Airport screening delays have caused more than 70,000 American Airlines customers and 40,000 checked bags to miss their flights this year, an executive told a US congressional subcommittee. A shortage of staff and a surge in passenger numbers have created a nightmare scenario for the US TSA, with airport wait times in places like Chicago stretching beyond 2 hours. American wants TSA to create a senior internal role focused on public concerns, said American Airlines' Kerry Philipovitch. The request comes days after Neffenger shook up TSA's management, removing the head of security operations, Kelly Hoggan. Philipovitch also recommended that TSA consider reinstating a risk-based screening programme that it cancelled last year because of high-profile lapses. <br/>
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Airlines need to be more like hotels, which have mastered the art of differentiating their products, said American Airlines president Scott Kirby. "Hotels have done a better job (than airlines) of creating brand where they can run a 50% occupancy and that's OK," Kirby said Wednesday. "They don't feel like they have to match a hotel somewhere down the road {because} people who want to stay at a Marriott property won't stay at Hilton." Also, Kirby said, "When Starwood Group or Marriott Group compete for customers, they don't compete at a single property, they do it at multiple properties." By contrast, he said, "We haven't done that." In other words, the airline industry has not yet found a way to segregate passengers willing to pay more for a coach seat from passengers who want to pay the absolute lowest fare. <br/>
Three new pieces of debris thought to be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been found washed up on Indian Ocean beaches and will be examined in Australia, the transport minister said. Two of the pieces were found in Mauritius while the third was found in Mozambique. The minister, Darren Chester, said all three items would be investigated in connection with the disappearance of MH370. A first piece of the Boeing 777, a flaperon, washed up on the French island of Reunion in July 2015. Malaysia and French authorities confirmed it was from the aircraft. Two pieces of debris discovered later in South Africa and the Mauritian island of Rodrigues were almost certainly from the airliner, Malaysia's transport ministry said this month. <br/>