JetBlue's CEO has announced a temporary pay cut. For an undisclosed time period, Robin Hayes will cut 20% off of his salary. The news comes as airlines around the world look to deal with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Airlines around the world are still getting to grips with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Carriers are being forced to adjust to a sharp decline in the number of passengers traveling. Fewer passengers mean less money coming into the business. As a result, many airlines are trimming their flight schedules.

Worse than 9/11?

While the United States initially avoided the brunt of coronavirus transmission, the number of cases in the country is starting to slowly creep up. In fact, at the time of writing, 1,323 cases had been reported within the country. As a result, domestic airlines are beginning to feel the pinch.

JetBlue's CEO, Robin Hayes, addressed the issue on CBS yesterday morning. He told the outlet,

“I mean, our January and February was really good, and we started seeing the impact around Feb. 25. In the US industry, we saw about a 30 percent drop-off in traffic around 9/11. This is probably even worse than that.”

JetBlue livery
JetBlue has several other safety measures in place amid the current conditions. Photo: Getty Images

20% CEO pay cut

According to Reuters, JetBlue's CEO, Robin Hayes, will be trimming his salary as the American carrier deals with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It has been reported that his salary will be cut by 20%, however, there's no news on how long this will last. Other senior managers at the company will also be taking pay cuts of differing amounts during this rough patch for the airline industry.

The announcement comes just a day after a similar announcement by Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce. However, Mr. Joyce's pay cut was much more dramatic. The Irish-Australian airline veteran will not take a salary for the remainder of the 2020 financial year.

Simple Flying reached out to JetBlue for comment, however, at the time of writing had not received a response.

Aeroflot Airbus A350
An Aeroflot Airbus A350, also another great new product that barely got used. Photo: Getty Images

How are other airlines coping?

The majority of major airlines around the world have cut their schedules to deal with a drastic decrease in demand across the board. In particular, airlines have today been scrambling to deal with President Trump's sudden, and unexpected European flight ban.

While it won't affect JetBlue directly, many other airlines will have to slash flights due to a huge drop in demand. Lufthansa will operate a skeleton service to the US. Additionally, the German flag carrier's partner, United Airlines, is also making sweeping cuts according to View From The Wing.

What do you think of the JetBlue CEO's pay cut? Should all CEOs do this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!