept the funds now won't be allowed to implement involuntary furloughs or layoffs through September. The funding has forestalled up to 27,000 combined layoffs at United and American, prompting American CEO Doug Parker in a Wednesday letter to happily tell those who had received furlough warnings last month that they can "tear them up."
The Regional Airline Association (RAA), which counts CommutAir, Air Wisconsin, Ravn Air and Cape Air among its 17 members, was also among the entities applauding the latest payroll support extension. But it did so with a caveat, urging Treasury to quickly apportion the remaining payroll awards from the current $15 billion tranche.
"RAA has sent a letter to U.S. Treasury reiterating concerns about grant status to smaller carriers who have yet to receive payment and, in some cases, have received no information at all about the status of their applications," the trade group said.
As of Thursday, 157 of the 320 commercial air transport providers that applied for the funding from the second round of payroll grants have yet to be paid, the Treasury website shows. Those grants, the funding for which was allocated in late December, are to apply to staffing costs through this month.
The Treasury website also shows that just six grant awards were finalized during the week of March 1.
The department didn't respond to questions about the delay.
Linda Markham, president of Cape Air, said the company finally received communication from Treasury on March 4 after applying for the second grant on Jan. 12.
The carrier, which flies in the Northeast, Midwest, Mountain West and the Caribbean, is more than 50% employee owned. Total revenue is currently down approximately 30% compared to pre-pandemic, CFO Michael Migliore said.
But Cape Air hasn't instituted any involuntary furloughs to it staff of approximately 600.
Cape Air received just more than $15 million of payroll support during the first round of federal assistance last year and expects to get around $12 million for this winter round.
Markham said Cape Air was understanding of the fact that the change in administrations over the winter likely delayed matters. She also said that Treasury added nuances into the grant application process for the second round of funding in an effort to even out inequities in the formula that favored larger carriers during the first round last spring, a move that has made the appropriation process more complicated.
Still, Markham said the delay has been stressful for the airline's workers.
"It's the uncertainty of the unknown," she said.
This report was updated to correct Linda Markham's title. Markham is president of Cape Air.